Process Versus Operations Workflow – Making the Case for Continuous Monitoring of Construction Operations

Abstract

This article argues that an opportunity to leverage operations flow in construction exists. Operations flow represents the flow of work within a unit of production such as a worker or workstation. To date, construction has mostly neglected operations flow and solely focused on process flow. Process flow represents how the flow of work on a product moves through workstations or tasks. For example, the Last Planner System (LPS) exemplifies a successful approach to plan for tasks with resolved constraints, so that production units (e.g. crews) can flow smoothly through the built product or project. In order to spark a discussion in the construction community, this article provides a theoretical review of process and operations flow concepts and practices. In addition, interviews with subject matter experts in the automobile industry are leveraged in order to unveil how work and information flows are monitored in assembly lines. Based on the previous insights, a model for the continuous monitoring of operations in construction with the support of advanced technologies is discussed. The model is partially implemented in a healthcare project.