Conceptual Foundations for a New Lean Bim-Based Production System in Construction

Abstract

This paper presents a new lean BIM-based production system to face productivity deficiencies in construction. To prove whether the current situation can be improved, the aforesaid production system is designed to assess the hypothesis that a true integration of BIM functionalities with the Last Planner System will contribute to a more efficient project delivery. Although beneficial synergies of BIM and Lean have been widely described and acknowledged in research, previous work has not fully addressed the stated hypothesis, since it has only provided frameworks on how to use BIM and the Last Planner System in parallel. The core of the here-proposed lean BIM-based production system is the linkage of BIM objects at data processing level with the Last Planner System routines making use of digital Kanban boards. The production system will also be extended by cost control aspects of the Earned Value Management approach and thus represents the basis for a complete construction management system with respect to quality, schedule and costs. This paper discusses the first concepts of the new lean BIM-based production system and introduces an information system integration model as a starting point for future software development activities.