Last Planner System: Implementation and Evaluation With Focus on the Phase Schedule

Phase Schedule is a Last Planner System practice whose role, both from a practical and theoretical point of view, is still being debated in the construction industry. Thus, there is a need for a better understanding of Phase Schedule implementation practices and the impacts of those on production planning and control. This paper presents the results of the implementation and evaluation of the LPS focusing on the Phase Schedule practices based on two in-depth case studies developed from April 2016 to August 2017 in Salvador-Brazil. The Case Studies involved the implementation of the LPS and the Phase Schedule practices and the analysis of the impact of using those practices on the production planning and control processes. The findings indicated that the cycles of the Phase Schedule improve the constraints analysis, collaboration between those involved, transparency in the planning process, adherence between levels planning by using performance metrics, reliability of plans and commitment to the deadlines. Also, the activities which were initially not analyzed as critical, have strong influence on the performance of the production planning and control.