A poster presentation at the 2014 Annual Construction Industry Institute Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana July 21-23

1. Amin Abbaszadegan1, Rizwan Assainar2, Dr. David Grau3, and Dr. Pingbo Tang4
1PhD Student, 2Masters Student, 3Assistant Professor, 4Assistant Professor
School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment
Introduction & Motivation Intervention Test
Conclusion
A Novel Project Planning Approach to Accurately Plan, Monitor, and Stabilize Craft Labor Workflow
Hypothesis & Objectives
A challenge to collect data and diagnose
production rates at granularities necessary to
accurately monitor work- and resource-flow
exists. Weekly progress updates do not
suffice to detect and respond to workflow
variations. Also, averaging productivities in
large work areas (e.g., a floor) can blur
workflow and production analyses. In this
study, the combination of small work
packages with detailed and continuous
monitoring is presumed to be synergic.
Scope Performance Metric Phase I Phase II
Drywall
Construction
Activities
Craft Labor Productivity 0.175 sf/min 0.212 sf/min
Resource Balancing
Intensive use of resources
toward the end of project
Morebalanceduseof
resourcesalongtimeline
All
Construction
Activities
Number of RFIs 850 275
Percentage of Overtime 3.7% 2.7%
Percentage of Rework 6.6% 2.2%
This proposed stabilization approach was tested through the drywall activity
during a healthcare project. The healthcare project consisted of two distinct
but very similar phases.
• Phase 1 or ‘Control Phase’ was planned with a WBS defined at the activity
level, and the executed work was monitored on a weekly basis.
• Phase 2 or ‘Intervention Phase’ adopted the continuous monitoring
approach with task level work-packaging for the drywall activity. Foremen
reported task progress on a daily basis. Consistency and accuracy of
collected data was ensured by a dedicated field supervisor.
The fine-grained work packaging and daily monitoring approach
proposed in this study has shown the potential to reduce and
proactively respond to workflow and progress variability. The results
provide factual evidence that work efficiency is not only subject to
planning, but also likely subject to the level of detail of workflow
monitoring, which, at the same time, enables a proactive and rapid
response to workflow variations. The continuous monitoring of small
work packages defined at the smallest identifiable work, i.e. task,
enable a flexible work planning and resource allocation in front of
unplanned constraints and events. Thus, the combination geo-
centered work-task packages with their continuous monitoring
enhances decision making through the early detection of and
response to trends and events. The results of this study are valuable
for an industry continuously seeking to improve its low productivity
performance.
Vision & Future Work
Current research work is focusing on a data-driven project planning
with advanced project analytics to improve capital project delivery.
This framework is part of a long-term vision to accumulate production
rates and to establish the most likely production rates at trade and
project level. In this approach, quantities are extracted from the BIM
model, productivity rates are then used to generate the estimate, and
the schedule is then determined based also on available crew
resources (Figure 4).
Several performance metrics at the activity and project levels were measured
for the two phases. Performance results are summarized in Table 1. The
intervention in Phase 2 resulted in a 17% improvement in the drywall
production rate, and also on an overall reduction of 66% in rework, 43% in
overtime, and 67% in the number of requests for information (RFIs).
Stabilization Approach Results
Figure1:ExampleofTaskLevelWork-Packaging
Figure 2: Geo-Centered Work-Packages
Table 1: Results from the Intervention test.
Figure 5: Framework for Data-Driven Planning
Figure 4: Task Duration Estimate
A task-level geo-centered work packaging
coupled with a daily production-monitoring
approach is at the core of the stabilization
approach. To facilitate detailed planning and
frequent monitoring, a fine-grained work
package is proposed. The Work Breakdown
Structure (WBS) is planned based on the
smallest discernable work entity, the task
(see example in Figure 1), and further divided
into work zones (see Figure 2).
The research hypothesis is that the combined
use of small work packages and continuous
monitoring of work execution increases
workflow stability. A surrogate of such
hypothesis is that such combination
enhances decision making through the early
detectionofandresponsetotrendsandevents.
Productivity
Production
Management
2D/3D
Design
Cost
Planning
Productivity
Schedule
Planning
Cost
Controlling
Data
Analysis
Productivity
Historical
Database
The productivity rates are monitored during execution and further
fed into the historical productivity database. Actual productivity rates
are used to adjust resource allocation and stabilize workflows (Figure 5).
Specifically, project engineers can compare actual production rates
with historical records; e.g. to identify anomalies. Historic production
rates are used in pre-qualification of subcontractors.
Planned
Schedule
Task Duration = Task Quantity × Production Rate ÷ Number of Crew
As-Designed
BIM
Historical Data
Planned
Resources
Figure 3: Enhanced Resource Balancing with Stabilization Approach
Taping
Wall Layout
Framing of
Studs
Hanging of
Drywall