Masonry Process Improvement Using Lean Construction

Abstract

Lean construction has been discussed in construction industry in this decade. It has been used as an analysis tool to reduce waste generated during construction work processes. Plastering process is a process found in every construction project in Thailand. It is known as a process causing lots of project wastes and time loss. In this research, a reinforced concrete residential building was used comparing traditional process with new process with lean construction. Firstly, a focus group was conducted summarizing wastes found in the processes from construction experts. A fishbone diagram was created based on the summary. Then the lean value stream map was created for mapping plastering process in the project. The results show that, although the process steps were the same between before and after modification, total times decreased about 50% from 32,600 minutes to 16,500 minutes. The major wastes found in preparation process which moved closer to the plastering area. Other processes such as mixing mortar and equipment washing can be done simultaneously as well.