Quantifying lean construction effects: a discrete system simulation approach

Abstract

This research deals with quantifying the effects of implementing lean construction using discrete system simulation. A medium sized project for which the daily reports were detailed and available is studied. The project was classified into activities and processes and these processes were identified as value added and non-value added. To obtain the productivity data of these processes, standards were reviewed and experts were interviewed. A simulation model using Arena was developed and verified for the project. Finally, lean construction criteria were applied using the same simulation model. The results show that using lean construction increased value added time by 14% and decreases the total cycle time of the project by more than 400 hours.