Browsing by Author "Kunz, John"

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    Identifying waste in virtual design and construction practice from a Lean Thinking perspective: A meta-analysis of the literature
    (PONTIFICIA UNIV CATOLICA CHILE, ESCUELA CONSTRUCCION CIVIL, 2016) Mandujano, Maria G.; Alarcon, Luis F.; Kunz, John; Mourgues, Claudio
    In recent years, the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has broadly expanded the use of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC), particularly Lean Construction methods, to deliver value to their customers. VDC includes the use of Production Management using Lean methods as an integral part of the defining theory and method, and multiple case studies have concluded that the greatest performance improvement is achieved by implementing both initiatives together. This paper reviews extensive literature of VDC and Lean Construction with the intent to show benefits in the application of Lean Construction in the actual practice of VDC and to provide examples of waste and opportunities for improvement in projects if Lean methods are applied. This study found that use of Lean methods can help to reduce waste within the VDC process, in the phase of information flow (process view). Specifically, our main finding from this study was that only five types of waste represent 80% of the referenced occurrence of waste in VDC processes, which suggests that if teams use Lean Methods and focus on elimination of these types of waste (i.e., motion (excess), inventory (excess), overproduction, waiting and employee knowledge (unused)), teams can improve VDC practices dramatically.
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    Method to produce field instructions from product and process models for cast-in-place concrete operations
    (ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV, 2012) Mourgues, Claudio; Fischer, Martin; Kunz, John
    The state-of-practice method to produce good and formal work instructions for construction laborers takes time, is error prone and produces outcomes with inconsistent format and content. That is why contractors rely on verbal work instructions in spite of the field mistakes and inefficiencies that this poor communication produces. Our research addresses the underlying scientific problem of this practical quandary: the lack of a formal method that defines the steps and information needed to produce good work instructions from a company's best practices and a project's 3D product model.