Dissertations on Lean construction since 1999

The dissertation (abstract) by Ricardo Mendes Jr., submitted in September, 1999 to Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil, deals with production scheduling on multi-story building construction. The thesis (written in Portuguese) explores the application of the Last Planner method joined with an information system in order to do all the scheduling and control tasks on simple software solutions such as spreadsheets. Another method investigated is Line of Balance. The paper presented in Berkeley by Mendes and Heineck summarizes some key ideas of the dissertation.

The dissertation (abstract) by Aguinaldo dos Santos, submitted to the Salford University in October, 1999, investigates the application of flow principles in the production management of construction sites. He provides a detailed overview on the evolution of production management thinking, and based on that, he investigated to which extent the principles of modern production management (like reduction of variability) are applied in England and Brazil. For the first time, the various abstract principles of lean production are systematically interpreted in the practical context of construction.

Glenn Ballard from Lean Construction Institute submitted a dissertation (abstract) to the University of Birmingham in May, 2000. His theme is the Last Planner system of production control. The following two questions have driven his research: What can be done by way of tools provided and improved implementation of the Last Planner system of production control to increase plan reliability above the 70% PPC level? How/Can Last Planner be successfully applied to increase plan reliability during design processes?

The dissertation (abstract) by Lauri Koskela, submitted to Helsinki University of Technology, was examined in a public defence also in May, 2000. This thesis endeavors to answer to two specific questions: Is it possible to formulate a theory of production? Does such a theory add to our understanding and lead to improved performance when applied to construction?

The dissertation (in Portuguese) (abstract) of Ercilia Hirota, submitted to the University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in March 2001, focuses on the need for the development of managers' competencies for a proper appreciation of Lean Construction, assuming that the adoption of this theoretical framework by the industry requires a change in the current construction management paradigm. The author proposes the use of Action Learning approach to promote the development of managers' competencies concerning the introduction of Lean Construction concepts and principles. Some conceptual contributions to Action Learning approach and a better understanding of the barriers to the application of Lean Construction concepts and principles are the main results of this study.

In the dissertation (in Portuguese) (abstract) of Maurício Bernardes, submitted to the University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil in 2001, the main objective is to identify how construction companies can develop their production planning and control systems, using Lean Construction core concepts and principles. The study is focused on small sized construction companies, since these companies usually do not have much resources to invest in process improvement. One of the main conclusions of the study is the proposition that the development of production planning and control systems for small sized construction companies should be based on models that establish guidelines for the implementation of their information systems. This is due to the fact that most companies do not know how to develop such systems. The study also indicated the need to involve users and consider their perceptions in order to minimize possible barriers to implementation.

If not otherwise indicated, copies of each dissertation can be requested from the respective author.