In construction, workflow variability has been associated with poor project performance such as higher work in process, longer activity durations, and project completion delays. In this paper, we analyze the advantages and limitations of state-of-the-art tools and methods for managing workflow in the field, seeking to understand the importance of measuring the activity flows to anticipate variability in the activities' execution. We found that current methods are insufficient to help field managers understand the impact that variability in the activity flows has on activity execution, and understand how variability is propagated between activities. As a result, field managers cannot anticipate the impact of workflow variability and rely on their experience and intuition managing workflow variability during look-ahead planning. We propose a theoretically based workflow model that formally represents construction workflow variability to help field managers analyze the in-project workflow variability and its impact on downstream activities. We developed the model by extending existing representations of construction workflow with the mechanisms that cause workflow variability.
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