Lean-based diagnosis and improvement for offsite construction factory manufacturing facilities

摘要

In current practice, manufacturing companies have daily outputs that are expected to meet the company's targeted production level. In construction, there is an increasing trend toward buildings being manufactured off-site rather than through traditional stick-built methods on site. This trend has created a demand for construction companies to subcontract work and to seek new efficiencies in their operations. In reference to the production line, regardless of how hard an employee works, there are certain limitations that impede a worker's productivity. To reduce or remove these limitations, many companies have begun to implement Lean methodologies in order to reduce waste in the production process. However, before improving the productivity of the production line, an analysis of the entire manufacturing process must be conducted. This paper introduces the methodologies that can be used to evaluate the production process on both weekly and monthly bases to ensure a consistent productivity rate; this research can be implemented in a variety of manufacturing settings. As a case study, it is implemented at Fortis LGS Structures Inc., an Edmonton-based offsite construction company that produces light gauge steel wall panels; Fortis has been working closely with researchers at the University of Alberta to identify areas of waste and improvements which can be implemented to help increase the productivity of future projects.