Managing On-Site Production Using an Activity and Flow–Based Construction Model
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150, Issue 1
Abstract
Schedule conformance depends on construction activities starting and finishing on time. However, construction activities are often delayed because construction flows necessary to start their execution are unavailable. Construction flows can be classified into: labor, equipment, workspace, materials, precedence, information, and external. Current construction models do not formally represent, measure, and track all flow types. Hence, field managers lack formal methods for managing flows and instead rely on their intuition and experience managing them. This paper presents a construction model based on activities and flows called the activity–flow model (AFM). The AFM formally represents the activities, the flows, and their interactions. The AFM was validated prospectively through its implementation on three building projects that were in different phases (foundations, core and shell, and finishing), at different geographic locations (Bogota, Copenhagen, and Lima), and used different planning and control methods (master schedule and weekly planning, last planner system, and location-based management system). The AFM was able to represent all the activities and flows in the test projects, track variations of activities and flows, and quantify activity and flow variability. Field managers can use the metrics enabled by the AFM to plan and control the project. Such proactive flow management can help field managers improve flow readiness, which should reduce activity delays and improve schedule conformance.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) for its financial support of this work.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150 • Issue 1 • January 2024
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 8, 2023
Accepted: Aug 29, 2023
Published online: Oct 24, 2023
Published in print: Jan 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Mar 24, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Business management
- Construction engineering
- Construction equipment
- Construction management
- Construction materials
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Equipment and machinery
- Flow measurement
- Management methods
- Managers
- Materials engineering
- Measurement (by type)
- Personnel (type)
- Personnel management
- Practice and Profession
- Scheduling
- Systems engineering
- Systems management
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