Improving Planning Reliability and Project Performance Using the Reliable Commitment Model
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136, Issue 10
Abstract
Commitment planning reliability at an operational level is a key factor for improving project performance. In the last 15 years, the Last Planner System, a production planning and control system based on lean production principles, has improved commitment planning reliability in the construction industry. However, many construction decision makers continue to rely on their experience and intuition when planning their commitments, which hinders their reliability. The reliable commitment model (RCM) is proposed to improve commitment planning reliability at the operational level by using statistical models. RCM is an operational decision-making tool based on lean principles that supports short-term forecasting commitment planning using common-site information such as workers, buffers, and plans. RCM was tested in several case studies, demonstrating its production forecasting capabilities and its ability to help increase commitment planning reliability and improve project performance. RCM also supports workload and labor capacity matching decisions. RCM has the potential of becoming a useful production decision-making tool.
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Acknowledgments
The writers gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Felipe González and Sebastián Fuster, who contributed with additional empirical data used in this paper.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 136 • Issue 10 • October 2010
Pages: 1129 - 1139
Copyright
© 2010 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 19, 2009
Accepted: Mar 10, 2010
Published online: Mar 16, 2010
Published in print: Oct 2010
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