If you have paid any attention to nuclear power plant construction projects over the years, you know that there is a long history of cost overruns and schedule delays on many of them. In fact, many nuclear power plants that were planned in the 1960s...
In 2020, the term “supply chain” entered the mainstream like never before when COVID restrictions substantially impacted the global supply network’s ability to deliver goods and services in a timely manner.
While the pandemic essentially ended...
Energy transition, digital transformation and the need for civil infrastructure including buildings is placing the global economy in a state of change that we have not seen since the (first) industrial revolution. The amount of engineering and...
Current project management practice focuses primarily on what to build (scope), when to build (dates) and who will do the work. Schedules depicting what work needs to be done by whom, and when it needs to be done, establish overall expectations...
What is Operations Science? It is the study of the transformation of resources to create and distribute goods and services. Since the pandemic hit supply chains have been erratic, elongated, and unpredictable.
This conversation highlights the differences and challenges between construction projects and energy transition deployments, with a focus on the need for strategic thinking and consideration of factors such as standardization, local requirements, and...
Hunter Newby and Todd R. Zabelle tackled the impact of supply chain delays and macroeconomic factors on the data center industry, while highlighting the potential for optimization and enhanced transparency in the industry.
COVID 19, the war in Ukraine, industrial action at ports and several other factors, are causing supply chain challenges across all industries including engineering and construction. Additionally, project supply chains are known to be inherently complex...
Todd Zabelle advocates modern production methods in construction to improve safety and efficiency. He outlines a framework for simplifying production processes using a 4-5-3 system. He identifies four verbs and five levers critical to optimizing...
Experts discuss the use of IoT sensors to create smart assets and optimize operations in various industries. They highlight the application of robotics in construction projects, the evolution of IoT, and the importance of data science in real-time data...
Todd recently discussed modernizing construction with Dick Bayer on the Lean Construction Blog’s Podcast. In the conversation, he explored the history of project delivery, including the Three Eras, and pointed out a significant gap in the current...
Todd Zabelle, founder of Strategic Price Solutions and Project Production Institute, outlines construction’s digitalization impact: trends like robotics, autonomous vehicles, and data-driven tech transform the industry. He advocates innovation over...
In his presentation, Todd Zabelle addresses construction industry complexities, advocating for automation and nuanced approaches to improve efficiency. He emphasizes how unique industry characteristics necessitate careful consideration and showcases...
Todd Zabelle, founder of PPI, along with PPI instructor Roberto Arbulu and invited speaker Alex Kunz, discussed Digital Prototyping in Support of CAPE as well as Process Design and Validation. Because of its roots in Operations Science, these advances...
How do we solve the project performance problem? PPI delved into this issue during the Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. D3: Revival 2019 Energy Disruption Conference in November 2019.
Ongoing analysis of efficiency in construction compared to other industries indicates construction continues to fall further behind. There are several reasons for this, but one that is most prevalent is the difference in approach to design and...
The 2018 PPI Symposium incorporated significant discussion about the role of digital technology including artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT sensor and autonomous in support of Project Production Management (PPM) as the means to achieve...
An article in a previous edition of this Journal outlined the evolution of project management over three distinct Eras. Eras 1 & 2 encapsulate conventional project management thinking, while Era 3 describes a Project Production Management framework...
Value Stream Mapping (VSM) is a term that describes a family of popular techniques used to analyze production systems. Popularized in the 1980s by Womack and Jones [1] and the Lean movement, VSM is a staple tool associated with lean practitioners....
A significant gap exists around how to manage work at the frontline, or the point of installation. The inability to effectively manage execution of work is a key reason projects continue to suffer from cost and schedule overruns along with the...
The ever-increasing lead time for products (including materials and permanent equipment) required to deliver a capital project results in increased project delivery costs and operating costs for owners, not to mention the associated loss of revenue and...
Optimizing project outcomes requires that current conceptual thinking and frameworks associated with project delivery are understood. This research proposes that delivery of projects can be best understood through three primary historic eras: Era 1 –...
Project management can be viewed as having developed over 3 distinct time frames, or Eras, in response to the evolving nature and needs of projects over time. Viewing project management through the framework of the 3 Eras provides a number of useful...
Implementing lean means an organization (project or enterprise) transforms itself from a current state to a future state vision that incorporates a lean ideal. This paper proposes a strategy for organizations to increase the likelihood of success when...
As modern projects become increasingly complex, dynamic, and pressed for time, delivering them on time and on budget using traditional means is becoming more and more challenging. Strategic Project Solutions, Inc. (SPS) has successfully extended Lean...
Fabrication is a vital part of the extended production system for a construction project. As shop fabrication is a type of manufacturing and ‘lean thinking’ arose in manufacturing, use of lean concepts and techniques in the management of...
Guidelines are proposed for the design of production systems, which are understood to involve both designing and making products. Production system design serves the three goals of production systems: do the job, maximize value, and minimize waste....
Within the Lean Project Delivery System, the Lean Design phase begins once Project Definition has aligned purposes, criteria, and concepts. It ends when product and process design have been produced and themselves brought into alignment with the...
The superiority of pull-based production systems over traditional batch and queue (mass) is evident and resulting in the transformation of several industries. In White Paper-1 we presented the benefits of pull-based production for AEC projects. In that...
A database program called WorkPlan has been created to systematically develop weekly work plans. Such work plans are used by crew foremen in scheduling work packages and allocating available labor and equipment resources. WorkPlan adopts the Last...
Time-space conflicts are one of the major causes of productivity losses at construction sites, and they are preventable and manageable if identified prior to construction. Current industry practice and project management tools and techniques do not...
How often does a major construction project come in on time and on budget? Why is the answer “hardly ever”?
The construction industry is “deeply disastrously broken,” in the words of Todd R. Zabelle, author of the new book Built to Fail: Why...
