The contributions of the Last Planner System to resilient performance in construction projects

Abstract

Although the Last Planner System (LPS) has been successfully used in complex construction projects, previous studies have not investigated how it supports resilient performance (RP), which is crucial for the construction industry. To address this gap, a case study of using the LPS in refurbishment building projects was conducted. The implementation of LPS was analysed in light of seven principles for the design of resilient systems. Sources of data for this analysis involved documents, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and secondary data. The results pointed out 25 production planning and control practices that contributed to RP, including well-established LPS practices, formalised in the planning standards of the company (32% of the total); formal practices not usually considered as elements of LPS (20%); and informal practices not anticipated by company standards (48%). These findings indicate that although LPS contributes to RP, it must be complemented by other practices, either formal or informal. A set of well-established practices (e.g. hierarchical planning, identification and removal of constraints, collaborative meetings, and use of lagging and leading indicators) are those most logically connected to the principles of design for RP. This study also offers insights into some LPS limitations (e.g. low control frequency and overemphasis on production in relation to other functional dimensions), which indicate opportunities for the development of new production planning and control approaches supportive of RP.

Keywords:

• Last Planner System
• construction projects
• complexity
• resilience
• production planning and control

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of the research and ethical restrictions, supporting data is not available.