MAIN SOURCE :IMPROVING CONSTRUCTION LOGISTICS Report of the Strategic Forum for Construction Logistics Group August 2005

LOGISTICS & PRODUCTIVITYPART 1

Construction Productivity-Logistics

Construction industry has been slower than other industries to realise the benefits that the application of good logistics can provide.

engaging designers at the very early stages of construction process,

This allows them to consider important issuessuch as: how the components they design might be

delivered to site,

Construction Productivity-Logistics when the component will be needed,

Is the supplier located close to the site, Is the supplier in UK or abroad? how it will be handled on site,

This kind of pre-planning can lead to asubstantial reduction in: Unnecessary transport costs, time wasting, and damage on site.

Construction Productivity-LogisticsSteps to take:

1. Identify the key issues that need to be addressed to improve logistics,

Develop an Action Plan:1. MUST highlight every steps is needed to be

undertaken by the different parts of the industry.Establish a Methods:1. by which the impact of the proposals in the

Action Plan can be measured,2. a resulting improvement in logistics must be

demonstrated,

Construction Productivity-LogisticsOriginating from this, chose to focus on important variables such as:

1. Design 2. Transport 3. Stockholding4. Housekeeping 5. More efficient use of on-site labour.

ConstructionProductivity(Logistics)

Identify thekey issues

Develop anAction Plan

Establish aMethods

HousekeepingEfficient use ofon-site labour

StockholdingTransportDesign

Right Quantities at the right time,Supply Chain Management,Just-In-Time techniques.

20%-50% ofskilled worker’stime are usedfor non-skilled

works.

WARNING POOR

HOUSEKEEPINGPoor organization of

storage areaMultiple handling

Access to storage obscuredExcessive waste

Lack of coordinationbetween delivery and the

use of materialsLate arrival of materialsRemobilization of labour

after a delayPoor supply chain

No policy of:Reduce > Reuse > Recycle

Over-orderingSite Waste Management

Plans and ...

HIGHPRODUCTIVITY

CONCENTRATE ON

Construction Productivity-Logistics Inadequacy of logistics in the construction

process can be demonstrate in areas such as:

part-loads lorries, whereas the retail sector and manufacturing

industry are constantly working to consolidate delivery loads to ;

1. maximise volume of delivery for each trip,2. reduce transport costs,

Construction Productivity-Logistics

Many deliveries arriving at construction sites must wait to gain access to site,

wait for a long time to be unloaded, This becomes more of a problem when

project is big, or it is in the heart of the town, Retail and other sectors designate time

slots for supplier deliveries. Construction industry should follow time

slot policy.

Construction Productivity-LogisticsIn retail late or early deliveries can be turned away, suppliers are charged a penalty. In construction, skilled craftsmen are often being asked to carry

out non skilled workers job.Some observers argue that: some times 50% of skilled worker’s time are

used for non-skilled works.

Construction Productivity-Logistics Amongst the non-skilled work, skilled workers

often get involved in: unloading lorries, moving products around site, they are asked to clear site from waste/hazards, Other industrial and retail sectors use special

equipment to unload lorries, There are specially trained teams to deal with

material handling activities.

Construction Productivity-Logistics products are often stored on site for long

periods of time, have to be moved to other parts of the site

when they are eventually needed. Unlike JIT deliveries-materials get damaged

on site, As a result material wastage are high in

some sites. Waste control and logistics have a strong

correlation.

Construction Productivity-Logistics Retailers /other industries are continually

trying to reduce inventories, Make sure that goods are stored in the

most appropriate location. Effort goes into: delivering the right quantities at the right

time, This has been achieved through the use of

lean methods such as:

Construction Productivity-Logistics Supply Chain Management, Just-In-Time techniques. It is based on lean manufacturing, of the Toyota

Production system. developed by Taichii Ohno in the 1950s. Lean construction is a process used to maximize

value and reduce waste. Lean construction comes from Lean production. It captures these objectives through the use of

Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Just-In-Time (JIT) techniques,

Construction Productivity-Logistics In construction-higher proportion of damaged

and waste product than in other sectors. There is little formal training in logistics, there are a large number of tasks that needs

proper planning, They come under good logistics . In many other sectors, training in logistics skills

is given much greater priority, some companies employ people with degrees

in the subject,

Construction Productivity-Logistics specialist contractors often arrive on site too

early or too late, They always claim that previous job finished

later than it was expected. Good manufacturers plan their work properly. There continues to be much secondary working

on site. whereas other industrial sectors make every

effort to get it right first time. Avoiding multiple handling.

Construction Productivity-Logistics What are the consequences of poor

Logistics?Unnecessary cost in the system Research by Building Services Research

and Information Association (BSRIA) in the 10 years since 2000 has shown that:

on average 10% of the working day of site operatives in all trades is lost due to:

waiting for materials,

Construction Productivity-Logistics collecting materials, tools, equipment. site operations account for about 30% of

construction costs, this would suggest that this inefficiency

alone is adding about £3billion to the annual cost of construction.

Construction Productivity-LogisticsPoor image of the construction industry Lorries waiting on the main road to unload

does not give the image of an efficient industry.

Poorly run sites with skilled craftsmen being used for un-skilled jobs,

This will reduce the construction productivity.

Construction Productivity-Logistics Excessive waste on site does not represent a

good image, environmental concerns should be at the top

of its agenda, large amounts of waste being removed from

site, Approximately around 85% of which goes to

landfill. companies are expected to pay attention into

corporate social responsibility.

Construction Productivity-LogisticsPoor quality construction work

Working in a non productive manner will inevitably make the industry non profitable,

Less competitive both nationally and internationally.

Work interrupted whilst materials are brought from elsewhere on site.

This will cause disruption on site. As a result this will delay work.

Construction Productivity-Logistics Activities will finish later than scheduled

time. Puts the entire project duration time

behind by weeks. Work delayed whilst products are

delivered. An adverse effect on quality. Making products on site is also less likely

to provide the same quality of product that could be manufactured off site.

Construction Productivity-LogisticsIncreased project time Most of the problems on site point to poor

logistics. This will add to the time of construction

projects. Delays whilst product is unloaded. Subsequent movement of products around

site for use. Also, secondary working of product all add

unnecessary time.

Construction Productivity-LogisticsAdded risks to health and safety unnecessary work bring with it unnecessary

waste, waste stored on site inevitably bring with them

additional potential hazards, additional manual handling will produce more

waste, most of the back injuries are as result of

handling heavy materials on site. product is in the wrong part of the site,

Construction Productivity-Logistics the right equipment is not available, adds to the health risks to those on site, secondary working of material also brings

risks, Research has shown that a number of

accidents on site occur as a result of workers tripping over discarded material.

Often arising from secondary working.

Construction Productivity-Logistics What are the potential benefits from

improving Logistics? There is a widespread belief that substantial

savings are achievable. Estimates range from those who believe costs

could be reduced by 10%. Others argue that savings of up to 30% can

be achieved. Another potential benefits from improving

Logistics is an improvement on site safety.

Construction Productivity-Logistics well documented case study is the Mid –

City Place development in Central London. A strategy was developed to reduce

issues such as: multi-handling, repeated moving of materials, accidents on site, waste reduction, hazard free site,

Construction Productivity-LogisticsImproved logistics often lead to: some 25% to 35% less material waste than

benchmark sites, distribution of material with less pair of hoists, almost 100% performance in materials being

distributed in the right time and place. the idea of JIT lean construction, quality management, quality control,

Construction Productivity-Logistics Logistics had contributed to a project/case

study being completed 11 weeks ahead of the planned programme.

With a build rate 60% ahead of the industry benchmark.

Building cost 80% of industry benchmark. Also, 675,000 hours worked without a

single reported accident.

Construction Productivity-Logistics Another case study undertaken as part

of the CITB Construction Skills research.

Called ‘Accelerating change through Supply Chain Management’.

Programme was developed for delivering 10,000 kitchens to a housing refurbishment programme.

Construction Productivity-Logistics It was based on a ‘just in time’ basis, This resulted in a considerable reduction

of: Waste on site, Storage, double handling of materials, Also, without a single reported accident.

Construction Productivity-Logistics All those involved saw the considerable

benefit arising from JIT. Measuring these benefits on construction site

has proved to be more difficult then it was anticipated.

This is because of the attitudes of ‘business as normal’.

Finally, improvements that have been achieved are compared with bench mark.