Theory and Application of Takt-time Planning in Project-based Production

需要一种新的概念来规划和交付建筑-工程-建筑(AEC)项目，因为今天的方法经常失败：项目迟到，超出预算，而且容易发生事故。这给公共和私人设施所有者、其他利益攸关方和整个社会带来了不适当的负担。失败的原因是所使用的规划方法不充分，特别是那些过分注重最大限度地利用资源而忽视网络影响和变异性的系统影响的规划方法。本研究提出了一种基于Takt时间的方法。Takt指的是工作进展的节拍；它被成功地用于重复性制造(例如，精益生产)。在AEC项目生产中使用Takt时间是一种新颖的方法。该方法已经试行，前景看好，但必须进行正式研究。该奖项支持基础研究，包括设计、分析和测试Takt时间计划(TTP)的原理、方法和计算优化工具。这种方法的目标是在总成本限制内优化项目交付速度，并提供持续改进的机制。研究TTP方法在改善项目交付绩效方面的潜在应用，将推动项目生产理论的发展。使用新的计划模型，一旦形成、理解和记录，将提高项目交付的可靠性，使所有利益相关者受益。在科学、技术、工程和数学方面代表性不足的学生将从事这项研究。研究成果将被整合到工程课程中，并向行业传播，以促进使用更系统的方法来规划和交付设施。现有的规划模型侧重于最大化资源利用率(点速度)和针对使用时间的不确定性的缓冲(调度缓冲)，这以牺牲吞吐量为代价。这项研究颠覆了现有计划方法中使用的范例，将重点放在整体项目交付绩效和容量缓冲上。使用产能规划意味着明智地将劳动力和设备等生产资源的利用率降低到100%以下，以便它们拥有备用产能，随时减轻变化的负面影响，从而避免全系统范围的影响。因此，基于Takt时间的概念，将设计和开发一种新的项目计划方法。将创建计算机算法，以自动确定区域和相应的TAKT时间，以适应项目交付的不同阶段的特点。它们的最佳性和稳健性将使用建筑信息建模(BIM)和离散事件模拟来确定。在对TTP进行虚拟研究的同时，将在实际项目中部署该方法，以揭示其成功部署所必须解决的社会技术系统特征。从实际项目中学习将反过来促进算法的进一步改进。

A new conceptualization for planning and delivering Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) projects is needed because today's approaches all too often fail: projects are late, over budget, and accident prone. This unduly burdens public and private facility owners, other stakeholders, and society at large. Failure stems from the inadequacy of the planning methods being used, especially those that focus disproportionately on maximizing resource utilization while ignoring network effects and the systemic impacts of variability. This research counterposes a method based on Takt time. Takt refers to the beat with which work progresses; it is being used successfully in repetitive manufacturing (e.g., Lean Production). The use of Takt time in AEC project production is novel. The method has been piloted and is promising, but must be formally studied. This award supports fundamental research that involves designing, analyzing, and testing principles, methods, and computational optimization tools for Takt time planning (TTP). The objective of this method is to optimize project delivery speed within total cost limits, and to provide a mechanism for continuous improvement. Investigation of the potential uses of the TTP method to improve project delivery performance will advance the theory of project production. Use of the new planning model, once formulated, understood, and documented, will increase the reliability with which projects get delivered, to the benefit of all stakeholders. Students underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will be engaged in conducting this research. Research findings will be integrated into engineering curricula and disseminated to industry to promote the use of more systemic methods for planning and delivering facilities.Existing planning models focus on maximizing resource utilization (point speed) and buffer for uncertainty using time (schedule buffers), which comes at the expense of throughput. This research flips the paradigm used in existing planning methods to one that focuses on overall project delivery performance and buffers with capacity. Planning using capacity means judiciously under-loading production resources, such as labor and equipment, to less than 100% utilization, so that they will have stand-by capacity to readily mitigate negative impacts of variation, thereby avoiding system-wide repercussions. Accordingly, a novel method for project planning will be designed and developed, based on the concept of Takt time. Computer algorithms will be created to automate the determination of zones and corresponding Takt times, suited to characteristics of various phases of project delivery. Their optimality and robustness will be established using Building Information Modeling (BIM) and discrete-event simulation. In parallel with the virtual study of TTP, the method will be deployed on actual projects so as to reveal socio-technical system characteristics that must be addressed for its successful deployment. Learning from actual projects will in turn inform further refinement of algorithms.