Just in Time Construction Method

RMB 511 CASE STUDY: INNOVATION IN THE MALAYSIAN HOUSING INDUSTRY
TABLE OF CONTENT
Description Page No.
Report Objectives & Task framework 3
Chapter 1: Introduction and Understanding of JIT
1.0 History of JIT Concept 4
1.1 Definitions 5
1.2 The Concept And Philosophy 7
1.3 The JIT principles 7
Chapter 2 : JIT in Manufacturing
2.0 Implementation in Automobile Manufacturing 11
2.1 Ford KA in JIT 13
Chapter 3 : JIT in Construction Industry
3.0 Application in Construction Industry : An Overview 17
3.1 Factors That Influence Housing Developers to use JIT concept
in Construction Industry 18
3.2 Issues And Challenges in Construction Industry 25
3.3 Problem Areas 30
3.4 Strategy in Construction JIT 33
3.5 Conclusion 35
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Chapter 4 : JIT and IBS
4.0 JIT and IBS 37
4.1 Classification of IBS 38
4.2 Value Stream Mapping 42
4.3 Example Structural Steel Supply Chain in Building Construction 44
Chapter 5 : Case Studies
5.0 Case study 1 49
Case Study 2 53
Case Study 3 56
Chapter 6 : Case Study Malaysian Scenario (PUTRAJAYA) 60
Chapter 7 : Conclusion 68
References 70
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Report Objectives :
1. To get a better Understanding of Just-In-Time (JIT) Philosophy and Concept

2. To identify the factors that influence the housing developer firms to innovate,
that is by adopting new ideas, new concept, new process or introducing new
idea, or new procedure of doing things in to their organization.
3. To identify the factors that stop, discourage, or deterred the firms from
innovation JIT concept in the Construction Industry
Task Framework :
Understanding of JIT concept
Implementation in Manufacturing Industry Implementation in Construction Industry
Issues and Challenges in implementing

JIT concept in Construction Industry
Recommendation and Solutions towards the

implementation
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION OF JUST-IN-TIME
1.0 History of the JIT concept
JIT is a technique developed by Taichi Ohno and his fellow workers at Toyota.
Ohno's fundamental purpose was to change production's directives from estimates
of demand to actual demand--a purpose originally rooted in the absence of a mass
market and the need to produce small lots of many product varieties. It was based
on lean manufacturing, that an outgrowth of the Toyota Production system was
developed by Taichii Ohno in the 1950s. Ohno had observed mass production at
Ford Motor Corporation’s manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and recognized that
there was much waste everywhere.
Ohno identified seven wastes in mass production systems – overproducing,

waiting time, transporting, processing itself, having unnecessary stock on hand,
using unnecessary motion and producing defective goods. Very importantly, Ohno
visualized a failure to meet customers’ needs as waste. The Toyota Production
System was based on the “Just –In – Time (JIT) philosophy; its three tenets were
minimizing waste in all forms, continuous improvement of processes and systems,
and maintaining respect for all workers. It resulted in reduced inventories (and
space) higher human productivity; better equipment productivity and utilization,
shorter lead times, fewer errors, and higher morale. JIT is a pull system that
responds to actual customer demand. In essence, products are “pulled from ” the
JIT system. JIT only commits the resources needed to meet the customer’s needs.
In the mid – 1970’s Toyota reduced the time needed to produce a car from fifteen
days to one day, using JIT.
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Supply Chain Management (SCM) emerged as part of the Just in Time

delivery system; its primary focus was logistical to control the interface between
suppliers and Toyota, facilitating the provision of supplies precisely on time, in
required quantities. A supply chain encompasses all the activities that lead to
having an end user provided with a product or service – the chain is comparable to
a network that provides a conduit for flows in both directions, such as materials,
information, funds, paper, and people. It typically effects major economies by
reducing inventories. SCM has been developed further as a management concept
and incorporates features of JIT.
1.1 Definitions : Reviews of JIT Philosophy
JIT has gained considerable interest because it allows a company to produce

high quality products with reduced waste and with increased levels of productivity.
Several authors have discussed the JIT philosophy, including Sugimori et al,
Mullins, Monde, Hoeffer, Nelleman and Smith, Schonberger, McElroyHall, Harper,
and Richard.
Schonberger describes the JIT system as to: "produce and deliver finished
goods just in time to be sold, sub-assemblies just in time to be assembled into
finished goods, and purchased materials just in time to be transformed into
fabricated parts". Schonberger also categorises the benefits of JIT into the following
five groups:
(1) Part cost — low scrap cost, low inventory cost.
(2) Quality — fast detection and corrections, and higher quality of parts purchased.
(3) Design — fast response to engineering change.
(4) Administrative efficiency — fewer suppliers, minimal expediting and release

papers, and simple communication and receiving.
(5) Productivity — reduced rework, reduced inspection and reduced parts delay.
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Monden describes JIT as "a production system to produce the kind of units
needed, at the time needed and in the quantities needed". Whilst Harper describes
it as "the hottest and most controversial subject facing manufacturers and
distributors". The interest in JIT amongst manufacturers, suppliers and distributors
is understandable especially if their products have to face home and international
competition from manufacturers who have implemented the JIT principles
effectively.
Monden also discusses the various factors which constitute smoothed

production at Toyota under the various types of Kanbans and their usages and
rules. He describes the techniques Toyota applied to achieve a short supply lot
production time, waiting time and conveyance time. He also identifies four concepts
that comprise the Japanese approach to reducing set-ups.
Hall states that JIT "is not confined to a set of techniques for improving
production defined in the narrowest way as material conversion. It is a way to
visualize the physical operations of the company from raw material to customer
delivery". There is no aspect of management which JIT does not touch.
It eliminates waste in all areas of manufacturing — including marketing,

planning, sales and production — whilst maintaining and possibly improving
customer services because it identifies and changes manufacturing conditions which
cause waste to exist.
According to Hoeffer, the JIT system is a combination of purchasing,

inventory control and production management functions. Materials are purchased in
small quantities with frequent deliveries just in time when they are needed. Under
the JIT system, the parts needed for one day's operations in a manufacturing or
assembly line are supplied by in-plant sources of suppliers for immediate use.
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The benefits of using the JIT philosophy became of particular interest

forconcerns because of rising manufacturing costs arising from increasing labour
and material costs in the late 1970s, its efficiency being achieved through:
(1) suppliers' co-operation and support;
(2) commitment of every person within the organisation, and
(3) small size purchasing, smoothing production, designing flexible processes,

standardising jobs and employing Kanban.
1.2 Concept and Philosophy

The JIT concept was developed by Taiichi Ohno (Hartley, J. R. 1981) of
Toyota to improve Toyota’s competitiveness in the global market and soon it was
adopted by many Japanese industries. By early 1980s, many Western managers
found themselves losing ground in the manufacturing “race” against the Japanese.
Imai (Imai,M. 1991) liked many other Japanese, attributed the Japanese industrial
success to the concept of JIT. According to Pooler (Pooler, V. H. and D. J. Pooler.
1997), a common misconception of many managers in the eighties (and even
today) is that JIT, in a narrow sense, was another planning tool that simply requires
all the supplies to be shipped exactly as needed on time. In fact JIT has a much
broader perspective than that understanding. It is a broad-based philosophy of
management, which embraces everybody in the organization and covers every
process towards a culture of never ending or continuous improvement by removing
wastes and non-value-adding processes.
1.3 The JIT Principle
The JIT philosophy, also commonly known as the Toyota production system,
originates from Japan. Toyota was the first company to implement this system
which streamlined production with minimum holding inventory. Land costs in Japan
are high due to its scarcity. Inventory takes up space and down capital. In the JIT
philosophy, raw materials are not stocked up. Instead, they are delivered in the
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right quantities, in the right condition, to the right place, and at the right time for
production. JIT has proven to work well in the manufacturing sector (Lim and Low,
1992; and Chan 1997).
The fundamentals of JIT are very much intertwined and related to another. To
simplify this management philosophy, its concept can be explained using the
following six key principles:
1. Kanban or pull system

One of the principle of JIT concepts is the kanban or “pull” system. This
principle can be effected only if the other principle of JIT are executed in
totality. The essence of this principle is simply that the flow of materials is
“pulled” by the demand side. Without authorized kanbans (or “pull”
demands) from a workstation is not allowed to sent any materials forward.
2. Top Management commitment and employee involvement

Top management is the driving force and executive power for JIT
implementation. Management’s efforts and time commitments are necessary
to ensure that disciplined and correct operations are carried out accordance
with the JIT concept. A motivation and workforce will provide the desirable
for production. Management and employee must constantly seek continuous
improvements to existing work. Process so that the production system can be
further streamline and its lead time shortened. JIT is about improvement and
should be regarded as a means to an end and not an end itself. Continuous
improvement is only possible if employee involvement stays commuted to
the philosophy.
3. Elimination of waste
Under the JIT concept, waste is defined as anything that does not as add
value to the final product. Excess inventory is regarded as waste since no
value is added by stoking up inventory. In addition, inventories takes up
space, tie down capital, incurs storage cost, as well as security and insurance
costs; not to mention the risk of damage during storage as well as the risk of
obsolescence.
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The JIT concept therefore calls for zero inventory or buffer stocks. Waiting
time, inspection time and time spent at rectifying defects deemed wasteful.
Thus, getting things done the first “time right” is another doctrine of the JIT
concept.
4. Total Quality Control (TQC)

Production operations can be proceed in the JIT and the fashion only if the
part delivered are the of good enough quality for the use. Rejection of
materials due to poor quality will grievously disrupts the whole production
workflow and schedule. Any savings and productivity gains from JIT will be
wiped away. Hence, the JIT concept must also encompass the total Quality
Control concept for smooth, just-in-time execution of the work processes.
5. Uninterrupted work flow

JIT production warrants an interrupted work process. Since each workstation
pulls materials from the previous one, without keeping any backup inventory,
any disruption at any point in the production line would impact the entire
chain of activities, it is therefore, essential to ensure that the manufacturing
process is uninterrupted. Simplifying the work processes and striving to
reduce the process set-up time are useful ways to better ensure continuous
operations.
6. Supplier relation: single-sourcing

With materials flowing into the factory on a JIT basis, coordination with
suppliers is utmost importance in order to ensure that the right materials
come at the right time. Too many suppliers will cause management to have
less time with each supplier for liaising, expediting orders, and feedback and
coordination efforts. JIT therefore emphasizes on the need to reduce the pool
of supplier and, eventually, work towards a single supply source. This
requires the forging of long term business relationship founded on mutual
trust and benefits. The single supplier, with assured business over the long
term, will then be able to invest in machinery and automation to improve
productivity and reduce costs.
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This is, in turn, works well for the production company as the supplier is able
to supply better quality materials and at the lower cost. It would be easier to
manage smaller group of suppliers. Manager will be able to spend more
quality time with the reduce number of suppliers. Managers will be able to
spend more quality time with the reduce number of suppliers and ensure that
the JIT production is well supported by all the crucial JIT deliveries.
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CHAPTER 2
JIT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
2.0 Just-In-Time (JIT) and Its Implementation in Automobile

Manufacturing Industry
JIT is one of the examples of early-landed future manufacturing idealism that

requires continuous collaborated refinements throughout its supply chain elements.
It has been used since 1950s by Japanese automotive industries and yet, according
to Karlsson (1994), none of the most developed countries would have even
considered this methodology until early 1980s. Researchers tried really hard to
explain JIT concept in a short descriptive sentence and none of them were able to
come up with a single answer that represents everyone’s definitions. Those who
were trying to bring them together were ended up with another new more complex
definition. JIT goes beyond ordinary management theory or a company’s
manufacturing procedures; it comprises production planning, HRM, material
management, distribution, customer services not only involving individual
organisation furthermore requires collaborated cross-companies dedication to
continuously refine the business process of one and another.
Svensson (2001) in his journal argued that the basic of JIT is “no non-
essential activity should be committed prior, during and after any production
phases and wherever beneficial outsourcing is regarded as good as in-house
production”. JIT is understood as event driven production concept which has been
carefully planned and structured to ensure all its components are ready whenever
needed. It is also known as inventory-less production method which allows
minimum stock level only needed for the current manufacturing phase.
Automotive manufacturing industry has become an ideal instance on how JIT

methodology may improve the efficiency of the whole production processes
(Karlsson, 1994). By involving thousands manufacturing steps, there are always
chances for refinement.
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This is to minimize lead times which in turn will boost the production capacity of the
industry as well as its flexibility to response to the market needs. Since this
industry requires large stock to meet the production needs, a better inventory
management system such as JIT will be helpful in reducing costs (Claycomb, 1999).
Ramarapu (1995) stated that, most authors agreed that successful JIT
implementation requires five key elements to be considered.
• Waste reduction: This element’s aim is to eliminate all non-value-added tasks

(Bowen, 1998). The main problem with traditional production method is
resulting from the focus on producing large number of items. With level of
competitiveness and flexibility requirements, this is no longer an appropriate
method to be performed.
• Value-adding production oriented: This element brings the terminology of

“pull-system” which allow customer order to trigger the production process.
Pull system requires immediate respond in order to satisfy customer
requirement therefore avoiding “the goal of producing large batches”
(Bowen, 1998). By grouping products based on their production process
similarity, manufacturer may also add-value to the products by lessening
production complexity, shortening travel and idle time.
• Customer participation in quality improvement: In every business, customer

will have the final say therefore the success of the business can be
determined based on customer satisfaction. This element heavily emphasis
the needs of customer involvement in product development and delivery
(Bowen, 1998). Customer may also be included in development team to
direct them to the right manufacturing plan.
• Employee empowerment: Empowering employees mean dividing problem

solving and decision making responsibilities from management level to its
individual team directly related with the task. With careful planning and
adequate team work, this element will increase quality, productivity and
flexibility of the manufacturing process (Bowen, 1998).
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• Vendor/supplier integration: Undoubtedly, specialized suppliers will normally

produce a better product since they can concentrate in a particular thing. By
outsourcing to those suppliers, a company will be able to put all its time and
resources in its core function which in turn will improve the quality of the
final products (Ramarapu, 1995).
2.1 Ford KA In Just In Time
Production of Ford latest small car, the Ford KA has been a dramatic
improvement compared to Ford previous product, Fiesta (Kochan, 1997). This is a
real example of successful JIT implementation with all its outsourcing strategies.
The production target of 1,100 KA cars per day has been reached only within 8
weeks since the launch date, compared to 15 weeks required for Fiesta. Ford found
that the initial bottleneck was caused by material handling, assembly time and
inbound logistic. Some of the components in Fiesta are supplied by various
suppliers and these components had to be made, loaded in the container and
scheduled for delivery before finally delivered by trucks. This common process is
found to be inefficient as every part has to be continuously handled by human and
this causes big risks of damages, misplaced and imperfection in quality, especially
for cosmetically sensitive and fragile parts such as instrument consoles, electrical
wiring and airbags.
With the new developed JIT system supported with sophisticated aerial
tunnels connecting Ford with its suppliers, production lead times can be minimised,
product quality can be improved, responsiveness towards customer demands can
me boosted and the most important thing is inventory, space requirements,
handling and transportation cost can be dramatically reduced (Kochan, 1997). Ford
is now connected with more than 50 suppliers in Valencia with specifically designed
aerial tunnels. These tunnels are also very useful to transport bulky and heavy
items such as seats and fuel tank. The brain of this amazing system is DAD (direct
automated delivery) which will integrate the whole processes virtually as one
extended manufacturing warehouse.
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DAD will enable a smooth manufacturing process by applying Ford scheduling

system so that all the supplied components being delivered right on time they are
needed. In addition, DAD and its tunnels enable the integration of manufacturing
equipment so that the component being delivered can be immediately installed with
the main body or other components in Ford factory. Summary of
Ford Valencia manufacturing system prior JIT implementation:
• Minimum of 15 weeks to reach full production capacity

• Required at least 3,000 parts to be assembled for each car
• Very small outsourcing involve for car components
• All parts from suppliers are delivered on trucks
• Stock must be kept at certain level to assure the continuity of production
• Parts are often damaged during packaging, handling or delivery
• Spent over $6 million for inefficient delivery system (250+ trucks per day)
• 80 per cent automation in overall
• Manual seats and battery placement and this may cause injury for employee
In a dynamic market trends, pre-JIT system clearly is not responsive enough

as an answer. There are minor inefficiencies throughout the system which
accumulate into serious problem that may cause Ford being less competitive in the
market.
2.1.1 Improvement Process Analysis
The main objectives of JIT are obtaining low-cost high quality products and
on-time production as well as eliminating waste and stagnant stock (Svensson,
2001). Even though most of JIT implementation has similar aim and purposes, the
strategies involved may differ from industry to industry or company to company.
Ford has smartly chosen the right methods and strategies by reducing the barriers
in relation with its suppliers.
Through JIT, Ford is achieving the highest efficiency in car manufacturing

industry. Its plant in Valencia has become the standard and being adopted in its
other plants in many other countries. Apart from its tangible benefits such as
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saving on transport costs, stock/inventory costs, quicker manufacturing process

and minimized risk/wastage, JIT will also bring immediate intangible benefits such
as improved customer satisfaction through immediate responses and shorter
timeframe to respond towards market trends.
Improvements being achieved through JIT implementation:
• Only 8 weeks required to reach full production capacity

• Only 1,200 parts need to be assembled, the rest have been done by its
suppliers
• All the outsource-viable production parts are outsourced
• Automatic delivery system and aerial tunnels are developed to minimise
transport
• There is barely any stock required as most parts are made to order
• The whole manufacturing process including the suppliers are working as one
system
• The need of conventional truck delivery is minimum
• 98 percent automation
• Seats and battery placement are being done by automated high-precision
machines.
There is not enough detail to measure the benefit of JIT implementation

against the pre-JIT system, however from rough analysis Ford will gain the benefit
immediately and get the investment back in virtually no time.
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2.1.2 JIT Cost/Benefit Analysis for Ford Valencia
COSTS BENEFITS
Extending outsourcing Speed-up production process 8weeks
(losing control) Smaller number or manufacturing

parts
$500 million pilot plan and
analysis Concentrating on core business
functions
25% shorter time production time

needed
Accuracy of production on plan
Building aerial tunnels Less handling = less damages / costs
Setup Direct Automated Less conventional transport

Delivery DAD dependent
$16 million delivery system Time saving
Manufacturing seamless integration
Further interest from more suppliers
Saving $6+ million per year on

transport
Figure 1: Cost and Benefits of JIT Implementation in Ford Valencia.
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CHAPTER 3
JIT IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
3.0 Application of JIT in Construction Industry : An Introduction
Much had been discussed on raising the productivity level of the construction
industry which consistently lagged behind other sectors of the economy. The use of
buildable designs was singled out as a means to improve productivity. In so far as
construction management is concerned, the Just-In-Time (JIT) philosophy can be
applied for logistics management on worksites to help raise productivity levels
(Akintoye, 1995).
The JIT philosophy originates from the manufacturing sector. It helps to

smoothen the production process through the efficient handling of materials, i.e. by
providing the right materials, in the right quantities and quality, just in time for
production. Given the very different conditions in the construction setting, it is
inevitable that modifications have to be made to some of the JIT principles where
application is concerned (Low and Chan, 1997). Nevertheless, both the
manufacturing and construction industries require active movement of materials
from the suppliers to the production area in both the factory and the worksite. With
the JIT management system in place, materials may be delivered to site on the
actual day of use or just the day before (Lim and Low, 1992).
Explorative studies have been completed in recent years to see how JIT can
be applied into the construction industry to reap the benefits of the system. Most of
these studies have concluded that it is possible to apply the techniques of JIT in the
construction industry with some modifications. Given the very different conditions
in the construction setting, it is inevitable that modifications have to be made to
some of the JIT principles where application is concerned (Low and Chan, 1997).
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Nevertheless, both the manufacturing and construction industries require

active movement of materials from the suppliers to the production area in both the
factory and the worksite. With the JIT management system in place, materials may
be delivered to site on the actual day of use or just the day before (Lim and Low,
1992).
Therefore, in this chapter, the discussion will view on the application of JIT in
construction whether this approach can be applied on the construction industry.
3.1 Factors That Influence Housing Developers to use JIT concept in

Construction Industry
The successful implementation of JIT is dependent on the suppliers’ flexibility,

users’ stability, total management and employee commitment as well as teamwork.
Through the elimination of waste, JIT aims to improve product quality and
productivity. Waste is considered as non-value adding to an activity. In any
operation, it comprises motion and work. However, only work is a value-adding
activity. Hence, motion is regarded as a form of waste. Wastes include over-
production of components and products, delays in materials and information,
material transportation, unnecessary processing, excess stocks, unnecessary
human activities and defects in material and information. The seven principles of
JIT used to overcome the above problems are now outlined.
(a) Elimination of waste
The fundamental philosophy of JIT is to eliminate waste and under the JIT concept,
construction waste can be classified into the following categories:
1. Waste from over-production
2. Waste from delays
3. Waste from transportation
4. Waste from unnecessary processing
5. Waste from excess inventory
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6. Waste from unnecessary motion

7. Waste from defects.
Construction is schedule driven. Given a well-structured schedule, if

everyone stays on their part of the schedule, the work flows smoothly and
maximum performance is achieved. However, as we all know, it is rare that
projects perform precisely to their original schedule. Business conditions change,
deliveries slip, a design requires correction, etc. If a schedule has sufficient slack in
the impacted activities, changes may not impact end dates. When there is little or
no slack, players are pressured to make it up in accelerated production.
3.1.1 Types of Construction Buffers
There are two types of inventories that can serve the function of buffering
downstream construction processes from flow variation. The most familiar type is
piles of stuff; materials, tools, equipment, manpower, etc. These piles of stuff may
originate in decisions to insert certain time intervals between scheduled activities,
e.g. between fabrication and installation of pipe spools. Consequently, while they
take the form of stuff, they often also represent time added to project duration, so
it call these as "schedule buffers".
Less familiar are inventories of workable assignments, produced by planning

processes that make work ready for downstream production These buffer by
enabling a reliable, predictable flow of output from each process. They need not
imply the existence of piles of stuff, depending upon the predictability of flow
between supplier and customer processes. It will call these inventories of workable
assignments "plan buffers."
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3.1.2 Functions of Schedule Buffers
In the construction of process plants (petroleum, chemical, food processing,

pulp and paper, etc), projects are frequently fast track; i.e. construction begins
before design is completed. Late delivery of drawings and materials has led
construction contractors to demand earlier delivery, reducing the time available for
engineering to complete design, resulting in more delivery problems and demands
for even earlier deliveries.
This is clearly a vicious circle. Large schedule buffers between suppliers and
construction may shield the contractor from the impact of late deliveries, but does
nothing to address the root causes of variation. Further, the shielding is expensive,
both in time and money. There is a better way. A suggested rule: Place schedule
buffers just after processes with variable output. For example, that suggests placing
schedule buffers between engineering and fabrication, rather than between
fabrication and installation. The fabrication and delivery processes are highly
predictable, unless drawings are incorrect or incomplete, or drawings are pulled out
of fabrication to be revised.
A schedule buffer in front of fabrication would provide more time for

engineering to complete its work and do it correctly. It would also provide the
fabricator an opportunity to select and bundle work to meet his needs for
production efficiency and the contractor's needs for quantities and sequence.
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Another suggested rule: Size schedule buffers to the degree of uncertainty and
variation to be managed. Research has shown that schedule buffers are sized
without regard to the toughness of projects; i.e. their level of uncertainty. This
amounts to wasting time and money accumulating piles of stuff not all of which is
needed
3.1.3 Functions of Plan Buffers
Schedule buffers do not replace plan buffers. Plan buffers are necessary even
when schedule buffers are in place because having a pile of pipe does not provide a
piping crew with workable assignments. Pipe spools must match with valves,
controls, hangers, etc. Structures for supporting the pipe must be in place.
Preferably, the spools that can be installed are those that should come next in an
optimum constructability sequence. Assembling physical components, reserving
shared resources, determining optimum sequencing, and sizing assignments to
absorb the productive capacity of the crew is best done prior to making
assignments and committing to what work will be done in the plan period, usually
one week.
Plan buffers, sometimes called backlogs of workable assignments, are the

outputs of make ready processes. They determine what CAN be done as distinct
from what SHOULD be done. Obviously, commitment to what WILL be done next
week can only come from CAN, regardless of the pressure for production and the
need to make up schedule slippages. The common practice of pressuring for
production regardless of CAN is rooted in a theory of construction project
management that disregards capability and management of flows in favor of
schedule push and management of contracts. By monitoring the match of DID with
WILL using the measurement of PPC, the percentage of planned activities
completed, and acting on the root causes of non-completions, we can learn how to
produce better plans and how to do what we plan to do. The implications for work
flow, project durations and productivity are enormous. Think of the complete
construction process, from engineering through installation and start-up, as a
complex of work processes, with work flowing from one to the next. When a
downstream process attempts to plan its work and determine the resources it will
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need, it may have shielded itself from unreliable inflow using piles of stuff or
schedule spacing. However, it only needs those piles of stuff if supplier processes
cannot reliably do what they say they are going to do. If supplier processes
consistently achieve PPCs near 100%, customer processes can plan their work and
match resources to it. Reduction of schedule buffers and better matching of
resources to work flow both contribute to reduction of project time and cost.
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(b) The Kanban or Pull System

Methods of production can generally be organized in two ways, namely the pull
and the push system. In the pull system, organizations produce on demand
whereas in the push system, organizations forecast the demand or maintain stock
level. The advantage of the push system is that since the amount of production is
known in advance, the scheduling of activities needed is predictable. However, a
forecast may be required and therefore there is a possibility of over-production. The
advantage of the pull system is that it is less dependent on estimates when
compared to the push system. However, in the Kanban system, responding to
unexpected demands is not possible.
(c) Uninterrupted workflow

Uninterrupted workflow means that the schedule for the final assembly must be
smooth flowing. Hence, rationalization and simplification of the production process
is necessary. Every process should be reduced to its simplest form before
considering mechanization or automation and the aim is to replace a complex and
expensive process with one that is simple and cheap.
(d) Total Quality Control (TQC)

In order to achieve zero inventories, errors and defective components must be
eliminated in each task. Under TQC, all workers are responsible for ensuring that
their work is defect-free before proceeding to the next stage of operation.
(e) Employee involvement

As noted earlier, the success of JIT implementation is dependent to a great
extent on the teamwork and commitment of every employee. Each employee
should be given adequate training and responsibilities in various areas like
timeliness of production and quality assurance. Employees should be able to set up
and maintain various type of machinery. Involvement can be extended to
suggestion schemes and participation in quality improvement teams.
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(f) Supplier relations

Building a good supplier-user relation is no longer a choice but a necessity. The
quality of the supplies purchased is a critical factor to the quality of an
organisation’s finished products. Hence, an organization must treat suppliers as
long-term business partners so that the quality of materials delivered will always be
maintained at a high standard. This would greatly reduce paperwork, inventory
levels and storage space.
(g) Continuous improvement

An organization should not remain content with its status quo. To maintain its
competitiveness, it should continuously strive to improve operations and the ways
in which activities are carried out. Audits and benchmarking are some of the tools
which an organization can adopt to ensure that its operations are improved
continuously.
The successful implementation of JIT would require a consideration of the seven

principles mentioned above. Once this is achieved, the advantages of implementing
JIT would include:
• Reduction in inventory level (work-in-progress and raw material)
• Reduction in storage space
• Reduction in factory overheads
• Reduction in production costs
• Reduction in rectification works
• Improvement in quality
• Improvement in productivity (Low and Chan, 1997a)
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3.2 Challenges in Implementing JIT in Construction
In reality the application of JIT on construction differs from manufacturing

industry due to its characteristic. The different characteristics exist for the
both industries are in context of different types of production, and because
of the greater complexity and uncertainty of construction. There are several
reasons why the construction industry becomes uncertain and complex. The
construction industry involves a lot of people with different of body knowledge,
skills and experiences. Furthermore, the parties involved in the construction
industry have their own objectives and target to be achieved in certain period of
time. The situation becomes harder because a single actor’s action, ideas and egos
at every stages of construction development may bring different effects to the
whole project. Beside of multiple participants in construction development, the
number of parts, relative lack of standardization and constraining factors easily
make the construction of an automobile factory more difficult than the production of
an automobile in that factory. When this complexity is joined with economic
pressures to minimize time and cost that uncertainty arises in construction is not
surprising.
In Manufacturing , Ohno, in order to allow a downstream process continued working

when a feeder process failed, he has removed the safety stock by minimizing the
inventories between the processes. When the problems occur during the production
process, Ohno required the operators to stop the work if they are unable to fix that
problems.
Logically, it is necessary to fix the problems rather than simply passing bad
product down the line. The problems which arise also became highly visible because
it may result in line stoppages. Forced confrontation with problems together with
analysis to root causes produced a progressively more streamlined and smoother
running production process, with fewer end-of the-line defects and higher
throughput.
How might this concept work in construction? As mentioned earlier in this

chapter, the construction development is a complex task. Therefore, it must be well
Page 25
organized by the management in order to achieve the maximum performance in the

project. However, the well structured schedule provided by the
management is not only the one key factor of project successful. The other
party should stay on their part of the schedule in order to have a smooth work flow
and minimize the problems during the whole process of construction project. In
reality, it is rare that the projects perform precisely to their original schedule. This
situation happened due to changes on internal and external factors related
to construction development, such as business conditions change,
deliveries slip; a design requires correction, etc.
The changes made by the parties may not impact the end dates if the original
schedule has sufficient slack in the impacted activities. The situation will be
different compared to the construction project which is the schedule has a little or
no slack. The players are pressured to make it up in accelerated production. In fact,
this situation may caused delay to construction project which is could bring waste
of times, money, energy, man power and etc. In order to implement the application
of JIT, the priority objective of this application is to eliminate or minimized the
variation and wastage. By the fact show above, is it possible to implement
the JIT on construction?
As we know, the construction industry is also known as 3d’s industry;

danger, dirty and demand. This discussion will concern on the part of dirty because
this item has relation with JIT philosophy.
For an example, in 1998, the Environmental Protection Agency of United

States of America estimated that 136 million tons of building-related waste is
generated in the U.S. annually, which is 25% to 40% of the national solid waste
stream. A 2003 update shows an increase to 164,000 million tons annually, of
which 9% is construction waste, 38% is renovation waste, and 53% is demolition
debris. This situation shows us increasing of construction waste in certain period of
time. This figure is only in U.S. and it is believed that the other countries have also
faced this problems.
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Can we imagine that how much more our land can afford for construction
waste? The disposal of the construction waste need a large scale of land whereas all
over the world faced a shortage of land in order to fulfill the demand of
accommodation, agriculture, manufacturing, education and etc. C&D waste disposal
triggers a sequence of adverse effects that are not always apparent to building
professionals. These include the loss of useful property, wasted materials and
embodied energy, greenhouse gas generation, and environmental stressors
associated with producing new materials instead of using existing materials. The
number of C&D landfills is declining, which means fewer disposal options, greater
hauling distances, and increased fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. Capping,
closing, and monitoring landfills, and cleaning up leaking or contaminated landfill
sites drain public funds.
So far it is clear to us that, the implementation of JIT on construction

seems unclear because any application of any method not only just all
about take the whole method from other industry and then simplify
implement it into the construction industry. The construction industry is
complex and uncertain. It needs a lot of improvement in many aspects such as,
efficient management of waste materials, co-ordination between parties, well-
planned management and etc. the discussion above about the waste materials is
absolutely adverse from the priority of the objective of JIT application.
For the fast track construction of process plants such as petroleum, chemical,
food processing, pulp and paper, etc, frequently the construction begins before
design is completed. Therefore the contractors demand to have earlier delivery
which is reducing the time available for engineering to complete the structure
drawings. These situations exist due to late delivery of drawings and materials and
it is possible caused more delivery problems and demands for even earlier
deliveries. In order to avoid or shield the contractors from the impact of late
delivery, the management may provide a large schedule buffer between the
suppliers and construction. However, it does nothing to address the root cause of
variation in construction projects. Even more, the shield is expensive for time and
money.
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Therefore, recommended rule has been suggested by Glenn and Gregory.

They suggest of placement of schedule buffers just after processes with variable
output. For example, the management placed the schedule buffers between
engineering and fabrication, rather than between fabrication and installation. The
fabrication and delivery processes are highly predictable, unless drawings are
incorrect or incomplete, or drawings are pulled out of fabrication to be revised. The
engineers have the sufficient time to complete its work and do it correctly if there is
a schedule buffer in front of fabrication. It is not just good for the engineers but
also to fabricators which is they have an opportunity to select and bundle work to
meet his needs for production efficiency and the contractor's needs for quantities
and sequence
Sizing the schedule buffers to the degree of uncertainty and variation to be

managed is another recommendation from Glenn and Gregory. Research has shown
that schedule buffers are sized without regard to the toughness of projects; i.e.
their level of uncertainty.
The other challenge of implementation of JIT on construction is about the

supply chain. As we know, the industrial supply chains in manufacturing industries
often have a long-term horizon rahter than the practice of competitive bidding in
the construction industry ensures that every new project means a new constellation
of partners. The long-lasting supply chains of the manufacturing sphere means the
members of the chains optimize their operations with each other to deliver the best
possible product at least costs to the end customer.
For the members, the incentives structure direct them toward viewing the
supply chain as one integrated chain competing with other supply chains and
success is ensured by making one own supply chain the best one. For actors in the
construction industry, every project is a one-off happening where the incentive
structure motivates them to make the most profit out of each project. This
discontinuity is detrimental to construction project productivity and can probably
only be changed by altering the practices of how “construction chains” are
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composed. A possibility for the construction industry could be to aim at more

lasting relations between the actors in both the value chain of materials and in the
value chain of actors.
Why the supply chain so important in JIT? In manufacturing industries, the

operation is based on the long-term production and keep produce the same product
as long as they have demand from their customers. Therefore, as long as they keep
produce their product that’s mean they keep using the same suppliers for their
production. This is important to have co-ordination with the same suppliers because
the manufactures of production already know the quality of workmanship of their
supplier and what are characteristics of their suppliers. Meanwhile, differs exist in
supply chain of construction as mentioned earlier. The short term of supply chain in
construction has caused the uncertainty.
New projects mean new consultants, contractors and suppliers. Changes of

parties in every projects caused the relationship between those parties is just for
short period. That’s mean for new projects, everybody needs to know each other
again which is everybody did not know how their job are, what quality of work they
can produce and other aspects which can give different effects to the construction
projects.
The long-term relation with the supplier also plays a big factor in effecting
the construction project. The good track record of supplier should be recommended
for other construction project in order to achieve the objectives of the projects.
However, it is rarely happened in construction industry because it involves other
factors such as transportation, limited materials and etc. Therefore, in order to run
a construction projects within the available budget, the management have to avoid
any extra expenses especially in context of getting the right materials and amount
from the suppliers. This situation related to another concept of JIT; producing the
right part in the right place and the right time.
So, it is important to ensure that the supplier can produce the right part of
materials as been asked in contract and also they can guarantee that they can
supply the materials on the right time. However, even the suppliers can supply the
Page 29
materials on the right times, the construction site must have efficient place to store
the materials to avoid any damages which caused extra expanses. Even more, the
delivery of the materials from suppliers is much depends on the transportation
which may involve unexpected traffic. From this view, it shows that a lot of things
need to put into consideration in implementing the application of JIT on
construction industry.
3.3 Problem Areas in Construction Industry
From the presentation paper by Veiseth, Rostad and Andersen (2003) the actors
that they have interviewed have identified several problem-areas. In this paper we
will focus on three of them:
• The problems in the interface between the builder, the advisers and the
executors. This problem is often referred to as “early phase- problems” that
emphasize the whole project.
• Logistics problems for building materials and other products used during the
construction process.
• Problems in the construction project planning and management.
Most of the actors we have interviewed argue that the problems in a typical
construction project come into being in the interface between the builder, the
advisers and the executors (see figure 1). The advisers are the architect and the
consulting engineers, while the executors are the building contractors and
supporters.
Builder
Advisers
Executors
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Fig 2: Problem area; the interface between the builder, the advisers and the
executors Builder Advisers Executors
In their opinion they interfaces are of a special interest because much of the
premises for the ensuing productivity and logistics are created here. The problems
could be due to several things like communications problems between different
professions and cultures and that the architects are thinking too little about the
building process in their drawings. But the thing we will point out is that the actors
in the three categories, most of the times do vary from project to project. This is in
contrast to e.g. manufacturing industries where the bindings between actors in e.g.
a supply chain are more often a long-term relationship. Furthermore, in the very
beginning of a typical project, in the idea-phase, it is often just the builder and the
architect who are participating. This can maybe also explain the fact that many of
our respondents claiming that there often are a lack of technical expertise in this
phase.
When it comes to logistics planning it seems to be a potential for improvements

in both the planning of how to organize the construction site and of the logistic of
the building itself. For the logistic of the construction site, a well-known problem is
that equipment and construction goods are delivered or placed at wrong
geographical places and not on time. This could be the result of defective storage
planning or that a storage plan does not exist at all together with lack of routines
for the receiving of goods (e.g. logistics planning). The result of this is also that
many building sites look much disorganized. The inability by the contractor to
deliver materials at the right time and the right place is identified as one of the
most common problems in the construction industry (Thomas, Horman, de Souza
and Zavriski (2002:2).
Another impotent area is purchase routines. Today, most of the purchases are
done by telephone, even though most of the interviewed actor’s wish to do most of
this through the Internet. This could be due to that many are not familiar with a
computer.
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More Internet-based purchase routines are believed to be more cost-efficient

than telephone-based purchase, for instance to help decrease the normally huge
numbers of rush orders, which is looked upon as a problem. Those of the
interviewed subjects who have carried out the change from telephone to more
automated purchasing routines support this.
Planning has always been a theme when it comes to improvements of the

productivity in all businesses, and the construction industry is no exception. Several
actors in the industry emphasize that projects are behind schedule due to that
plans are not finished in time. In addition, plans that also take care of the interfaces
between the actors in the project are often missing. The interviewed actors in the
Norwegian construction industry do specially mention insufficient planning
regarding detail plans. Several do also want more milestones and better overview
of dependencies in their projects. It is nevertheless important to realize that there
is no point to “over-plan” the projects. An identified trend in the construction
industry is that the actors only plan what is within their own field of expertise and
disregards planning of elements/factors outside their own domain.
Insufficient planning could also be due to that the project management in

construction projects could have been better. Furthermore, the respondents
especially single out the technical project management. Many claim that the plans
consist of too few subsidiary goals and that the project management should control
the projects more strictly. This relates especially to the project and the project
management’s ability to meet the deadlines in form of the milestones.
A typical problem, pointed out by many of the interviewed subjects, is that a lot
of actors are utilizing the slack in the plans completely, i.e. never starts work until
they really have to start to reach the deadline. This leads to that the project
decreases its possibilities to catch up for unforeseen problems.
Another aspect pointed out is the meeting-procedures: How often should the
different meetings be held, who should participate and how should the meetings be
structured. This could be the reason why some claims that many decisions are
taken too late and that they often to fuzzy.
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3.4 Solution and Recommendation : Strategy for Construction JIT
The desire of JIT is elimination of physical buffers (materials or time)

between production processes, and the achievement of one piece flow within
processes. Ohno successfully eliminates such in-process inventories because
production scheduling provided sufficiently stable coordination of flows compared to
unstable of construction scheduling. Therefore, we cannot simplify eliminate the
physical buffers because the first thing before come to this step is attacking the
causes and uncertainty in construction. Even though manufacturing and
construction share the same ultimate objective of reducing variation and waste,
their strategies for achieving that objective must be different.
The strategy recommended by Glenn and Gregory in implementation of JIT in

construction are:
1) Better Location and Sizing of Schedule Buffers
• Will require developing better assessments of project uncertainty and

determining the quantitative relationship between buffers and the
uncertainty they are intended to buffer. It will also require experimentation
with relocating schedule buffers, to test the principle of locating buffers just
behind processes that are the source of flow variation.
2) Place Plan Buffers and Make Ready Processes Ahead of Each
Production Process
the Last Planner (LP) initiative, has been described in some detail in previous
papers . Although it has been experimentally tested in both the United States and
South America (Venezuela), it may be helpful to consider it as a research
hypothesis.
Hypothesis: Production can be shielded from upstream uncertainty through

planning.
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Benefits of the Research: The Last Planner method of detailed production

planning shields production from upstream uncertainty thus improving productivity,
revealing sources of uncertainty and variation, releasing resources for further
improving performance "behind the shield," and providing a highly predictable near-
term work flow to downstream processes.
Methodology:
• Solicit engineering and construction projects from industry.

• Evaluate the crew/squad level planning systems of each
• Help participants conform their systems to the Last Planner Model.
• Develop measurements of comparative productivity
• Before and after LP
• Between LP and non-LP
• Collect measurement data; i.e. percent planned assignments completed,
planned productivity, and actual productivity.
• Analyze measurement data and test hypothesis
Characteristics of the Last Planner Method:
• Written weekly work plans for each front line supervisor and work group.
• Assignments drawn from a backlog of workable assignments created by
screening for constraints and by acquiring necessary resources.
• Assignments expressed at the level of detail necessary for screening -Weekly
work plans sized to target productivity.
• Front line supervisors participate in the selection and sizing of assignments,
provide reasons why planned work was not done, -Craft
superintendents/Discipline supervisors see that others act on reasons
beyond the reach of the craft or discipline.
3) Progressively Replace Schedule Buffers with Plan Buffers
The long term goal of replacing schedule buffers with plan buffers.
Hypothesis: Work flow variation can be reduced.
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Benefits of the Research:
1) Project duration can be reduced by reducing the buffers between EPC functions,
and buffer sizes can be reduced if work flow variation can be reduced. 2) If work
flow can be made more predictable, labor and other resources can be better
matched to work flow, thus improving productivity.
Methodology:
Phase I: Identify and analyze examples of successful efforts (tools and techniques)
to increase the predictability of work flow.
Phase II: Test tools and techniques in experiments sponsored by industry

members.
Examples of Tools and Techniques:
• Developing more accurate assessments of project uncertainty.

• Adjusting schedules using work packages and milestone screening. station,
until limits of predictability are met. Act on constraints to push back limits.
• Buying information to extend the accuracy and range of forecast deliveries.
• Producing more advance warning of changes in design, -Integrating supplier
and customer schedules at the item (e.g. isometric)
3.5 Conclusion
In order to achieve advancement in construction JIT, it is permitted to develop new

tools and techniques by demonstrate techniques and industry research to test the
theories. As mentioned earlier, the construction and manufacturing are different
types of production. However, the application of JIT is still applicable to
construction in which physical buffers may ultimately be replaced by better
managing uncertainty and eliminating the causes of flow variation. As the
implementation of plan buffers propagates certainty throughout projects,
productivity will improve from better matching labor to work flow, and project
durations will shorten as physical buffers shrink with the flow variation they are
designed to absorb.
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For instance, In Denmark, Bertelsen (1995) reported a 10 per cent increase in

productivity in the first phase of a social housing project that experimented with the
use of the JIT philosophy in building logistics; the second phase of the project
resulted in an average 7per cent increase in productivity. It was also noted that
savings were not evenly distributed among the participants and that the project
itself was not delivered at a lower price.
The rationale for this study is to see application of Just in Time (JIT) in
construction industry. In this context, the JIT philosophy appears to hold
tremendous potentials for improving the movement of construction site.
The space constraints for storage and the traffic congestion at the worksite can
then be alleviated.
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CHAPTER 4
JIT : AN OVERVIEW OF IBS
4.0 JIT and IBS
The term ‘Just-In-Time’ (JIT), used for instance to describe the delivery of
materials to a construction site, suggests that materials will be brought to their
location for final installation and be installed immediately upon arrival without
incurring any delay due to storage in a laydown or staging area. JIT is a concept
developed by the Japanese who created the Toyota Production System, later
translated into English as the lean production system. The ultimate objective of
JIT production is to supply the right materials at the right time and in the
right amount at every step in the process.
Thus, IBS is one example of JIT in construction. Rahman and Omar (2006)
defined IBS as a construction system that is built using pre-fabricated components.
The manufacturing of the components is systematically done using machine,
formworks and other forms of mechanical equipment.
IBS is defined as products, systems and techniques used in making

construction less labour-oriented, faster as well as quality controlled. It generally
involves prefabricated products, factory manufactured elements that transported to
the construction sites and erected. (Shaari, Bulletin Ingénieur, 2003)
According to Abraham Warszawski (1999), IBS is defined as a set of element

or component which is inter-related towards helping the implementation of
construction works activities. He also expounded that an industrialisation process is
an investment in equipment, facilities, and technology with the objective of
maximising production output, minimising labour resource, and improving quality
while a building system is defined as a set of interconnected element that joint
together to enable the designated performance of a building.
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4.1 Classification of IBS
According to Badir- Razali, generally, there are four types of building systems
currently available in Malaysia’s building system classification (Badir et al. 1998),
namely conventional, cast in-situ, prefabricated and composite building systems.
Each building system is represented by its respective construction method which is
further characterised by its construction technology, functional and geometrical
configuration.
Fig. 3 : Type of building system in Malaysia
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Nonetheless, according to CIDB (2003), the structural aspects of IBS of the

systems, divided into five major types as follows:
1. Precast Concrete Framing, Panel and Box Systems

Precast columns, beams, slabs, 3-D components (balconies, staircases,
toilets, lift chambers), permanent concrete formwork, etc;
Precast concrete wall
2. Steel Formwork Systems

Tunnel forms, beams and columns molding forms, permanent steel
formworks (metal decks, etc;
Steel formwork system
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3. Steel Framing Systems

Steel beams and columns, portal frames, roof trusses, etc;
Steel roof trusses
4. Prefabricated Timber Framing Systems

Timber frames, roof trusses, etc;
Prefabricated timber framing system for a double storey house.
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5. Block Work Systems

Interlocking concrete masonry units (CMU), lightweight concrete blocks,
etc.
Lightweight concrete blocks are used for wall construction
The pre-cast concrete components are among the most common

prefabricated elements that are available both locally and abroad. The pre-cast
concrete elements are concrete products that are manufactured and cured in a
plant environment and then transported to a job site for installation. The elements
are columns, beams, slabs, walls, 3-D elements (balconies, staircase, toilets, and
lift chambers), permanent concrete formwork and etc.
The steel formwork is prefabricated in the factory and then installed on site.
However the steel reinforcement and services conduit are installed on site before
the steel formwork are installed. The installation of this formwork is easy by using
simple bracing system. Then concrete is poured into the formwork and after seven
days, the formwork can be removed and there is some system whereby the
formwork served as a part of the structure itself after concreting. The steel
formwork systems are used in tunnel forms, beams, column moulding forms and
permanent steel formworks.
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The elements of steel framing system are rolled into the specific sizes and
then the elements are fabricated that involves cutting, drilling, shot blasting,
welding and painting. Fabricated elements are sent to the construction site to be
then erected whereby welding and the tightening of bolts at joints are conducted.
The elements include steel beams and columns, portal frames and roof trusses.
The prefabricated timber framing system is normally used in the conventional

roof truss and timber frames. The timber is prefabricated by joining the members of
the truss by using steel plate. It is important that all members are treated with the
anti pest chemical. Then, the installation is done on site by connecting the
prefabricated roof truss to the reinforcement of the roof beams.
The elements of block work system include interlocking concrete masonry

units (CMU) and lightweight concrete blocks.
The elements are fabricated and cured in the factory. The elements are
normally used as bricks in structures and interlocking concrete block pavement.
3.2 Value Stream Mapping
Koskela (1992) pointed out that architects, engineers, and construction

practitioners have for the longest time focused on conversion activities and
overlooked issues of flow. Flow is important because work or materials that do not
flow sit idle in inventory, tying up money (including the procurement cost of
ingredients plus labor and machine time to bring them to the stage of completion
they are in) as well as space. They stand the risk of being damaged or becoming
obsolete due to design changes or market competition. Inventory means product
waits: its cycle time increases, that is, it takes longer for the product to traverse all
production steps it needs to go through before reaching its customer. As a result,
project durations are larger than they would have been had flow not been inhibited.
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Most tools used today by practitioners who manage construction, such as

those fordesign, planning, scheduling, and costing, do not acknowledge flow: they
do not explicitly capture changes of resource characteristics over time. Process
modeling tools for discrete event simulation are an important exception and
warrant more attention by the lean construction community. Such models can
incorporate input regarding individuallycharacterized components, uncertainties of
numerous kinds, and sequencing rules (e.g., Tommelein 1997) and then produce
output data regarding buffer sizes, cycle times, idle times, production rates, etc.
The symbols commonly used to depict process models for construction, however,
have yet to distinguish how processes are being managed, for instance, whether or
not a JIT system has been implemented. Practitioners in manufacturing, working for
Toyota and then later for other companies ‘going lean’ developed their own pictorial
language to help focus attention on what matters in their transition.
We borrowed such symbols from Rother and Shook (1998) and used them to
map structural steel supply chains. Boxes denote value-adding processes or

tasks, such as ordering raw materials, fabricating steel, and transporting shipments
to a site. A triangle denotes work in progress or inventory. It represents an

accumulation of product (materials or information) possibly of unlimited amount
and for an indeterminate duration. An inverted triangle is an order to batch.

Kanban (introduced in Figure 1) denote orders to withdraw
or produce product, in order to deplete or replenish a supermarket. A
supermarket, represented by , refers to controlled inventory in terms of how

much material is kept on hand and how replenishment takes place. The FIFO
symbol denotes the first-in-first out release of resources output by a task.
The circular arrow denotes a physical pull of materials from a supermarket. It

differs from the withdrawal kanban in that it pertains to the amount of product
needed at the time of the withdrawal and not necessarily a predetermined
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fixed quantity. A dashed line with an arrow designates the flow of product. A
solid white line is transportation of product to the customer site. A black-and-
white dotted line shows that product is pushed into inventory.

Rother and Shook (1998) use these symbols for so-called “value stream
mapping” where the term “value” pertains mainly to reducing work in process
inventories and product cycle times. Our use of this notation stems as much from
our desire to engage in mapping the structural steel supply chain as it does from
our desire to test the adequacy of those symbols in representing
architecture/engineering/construction processes and in capturing value.
4.3 Example Structural Steel Supply Chain for Building Construction

The structural steel supply chain for building construction differs in several
regards from the one for industrial construction. The building’s frame may in fact be
more complex, especially when it supports a very tall structure, so the major steel
sections require extra procurement effort.
The industry is also organized differently. On design-bid-build projects, a

common delivery method for buildings, the owner typically hires an architectural
engineering (AE) firm, which in turn hires a structural designer. When the AE has
prepared all bid documents, the project is put out for bid. A general contractor (GC)
is then selected. The GC subcontracts the steel work to the fabricator, who in turn
subcontracts field installation work to a structural steel erector. The latter
essentially provides the crane and skilled labor, whereas the former is responsible
for acquiring, fabricating, and shipping the materials to site in the sequence needed
for erection. The fabricator may also subcontract the structural steel detailing work.
Fabricator and erector work as a tightly knit team. The GC will meet with
them during bid preparation. They must assess the project site constraints to
position the erector’s crane, as it determines not only the steel erection sequence
but also the layout of other temporary facilities and thus the flow of many
construction resources. This sequencing in turn drives the fabrication schedule.
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It must of course meet the GC’s master schedule but must also be efficient4.
The fabricator who subcontracts the erection work has an incentive to minimize that
work and does so by thoroughly planning the sequencing and site delivery of steel
pieces in the order they will be needed.
As for logistics, a big difference between the industrial and the building
sector is that more often than not building space is very tight, especially on projects
located in an urban environment. Industrial projects tend to be more remotely
sited. Materials deliveries to building projects accordingly are constrained by traffic
patterns and transportation permit requirements. Trucks parked in the street along
the edge of a site ready to off-load steel may not remain there for any extended
time. When deliveries take place, the crane gets dedicated to off-loading and
moving pieces to a staging area, namely the highest floor with decking, from where
steel will subsequently be picked up and moved into final position. Only in
exceptional cases will steel be erected directly off the flatbed truck. This saves extra
handling steps but can be done only when it is acceptable to tie up the truck longer
and provided the steel has been loaded in inverse order needed.
Differences in value stream maps between industrial and building

construction are therefore expected at least near the end of the chain, especially in
the way delivery to the project site is organized. If JIT is practiced in industry today
one possible way is depicted in figure 3.
Figure 3 includes two supermarkets, which illustrate the presence of pull

mechanisms. The steel mill (IV) still takes special orders. The resulting output is
stored in a generic buffer (triangle). The buffer is not specifically controlled in size
but it is filled only based on firm customer orders. That product is sold so it is
unlikely to become obsolete (waste). The mill also produces run-of-the-mill product
in anticipation of customer orders. As was the case in figure 2, this is denoted by a
supermarket where quantity-on-hand will not exceed a threshold value and gets
replenished at appropriate times.
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A second supermarket is shown in figure 3 to handle output from fabrication

(III). For instance, the fabricator of a 20-story building could complete the steel for
stories 1 through 3, then await orders from the construction site (withdrawal
kanban) to ship them steel for story 1 before starting work on story 4 (production
kanban). A smaller inventory buffer may be well suited provided fabrication can
keep pace with erection. Since there is virtually no storage space on site, no buffer
of materials is shown preceding ERECT[ion] (VI).
The creation of large buffers either at the contractor’s or fabricator’s site is

contrary to JIT production system design. As the word JIT suggests, materials must
be fabricated or delivered on time, which means not too late but not too early
either. This implies that variability regarding timing, actual pieces released, as well
as quality must be limited and controlled.
In a true JIT system, this timeliness pertains not only to a single hand-off
between two production steps, but rather, one aims at achieving JIT flow between
all production steps. In the idealistic extreme, this means having no buffers at all!
In practice, this means buffers must be determined strategically. Admittedly, doing
so is not an easy task, especially in a production system of complex products that
involve several organizations as is the case for structural steel. But this is what lean
Page 46
production systems design is all about: achieving flow where possible and
thoughtfully locating buffers and sizing them to achieve cost-effective
decoupling with minimal impact on cycle time.
A significantly amount of additional data is needed to describe the structural

steel supply chain at a level of detail that makes it possible to strategically locate
and size buffers. The difficulty is doing so stems in part from the fact that structural
steel is custom designed and every project requires a variety of components that
change as construction progresses.
Because of construction’s one-of-a-kind project nature, the structural steel

supply chain differs from manufacturing systems for more standardized products,
which can be likened to the Toyota Production System. The manufacturing symbols
used here for mapping the steel supply chain provide no room for defining
individually-characterized resources or detailed sequencing rules. While their ability
to show processing durations and delay times has not been used in this paper (we
expect to do so in future work), we doubt that using only deterministic values will
suffice. Some representation of uncertainty will have to be incorporated in the
maps.
The current practice of buffering stems from the desire to optimize labor and
machine utilization and from admitting that uncertainties exist in the supply chain.
Many uncertainties are the result of variability, which could be understood better if
at least it were measured and explicitly accounted for. This is not the current
practice in construction. Uncertainties and variability should not be taken for
granted. They should be acknowledged, managed, and minimized to a reasonable
degree. In fact, one technique to identify them is to reduce buffer sizes in-between
various production steps in order to see and learn the extent to which they are
needed. Process improvement efforts can then focus on those steps where the
impact on throughput of the system as a whole will be most significant. Example
improvements in construction are those that aim at reducing uncertainty, as is done
Page 47
for instance through reliable planning by the Last Planner (Ballard and Howell
1998), work methods design, and work structuring (Ballard et al. 1999).
Page 48
CHAPTER 5
JIT : CASE STUDIES
5.0 CASE STUDY JUST IN TIME
A case study pertains contractors who bids on projects from County of San
Francisco, the Public Utilities Commission as well as the Water Department. Most of
these jobs include concrete of a well-defining and widely-used kind through
quantities usually small in comparison to what is needed for residential or office
building projects.
Concrete is a very common construction material. Projects ranging from a single

family home to a high-rise building all may need concrete for their foundation,
slabs, columns, beams, walls, etc. to be constructed.
In urban settings, the task of delivering concrete moreoften than not has
been delegated to ready-mix batch plants and contractors has to rely on the timing
and reliability of their service. Although this set-up puts the contractor’s project
somewhat at the mercy of the batch plant, most batch plants perform at their very
best to meet their customers’ schedules.
On-time delivery is part of the product they sell. The interplay between
contractors and batch plants is interesting. On one hand, the contractor must order
a large enough quantity, sufficiently long ahead of time to ensure available batch
plant capacity and timely delivery service in order to maximize productivity of their
placing crew.
On the other hand, the batch plant tries to time its deliveries so that all projects
are served according to the contractors’ needs and the plant as well as the trucks
and drivers have little idle time. This balancing act between the two parties is not
always achieved due to the nature of concrete and the nature of the production
systems being used.
Page 49
In addition to contractors and batch plants, this balancing act also involves the
suppliers of raw materials to the batch plant, crews on site that erect formwork and
tie reinforcing basin preparation for concrete placement, as well as others.
Although the interdependence of all these parties typically results in uncertainties

rippling through the supply chain, the focus of this paper is limited to the
downstream-, namely the contractor vs. batch plant relationship.
The batch plant could, in order to level its load, vary its unit price of ready-mix
concrete based on the time and day of the week at which concrete is to be
delivered. This would illustrate a market mechanism at work, however, we are not
aware of such differential pricing being advertised in the industry today.
As one can imagine the city imposes limits on working hours in order to avoid
congestion during peak traffic times, excessively long closure of a road for vehicular
or of a sidewalk for pedestrian traffic, undue inconvenience of road users and
complaints about noise from citizens or area residents. In addition, contractors
must obtain a work permit from the city in order to work at a specific location.
This contractor s main concern has been tardiness of deliveries made by

batch plants. Because most of these jobs have restricted working hours, punctual
delivery is of paramount importance.
However because each order is small ( a few cubic yard at a time),this

contractor cannot get any plants attention. Went plant truck arrive late to his jobs,
he loses that time for the concrete to set and may therefore not be able to open the
site to traffic when needed.
To achieve on-time performance this contractor has acquired a fleet of small

revolving-drum trucks as well as dump trucks (used to fill ‘potholes with concrete)
to meet his projects concrete transportation needs, The latter trucks are not so
good as the former for transporting concrete as the mix may segregate.
Page 50
This contractor has its trucks pull into any batch- plant during operating
hours and order concrete. The contractor-owned trucks simply join the line of plant
trucks waiting to be loaded. The driver then goes to the operator’s walk-up window
and orders the needed mix design and quantity. The batch plant fills these trucks in
the same way as it fills its own in a first-in-first-out manner. The contractor then
gets billed on a regular basis for exact amount loaded. At the site, the driver works
with the crew in placing concrete.
Providing one’s own ready-mix trucks does not mean that the unit price of
concrete is any cheaper but it overcomes many scheduling hassles. No advance
order needs to be placed to reserve plant capacity as only a few cubic yards of
commodity mix are needed each time.
By taking control over the transportations process and the contractors crew
can work at their own pace and not have to fret over when concrete would arrive.
This kanban system work well especially on these projects where timing of need is
not dictated exclusively be the contractor, but as is the case here also to a
significant extent by the owner.
This contractors has its trucks pull into any batch-plant during operating
hours and order concrete. The contractor-owned truck simply join the line of plant
trucks waiting to be loaded. The driver then goes to the operators walk-up window
and orders the needed mix design and quantity.
The batch plant fills these trucks in the same way as it fills its own, in a first-
in-first –out manner. The contractor then gets billed on a regular basis for exact
amount loaded. At the site the driver works with the crew in placing concrete.
Providing ones own ready mix trucks does not mean that the unit price of
concrete is any cheaper but it overcomes many scheduling hassle. No advance
order needs to be placed to reserve plant capacity as only a few cubic yards of
commodity mix are needed each time.
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By taking control over the transportation process and using trucks as kanban
each time concrete is needed, the contractor’s crew can work at their own pace and
not have to fret over when concrete would arrive. This kanban system works well
especially on these projects where timing of need is not dictated exclusively by the
contractor, but as is the case here, also to a significant extent by the owner.
This contractor thus controls what is otherwise a system variable controlled

by an upstream supplier, namely the batch plant’s delivery of concrete. As a result,
the contractor can better schedule his work and be more reliable in making project
due dates.
Should one batch plant not be able to serve his needs, he can easily go
elsewhere. The contractors pays for this ability. He now needs to have capital tied
up in trucks and is responsible for hiring and training drivers. Because he has a
fairly steady need for concrete from one project to the next(contrary to many
other who need concrete only for one phase of their work.)he can keep them
gainfully employed.
Ready-mix concrete is a prototypical of a JIT production system in

construction. Two practices regarding ready-mix batching and delivery were
described in this paper and depicted using value stream mapping symbols.
Each case highlighted the presence of buffers of information, materials, and

time as well as production order and withdrawal mechanisms positioned at strategic
locations to meet specific system requirements, as defined by the nature of the
contractor’s work.
One alternative is favored over the other depending on the amount of control
the contractor wants in terms of on-time delivery of concrete and the variability in
the contractor’s demand for concrete project after project.
While these practices clearly exemplify JIT production, the paper was limited
in scope. No data was included to characterize the actual performance in terms of
timeliness, buffer sizes, error rates, etc. Moreover, the paper focused on batching
and delivery, which are only parts of the entire concrete production system.
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Current practices for managing the concrete supply chain upstream in terms
of raw materials acquisition or prerequisite work on site are not geared toward JIT
production. Further investigation is therefore warranted and significant process
improvements may be achieved by those working towards fully implementing a lean
construction system.
Case Study 2 : Fakuda Production System (FPS)
The construction companies that adopted the Toyota Production

System and Just in Time on a large scale in Japan are Fakuda Corporation in the
field of building construction and couple of companies in the field of housing
construction.
Fakuda Corp. is a Niigita-based construction company having annual sales of

$ 946 million(in 2003).With the objective of making construction work more
efficient and reducing construction costs, the company introduced the system in
construction work in 2002.
In order to introduce the system the company received guidance from

consultants CULMAN CO.LTD who were former employees of Toyota Motor Corp.
This building production system is called the Fakuda Production System( FPS)
Page 53
Setting the goal
Establishment of indices to attain goal.
Establishment JIT.
Establishment of standard operating procedure

documents (SOPD) for each work type.
Setting of target figures for the indices
Implementation
Check and confirm that target

figures have been attained
Page 54
The material distribution facilities were established so that materials can be

delivered to the site JIT. In addition, the JIT material distribution network was set
up to link the field office,branch offices, and material distribution facilities,
Necessary materials are delivered to the predetermined location( Room C on Floor
B at Site A,for example)in time. To visualize the JIT delivery process, the JIT
delivery system board is posted to boost awareness. Time is Money among
workers.
The JIT ideal is elimination of physical buffers (materials or time)between

production processes, and the achievement of one piece flow within processes, i.e.
batch sizes of one.JIT was able to virtually eliminate such in-process inventories
because production scheduling provided sufficiently stable coordination of flows.
Construction scheduling does not provide such stabilization.
Consequently, it is not appropriate to simply eliminate physical buffers

without first attacking the causes of variation and uncertainty. Even though
manufacturing and construction share the same ultimate objective of reducing
variation and waste, their strategies for achieving that objective must be different.
Materials constitute a huge proportion of the cost of construction. Materials

are sometimes ordered weeks or even months ahead of requirement leading to
uneconomical inventory on construction sites or contractors' warehouses.
Building material inventory represents cost to procure, cost to store and

insure, cost to guard against theft and cost incurred when inventory becomes
obsolete. This paper presents an overview of the Just-in-Time (JIT) production
system and discusses application and implementation issues for the control of
material inventory in building construction.
JIT ensures that suppliers deliver directly to the production floor to achieve
either a reduction in inventory or zero inventory and consequently a reduction in
production costs. Implementation of JIT building material management in
construction has the potential to realize the same far reaching benefits experienced
in manufacturing.
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Relevant factors to consider in JIT implementation for material inventory

management in construction are implications for construction output and quantities,
production planning, design planning, construction contractor and suppliers'
relationships, material sourcing, and education and training.
Case Study 3 : The Byggelogistik project
Up till now Byggelogistik has been tested on six housing schemes, the first
being Sophiehaven approximately 20 miles north of Copenhagen. The project is a
typical Danish social housing project comprising 100 flats in two stories blocks,
erected in two phases - not a big project on an international scale (Bertelsen 1993,
1994-1, 1994-2). Contractually the project was undertaken by a general contractor
and approximately 10 trade contractors. The general contractor's staff participated
in the whole planning of the project.
It was also from the staff of the general contactor that the provider was
recruited and his job developed, as the project progressed, into being the
production manager of the construction site.
He planned the day-to-day operations, he provided the materials required,

he coordinated the individual trade contractors' works and he followed up on the
co-operation with the wholesale dealers. In order not to overreach the experiment
in the first phase it was decided to restrict the logistics to a minor number of the
trades. This decision caused a great deal of trouble.
Those not participating were repeatedly in the way of those who were. In
the second phase all trades participated and this problem was solved. Even though
the methods were developed with EDP in mind the first tests were restricted to
management by paper and pencil only. EDP was used in the usual manner in the
participants' own operations but no attempt was made to use IT in the logistics.
Page 56
Inspired by the Toyota Production System the aim of Byggelogistik is to

reduce cost by eliminating waste of all kinds. Foremost waste of materials, but also
waste of labour time and transportation. In this the Byggelogistik concept is an
instrument for making the whole building process more effective.
The main objective is to look not only at direct transportation costs but at all
costs in the building procesrelated to materials delivery. Materials are not
considered delivered until the workers lay their hands on them in the exact quantity
as the first step in the construction.
Packing, temporary storage, on site transportation, on site losses and

breakage, and low effectiveness due to badly and impedingly delivered and stored
materials are all considered as belonging to the transportation costs.
A Swedish study (Hammarlund 1989) has shown that approximately a third

of the time used by the worker on the building site is spent procuring his materials
in the widest sense, equalling about 10 percent of the total building cost. The
hypothesis of Byggelogistik is that a near-optimum form of supply will increase
costs only marginally, but will reduce waste of time considerably. This means that
materials delivery in Byggelogistik is looked upon from the point of view of an
optimum building process primarily.
Byggelogistik (Bertelsen 1994-1) makes use of a two level logistics with a

planning approach for the over all logistics and a JIT consumption approach for the
daily deliveries. The logistics are considered already on the drawing board.
Materials are, where it is possible, specified as belonging to the separate building
operation during the detailed design.
In the planning of the operations all supplies are described in detail aiming at
JIT supply once a day, comprising only materials needed until the next day, and
packed for the various trades and heir individual tasks and work areas. Such
assemblies of materials are named 'units'. Each type of unit is carefully specified to
include all materials needed for the particular task, and form of packing as well as
equipment for the delivery is detailed. Each type of unit is given a specific number
for identification.
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Several participants in the project consider the unit the most original element
in the whole concept. The idea is taken from the Swedish furniture chain Ikea who
sells furniture in parts to be assembled by the customer but with all the parts - and
often tools and assembly instructions in the same box. In order to manage
sorting, packing and delivery a close co-operation with the wholesale dealers must
be established. In Denmark 3 kinds of dealers cover all necessary materials, and
their warehouses are used as store room for the building site.
A few kinds of materials are Delivered directly in units packed by the

manufacturer, but most materials are delivered to the warehouse to be sorted and
packed in units, ready for transportation as the work progresses. In order to reduce
the costs of external transportation joint deliveries are used containing all units
from the dealer regardless of contractor, and to minimize internal transportation
delivery of units takes place as close to the work area as possible.
The dealers' drivers are considered as part of the building team in as much
as the aim is to employ the same drivers to load the trucks and deliver the
materials every day thereby making them familiar with the ever changing lay out of
the building site and choose the best sequence for the unloading.
Byggelogistik is characterized by careful planning, daily management

executed from the building site - not the head office - and immediate and direct
feed back of all mistakes. Careful planning demands that detailed design is fully
completed before the building process is started, in order that all materials may be
counted and specified in units. In this way delivery schedules on a weekly basis
may be worked out right from the start, covering the entire building period, and all
materials may be ordered bindingly.
Planning must take place in close co-operation between designers and trade
contractors, and the wholesale dealer's employees should take part in this. Tests
have shown that this kind of co-operation has resulted in a good deal of
suggestions for more appropriate solutions and choice of materials. At the same
time better terms for delivery are obtained since favorable prices may be offered by
the producers due to early notice.
Page 58
Construction JIT will be advanced by implementing demonstrated techniques

and industry research to test theoriesand develop new tools and techniques.
Research topics have beenproposed that constitute a strategy for implementing
Page 59
CHAPTER 6
JIT: CASE STUDY IN MALAYSIA (PUTRAJAYA)
6.1 AN OVERVIEW ON THE CASE STUDY PROJECT
Presint 9 is the selected project to be used as our case study in this task. The selection was
made because Presint 9 is one of the examples of constructions using the IBS technique.
Located in our Government administration areas, this Presint 9 is one of the projects in the
development of Putrajaya areas. Presint 9 is the residential area construct by Setia Putrajaya
Sdn. Bhd. The company had managed to complete the construction of Presint 9 in a minimum
time by using the IBS method of construction.
Based on the observation carried out by Putrajaya Holdings, noticed that the contractor
only need four (4) month to complete the full structure of the apartment until level six (6)
comparing to the used of conventional method that can only construct full structure of the
building until level four (4) in the same period. Based on this statement prove that by using the
IBS system to the construction of the building may reduced the time for the completion. It also
be noted that this IBS system not only give the advantages in term of time to this construction
but also give benefit in term of cost for the development. The contractor managed to reduced
cost on labor because this method will reduced the used of labor in the construction. Moreover,
there will be a reduction in the cost of project, this is because this method will reduced the waste
in the construction that will contribute to the minimizing the cost of project. These prove that the
application of IBS method is one of the techniques that can achieve the implementation of JIT
approach.
FIGURE 2: PICTURES OF THE PRESINT 9 PROJECT USING IBS Page 60

6.2 Problem in the implementation JIT Approach into the Construction Industries
JIT gives a lot of benefits to our construction industries, but there are several problems that may
contribute to the failure on its implementation. The problems that occur may contribute to the
inefficiency and ineffectiveness for JIT approach been implemented. The problems may occur
based on the unique characteristic of the construction industries itself. Below are several
problems that been identified faced in the implementation of JIT approach in the construction
industries.
6.2.1 Material Shortage

Material is one of the crucial items in the process of production in the construction industries.
Shortage in the material supply is one of the problems in our industries. Therefore, the material
cannot be distributes to the site on time and this situation may affect the time factor for the
project progress.
6.2.2 Weather
The production place for the construction is unique and not similar to other manufacturing
production. Generally, construction activities located in the open space known as site comparing
with manufacturing production that were conducted in the building. Weather is one of the factors
that may contribute to the interruption in the construction activities. The uncertainty of weather
may contribute to the problems in the JIT implementation.
6.2.3 Design Changes
To fulfill the client satisfaction, most of the procurement methods in our industries give a space
for the client to makes changes in the design during the construction progress. This factor may
effect the time and the cost for the project. We cannot achieve the completion dates because
the changes may influence to extend and add the time of completion for the project. Therefore,
JIT approaches are not applicable to this kind of construction.
6.2.4 Cost
IBS system been said as the effective construction technique in the implementation the JIT
approach. IBS system may cut the time factor for the construction industries and reduce the
numbers of delays on the project. The problem is the cost to be used in this system is higher
compared to the conventional techniques used in this construction industry.
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Analysis between JIT and IBS
6.3 ANALYSIS FRAMEWORK
originate from originate from

Manufacture
•Improve quality
IBS JIT
•Reduce wastage
•Quality of work •Right Materials
•Less labour
•Speed up of •Right Quantities
•Faster
construction process •Right Quality
•Economies
•Increase production (large scale production)
Step 1:
•Cost Saving To achieve JIT
philosophy required
•Applicable to all type of
to fulfil JIT 6 key
buildings
1 principles
Fabrication Theory
Framework
Assignment Step 3:
Framework Analyze that what is
the correlation with the JIT Key Principles
3 project result and IBS
•Pull System
advantages
•Top Management Commitment & Employee
Case
Involvement
Study: 2
•Elimination of Waste
Contractor or
Step 2: Analyze the
Project that using case study with the •Total Quality Control (TQC)
IBS in Malaysia JIT 6 key principles
•Uninterrupted Work Flow
implementation
•Supplier Relation = One Source
Assignment Flow
FIGURE 3: Analysis I - JIT Principles to Project That Using IBS
Page 62
6.4 ANALYSIS
Analysis I - JIT Principles to Project That Using IBS

No JIT 6 Key Principles Case Study: Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd
1 Pull System Strong joint effort with the Project Supplier (Setia
Precast Sdn. Bhd), allows the technical
department and the contractor to have a better
managed on ‘pull’ demands system from the
workstation without overproducing unrelated
prefabrication components. This effort had help in
expedite the construction of various types of
multilevel apartments of Presint 9.
2 Top Management The determination of the top management of

Commitment & Employee Putrajaya Holdings in handling IBS project in a
Involvement mechanical intensive way, suits with their
corporate vision that leads them to be the
greatest Property Developer in the country.
3 Elimination of Waste IBS method emphasized on the usage of the

natural environmental techniques and reduction
of construction waste material. Conventional
techniques that involve unskilled labour; such as
laying up bricks, brickwork, plastering and
concrete work done off-site, will only caused
accidents to occur, due to untidy and messy site
especially for big project in Putrajaya.
The application of IBS system in Putrajaya had

also proved the high commitments of Putrajaya
Holdings in undertaking the Malaysian
government’s challenge that encourage the
increment of construction productivity from the
benefits of less wastage, low risk and damage
and higher innovation.
IBS system in Presint 9 has not just increased

the work productivity but it also reduces the local
currency exchange by the foreign workers to their
origin country. IBS also reduce the foreign labour
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supply into Malaysia, as reported by Setia

Putrajaya, the application of IBS System had
reduce to 30% of excessive reliance on unskilled
foreign workers for the project.
4 Total Quality Control (TQC) IBS System maintain the quality and high
aesthetic end products for the whole building
structure and envelope as it ensure a proper
arrangement of prefabricated beam and column
that fits to the building. This method will gives a
fine look of the building without any design or
material discrepancies that will spoil the
architectural style of the building.
5 Uninterrupted Workflow With IBS approach, construction units of

apartments could be done with a systematic
approach as compared to the conventional
methods. According to Setia Putrajaya, the
contractor only took four (4) months in order to
complete one six storey apartment type Parsel 8
in Presint 9. Where else, within the same time
line, the building could only be completed up to
level four (4) if the conventional method is used.
6 Supplier Relation = One The successful application of IBS System must

Source be accredited to the effort of Setia Precast Sdn
Bhd; one of the local IBS experts. The IBS
specialist conceived, planned, fabricated the
components at their factory before it were
transported and erected on site. This process
allows Setia Precast to ensure that the right
components are produced at the right time, in the
right order and without defect. The systematic
approach will not only sustain the quality of the
project but it also ensures that the project is
completed on the right time.
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Analysis II – IBS Advantages with JIT project case

NO IBS Advantages Correlation with the result of JIT Analysis
1 Quality of work From applying Total Quality Control (TQC)
principle, we can see that Putrajaya Holding Sdn
Bhd can maintain the quality and high aesthetic
end products. They admitted that the quality of
work is satisfying from the fine look of the
building. So having TQC in implementation IBS
system gives maximal advantages in the term
quality of work.
From applying supplier relation with only one (1)

source of supplier, Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd
also get the benefit because this method allows
the supplier, Setia Precast to ensure that the right
components are produced at the right time, in the
right order and without defect.
2 Speed up of construction From applying uninterrupted workflow principles,

process Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd gets the advantages
of a fast construction period comparing the
conventional method. With the project in Presint
9, the have proven that it only take four (4) month
for six (6) storey building. If the workflow was
interrupted, then there will be a big chance that
the advantages of IBS regarding speed up of
construction process can not achieved.
From applying supplier relation with only one (1)

admitted that the systematic approach will not
only sustain the quality of the project but it also
ensures that the project is completed on the right
time.
3 Increase production From applying top Management Commitment and

Employee Involvement principle, one of the
benefit of Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd that this
lead to their corporate vision as the greatest
Property Developer in the country where this will
Page 65
influence their productivity.

From applying elimination of waste principles,
Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd proved that
encourage the increment of construction
productivity from the benefits of less wastage, low
risk and damage and higher innovation.
From applying elimination of waste principles,
Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd also manage to
increase the work productivity and also reduces
the local currency exchange by the foreign
workers to their origin country.
4 Cost Saving From applying supplier relation with only one (1)
admitted that it really influences the efficiency of
project. In a construction project, good efficiency
means good cost saving.
5 Applicable to all type of From applying pull system in their IBS project,
buildings Putrajaya Holding Sdn Bhd admitted that it helps
in expedite the construction of various types of
multilevel apartments of Presint 9. Even though
this still in one (1) project case but even in one (1)
project required a variety of apartments type.
From this project, it is optimistic that it can be
applicable in other kind of buildings.
Page 66
6.5 CONCLUSION
After doing two times analysis (see analysis I and II) we can see for this particular project how
the correlation between adopting JIT principles and advantages in IBS system. Putrajaya
Holding Sdn Bhd doing IBS system in their project in Presint 9. We can see that in their process
of implementation IBS project they fulfill six (6) JIT key principles in the first analysis. Then we
try to relate with the main advantages of IBS in second analysis. We can see that Putrajaya
Holding Sdn Bhd also can obtain all the main advantages of IBS. From this case study
analysis, as a conclusion we can say that if a contractor doing an IBS project and applying JIT
six (6) key principles completely, there is a big opportunity that the contractor can obtain the
maximal of IBS system. From the theory framework (see figure 2), it could be explained that this
parallel correlation between JIT and IBS because both of it comes from the manufacture
philosophy. And with this case study, we can recommend that if you want to gain maximal
advantages of IBS system, by applying JIT in the process can give you a big guaranty of the
successful of the project. This recommendation can be use if Malaysian promoting IBS system
in their construction industry in the future.
Page 67
CHAPTER 7
JIT : CONCLUSION
Successful implementation of JIT would be able to reduce several elements

such as inventory level, storage space, factory overhead, production costs,
rectification works which will lead to improvement in quality. However, Low Sui
Pheng (1999) concluded that the mentioned fundamentals of JIT can only be
achieved with the cooperation from all parties as a working team. Therefore, it's
very important for everyone involved in construction project to understand the
objective, the fundamental of Just In Time method and his or her roles in order to
ensure a successful implementation of JIT system.
Construction and manufacturing are different types of production,

nonetheless a form of JIT is applicable to construction, in which physical buffers
may ultimately be replaced by better managing uncertainty and eliminating
thecauses of flow variation. As the implementation of plan buffers propagates
certainty throughout projects, productivity will improve from better matching labor
to work flow, and project durations will shorten as physical buffers shrink with the
flow variation they are designed to absorb.
A new way of conceiving the tasks and tools of construction project

management has been proposed. Instead of relying simply on schedule-push,
managers are advised to systematically employ plan-pull as a means of adjusting to
uncertainty and insuring that resources are employed to maximum advantage
attach point in time. Instead of concentrating management attention and effort on
managing contracts and enforcing obligations, managers are advised to manage the
flow of work across production processes and the various specialty organizations
brought into a project to execute those processes.
Page 68
Low and Mok (1999) suggested a more practical application of JIT principles
for site layout in reducing and minimizing the occurrence of waste, and concluded
that the Kanban system can be modified for use in ordering and delivering
materials to site. People-related problems were, however, singled out as the main
difficulties in the implementation of the JIT philosophy (Low and Mok, 1999).
Page 69
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Page 72

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RMB 511 CASE STUDY: INNOVATION IN THE MALAYSIAN HOUSING INDUSTRY

Description Page No.

Report Objectives & Task framework 3

Chapter 1: Introduction and Understanding of JIT

1.0 History of JIT Concept 4

1.2 The Concept And Philosophy 7

1.3 The JIT principles 7

Chapter 2 : JIT in Manufacturing

2.0 Implementation in Automobile Manufacturing 11

2.1 Ford KA in JIT 13

Chapter 3 : JIT in Construction Industry

3.0 Application in Construction Industry : An Overview 17

3.1 Factors That Influence Housing Developers to use JIT concept

3.2 Issues And Challenges in Construction Industry 25

3.3 Problem Areas 30

3.4 Strategy in Construction JIT 33

Chapter 4 : JIT and IBS

4.0 JIT and IBS 37

4.1 Classification of IBS 38

4.2 Value Stream Mapping 42

4.3 Example Structural Steel Supply Chain in Building Construction 44

Chapter 5 : Case Studies

5.0 Case study 1 49

Chapter 6 : Case Study Malaysian Scenario (PUTRAJAYA) 60

1. To get a better Understanding of Just-In-Time (JIT) Philosophy and Concept

Understanding of JIT concept

Implementation in Manufacturing Industry Implementation in Construction Industry

Issues and Challenges in implementing

Recommendation and Solutions towards the

1.0 History of the JIT concept

Ohno identified seven wastes in mass production systems – overproducing,

Supply Chain Management (SCM) emerged as part of the Just in Time

1.1 Definitions : Reviews of JIT Philosophy

JIT has gained considerable interest because it allows a company to produce

(1) Part cost — low scrap cost, low inventory cost.

(3) Design — fast response to engineering change.

(4) Administrative efficiency — fewer suppliers, minimal expediting and release

Monden also discusses the various factors which constitute smoothed

It eliminates waste in all areas of manufacturing — including marketing,

According to Hoeffer, the JIT system is a combination of purchasing,

The benefits of using the JIT philosophy became of particular interest

(1) suppliers' co-operation and support;

(2) commitment of every person within the organisation, and

(3) small size purchasing, smoothing production, designing flexible processes,

1.2 Concept and Philosophy

1.3 The JIT Principle

1. Kanban or pull system

2. Top Management commitment and employee involvement

4. Total Quality Control (TQC)

5. Uninterrupted work flow

6. Supplier relation: single-sourcing

JIT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

2.0 Just-In-Time (JIT) and Its Implementation in Automobile

JIT is one of the examples of early-landed future manufacturing idealism that

Automotive manufacturing industry has become an ideal instance on how JIT

• Waste reduction: This element’s aim is to eliminate all non-value-added tasks

• Value-adding production oriented: This element brings the terminology of

• Customer participation in quality improvement: In every business, customer

• Employee empowerment: Empowering employees mean dividing problem

• Vendor/supplier integration: Undoubtedly, specialized suppliers will normally

2.1 Ford KA In Just In Time

DAD will enable a smooth manufacturing process by applying Ford scheduling

Extending outsourcing Speed-up production process 8weeks

(losing control) Smaller number or manufacturing

25% shorter time production time

Accuracy of production on plan

Building aerial tunnels Less handling = less damages / costs

Setup Direct Automated Less conventional transport

$16 million delivery system Time saving

Manufacturing seamless integration

Further interest from more suppliers

Saving $6+ million per year on