Thesis-2009-Court.pdf (3.22 MB)
Transforming traditional mechanical and electrical construction to a modern process of assembly
thesis
posted on 2010-05-27, 08:27 authored by Peter F. CourtThis thesis presents the findings of a research project to develop and implement a Lean and
agile Construction System on a case study project. The aim of the research project, for the
sponsor company, was to improve its projects site operations, making them safer for the
worker and improving effectiveness and productivity.
The findings have shown that the Construction System has proved to be a successful set of
countermeasures that act as an antidote to the health, safety and productivity problems that
exist in UK construction and that face the sponsor company. The System has been
implemented on a large and complex mechanical and electrical case study project in the
healthcare sector of UK construction. The outcome of this case study project shows that 37%
less onsite labour was needed, meaning fewer workers were exposed to health and safety risks
from site operations, leading to zero reportable accidents. Good ergonomics was achieved by
focussing on workplace design, thus improving workers wellbeing, together with an improved
quality of work for those required on site carrying out simpler assembly tasks. Productivity
gains resulted by eliminating process waste, therefore reducing the risk of labour cost
escalation that could otherwise have occurred. A 7% direct labour cost reduction was made
meaning the labour budget allocation was maintained. Significantly, an overall productivity
of 116% was achieved using the Construction System, which compares favourably to
BSRIA’s findings of an average overall productivity of only 37% when compared to observed
best practice for the projects in that case study research.
The results include the benefits found from the use of an innovative method to assemble,
transport, and install frameless, preassembled mechanical and electrical services modules,
where a 93% reduction in onsite labour was achieved together with an 8.62% cost benefit.
No time slippage was experienced during onsite assembly to delay or disrupt other trades and
the commissioning programme was not compressed that could otherwise have caused
problems in handing over the facility to the customer. From a customer’s perspective, the
built facilities were handed over on-time, to their satisfaction and to budget.
The research has achieved two levels of innovation, one at a process level and one at a
product level. The process innovation is the development and successful implementation of
the Construction System, which is a combination of methods acting together as an antidote to
the research problem. The product innovation is the development of the innovative method
for assembling, transporting and installing frameless mechanical and electrical corridor
modules, whereby modularisation can be achieved with or without an offsite manufacturing
capability.
The System is built on Lean principles and has been shown to standardise the work, process
and products to create flow, pull and value delivery. It is transferable across the sponsor
company’s business as well as the wider industry itself.
The transformation that has occurred is the creation of a step-change in undertaking
mechanical and electrical construction work, which has realised a significant improvement in
performance for CHt that has “Transformed Traditional Mechanical and Electrical
Construction into a Modern Process of Assembly”.
History
School
- Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering
Research Unit
- Centre for Innovative and Collaborative Engineering (CICE)
Publisher
© Peter F. CourtPublication date
2009Notes
A Dissertation Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Engineering Doctorate (EngD) of Loughborough University.Language
- en
Qualification name
- EngD
Qualification level
- Doctoral
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