Reformulating Value Added Ratio Using a Construction Job Site Case Study

Abstract

Abstract

Lean principles have already been successfully implemented in reducing wastage in manufacturing industries such as automobile industry. The present work focuses on application of lean principles at micro level in a quality control lab of a highway project in order to increase the productivity and decrease the proportion of non-value adding time. The total time was broadly categorized into five different categories namely, moving time, waiting time, setup time, process time and reworking time. The total time reduction for a given set of experiments was found to be significant. It was observed that mainly three factors were responsible for the time wastage and decreased productivity: a. technical knowhow of the workers, b. experience of the workers with the setup and the working environment, and c. management of resources required for the experiments. Further, value added ratio was reformulated based on the observations made on site. The article also presents the proposed definitions and formulae. Recommendations are provided at the end in order to increase the productivity and value added ratio in a similar setup.

Keywords: Construction, lean, management, productivity, value added ratio