Exploring the Opportunities for
Applying Lean Principles to
Electrical Prefabrication
H. W. Chris Lee, Ph.D.
Oregon State University
July 22, 2013
Photo courtesy of NBBJ
School of Civil and Construction Engineering
Working Hypotheses
1. Electrical construction
has its own unique
barriers to
prefabrication
2. A project that applies
more lean principles
provides more
opportunities for
electrical
prefabrication
Photo courtesy of Oregon Electric Group
Project Objectives
Increased Prefabrication in
Electrical Construction
3
Develop a leanness scoring matrix
2
Investigate a list of lean principles
1
Identify barriers
• Organizational
• Contractual
• Technological
Project Tasks
1
2
3
4
• Interviews to identify barriers
• Case studies to identify lean principles
• Cross-case analysis to develop the leanness scoring matrix
• Documentation
(Tentative) List of Lean Principles
• Design alignment
– Design for Prefabrication
– BIM implementation
• Variability management
– Lead time/Labor/Quality/Design
• Inter-organizational collaboration
– Multi-trade cost and design management
• Alignment of commercial interests
– Integrated contracting methods
Photo courtesy of OEG
Project Outcomes – Research Report
Barriers
What to overcome?
Lean
Principles
Why to overcome?
How to overcome?
Leanness
Scoring
Matrix
Research Outcomes:
Leanness Scoring Matrix
Cross-case analysis to identify
improvement opportunities
WHY Simple?
Category A
Category F
5
4
3
2
1
0
Category E
Category B
WHY Advanced?
Category C
Category D
Photos courtesy of OEG and Skanska
Hyun Woo “Chris” Lee, Ph.D.
• CEM faculty at Oregon State University
– School matching support of $20,000 for the project
• Head, IPDS (Innovative Project Delivery for
Sustainability) Lab
– Applying lean construction concepts and methods to
sustainable investments
• 7 years of construction experience
– 3 years as estimator for electrical construction of light rail and
trolleybus in California
Strategic Partnership for Research
• NECA Oregon-Columbia Chapter
• NECA San Francisco Chapter
• And more!
Thank you! Questions?
Photo courtesy of NBBJ
H. W. Chris Lee, Ph.D.
School of Civil and Construction Eng.
Oregon State University
hw.chris.lee@oregonstate.edu
541-737-8539
School of Civil and Construction Engineering
(Tentative) List of Barriers
• Organizational
– Late decision making
– Lack of pre-planning
– Inflexibility of construction workflow
– Lack of (field personnel) buy-in
• Contractual
– Lack of contractors’ involvement
– Lack of multi-trade communication
• Technological
– Interoperability issues of design software