Workshop Report - Hong Kong Zero Carbon Partnership

Transcription

Lean Construction for Improving Productivity
in the Hong Kong Construction Industry
Workshop Report
Organized by:
Centre for Innovation in Construction and Infrastructure Development (CICID)
The University of Hong Kong
Co-organized by:
Analogue Group of Companies (ATAL)
MTECH Engineering Company Ltd
British Standards Institution (BSI)
Institute of Industrial Engineers (Hong Kong)
27 August 2015
Lean Construction for Improving Productivity in the Hong Kong Construction Industry
Workshop Report
Department of Civil Engineering
Hong Kong, September 2015
Edited by Wei Pan, Mi Pan
Members of Project Committee
Dr. Wei Pan
Ir. Prof Sam Chan
Ir. Prof Thomas Ng
Ir Dr. Sammy Wan
Institute of Industrial Engineers (Hong Kong)
Mr. Stephen Au
Mr. Coleman Tse
Acknowledgements
This publication was made possible by the research funding from The University of Hong Kong
through Seed Funding Programme for Applied Research. Also acknowledged are the participants
in the workshop and assistance of staff and researchers at the University for the organisation of
the workshop.
i
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................................... ii
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 2
Workshop Participants ......................................................................................................................... 3
Workshop Agenda ................................................................................................................................. 4
Summary of Presentations ................................................................................................................... 5
Summary of Discussion......................................................................................................................... 7
Discussion Session 1 ......................................................................................................................... 7
Understanding and Perspectives of Lean and Benefits ............................................................. 7
Challenges and Drivers for Lean Construction ......................................................................... 10
Summary of Session 1 ................................................................................................................ 12
Discussion Session 2 ....................................................................................................................... 13
Lean Related Approaches, Tools and Standards ...................................................................... 14
Future Development of Lean Construction in HK .................................................................... 15
Summary of Session 2 ................................................................................................................ 16
Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix 1: Workshop Presentations ............................................................................................... 19
Appendix 2: List of Workshop Participants ...................................................................................... 33
Appendix 3: Workshop Agenda .......................................................................................................... 36
Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms / List of Abbreviations ................................................................... 37
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Executive Summary
The current construction industry in Hong Kong faces severe challenges in relation to
increasingly stringent regulations, aging workforce and skills shortages and their triggered high
labour costs, and transition of development from the fast-speed to sustainability-oriented mode.
Yet, the industry has long been criticised for low levels of performance such as cost and time
overruns, impaired quality and disputes. This report summarises the discourse and proceedings
of a strategic workshop which is entitled “Lean Construction for Improving Productivity in the
Hong Kong Construction Industry”, held at The University of Hong Kong on 27 August 2015. The
workshop featured four presentations on the theory, status quo, benefits, practices and standards
of lean construction, and two break-out group discussion sessions that engaged nearly 100
practitioners, researchers and academics.
Although the term ‘lean construction’ was not well-known to many practitioners, understanding
and applications of lean construction techniques and tools were identified in the HK construction
industry. Nevertheless, such applications were found to be fragmented and spontaneous, which
should be promoted to be systemic and structured to enable a step change in the industry for
productivity improvement. In order to fully realise the benefits of lean, its use should be
integrated into the companies’ strategy and projects’ early planning and design stages but
throughout the whole project delivery process. However, a barrier to that is the lack of systematic
understanding of the lean principles, techniques and tools in the industry at large. Modern lean
thinking and practices are found to be closely related with other emerging concepts and practices
including sustainability, e.g. green building and net zero carbon, computer-supported approaches,
e.g. BIM, Virtual Reality and real-time construction simulation, safety, and advanced
prefabrication, e.g. modular design, robotic and automated construction. How lean for
productivity and these emerging themes interact warrants future research. Such research should
enlighten the construction industry in examining lean as today’s solution and predicting its future
scenarios. For future research synergies should be created or expanded between the various
stakeholders, which can be facilitated by industry-university collaboration. This workshop
provided a forum, but more importantly initiated a channel, for practitioners and researchers to
interact and explore the need and the way forward for adopting lean construction for improving
productivity in the construction industry.
Workshop Report | Executive Summary
1
Introduction
T
his report summarises the workshop on “Lean Construction for Improving Productivity
in the Hong Kong Construction Industry” held at Multi-purpose Hall of Graduate House
in The University of Hong Kong on 27 August 2015.
The construction industry has long been criticised in many countries and regions for low levels
of performance in relation to cost and time overruns, poor quality, disputes, and other problems
leading to impaired efficiency and waste1. The current construction industry in Hong Kong faces
severe challenges in relation to increasingly stringent regulations, aging workforce and skills
shortages and their triggered high labour costs, and transition of development from the fastspeed to sustainability-oriented mode.
Lean construction has been widely recognised as an effective approach to improving productivity
in the construction industry 23 . However, the take-up of the lean approach in the Hong Kong
construction industry appears low, coupled with few lean construction standards and tools in use.
The University of Hong Kong has conducted a research project to examine lean construction
standards and tools for Hong Kong and explore its potential in improving productivity. The
workshop was held to report the findings of the research project of lean construction in Hong
Kong, covering the knowledge of lean construction, the status quo, benefits and future
development of lean construction in Hong Kong. The workshop also aimed to explore future
research and develop synergies for collaboration between the stakeholders in the relevant areas.
1 Lean Construction Institute – LCI (2013) http://www.leanconstruction.org/
2 Egan, J. (1998) Rethinking Construction, Construction Task Force Report for the Department of the Environment,
Transport and the Regions, HMSO, London.
3 Song LG and Liang DA. (2011) Lean construction implementation and its implication on sustainability: a contractor's case
study. Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering 38: 350-359.
Workshop Report | Introduction
2
Workshop Participants
Nearly 100 practitioners, professionals, researchers and academics participated in the workshop.
The participants covered the different stakeholder groups in the Hong Kong construction
industry, including developers/clients; principal contractors; specialist contractors; architects;
consulting engineers; manufacturers and suppliers; government departments; and institutions.
The List of participants is provided in Appendix 2.
Workshop Report | Workshop Participants
3
Workshop Agenda
The workshop mainly included four presentations that were focused on different aspects of lean
construction for productivity, and two interactive theme-based group discussion sessions that
engaged all of the participants. The workshop agenda is provided in Appendix 3.
Workshop Report | Workshop Agenda
4
Summary of Presentations
The workshop featured four speakers who shared their perspectives and experiences with lean
construction for improving productivity.
(A) “Lean Construction Status Quo, Benefits and Future Development” by Dr Wei Pan
Dr Wei Pan, Associate Director of CICID, presented on the status quo, benefits and future
development of lean construction in the Hong Kong construction industry based on the research
findings from the project including literature
review and interviews. He introduced the
concept of lean construction, the foreseeable
benefits and challenges of implementing lean
in the Hong Kong construction industry. He
reported that lean construction as a term has
not been used widely in the Hong Kong
construction industry, but its related practices
such as prefabrication, BIM and sustainable
construction have been adopted. Also, he
pinpointed that the biggest challenge of implementing lean construction has been considered to
be people’s mind-set, and recommended that collaboration between different stakeholders is
essential for the future development of lean.
(B) “Applying Lean Thinking in Construction Project Management” by Ir Dr Sammy Wan
Ir Dr Sammy Wan, Head of Quality, Safety and Environment Department of ATAL, shared their
experience in applying lean thinking in construction project management. Dr Wan reviewed the
concept of lean from production, and its
necessity in construction projects. Lean
thinking is helpful to improve coordination
and communication and to control the
schedule of the construction project. He also
highlighted the importance of applying lean
in the whole project life cycle through rapid
evaluation of alternatives, site based design,
joint design reviews, collaborative planning,
clash detection, simulation and analysis, etc.
He concluded that lean is to think smart and effective use of such approach can benefit the
construction industry.
Workshop Report | Summary of Presentations
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(C) “BIM and Mobile Technology for Construction Wastage Reduction” by Mr Stephen Au
Mr Stephen Au, Managing Director of
MTECH Engineering Company Ltd,
elaborated
how
BIM
and
mobile
technology can be used for construction
wastage reduction. His presentation
was delivered using IPAD for the
purpose of demonstrating how mobile
technology can be used. A number of
project case studies were employed in
the presentation. Mr Au also showed
how construction quality control and time control can be done more efficiently and conveniently
with the aid of mobile apps. From his demonstrations, the concept of lean for maximising value
and minimising waste can be effectively achieved with the use of IT tools.
(D) “Lean Construction Standards: International Practices” by Mr Stephen Au Mr Coleman Tse,
Mr Coleman Tse, Sales and Marketing Director of BSI HK, presented on how to develop a lean
construction standard based on international practices. He first clarified the challenges of how to
assist the consistent development and application of Lean tools across the industry. Then he
introduced the concept of a standard and used an example of BIM standard to illustrate the
development of standards. For the future
development of lean construction in Hong
Kong, Mr Tse advocated that it is critical to
develop relevant standards for lean
construction for productivity.
The
presentations
are
provided
in
Appendix 1.
Workshop Report | Summary of Presentations
6
Summary of Discussion
For the discussion sessions, all the participants were divided into eight groups randomly with
adjustment to make sure that each group covered different stakeholders. Four topics (A, B, C, D)
of questions were predesigned and assigned to the groups: with Groups 1-4 discussing Topics A
and B, and Groups 5-8 discussing Topics C and D. Each group reported back to the audience with
their conclusions after their discussion. The discussion and conclusions are summarised below.
Discussion Session 1
The first discussion session was focused on Topics A and B, namely, “Understanding and
Perspectives of Lean and Benefits” and “Challenges and Drivers for Lean Construction”,
respectively. The provided questions for discussion on these two topics were:
Topic A: Understanding and Perspectives of Lean and Benefits
1. What benefits do you see from the use of lean construction in Hong Kong?
2. Should we promote the concept of “lean construction” in Hong Kong? Or should we forget
about the concept of lean but focus on the specific principles and techniques, e.g. BIM,
prefabrication?
3. How would we change people’s perspectives towards lean in construction?
Topic B: Challenges and Drivers for Lean Construction
1. What do you think are the major challenges to the use of lean construction in HK?
2. How could the Government drive the use of lean construction in HK?
3. How could the construction industry capitalise on the use of lean construction?
4. How could universities and institutions help promote the use of lean construction in HK?
Understanding and Perspectives of Lean and Benefits
Q1: What benefits do you see from the use of lean construction in Hong Kong?
It was generally considered that “lean construction” is a useful approach to maximizing value and
Workshop Report | Summary of Discussion
7
minimizing waste in the construction project. A variety of benefits from the use of the lean
approach were identified by each of the groups, among which most were considered to be
interconnected with each other. The identified benefits and views are summarized as follows.

Lean construction can improve the efficiency, productivity, safety, though-life quality, and
sustainability of construction projects.

Lean construction can reduce cost, construction wastage, waiting time and delivery time,
and mistakes of the project.

Construction organisations are able to improve its competiveness and internal
management with the use of lean construction.

The benefits of adopting lean construction may also depend on the decision maker and
stakeholder of concern. For example, builders may be more concerned with efficiency and
safety, while home owners be more interested in quality.

Commercial value or cost was often regarded as the most important (sometimes the only
one) factor that affects the market. Although reducing cost is one of the benefits of
adopting lean construction, additional cost of incorporating this approach into practices
is also a big challenge.
Q2: Should we promote the concept of “lean construction” in Hong Kong? Or should we forget about
the concept of lean but focus on the specific principles and techniques, e.g. BIM, prefabrication?
Most of the participants agreed with that the concept of lean construction should be promoted in
HK and it is valuable. The typical views were:

The concept of “lean construction” should be promoted in Hong Kong but it is difficult
since there is no concrete model for it. Therefore, it could be necessary and better to
integrate BIM with the concept of “lean construction”, which could be more sustainable
and innovative.

The concept of “lean construction” has rarely been used in the Hong Kong construction
industry and people are more familiar with the practices such as prefabrication and BIM.
However, these practices are examples of applying lean construction and the promotion
of the concept of “lean construction” will be valuable as it may help achieve systematic
understanding of many relevant good practices.

The current application of BIM is mainly to fulfil the project tender requirements. Many
of the small contractors just hire other companies to build the BIM model for their tenders
without a continuous use of BIM for project delivery. However, BIM can also be used for
operation, training and maintenance. Rather than making BIM a tender requirement per
se, it is more important for people to be aware of the reasons of using such tools for
improving efficiency and reducing waste during the construction project life cycle.
Therefore, it is necessary to promote the concept of “lean construction”, which provides
a holistic picture of how to improve efficiency during the whole process of the
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construction project.

The use of any specific lean principles and tools depends on what kind of project we face
and which role we take, while integrating lean into our thinking is more important. Some
can regard lean construction as the use of specific tools, and others consider such
approach to be the way in the management to reduce unnecessary cost and waste.
In the meantime, some participants commented that it might be easier and more achievable to
just promote the use of specific lean principles and techniques in Hong Kong. The perspectives
are summarised as follows.

Instead of promoting the term “lean construction”, it may be more efficient to promote
the success stories with the use of particular lean principles and techniques.

It is not necessary to use the word “lean”. Diverse expressions of this concept, e.g. waste
reduction, can also be adopted. It might be more flexible to use different terms in tandem
to best promote the ‘lean’ concept.
Q3: How would we change people’s perspectives towards lean in construction?
Three main pathways had been highlighted by the participants to change people’s mind-set
towards lean in construction.

Education and training were identified as the most important way to change people’s
mind-set towards lean in construction. Some participants considered that it might require
a long time to change people’s mind-set towards lean and we need to educate people from
college or university. Lean construction can be introduced as a new subject in the study
of construction related courses. Also, it is important to train people in the industry to
understand clearly the definition of lean construction and how to perform it.

The use of good cases and models of applying lean was suggested. In order to change
people’s mind-set, an efficient way is to demonstrate the benefits of adopting lean to
public and stakeholders.

Incentives of using lean were recommended for the promotion of this concept in Hong
Kong. The example of GFA concession was given in the promotion of BEAM Plus. However,
also raised was the problem that who should pay for such incentives, especially for
private-sector projects. Some participants warned that even if the contractor would adopt
lean construction with incentives, there would still be a lack of spontaneous demand for
lean and the mind-set of the contractor may not necessarily change.
There was also another viewpoint that most workers, in order to earn more with less effort, would
naturally choose the most efficient way to finish the work and apply lean spontaneously.
Therefore, rather than to change their mind-set, it is more appropriate to integrate lean with the
principles and practices that they have already applied, which should help accelerate the take-up
of the lean approach.
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Challenges and Drivers for Lean Construction
Q1: What do you think are the major challenges to the use of lean construction in HK?
Four major challenges to the use of lean construction in HK were identified and discussed by the
participants, which are summarised as follows.

It was commented that the majority of practitioners in the Hong Kong construction
industry were not familiar with the term “lean construction”. The first challenge identified
was that an exact definition of lean construction should be introduced in the Hong Kong
construction industry. A lack of government guidance was thought as a major barrier. One
group suggested a definition that lean construction is a management system for a project,
covering theory, approach, methods, mind-set, measures, standards, for the full life cycle
of a project.

The second challenge was identified as the management of people or the change of culture
in the use of lean construction. One participant (a design coordinator) shared that in his
experience, among all factors, the hardest part to manage is “people”. It is the case that
the implementation of lean construction will introduce new ways and techniques, while
the reluctance of people to change their traditional methods of construction can be a great
challenge. Another group commented that the education level of workers onsite is too low
and it might be difficult to train them to take up lean.

The third challenge was identified as the lack of willingness of stakeholders to adopt and
invest on lean. Some participants agreed that most stakeholders have little awareness of
the benefits from the use of lean construction and therefore do not use it. Some others
mentioned that a construction project in HK normally lasts for a small number of years,
and therefore the contractor may not consider incorporating new ideas or technology
such as lean construction into their practices.

The fourth challenge was considered to be different perspectives and interests among
different stakeholders. Lean construction advocates minimising the waste and
maximising the value throughout the whole project delivery process, for success of which
collaboration among the project stakeholders is essential. Therefore, it is important but
challenging to strike a balance between aspirations of different stakeholders in their
application of lean construction, e.g. construction speed, aesthetics of constructed
facilities, environmental performance, and project cost.

The fifth challenge was identified as the geographical constraint to the application of lean
in Hong Kong due to its high-density urban features. For example, on-site or near-site
prefabrication can help save time and cost for transportation and is a lean strategy for
production, but is very difficult in Hong Kong due to the limited site space. As a result,
significant time and resources are allocated for transportation of materials and products.
Q2: How could the Government drive the use of lean construction in HK?
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Government was highlighted as the most important driver for the uptake of lean construction in
HK. Many participants believed that the Government should take the lead and coordinate
different stakeholders to promote lean thinking and lean applications.

It was suggested that a scoring system or standard be established by the Government as
part of its procurement specifications to require the use of lean construction techniques.

Participants also recommended the need for including in relevant Government policy,
regulation, guidance and ordinance to help promote the uptake of the lean approach.

International learning was recommended. Exemplary cases can be found in Singapore,
where the government led a multi-agency effort to implement a BIM electronic
submission (e-submission) system 4 in 2007, and mandates BIM e-submissions for all
building projects greater than 5,000 square meters in 20155.

Government allowance and incentives were also suggested to encourage the use of lean
construction in HK.
Q3: How could the construction industry capitalise on the use of lean construction?

It was suggested that the lean approach should be introduced in the very beginning of the
project delivery process and lean techniques be required in the tender. To fully capitalise
on the use of lean construction all stakeholders should be engaged from early project
planning and design stages. Opportunities of realising the benefits from lean decreases
when the project proceeds; it would be too late if the use of lean construction is only
considered when the contractor is selected.

It was considered that the construction industry can establish indicators and benchmarks
of savings, e.g. of cost and efficiency, from the adoption of lean construction, which will
help raise the awareness of the industry of the benefits of applying lean.
Q4: How could universities and institutions help promote the use of lean construction in HK?

Several groups indicated that education is a very important part in the promotion of lean
construction. In this regard, universities should play the key role in educating students on
lean construction and its applications.

Professionals and researchers can help to promote the use of lean construction through
research or case studies. The research results and findings can be disseminated through
publications and seminars and workshops engaging practitioners and professionals.
4 Building and Construction Authority (2013), Building Information Modelling (BIM),
http://www.bca.gov.sg/bim/bimlinks.html.
5 Between the Poles (2014), Singapore mandates BIM e-submissions for building projects greater than 5000 square meters,
http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2014/12/singapore-mandates-bim-e-submissions-for-projects-greater-than-5000square-meters.html
11

Research collaboration between industry and academia has been emphasised by the
participants as another effective way of promoting lean. Universities and institutions can
work together to demonstrate lean construction. An example of ‘Lean Building Award’
was given for promoting the use of lean through competition.
Summary of Session 1
The discussion of most groups began with the
exchange of the participants’ understanding
and knowledge of lean construction. However,
a lot of attendants had not heard about the
term “lean construction” before this workshop.
Many participants mentioned that the concept
of “lean construction” is rarely used in Hong
Kong, and not many people are familiar with it
but may have already used lean techniques and
tools in their practices, such as prefabrication and BIM. Some attendants commented that many
contractors in Hong Kong have been promoting and building into their practices the concepts of
safety, total quality and sustainability, but just have not employed the term “lean”.
Nevertheless, although lean related principles
and techniques have been applied in the Hong
Kong construction industry to some extent, it
was acknowledged that the promotion of “lean
construction” as a concept should still be
important and valuable. One argument was that
the promotion of the concept which covers a lot
of topics can help to achieve a systemic
understanding of lean and improve the project
performance in multiple ways. Another argument was that the promotion of the concept can also
facilitate the application of relevant tools and techniques.
The benefits of applying lean construction were
clearly identified through the discussion. If
applied effectively, lean can help to maximise
value of the project, such as improving time
efficiency, financial performance and quality of
outputs, and minimise waste of materials, time,
labour and other kinds of resources. Lean if
integrated into business strategy can also help
with corporate development.
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Whilst the benefits were clearly identified, a lot of challenges were raised during the discussion.
First, there is no clear cross-industry definition. Government, institutions and universities are
recommended to take the lead to formulate a clear definition and develop guidance for lean
construction. The establishment of a scoring system or standard by the government was
suggested. Second, many organisations and
practitioners are locked in the traditional
methods of construction and therefore are
reluctant to change their mind-set. In order to
overcome this, suggestions such as education
and training, use of good examples of applying
lean, and incentives for using lean construction
were provided. Third, there is a lack of
demonstration to stakeholders what and how
they could benefit from investing in lean construction. Addressing this, exemplary cases to
demonstrate the benefits of lean especially in the commercial aspect were highly required.
Nevertheless, the process of promoting lean thinking and adopting lean construction requires a
step change to the organizational or project culture and may take a long time. Therefore, even
when the benefits of lean are well demonstrated, many companies in the HK construction
industry may still not adopt this approach in their practices. Addressing this Government
promotion through regulation, procurement and/or incentives should help. Fourth, effective use
of lean requires effective coordination between different stakeholders. However, it is difficult to
strike a balance between various aspirations of different stakeholders. Some may benefit from
the use of lean directly but others may not. Therefore, lean should be integrated into the project
or organisational strategy, for value co-creation and cooperation in the long term. Fifth, there is a
geographical constraint to the application of lean in Hong Kong due to its high-density urban
features. Shared resources and collaborations among competitors are suggested to be potential
solutions, as well as pathways to lean.
Discussion Session 2
The second discussion session was focused on the topics of “Lean Related Approaches, Tools and
Standards” and “Future Development of Lean Construction in HK”. The provided questions for
discussion on these two topics were:
Topic C: Lean Related Approaches, Tools and Standards
1. What are the most important lean related approaches, tools and standards for improving
construction productivity in HK?
2. How could we promote the use of the relevant lean approaches in HK, e.g. BIM, prefabrication,
low carbon building?
3. How would you think lean construction standards or guidance could help with improving
productivity in HK?
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Topic D: Future Development of Lean Construction in HK
1. How would you see the future development of lean construction in HK?

Today’s solution

Dynamics scenario

Deferring scenario
2. What knowledge gaps do you see in the use of lean construction for productivity
improvement in HK?
3. How could we enhance industry-academia collaboration? How could any lean construction
working group help with that?
Lean Related Approaches, Tools and Standards
Q1: What are the most important lean related approaches, tools and standards for improving
construction productivity in HK?
There is a lack of standards that support lean construction in HK. Some related approaches and
tools were identified during the discussion as follows:

Standards: BEAM Plus; BIM standard; standards for precast and prefabrication

Approaches and tools: BIM; prefabrication; transportation optimisation and GPS tracking
of construction materials and components; life cycle management; automatic software;
other IT tools

Others: GHG emission reduction protocol
Q2: How could we promote the use of the relevant lean approaches in HK, e.g. BIM, prefabrication,
low carbon building?
The recommendations are summarised below:

The Government should drive and encourage the industry to apply these approaches
through the combination of the means of policies and incentive programmes. It was noted
that although some Government Departments such as Housing Department and Buildings
Department have already in place requirements for particular approaches or technologies
for construction projects, a comprehensive policy framework for relevant lean
approaches is still missing. The participants emphasised the need for a holistic policy for
applying innovative approaches. Examples of incentive programmes were identified such
as GFA concession, and some others were proposed including BIM bonus scheme and
saving bonus programmes for consultant. It was also considered useful to establish
relevant awards to practices that demonstrate cost effectiveness given the dominant
commercial market in HK.
14

The Government should also organize or support relevant forums and professional panel,
through which stakeholders can share the knowledge and disseminate the benefits and
experiences of lean construction.

The Government, institutions and universities were recommended to take the lead to
develop guidance for implementing lean and case studies of good practice to demonstrate
the benefits.

Education and training were regarded as essential to promoting the use of lean
approaches.

It was also commented that different strategies may be employed to promote the use of
different lean approaches as lean is a banner and covers many techniques and tools.
Q3: How would you think lean construction standards or guidance could help with improving
productivity in HK?
Standards or guidance of lean construction were recognised by the participants as important
means to help to improve productivity in the HK construction industry. The key points of
discussion are summarised below:

Standards or guidance can be used to help educate people and change their mind-set in
the use of lean construction. Effective adoption of the lean construction standards or
guidance should help achieve the benefits of lean and improve construction productivity.

The Government can set clear requirements for lean through standards or guidance,
based on which practitioners can achieve a clear understanding of the expectations. This
can help improve efficiency and transparency.

The use of standards or guidance can help demonstrate and promote best practices. The
adoption of best practices will contribute to industry-wide productivity improvement.

The use of standards or guidance will also help construction companies to measure their
performance and identify strategies for continuous improvement.
Future Development of Lean Construction in HK
Q1: How would you see the future development of lean construction in HK?

Today’s solution - This is the trend. HK is facing a lot of challenges (e.g. labour, environment,
low productivity) and lean construction should be a solution.

Dynamics scenario - There is a need to promote lean construction, but the future
development depends on how to implement. Also, it depends on the project.

Deferring scenario - It will happen slowly, and next generation might use it, but not in the
near future.
With regard to the future development of lean construction in Hong Kong, different perspectives
were received based on the three scenarios listed above. Most attendants considered the
dynamics scenario, although there is a foreseeable increasing trend of using lean related tools, e.g.
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BIM. The challenges of implementing lean in the Hong Kong construction industry are diverse and
the future development requires combined efforts from the Government, industrial practitioners,
universities and institutions. The most critical driver should be the Government, without which
lean might still not be widely adopted in the Hong Kong construction industry.
Q2: What knowledge gaps do you see in the use of lean construction for productivity improvement
in HK?

Lack of education and communications on lean. How to educate the frontline trades and
workforce on the concept and use of lean construction was identified as a critical
knowledge gap. There is also a lack of communication between the workforce and lean
expert.

Skills shortages. The design that adopts the lean approach may not necessarily be
achieved onsite by trades and workers who may still carry on their traditional practices.
Training programme on lean construction was suggested to be of great importance.
Q3: How could we enhance industry-academia collaboration? How could any lean construction
working group help with that?

The participants suggested establishing a formal working group, initiative or organisation
for promoting lean construction in Hong Kong. The organisation should involve people
from both industry and academia, and provide a platform for industry-academia
communication and collaboration.

It was also suggested that workshops, taskforces or seminars be organised to involve
multiple stakeholder groups from industry, institutions and universities, in order to
explore the knowledge and good practices of lean construction and support the
achievement of integrated design and construction processes.
Summary of Session 2
The second discussion session was focused on the current practices and future development of
lean construction in Hong Kong.
It was acknowledged that no standards for lean
construction have been developed in Hong
Kong, and related approaches and tools include
BEAM Plus, BIM standard, and precast and
prefabrication standards and codes. Besides,
the approaches of BIM, prefabrication, GPS
tracking, life cycle management and IT based
methods
were
recognised
essential
to
improving productivity in the Hong Kong
construction industry. Other common lean
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approaches, such as The Laster Planner System, A3 report, 5S, Just-in-time, were not highlighted
by the participants, which however have been widely used in other countries, e.g. US and UK
where “lean construction” is a well-established practice. Some participants knew about or utilised
some similar tools, but had not realised them as lean construction approaches or techniques. This
finding verifies the lack of knowledge of lean construction in Hong Kong. Therefore, lean
construction guidance or standard should help improve the knowledge base of lean. Existing
relevant institutions or new initiative or organisations are required to help disseminate lean
related knowledge and promote lean construction.
In order to promote lean approaches, government policy and incentive programmes, forums,
education and training, and case studies of good practices were recommended. Lean construction
standards or guidance were agreed by the
participants as important means to help
improve productivity in the HK construction
industry.
Participants
believed
that
lean
construction standards or tools can help set
clear lean requirements, offer effective lean
education, demonstrate good lean practices, and
enable internal and external benchmarking,
which together can help to improve the
productivity of the industry.
For the future development of lean construction in Hong Kong, most participants speculated the
dynamic scenario. Despite the increasing use of lean related tools, e.g. BIM, the participants
considered that the future development of the concept of “lean construction” or “lean thinking” is
still uncertain in HK. Accelerated uptake of lean in the construction industry requires the lead
from the Government, awareness from the industry, and support from universities and
institutions. In order to close the knowledge gap, industry-academia collaboration should be
enhanced. To establish a formal working
group, initiative or organisation for lean
construction in Hong Kong was proposed. Such
body should play the roles of disseminating
lean related knowledge to the wide public and
stakeholders,
providing
industry-academia
a
platform
collaboration,
for
and
organising events for exploration of particular
aspects of lean construction.
17
Conclusions
The current construction industry in Hong Kong faces severe challenges in relation to
increasingly stringent regulations, aging workforce and skills shortages and their triggered high
labour costs, and transition of development from the fast-speed to sustainability-oriented mode.
Yet, the industry has long been criticised for low levels of performance such as cost and time
overruns, impaired quality and disputes. This report has summarised the discourse and
proceedings of the strategic workshop on “Lean Construction for Improving Productivity in the
Hong Kong Construction Industry” held at The University of Hong Kong on 27 August 2015.
Although the term ‘lean construction’ was not well-known to many practitioners, understanding
and application of lean construction techniques and tools were identified in the HK construction
industry. Lean construction was considered to be an effective approach to improving productivity,
with the benefits of maximising value of the project, such as improving time efficiency, financial
performance and quality of outputs, and minimising waste of materials, time, labour and other
kinds of resources. If integrated into business strategy lean can also help with corporate
development. However, there also existed significant challenges. There was a lack of systemic
understanding of the lean principles, techniques and tools in the industry at large. The lean
applications were found to be fragmented and spontaneous, which should be promoted to be
systemic and structured to enable a step change in industry practices. In order to fully realise the
benefits of lean, the use of lean should be integrated into the companies’ strategy and projects’
early planning and design stages but throughout the whole project delivery process. The
presentations given at the workshop and the discussion among all the participating practitioners
and professionals contributed invaluable knowledge, experiences and suggestions. Future
research should examine lean in relation to its closely related emerging concepts and practices
including sustainability, e.g. green building and net zero carbon, computer-supported approaches,
e.g. BIM, Virtual Reality and real time construction simulation, safety, and advanced
prefabrication, e.g. modular design, robotic and automated construction. How lean for
productivity interacts with these emerging themes warrants future research which should also
explore the future scenarios of lean. For such future research synergies should be created or
expanded between the various stakeholders, e.g. industry-university collaboration. This
workshop provided a forum, but more importantly initiated a channel, for industrial practitioners
and researchers to interact and explore the need and way forward for adopting lean construction
for improving productivity in the construction industry.
Workshop Report | Conclusions
18
Appendix 1: Workshop Presentations
Lean Construction Status Quo, Benefits and Future Development
Dr Wei Pan, Associate Director, CICID, The University of Hong Kong
Workshop Report | Appendix 1: Workshop Presentations
19
20
21
22
Applying Lean Thinking in Construction Project Management
Ir Dr Sammy Wan, Head of Quality, Safety and Environment, ATAL
23
24
25
26
27
BIM and Mobile Technology for Construction Wastage Reduction
Mr Stephen Au, Managing Director, MTECH Engineering Company Ltd
28
29
Lean Construction Standards: International Practices
Mr Coleman Tse, Sales and Marketing Director, BSI HK
30
31
32
Appendix 2: List of Workshop Participants
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Title
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Dr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Mr.
Dr.
Mr.
Dr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Mr.
Ms.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Mr.
Surname
Au
Brook
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chan
Chen
Chen
Cheung
Cheung
Cheung
Cheung
Cheung
Cheung
Choi
Choi
Chu
Chuang
Fok
29
30
31
32
33
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Dr.
Fok
Fung
Gowran
He
Ho
34
35
36
Ms.
Mr.
Dr.
Ho
Hsu
Hung
Given Names
Stephen
Matt
Bong Kwok
Chiu Man
Chun Fung, Alfred
David
Harry
Ho Leung
Ho-ting, Oli
Patrick W T
Sam
Sheung Chi
Victor W T
Goldie
Kei Yui, Matt
Hai Bo
Long
Karen
Martin
Matthew
Miu Hung
Sum Yeung
Connie
Dixon
Donald
Siuleung
Argoon
Kin Chuen,
Francis
Yik Cheung
Bok Hoi
Brian
Qiong
Raymond Chungtai
Sunny
Albert
Jeffrey
Organisation
Advisian Limited
C M Wong & Associates Ltd
HUNS Engineering Co., Ltd.
Architectural Services Department
Hong Kong - China Concrete Co., Ltd
Projection Group
The Institution of Civil Engineers
Buildings Department
BCI Asia Construction Information Ltd
BIG ASS FANS ( Hong Kong ) Ltd
K. Wah Construction Materials (HK) Ltd.
Hong Kong Green Building Council
Manningsasia Consultants
VSC Building Products Company Limited
Meinhardt
Anderson Concrete Ltd
Wo Lee Steel Co Ltd
Meinhadt
Arup
Mitsubishi Elevator Hong Kong Co. Ltd.
Gammon Construction Ltd
Dashun Policy Research Centre
CLP
Friends of the Earth
Workshop Report | Appendix 2: List of Workshop Participants
33
No.
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
Title
Mr.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Mr.
Ms.
Mr.
Surname
Ip
Jaillon
Katsanos
Kong
Koo
Kwong
Kwong
Lai
Lam
Lam
Given Names
Tony
Lara
Alex
Jason
Pak Yin
Alex
Serena
Chun Kwan
Erica
Tsz Shun
47
48
49
50
51
52
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Ms.
Lau
Lau
Lee
Leung
Leung
Leung
53
54
Mr.
Mr.
Leung
Li
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
Mr.
Mr.
Dr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Dr.
Ms.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
LI
Li
Lin
Linn
Liu
Lo
Long
Luk
Mak
Mo
Ng
Wing Yin, Vico
Patrick
Frankie
Alfred
Davis
Oi Kwan,
Katherine
Tat Hei
Guan Dong,
Calvin
KaLun
Kevin
Pingying
Ambrose
Henry
Vincent
Hui
Ning Ning
CK
Jia Xuan
Ka Ho
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Dr.
Dr.
Dr
Mr.
Mr.
Ngai
Niu
Pan
Pan
Qin
Rowlinson
Sin
Siu
Kwok Kan
Sanyuan
Mi
Wei
Hao
Steve
Ka Chun
Alan
Organisation
Ronald Lu & Partners
City University of Hong Kong
Advisian Limited
MindPower Development Academy
Wo Lee Steel Co Ltd
Aecom
Gammon Construction Limited
Meinhardt Infrastructure and Environment
Limited
VSC Steel Co. Ltd.
Advisian Limited
Chun Wo
BSI
Glodon (HongKong) Software Limited
Hong Kong Construction Materials Association
China State Construction
Meinhardt
AECOM
34
No.
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
Title
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Ms
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Dr.
Dr
Mr.
Ms.
Ms.
Ms.
Mr.
Dr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
Ms.
Dr.
Surname
Siu
So
Stuart
Sze
Tan
Tsang
Tse
Tse
Tsien
Tung
Wan
Wong
Wong
Wong
Wong
Wu
Xu
Yeung
Yeung
Yip
Yu
Zhan
Zhang
Given Names
Henry
Derek
Gethin
Kong Ping
Kristy
Siu Fung
Coleman
Kam Leung
Deborah
Hoi Yan Candy
Sammy
Derek
Luciana Wong
Priscilla
Xi Zi
Alan
Frank
Kin Sun
Vincent
KaShing, Near
Cong
Wenting
Xueqing
98
Mr.
Zhang
Wei
99
Ms.
Zhao
Xiaojing
Organisation
Meinhardt
Gammon Construction Limited
Ove Arup
Gammon Construction Ltd.
Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald
CLP
LNS Limited
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)
Hong Kong - China Concrete Co., Ltd.
Civil Department, HKU
Gammon Construction.com
Glodon (HongKong) Software Limited
Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology
Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology
35
Appendix 3: Workshop Agenda
3:45 - 4:00 pm
Registration
4:00 - 4:10 pm
Welcome and Overview
Ir Prof C K Mak, Vice Chairman, CICID, The University of Hong Kong
4:10 - 4:25 pm
Lean Construction Status Quo, Benefits and Future Development
Dr Wei Pan, Associate Director, CICID, The University of Hong Kong
4:25 - 4:40 pm
Applying Lean Thinking in Construction Project Management
Ir Dr Sammy Wan, Head of Quality, Safety and Environment, ATAL
4:40 - 5:00 pm
Group Discussion (with refreshments)
5:00 - 5:15 pm
BIM and Mobile Technology for Construction Wastage Reduction
Mr Stephen Au, Managing Director, MTECH Engineering Company Ltd
5:15 - 5:30 pm
Lean Construction Standards: International Practices
Mr Coleman Tse, Sales and Marketing Director, BSI HK
5:30 - 5:50 pm
Group Discussion (with refreshments)
5:50 - 6:00 pm
Summary
Workshop Report | Appendix 3: Workshop Agenda
36
Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms / List of Abbreviations
Term
Explanation / Meaning / Definition
5S
A disciplined approach to maintaining order in the workplace, using visual
controls, to eliminate waste. The 5S words are Sort, Set in Order, Shine/Sweep,
Standardize and Self-Discipline/Sustain.6
A3
A one-page report prepared on a single 11” x 17” sheet of paper that adheres to
the discipline of PDCA thinking as applied to collaborative problem solving,
strategy development or reporting. 6
ATAL
Analogue Group of Companies
BIM
Building Information Modelling
BSI
British Standards Institution
CIC
Construction Industry Council
CICID
Centre for Innovation in Construction and Infrastructure Development
GFA
Gross Floor Area
GHG
Greenhouse Gas
GPS
Global Positioning System
HK
Hong Kong
Last Planner
System
The collaborative, commitment-based planning system that integrates shouldcan-will-did planning with constraint analysis, weekly work planning based upon
reliable promises, and learning based upon analysis of PPC and Reasons for
Variance.6
Just-in-Time
A system for producing or delivering the right amount of parts or product at the
time it is needed for production. 6
6 Lean Construction Institute (2015), Glossary, http://www.leanconstruction.org/training/glossary
Workshop Report | Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms / List of Abbreviations
37
Workshop Report | Appendix 4: Glossary of Terms / ListThe
of Abbreviations
38 Kong
University of Hong
September 2015

Workshop Report - Hong Kong Zero Carbon Partnership

Transcription

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