2018BookofCases

75 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2018 Glossary A3 – This is a one-page report prepared on a single sheet of paper that adheres to the discipline of PDCA thinking as appl ied to col laborat ive problem solving, strategy development, or reporting. The A3 includes the background, problem statement, analysis, proposed actions, and the expected results. Activity – An identifiable chunk of work with recognised prerequisite requirements to begin and a recognised state of completion – or conditions of satisfaction. Another way to look at an activity is to establish the hand-offs for each chunk of work, thus defining the activity. Assignment – A request or offer that has resulted in a reliable promise and is ready to be placed on the weekly work plan for performance. An assignment must meet the characteristics for a quality assignment prior to inclusion on the weekly work plan. Buffer – A mechanism for deadening the force of reality unfolding in a manner that i s contrary to what was anticipated in the plan. For example, a capacity buffer is created by committing to complete less work than what would be achieved according to the planned capacity of the resource. If production falls behind schedule, there is capacity available for catching up. Lean production/construction generally prefers capacity buffers to inventory buffers. Building Information Model/Modelling (BIM) – The process of generating and managing building data during the life cycle of a building. BIM uses three-dimensional (3D), real-time, dynamic building modelling software. BIM includes building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, and quantities and properties of building components. BIM can include four-dimensional (4D) simulations to see how part or all of the facility is intended to be built and 5D capability for model-based estimating. BIM provides the platform for simultaneous conversations related to the design of the "product" and its delivery process Capacity – The amount of work that can be produced by an individual specialist or work group in a given period of time. Choosing By Advantages (CBA) – This is a tested, effective, and sound decision-making system developed by Jim Suhr (1999) for determining the best decision by looking at the advantages of each option. CBA has five phases of decision- making: (1) Stage-setting: establish the purpose and context for the decision; (2) Innovation: formulate an adequate set of alternatives; (3) Decision-making: choose the alternative with the greatest total impor tance of advantages ; (4) Reconsideration: change the decision if it should be changed or improved on; (5) Implementation: make the decision happen, adjust as needed, and evaluate the process and results. Commitment-based Planning – A planning system that is based on making and securing reliable promises in a team setting. Conditions of Satisfaction (CoS) – An explicit description by a customer of all the actual requirements that must be satisfied by the performer in order for the customer to feel that he or she received exactly what was wanted. Constraint – An item or requirement that will prevent an activity from starting, advancing, or completing as planned. Typical constraints on design tasks are inputs from others, clarity of requirements criteria for what is to be produced or provided, approvals or releases, and labour or equipment resources. Typical constraints on construction tasks are the completion of design or prerequisite work, or availability of materials, information and directives. Screening tasks for readiness is assessing the status of their constraints. Removing constraints is making a task ready to be assigned. Constraints Log – A list of constraints with identification of an individual promising to resolve the item by an agreed date. Typically developed during a review of the 6-week look-ahead plan when it is discovered that activities are not constraint free. Cont inuous Improvement (CI) – Integral to Lean, continuous improvement, or “Kaizen”, refers to the never- ending cycle of incremental efforts to improve products, services, and processes. Corrective Action Preventive Action (CAPA) – This is a process that investigates and solves problems, identifies causes, takes corrective action, and prevents recurrence of the root causes. The ultimate purpose of CAPA is to assure the problem can never be experienced again. Cost Model l ing – Developing a model of the cost components and systems speci f ic to a project and structuring it in a manner that the components and system costs can be continually updated either via benchmarks, metrics or detailed estimates to provide the team with a constantly up to date cost model for the project. In the TVD environment, the cost model should al low for projecting ‘what-if ’ scenarios based on value decisions that have yet to be made. Critical Path Method (CPM) – The critical path method is a step-by-step project management technique to identify activities on the critical path. It is an approach to project scheduling that breaks the project into several work tasks, displays them in a flow chart, and then calculates the project duration based on estimated durations for each task. It identifies tasks that are critical, time-wise, in completing the project. Glossary of Terms & Concepts