Project Production Systems Laboratory

Invitation to the Northern California Construction Industry

There is growing interest in the construction industry worldwide in the philosophy, rules and tools of Lean Construction. The University of California, Berkeley has been a leader in that development. We have played major roles in the International Group for Lean Construction (formed in 1993) and in the Lean Construction Institute (formed in 1997), and were the first university to incorporate Lean Construction into its project management curriculum.

The next step in the evolution of Lean Construction is to make the Northern California construction industry a laboratory for continuous learning. We have formed the Project Production Systems Laboratory (P²SL) to provide the organization in which the industry can collaborate and experiment. All members of the Northern California construction industry are invited to become contributors and to participate in the Laboratory: owners, insurers, financiers, regulators, architects, engineers, contractors, unions and suppliers.

Selection of research projects will be made collaboratively with contributing companies, but will include the following critical topics:

• Measure the benefits and costs of the lean project delivery system. This will include evaluation of specific lean tools such as Last Planner.
• Develop processes for lean design management; how to design to target costs, how to facilitate designer/builder collaboration, how to execute a set based design strategy, how to make design decisions at the last responsible moment, how to align design and construction work packages.
• Identify forms of contract (relational contracts) that facilitate pursuit of the lean ideal; namely, to deliver projects while maximizing value and minimizing waste.

The results of research projects will be developed into educational and training courses. Again, decision regarding what courses to develop will be made in collaboration with contributors. 

Supporters of this Initiative