In a recent blog titled Lean and Six Sigma in Construction, the concept of Lean Construction was discussed. 

The Last Planner System and Pull Planning are key parts of Lean Construction. What are they, and how are they used in Lean Construction?

Unified Works, a lean advisor for the construction industry, introduces the Last Planner System.

“The Last Planner System allows teams to identify constraints early on and clear them so that the work can flow with no disruptions. It raises the accountability of all participants, and it eliminates rework, waiting, and other wastes.” 

Benefits include:

  • Better collaboration
  • Better documentation
  • Accountability
  • Reduced time
  • Lower costs
  • Waste reduction
  • Reduction in aggravation

You can view their presentation here. 

The next presentation is from the Canadian Construction Association (CCA), the voice of the non-residential construction industry in Canada. The focus is on the implementation of the Last Planner by PCL, a group of independent general contracting construction companies in Canada, the United States, Australia and the Caribbean.

PCL saw Improved interaction of all the trades involved in the construction which leads to buy-in and reducing wasted time. 

You can view that video here.

Tuyen (Robert) Le, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering at Clemson University discusses Pull Planning as part of his CE 4330/6330 Construction Planning and Scheduling course

Pull Planning

  • A technique used to develop a coordinated plan for one phase of a project
  • Collaborative approach including those experts who will directly be responsible for supervising project work

Tuyen goes on to list the tools/materials required for Pull Planning session and gives a Pull Planning example.

You can view his video here.

Finally, having been introduced to the Last Planner and Pull Planning, what is the difference? We have an explanation from the Construction Accelerator Team in their short video.

Watch it here.