062 Logistics & Productivity PART 1

MAIN SOURCE :IMPROVING CONSTRUCTION LOGISTICS
Report of the Strategic Forum for Construction Logistics Group
August 2005
LOGISTICS &
PRODUCTIVITY
PART 1

Construction Productivity-Logistics
 Construction industry has been slower
than other industries to realise the benefits
that the application of good logistics can
provide.
 engaging designers at the very early
stages of construction process,
This allows them to consider important issues
such as:
 how the components they design might be
delivered to site,

 when the component will be needed,
 Is the supplier located close to the site,
 Is the supplier in UK or abroad?
 how it will be handled on site,
This kind of pre-planning can lead to a
substantial reduction in:
 Unnecessary transport costs,
 time wasting, and damage on site.

Steps to take:
1. Identify the key issues that need to be addressed
to improve logistics,
Develop an Action Plan:
1. MUST highlight every steps is needed to be
undertaken by the different parts of the industry.
Establish a Methods:
1. by which the impact of the proposals in the
Action Plan can be measured,
2. a resulting improvement in logistics must be
demonstrated,

Originating from this,
 chose to focus on important variables such as:
1. Design
2. Transport
3. Stockholding
4. Housekeeping
5. More efficient use of on-site labour.

062 Logistics & Productivity PART 1

Inadequacy of logistics in the construction
process can be demonstrate in areas such
as:
 part-loads lorries,
 whereas the retail sector and manufacturing
industry are constantly working to
consolidate delivery loads to ;
1. maximise volume of delivery for each trip,
2. reduce transport costs,

 Many deliveries arriving at construction
sites must wait to gain access to site,
 wait for a long time to be unloaded,
 This becomes more of a problem when
project is big,
 or it is in the heart of the town,
 Retail and other sectors designate time
slots for supplier deliveries.
 Construction industry should follow time
slot policy.

In retail
 late or early deliveries can be turned away,
 suppliers are charged a penalty.
In construction,
 skilled craftsmen are often being asked to carry
out non skilled workers job.
Some observers argue that:
 some times 50% of skilled worker’s time are
used for non-skilled works.

 Amongst the non-skilled work, skilled workers
often get involved in:
 unloading lorries,
 moving products around site,
 they are asked to clear site from waste/hazards,
Other industrial and retail sectors use special
equipment to unload lorries,
 There are specially trained teams to deal with
material handling activities.

 products are often stored on site for long
periods of time,
 have to be moved to other parts of the site
when they are eventually needed.
 Unlike JIT deliveries-materials get damaged
on site,
 As a result material wastage are high in
some sites.
 Waste control and logistics have a strong
correlation.

 Retailers /other industries are continually
trying to reduce inventories,
 Make sure that goods are stored in the
most appropriate location.
Effort goes into:
 delivering the right quantities at the right
time,
 This has been achieved through the use
of lean methods such as:

 Supply Chain Management,
 Just-In-Time techniques.
 It is based on lean manufacturing, of the Toyota
Production system.
 developed by Taichii Ohno in the 1950s.
 Lean construction is a process used to maximize
value and reduce waste.
 Lean construction comes from Lean production.
 It captures these objectives through the use of
Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Just-In-Time
(JIT) techniques,

 In construction-higher proportion of damaged
and waste product than in other sectors.
 There is little formal training in logistics,
 there are a large number of tasks that needs
proper planning,
 They come under good logistics .
 In many other sectors, training in logistics skills
is given much greater priority,
 some companies employ people with degrees
in the subject,

 specialist contractors often arrive on site too
early or too late,
 They always claim that previous job finished
later than it was expected.
 Good manufacturers plan their work properly.
 There continues to be much secondary working
on site.
 whereas other industrial sectors make every
effort to get it right first time.
 Avoiding multiple handling.

What are the consequences of poor
Logistics?
Unnecessary cost in the system
 Research by Building Services Research
and Information Association (BSRIA) in the
10 years since 2000 has shown that:
 on average 10% of the working day of site
operatives in all trades is lost due to:
 waiting for materials,

 collecting materials,
 tools,
 equipment.
 site operations account for about 30% of
construction costs,
 this would suggest that this inefficiency
alone is adding about £3billion to the
annual cost of construction.

Poor image of the construction industry
 Lorries waiting on the main road to unload
does not give the image of an efficient
industry.
 Poorly run sites with skilled craftsmen
being used for un-skilled jobs,
 This will reduce the construction
productivity.

 Excessive waste on site does not represent a
good image,
 environmental concerns should be at the top
of its agenda,
 large amounts of waste being removed from
site,
 Approximately around 85% of which goes to
landfill.
 companies are expected to pay attention into
corporate social responsibility.

Poor quality construction work
 Working in a non productive manner will
inevitably make the industry non profitable,
 Less competitive both nationally and
internationally.
 Work interrupted whilst materials are brought
from elsewhere on site.
 This will cause disruption on site.
 As a result this will delay work.

 Activities will finish later than scheduled
time.
 Puts the entire project duration time
behind by weeks.
 Work delayed whilst products are
delivered.
 An adverse effect on quality.
 Making products on site is also less likely
to provide the same quality of product that
could be manufactured off site.

Increased project time
 Most of the problems on site point to poor
logistics.
 This will add to the time of construction
projects.
 Delays whilst product is unloaded.
 Subsequent movement of products
around site for use.
 Also, secondary working of product all add
unnecessary time.

Added risks to health and safety
 unnecessary work bring with it unnecessary
waste,
 waste stored on site inevitably bring with them
additional potential hazards,
 additional manual handling will produce more
waste,
 most of the back injuries are as result of
handling heavy materials on site.
 product is in the wrong part of the site,

 the right equipment is not available,
 adds to the health risks to those on site,
 secondary working of material also brings
risks,
 Research has shown that a number of
accidents on site occur as a result of
workers tripping over discarded material.
 Often arising from secondary working.

What are the potential benefits from
improving Logistics?
 There is a widespread belief that substantial
savings are achievable.
 Estimates range from those who believe costs
could be reduced by 10%.
 Others argue that savings of up to 30% can
be achieved.
 Another potential benefits from improving
Logistics is an improvement on site safety.

 well documented case study is the Mid –
City Place development in Central
London.
 A strategy was developed to reduce
issues such as:
 multi-handling,
 repeated moving of materials,
 accidents on site,
 waste reduction,
 hazard free site,

Improved logistics often lead to:
 some 25% to 35% less material waste than
benchmark sites,
 distribution of material with less pair of hoists,
 almost 100% performance in materials being
distributed in the right time and place.
 the idea of JIT
 lean construction,
 quality management,
 quality control,

 Logistics had contributed to a project/case
study being completed 11 weeks ahead
of the planned programme.
 With a build rate 60% ahead of the
industry benchmark.
 Building cost 80% of industry benchmark.
 Also, 675,000 hours worked without a
single reported accident.

 Another case study undertaken as part
of the CITB Construction Skills
research.
 Called ‘Accelerating change through
Supply Chain Management’.
 Programme was developed for
delivering 10,000 kitchens to a housing
refurbishment programme.

 It was based on a ‘just in time’ basis,
 This resulted in a considerable reduction
of:
 Waste on site,
 Storage,
 double handling of materials,
 Also, without a single reported accident.

 All those involved saw the considerable
benefit arising from JIT.
 Measuring these benefits on construction site
has proved to be more difficult then it was
anticipated.
 This is because of the attitudes of ‘business
as normal’.
 Finally, improvements that have been
achieved are compared with bench mark.

062 Logistics & Productivity PART 1

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062 Logistics & Productivity PART 1