A BIM-LEAN APPROACH TO IMPLEMENT LEAN PRINCIPLES IN OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS: A CABLESTAYED BRIDGE CASE STUDY

Abstract

Recently, the attention to offsite construction (OSC) has grown due to its potential for waste minimization, higher quality, and speedy construction. However, OSC projects are sometimes adopted at a slow pace due to inefficient workflow. Further, OSC adoption requires a high level of information sharing to integrate the manufacturing of components, onsite assembly, and logistics processes. Previous research on the integration of Lean principles with advanced technologies, i.e., BIM and blockchain, in OSC was limited to improving the onsite operations only. To this end, this research aims to bridge this gap by providing a BIM-blockchain system to apply lean principles in enhancing the workflow of the OSC projects considering offsite, onsite, and logistics operations. Lean principles, namely Kaizen, Heijunka, Just-in-Time, Onepiece flow, and Poke a yoke, form the focus of this study. Further, the study presents a secure information-sharing system based on blockchain technology to update the status of the process, i.e., pulling material from the inventory. A case study is introduced to validate the developed system. The proposed system is expected to improve the efficiency of the OSC operations and enhance the integration of stakeholders.