Combining Takt Production With Industrialized Logistics in Construction

Construction industry has recently widely adopted takt production which stabilizes the production rhytm and improves flow of site operations. Based on the factory physics, it is known that when production flow is increased, external variation which can disturb the production should be eliminated simultaneously. Inappropriate material deliveries cause remarkable external variation and waste in construction operations. However, the reported studies of the takt production does not discuss in depth of the role of logistics and external variation. The purpose of this research is to investigate how takt production benefits from proper logistics solution. In practice, we explore the role of logistics in two project industries, ship yard and construction, in which takt production is implemented. The findings reveal that utilizing specific assembly and logistics unit together with JIT delivery of material kits and integrated design and production information reduces the material waste and procurement costs as well as increase the production rate in both industries but with different extent. The value of this research for practice and academia is that takt results improve when implemented with specific logistic solutions.