Last Planner System

Last Planner as early warning system

Bad news provides good information. So the sooner you get the bad news, the better! If you recognize problems early, you can react to them early. Therefore it is also easier to take corrective action before the problem affects the following trades and can no longer be solved (or only with considerable effort). After all, the Last Planner system quickly brings bad news to light before it becomes a big problem.

Prevents expensive firefighting operations

A large part of construction management activities are "fire-fighting actions" - this means that construction managers try to find things that went wrong and get them back on track. If you take up this metaphor, you can say that the Last Planner system is an integrated fire protection system. It uses collaborative phase scheduling to identify problems early on, helping the team to develop countermeasures. Preparation for Execution identifies and eliminates constraints and problems before they affect the planned production. Then, collaborative production planning reduces potential problems even further. Continuous learning is the basis for improvement, to avoid repeating mistakes and to collaborate more effectively on new problems that arise. Because learning bad news early means that project managers and final planners have time to weigh options for countermeasures to mitigate risks and their perceived impact, rather than going into "fire-fighting mode".

Minimizes stress for site managers and project participants

Stress is one of the biggest triggers of illness and mistakes in the job Involving all minds, from the project leader to the execution leader (foreman/foreman), gives everyone a sense of the vision and direction of the project. It also makes everyone think about risks and how to manage them together. In this way, the stress for all project participants can be reduced to a minimum. Because the collaborative approach allows for early identification of disruptions and problems. Therefore, significantly fewer problems occur during the course of the project. Finally, fewer problems also mean less stress for all those involved.

Minimizes stress for site managers and project participants

Stress is one of the biggest triggers of illness and mistakes in the job Involving all minds, from the project leader to the execution leader (foreman/foreman), gives everyone a sense of the vision and direction of the project. It also makes everyone think about risks and how to manage them together. In this way, the stress for all project participants can be reduced to a minimum. Because the collaborative approach allows for early identification of disruptions and problems. Therefore, significantly fewer problems occur during the course of the project. Finally, fewer problems also mean less stress for all those involved.

Collaboration through Last Planner

Coordination is particularly important in construction. Because, whatever the plan may say, activities are carried out after individuals and teams have given each other mutual commitments as to what needs to be done by when. That's why the Last Planner system is used to discuss commitments at the right time, at the right level and throughout the entire process. LPS creates trust between the trades and supports efficient cooperation. Furthermore, the visualization of dependencies and commitments ensures that even with demanding projects, completion on schedule is possible.

Last Planner shortens the project duration

By reducing waiting times, scheduled buffers can also be reduced. In addition, the commitment cycle creates trust within and between teams and supports the smooth flow of activities. As a result, the total project duration can be reduced by an average of approximately 20%.

Last Planner improves work safety

The number of accidents in the construction industry worldwide is three times higher than in other industries. The LPS helps to improve these accident and injury statistics. For example, a Danish study shows that construction projects using the LPS have 65% fewer accidents at work and up to 70% fewer absences due to illness. Furthermore, a comparable study from Chile shows that even 75% fewer occupational accidents occur compared to projects in the same company that are implemented without the LPS.
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Action instead of reaction

Traditional project management focuses mainly on identifying things that have been done wrong in order to react to them. Accordingly, this can be called reactive behavior, for example, when a missed milestone in the schedule is detected. In contrast, the focus of the Last Planner System is on the individual activities. This is because it ensures that the activities can be carried out as they were planned, so control works proactively rather than reactively.

Reduce waiting times

Systematic process planning ensures that all necessary resources are available at the beginning of an activity. Thus, there are no waiting times for

• Access
• Planning information
• Building materials or plants
• the previous trade or planning team,

that are causing the flow of work to stagnate.

All project sizes

With the Last Planner System you have a simple and efficient tool at hand, which is very suitable for small as well as large projects. As mentioned above, it was used during the construction of the Olympic Stadium in London. It has also been used in the construction of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport with a project volume of £400 million. However, we have already had very positive experiences with the LPS in small projects such as the conversion of a farmhouse into holiday apartments. However, in large projects, we recommend using software support, such as Yolean, to make the system accessible to everyone easily and from anywhere.

Oriented to the value stream

Often added value depends on definition and approach. The Last Planner System supports the focus on customer added value. The benefit for the subsequent trade also plays an important role here. Ideally, the value for each trade is interpreted in such a way that they know exactly what they have to do to generate the value that the subsequent trade needs and thus deliver high-quality work. In the same way, the high degree of flexibility and responsiveness offered by the LPS helps to respond to changing customer requirements. Consequently, this combination of focus on added value and flexibility helps projects with the Last Planner system to be implemented more cost effectively while delivering higher quality work.

Enables the management of conflicting objectives

In projects, there are contradictory goals for the various parties involved. After all, project participants strive to maximize profits or minimize costs. However, managing these goals requires a high degree of cooperation, communication and commitment, which the LPS promotes.

Decisions are taken in a decentralised and collaborative manner

Construction projects are becoming increasingly complex, faster and more uncertain. Therefore decentralization is important in order to remain able to make decisions. For this purpose, Last Planner provides the last planners, i.e. the foremen/foremen and the planning team, with the authority, information and space they need to make joint decisions on the use of resources for project execution. At the same time, the LPS helps those involved to develop their skills as decision makers.

Develops your employees

The Last Planner system enables foremen to plan their weekly activities and evaluate the performance of their teams on a daily basis, as well as make an accurate forecast of the required workers per week/day. Consequently, this plan is based on facts and not on a wish list from the site management. Once the foremen have understood the Last Planner system and are confident in using the documentation, the frequency of site visits by the consultants & trainers can be reduced. This is because the foremen are able to deal with situations that arise, as their decisions are based on facts that are documented weekly.