Abstract

While lean thinking may help tackle waste, rework remains an ongoing problem during the construction of infrastructure projects. Often too much emphasis is placed on applying lean tools rather than harnessing the human factor and establishing a culture to mitigate rework. Thus, this paper proposes the need for construction organisations to transition from the prevailing error prevention culture (i.e. Quality-I) that pervades practice to one based on error management (i.e. Quality-II) if rework is to be contained and reduced. Accordingly, this paper asks: What type of error culture is required to manage errors that result in rework and to support lean thinking during the construction of infrastructure projects? We draw on the case of a program alliance of 129 water infrastructure projects and make sense of how it enacted, in addition to lean thinking, a change initiative to transition from error prevention to an error management culture to address its rework problem. We observed that leadership, psychological safety and coaching were pivotal for cultivating a culture where there was an acceptance that ‘errors happen’ and effort was directed at mitigating their adverse consequences. The contributions of this paper are twofold as we provide: (1) a new theoretical underpinning to mitigate rework and support the use of lean thinking during the construction of infrastructure projects grounded in Quality-II; and (2) practical suggestions, based on actual experiences, which can be readily employed to monitor and anticipate rework at the coalface of construction.

摘要

虽然精益思维可能有助于解决浪费问题，但返工仍然是基础设施项目建设过程中持续存在的问题。通常过于强调应用精益工具，而不是利用人为因素并建立一种减少返工的文化。因此，本文提出施工组织需要从普遍存在的实践中流行的错误预防文化（即质量-I）过渡到基于错误管理的文化（即质量-II）如果要遏制和减少返工。因此，本文提出以下问题：在基础设施项目建设过程中，需要哪种类型的错误文化来管理导致返工的错误并支持精益思维？我们借鉴了由 129 个水利基础设施项目组成的项目联盟的案例，并了解了除了精益思维之外，该联盟如何制定一项变革举措，从错误预防文化过渡到错误管理文化，以解决返工问题。我们观察到，领导力、心理安全和辅导对于培养一种文化至关重要，在这种文化中，人们接受“错误的发生”，并努力减轻其不利后果。正如我们所提供的，本文的贡献是双重的：(1) 一个新的理论基础，以减少返工并支持在基于质量 II 的基础设施项目建设过程中使用精益思维；(2)基于实际经验的实用建议，可以方便地用于监测和预测施工工作面的返工。