Value Stream Mapping for Prefabrication of Piping in Projects

Abstract

Taking actions to fasten a project delivery will give an edge in large scale projects. By utilizing piping prefabrication a faster installation will be possible comparing to non-prefabricated pipes, which results in a quicker project delivery. The purpose of this Master thesis is to identify wastes and improvement suggestions resulting in a leaner process for prefabrication of piping.

Qualitative information has been gathered by using interviews and a workshop. Interviews were carried out with stakeholders, from the sub-processes, in the whole process flow from the sales stage all the way to the installation stage. By the use of Value Stream Mapping a current and a future state has been created. In the workshop stakeholders created a current state and listed issues and improvement suggestions for the processes. The future state was created based on the suggestions chosen for implementation. Prefabrication do require certain know-how of the process hence a process flow chart and a design structure matrix were created to allow for an easier understanding of the whole process.

The future state created results in a shorter delivery time for a project, with the chosen suggestions a decrease in project delivery time will be around 8 %. A goal of 20 % was set, this goal can be achieved by implementing more of the improvement suggestions that were given during the workshop. Besides a faster project delivery, the costs accumulating at site will be lower and will not require skilled labor at the same degree as a non-prefabricated solution. However, prefabrication is not applicable for all projects nor can the benefit of prefabrication be applied to all projects due to country specific variations and limits to the scope of deliverable.