Just in Time Strategy

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ISSN 1774-9847 ISBN 978-1-905148-13-4
Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education
Prof Low Sui Pheng and Le Ha Dung, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore
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Prof Low Sui Pheng and Le Ha Dung, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore
Editor: Prof Chris Webster Editorial Assistant: Diane Bowden
Published by the Centre for Education in the Built Environment Cardiff University, Bute Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3NB
The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the Higher Education Academy Centre for Education in the Built Environment

Abstract: Productivity levels in the manufacturing sector have traditionally been higher than those in the construction industry. This suggests there are lessons which building professionals can learn from manufacturing. These lessons should likewise be extended to classroom teaching so that future cohorts of building professionals would be aware of continuous organisational learning from the manufacturing sector. For example, manufacturing has seen how the separate evolution courses of just-intime (JIT) principles and the material requirements planning (MRP) concept joined together to create more advanced systems the JIT and MRP vertically integrated hybrid system (VIHS) and horizontally integrated hybrid system (HIHS). Due to the off-site environment of prefabrication plants in the construction industry, this study endeavours to bring lessons from the hybrid systems in manufacturing into the production process of precast concrete plants. The study also describes why the teaching of JIT principles at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore, should be extended to encompass the MRP concept. The study provides a general background of the JIT and MRP systems and presents two frameworks for the VIHS and HIHS. For VIHS, the MRP system acts as a planner, while JIT plays the execution role on the shop floor. For HIHS, the first few stages of the production process work under the control of the MRP concept, while the remaining stages moving up to the end-users, employ the JIT philosophy. The study then applies the frameworks of VIHS and HIHS particularly in the context of the precast concrete plants. A survey conducted with 30 precasters in Singapore suggests that while JIT principles have gained popularity among the precasters, the MRP system has been adopted at a rather slow pace due to a lack of awareness from the precasters. The survey also reveals that the current and future adoption of JIT and MRP hybrid systems is low and a majority of the firms surveyed are still unsure if they should adopt a hybrid system. Hence, the current situation can be changed positively if these firms can be persuaded to apply the hybrid systems in their production processes, thus reaping the benefits of higher productivity through learning from the manufacturing industry. Keywords: Construction Education, Construction Management, Just-In-Time (JIT), Materials Requirements Planning (MRP)
CEBE Working Paper No. 14
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Introduction Just-In-Time Concept Material Requirements Planning Integration of JIT and MRP in Manufacturing Integration of JIT and MRP in Prefabrication Plants Analysis of Survey Results Conclusion 4 15 29 39 46 57 68 73 74 87
Acknowledgement References and Further Reading Appendix A
List of Figures and Tables

Figure 1: An overview of the goals and building blocks of JIT concept ...........................19 Figure 2: Three categories of waste (man, machine, materials) ......................................21 Figure 3: JIT versus large lot run sizes .............................................................................22 Figure 4: JIT pull system ...................................................................................................25 Figure 5: A two-card Kanban system................................................................................25 Figure 6: Traditional supplier network compared to supplier tiers....................................26 Figure 7: Operation flow using MRP .................................................................................30 Figure 8: Components of MRP..........................................................................................31 Figure 9: A master schedule for end item X32 Figure 10: A product structure tree for end-item X ...........................................................32 Figure 11: MRP Processing ..............................................................................................33 Figure 12: An overview of MRP II .....................................................................................35 Figure 13: R/3 Application modules ..................................................................................37 Figure 14: General framework of vertically integrated hybrid system (VIHS) ..................40 Figure 15: Example of the use of MRP to counteract long lead times .............................41 Figure 16: Use of MRP system to coordinate JIT shops ..................................................42 Figure 17: Example of HIHS for three-line, five-stage system .........................................44 Figure 18: Typical flow of production process of concrete precast components .............47 Table 1: Major developers of ERP software .....................................................................36 Table 2: Composition of the survey respondents .............................................................57 Table 3: Assessment of JIT supporting goals by precasters in Singapore ......................58 Table 4: Assessment of JIT process design block ...........................................................61 Table 5: Assessment of JIT personnel/organisation block ...............................................62 Table 6: Assessment of JIT manufacturing planning and control block...........................63 Table 7: Comparison of MRP, MRP II and ERP adoption................................................64 Table 8: Willingness to adopt JIT and MRP hybrid systems ............................................66
List of Abbreviations
Buildable Design Appraisal System Building and Construction Authority Construction Quality Assessment System Enterprise Resources Planning Gross Floor Area Horizontally Integrated Hybrid System Just-in-time Manufacturing Resources Planning Material Requirements Planning Single Minute Exchange of Die Toyota Production System Vertically Integrated Hybrid System Work-In-Process BDAS BCA CONQUAS ERP GFA HIHS JIT MRP II MRP SMED TPS VIHS WIP
1.0 1.1
INTRODUCTION Pedagogical Rationale

In the 1990s, Construction and Works typically made up, on average, 46% of Gross Fixed Capital Formation in Singapore. This undoubtedly showed the important role of the construction sector in the Singapore economy. However, despite this significance, there was much concern over the low level of construction productivity as indicated in the 1992 Task Force Report on Construction Productivity, when it was noted that construction productivity in Singapore was some 53 years behind that of Japan (Lim and Low, 1992). It was with this background that a flurry of measures was implemented by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) to address this problem. The issue was not only confined to productivity because low productivity can be the trigger for poor quality and safety standards in the construction industry. The major initiatives introduced by the BCA included the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS), the Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) and the Construction Excellence Awards, among others. The BDAS and CONQUAS are closely linked in that a project which is more buildable is also likely to achieve better quality standards more readily. Projects with high BDAS and CONQUAS scores stand a better chance of winning the coveted Construction Excellence Awards which in turn, bring with them prestige and financial incentives when the winners bid for the next project. Developers must also attain a minimum Buildability Score before their building plans are approved by the authorities in Singapore. The minimum Buildability Score specified under BDAS would depend on the size and type of buildings (industrial, commercial, residential, etc.). More details about BDAS and how the Buildability Score is computed are explained below. The BDAS formula for computing the Buildability Score was designed to encourage the use of prefabricated components. The philosophy behind BDAS is to progressively move construction operations towards a manufacturing-based environment. Productivity in the manufacturing industry has traditionally been higher than that in the construction industry for various reasons. Standardisation and repetition, among others, were often cited as the primary reasons for the high productivity in manufacturing (Lim and Low, 1992). Hence, if the construction industry progressively moves towards a manufacturing-based platform, it can also reap the benefit of higher productivity through readily available components and building materials such as those produced in the prefabrication and ready-mixed concrete industries. In other parts of the world, this key concept of linking construction with manufacturing was recently espoused upon by the Technical Research Centre of Finland through the Open Building Manufacturing or ManuBuild initiative (Kazi et al., 2007). Eichert and Kazi (2007) explained that the vision of ManuBuild is open building manufacturing, which is a new
paradigm for building production and procurement by combining highly efficient manufacturing techniques in factories and on construction sites and an open system for products and components, offering diversity of supply and building component configuration opportunities in the open market (Eichert and Kazi, 2007, p 7). Beyond this, it is also necessary to appreciate and understand the management systems adopted in manufacturing that have made the industry generally more productive than others. In the realm of productivity enhancement, a prominent system, the Toyota Production System in Japan led to the Just-In-Time (JIT) principles being implemented in many factories around the world. As the construction industry began to appreciate the advantages of borrowing and learning productivity principles from manufacturing through standardisation and repetition, it also encouraged the more widespread use of prefabrication technology. This being the case, the implementation of JIT principles within the construction fraternity has become more urgent. This is even more so in Singapore where building plans approvals are regulated through the BDAS which favours prefabrication. Following these developments in the construction industry, the educational institutions in Singapore can no longer teach and train building professionals in the traditional methods of production and procurement. The curriculum structures of tertiary institutions would need to move in tandem with recent developments in the construction industry in Singapore with respect to BDAS, prefabrication and JIT management. In this regard, the Department of Building at the National University of Singapore has risen to the challenge of incorporating such contemporary management skills in both its undergraduate and postgraduate students. In the BSc (Project and Facilities Management) programme, the JIT principles are taught in the module Quality and Productivity. This is also the case in the MSc (Project Management) programme where JIT principles are included in the module Project Management. However, during the course of JIT research in the construction industry in Singapore over the past 15 years, Low and Choong (2001a, b, c) found that JIT principles may not be applied in their entirety in some organisations because of understandable constraints. This was particularly evident in the prefabrication industry where the pull production mode of the JIT system gave way to the push production mode found in the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system. This finding seems to suggest that JIT alone may not provide a complete picture without accounting for MRP within the larger setting of the construction industry. The integration of JIT and MRP appears to be a more realistic approach for classroom teaching. Consequently, while productivity in building-related courses in universities may be taught using the JIT system, university teachers should also appreciate the prevailing important industry practices and significant professional practice issues that can influence the wholesale adoption of JIT principles. University teachers should acknowledge that in certain settings, it would be more realistic to concurrently supplement the teaching of JIT principles with appropriate MRP concepts. However, the extent to which JIT and MRP
have been adopted concurrently in the construction industry remains unclear. An analysis is therefore required to establish the inter-play between JIT and MRP before teachers can claim to have taught professional practice issues realistically in construction-related courses in universities. The over-arching purpose of this study is to provide such an analysis for university teachers to adopt an appropriate pedagogy when teaching such courses. This analysis will be presented after the Buildable Design Appraisal System is described below.
1.2
Buildable Design Appraisal System

The BCA in Singapore published a Code of Practice on Buildable Design to explain how the Buildable Design Appraisal System (BDAS) works (BCA, 2005). Based on the buildability concept, the Code of Practice seeks to encourage the 3S principles of Standardisation, Simplicity and Single Integrated Elements to achieve a buildable design. Standardisation refers to the repetition of grids, sizes of components and connection details. A repetitive layout, for example, will facilitate faster construction regardless of whether formwork or precast components are used. Similarly, columns or external claddings of repetitive sizes will reduce the number of mould changes whether on-site or in the factory. Simplicity means uncomplicated building construction systems and installation details. A flat plate system, for example, reduces formwork construction as well as reinforcement work considerably. Use of precast components reduces many trade operations on site and should improve site productivity provided the standardisation principles are observed. Single Integrated Elements are those elements that combine related components together into a single element that may be prefabricated in the factory and installed on site. Precast concrete external walls, curtain walls or prefabricated toilets are good examples of technologies that fall under this principle. The BDAS was developed by the BCA as a means to measure the potential impact of the building design on the usage of site labour. The appraisal system results in a buildability score of the design. A design with a higher buildability score will result in more efficient labour usage in construction and thus higher site labour productivity. The legislation of buildable designs took effect on 1 January 2001 in Singapore, following amendments to the Building Control Act to facilitate the introduction of regulations to enhance the efficiency and standardisation in designs, processes, construction techniques, products and materials in the construction industry. The regulations affect new building works as well as additions and alteration works. With this, a proposed project needs to achieve a minimum buildability score before its building plans can be approved by the authorities for construction. New projects (including additions and alterations to existing buildings) with a Gross Floor Area (GFA) equal to or greater than 2000m2 falls within the legislative
requirements. The minimum score requirement is approximately 60. The minimum buildability score for mixed developments would be pro-rated according to the GFA of each type of development. BCAs objective in promoting buildability in the construction industry in Singapore seemed to have been achieved over the years through the BDAS. The average buildability scores for various categories of new building works have increased over the years and in some cases, were above the minimum benchmarks stipulated when the legislation first kicked in. The BDAS looks at the design and computes the extent to which the 3S principles are found. It covers the structural system and other major components such as the external and internal walls, doors and windows. Points are awarded based on the types of systems used. The more buildable the system, the more points are awarded. The points are then totalled to give the buildability score of the design. The BDAS appraisal system computes the buildable score of a design which covers three main parts:
1. Structural system
This area of the BDAS examines the different types of structural system that designers would use. This is effectively divided into four systems in the BDAS. The maximum buildable score for this system is 50 points. These four systems are: a) Precast concrete system b) Structural steel system c) Cast in-situ system d) Roof system
2. Wall system
This section of the BDAS garners a maximum of 40 points. The wall system may be one, or a combination, of the following: a) Curtain wall b) Precast concrete wall/panel c) Precast concrete formwork d) Precision block wall e) Traditional brick/RC and plaster wall f) Cast in-situ wall
g) Cast in-situ wall with prefabricated reinforcements
Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education h) Brickwall.
3. Other design considerations

This section of the BDAS examines the design of the building at a detailed level. Basic design characteristics, namely standardisation of columns, beams, windows and doors, structural grids and usage of precast components are considered. The use of these buildable design features will be awarded with points. In addition, bonus points would be given for the use of single integrated elements. The maximum buildability score for this section amounts to 10 points. The maximum score that can be achieved is 100 points. Different types of systems will be assigned a different labour saving index based on site observations. The labour saving indices for different construction systems are published in the code. If no labour saving index is indicated in the code, the BCA will determine the value when required. The total buildability score for the structure is determined by taking the fraction of the structure to be constructed by each method, multiplying by the relevant index, summing the result and multiplying by 50. A similar calculation is performed for the walls (multiplying the result by 40) and finally the other features score (up to a maximum of 10) is added in and the total cannot exceed 100 (BCA, 2005). The detailed calculations of the scores as well as the various labour saving indices deployed can be accessed at the following BCAs website: http://www.bca.gov.sg/BuildableDesign/others/copbdsep05.pdf. The principles enunciated in the BDAS are also taught to students in the module Development Technology and Management, at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore. It should be added that buildability principles are not articulated in isolation through the BDAS in this module. Instead, the underlying buildability principles and BDAS computational modes are taught in relation to productivity, as well as quality as measured through another assessment system known as the Construction Quality Assessment System or CONQUAS (CIDB, 1998). There are three modes for teaching BDAS to students. The first mode is the lecture component where the basic building blocks of the BDAS, its underlying buildability principles and how these can affect productivity and CONQUAS scores are taught. The second mode adopts a tutorial format where students present their findings on how buildability, as measured using the BDAS, can affect the quality standards of a building through its CONQUAS scores. The third mode, adopting a tutorial presentation format and/or final year dissertation, requires students to play out how decisions on certain building criteria can affect the buildability scores as measured through the BDAS. These building criteria include attributes relating to thermal, acoustics, indoor air quality, lighting, visual and spatial performance. Students are assessed on the basis of how their decisions on these building criteria affect the threshold buildability scores. In this
sense, a set of industry evaluation criteria, namely the BDAS and CONQUAS, can lend itself to evaluating the outcome of student project work.
1.3
Background
Manufacturing has been through a long evolution course for operation strategies. Prior to the popularity of the computer, inventory was controlled using reorder-point/reorderquantity type methods. During the 1960s, in the United States, Joseph Orlicky, Oliver Wight, and George Plossl together with other researchers developed a new system, which was called Material Requirements Planning (MRP) (Hopp and Spearman, 2004). After a slow start, MRP began to gather steam during the 1970s. Orlicky (1975) reported 150 implementations in 1971. By 1981, this number increased to about 8,000 (Wight, 1981). As it grew in popularity, MRP also grew in scope, and evolved in the 1980s into Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II), which combined MRP with Master Scheduling, Rough-Cut Capacity Planning, Capacity Requirements Planning, Input/Output control, and other modules. Hopp and Spearman (2004) highlighted that in 1984 alone, 16 companies sold US$400 million in MRP II software and by 1989, over US$1.2 billion worth of MRP II software was sold to American industry, constituting just under one-third of the entire software industry. By the end of the 1980s, MRP II was developed into a much more complex system called Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP). ERP contained modules for all business functions, from accounting and financing functions to marketing and human resources. As the 1990s drew to a close, ERP was witnessing its employment at a feverish rate. While MRP was steadily dominating in the United States, history was taking a different course in Japan. Several Japanese companies, most notably Toyota, developed the older reorder-point/reorder-quantity methods to a higher level. Starting from the 1940s, Taiichi Ohno of Toyota Motors (Japan) began to evolve a system, now known as the Toyota Production System (TPS), which would enable Toyota to compete with their American rivals. The system was designed to make goods; as much as possible, in a continuous flow (Ohno, 1988). As the success of Toyota Production System become more obvious, American researchers went to Japan to learn first-hand what was going on, and various books were written about the system, which was later named as just-in-time in those books. The first JIT book, published in 1981, was Driving the Productivity Machine: Production Planning and Control in Japan by Robert W. Hall. This was followed by Schonbergers Japanese Manufacturing Techniques: Nine Hidden Lessons in Simplicity in 1982 and Halls Zero Inventories in 1983. Not only American professors but also Japanese professors got on the train of JIT exploration. Shigeo Shingo wrote the Study of Toyota Production System from the Industrial Engineering Viewpoint in 1981. By 1983, Yasuhiro Monden published The Toyota Production System: an integrated approach to just-in-time; and two years later, Shigeo Shingo worked with Andrew P. Dillon on a book about setup
reduction, A Revolution in Manufacturing: the SMED System. Ohnos book Toyota Production System: Beyond Large-scale Production finally appeared in English in 1988. In the same year, Peter J. OGrady published the Putting the Just-in-time Philosophy into Practice: A Strategy for Production Managers, which discussed the implementation steps of JIT in manufacturing. In 1990, a landmark case study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was published in The Machine That Changed the World by Womack and Jones (1990). This study made a comparison among American, European, and Japanese manufacturing techniques and concluded that Japanese methods, particularly those of Toyota, were vastly superior. In spite of some remarkable individual successes, both MRP and JIT contained their own weaknesses. OGrady (1988) pointed out that MRP system had a number of problems relating to the accuracy of the input, which significantly reduced the effectiveness of many MRP operations. Besides, MRP does not provide a detailed shop floor schedule, which makes the role of plant managers a difficult one. On the other hand, JIT has problems with its requirement for a quite stable demand so as to obtain a level production. This requirement narrows the option for JIT to be more suitable in repetitive manufacturing, while MRP is applied mostly in batch production. Companies integrating JIT in their operation strategies may encounter the risk of low service level due to shortage of products delivered to customers, since the JIT system does not include a high level of buffer inventory to meet a sudden rise in demand. As a nature of the evolution process, manufacturing managers sought for a more effective system which minimises problems embedding in MRP or JIT alone. One of the options for a better operation model was the integration of MRP and JIT into an integrated system, which meant that MRP and JIT could co-exist in one production plant. According to the argument of various researchers, the two systems could complement each other and establish an operation system with more varieties of products at a higher productivity level and higher service level. This is the broad picture of the current operation strategies for the manufacturing sector. For the construction sector, the view is not so clear. So far, there have been very few research studies on the application of MRP in the construction industry. The situation seems to be better for JIT, since there are numerous studies on how JIT can be employed to enhance the output of the construction process. However, the potential for the integration of MRP and JIT applied in the context of the construction industry has not yet been explored in depth. This study comes into place in the hope to fill the existing gap of current academic knowledge about MRP and JIT in construction, thus drawing lessons from the manufacturing sector.
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1.4
Literature Review
MRP is not a new philosophy in manufacturing management. A huge number of books, journal papers, conferences, etc had topics on MRP in manufacturing. However, the amount of academic research on MRP applied in construction is very limited and Low and Chan (1997) can be considered as the most noticeable study on this issue. The study focused on the prefabrication industry in Singapore and indicated that among the firms surveyed, 29% adopted only the traditional inventory control system for their manufacturing operations, 50% used a combination of both inventory control system and MRP, 14% employed MRP II, and only 7% did not adopt any of those above. The companies who used only the inventory control system maintained a regular demand of highly standardised precast concrete components. The firms who adopted the combination of systems tended to use the inventory control system for the more regular demand stock of highly standardised components while using MRP mainly to plan the production of nonstandardised, customised one-off components. The firms who employed MRP II were amongst the larger firms in the survey sample, who supplied the export markets. The systemless firms were the smallest ones amongst the firms surveyed. Regarding the application of ERP, Leitch (2003) reported a gloomy picture; five of the top United Kingdom (UK) construction industry players had initially proposed to spend 100 million on ERP software, but were then hit by a bout of jitters, with four of them putting off or shelving implementation plans altogether. The main reason for this situation in the UK was the fear that the hidden costs of installing the ERP system would be enormous. Some of those hidden costs were already discussed by Leitch (2002). Lim and Low (1992) wrote one of the earliest books about the application of JIT to boost productivity in the construction industry. The book concluded that although there are fundamental differences between the manufacturing and construction industries, it appears that some of the basic ideas of JIT can be applied, with suitable modifications, to the construction industry. Low and Chan (1997) was a further development of Lim and Lows (1992) work. While Lim and Low (1992) provided a general overview of the applicability of JIT in construction with particular emphasis in the area of materials management, Low and Chan (1997) examined how well the JIT concept could be applied to the off-site prefabrication industry whose nature is almost identical to that of the manufacturing industry. Choong (2000) found a very interesting inference in which the precasters in Singapore were able and ready to provide the logistical support for just-in-time deliveries of precast components to the job-site. However, on the demand side, the contractors were not ready to embrace the just-in-time system of delivery. Nevertheless, a minority of the contractors demonstrated mild interest in just-in-time deliveries and hinted that they were willing to
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share a little of the potential savings with the precasters through reimbursement of costs in logistical support. There was also some other in-depth research on specific aspects of JIT in construction. Most of these studies concluded that it was possible to apply the techniques of JIT in the construction industry with some modifications. Tan (1996) focused on the accounting procedures for material and time waste, to explore quantitative JIT measurements. Tay (1996) highlighted the role of human resource management in the modified JIT principles to gain success in eliminating waste. Mok (1998) focused on applying JIT into the site layout of the construction site to improve productivity and quality. Mok (1998) explained that by eliminating waste on site, controlling the movement of inventory coming into the site and within the site, and controlling the usage of mechanised plant and equipment, smooth work flow could be achieved. Chong (1999) examined whether ISO9000 would become a guideline and standard which JIT concepts could rely on to impose a smoother and easier implementation. Ang (1999) attempted to find out the problems that industrial practitioners encountered while applying JIT system in their construction projects. The author categorised those problems into industry-related and human related types and explained how the intensity of the problems could be reduced with some appropriate measures by various parties. Ang (2002) studied how JIT and 5-S principles might be integrated for site layout to improve productivity and quality. Show (2004) found out that the application of JIT principles to ramp-up light factory design would help reduce waiting time and double handling of goods during transportation; and also provided smooth flow of delivery to every unit with less damage to the quality of the goods. The most recent study about JIT in construction was Voo (2006). Voo fostered the attraction of employing JIT in the construction process by showing the fact that with JIT embedded in the operation, the interviewed projects could actually achieve construction cost savings by 20-30% of the total contract value, earlier project completion by half to one month, and better quality of final building outputs. Other than separate research on either MRP or JIT, there have been no academic works officially studying the integration of MRP and JIT which specifically addressed the construction industry. However, the picture is different for the manufacturing sector. There were many articles written on the co-existence of the two systems in manufacturing. These articles can be divided into two main groups. The first group of researchers paid attention to the vertical integration in which MRP played the role of a planner, while JIT dealt with the execution task. Some of these studies that should be mentioned are Louis (1989a, b), Bermudez (1991), Lee (1992), Sillince and Sykes (1993), Titone (1994), Landry et al. (1997), Pun et al. (1998), and Benton and Shin (1998). The other group of researchers tended to favour the horizontal integration in which some stages of the production line could operate under the aura of MRP while the rest of the stages worked with embedded JIT techniques. The latter group contained the works of Hodgson and Wang (1991a), CEBE Working Paper No. 14 12
Hodgson and Wang (1991b), Hirakawa et al. (1992), Takahashi et al. (1994), Takahashi and Soshiroda (1996), Pandey and Khokhajaikiat (1996), Wang and Xu (1997), Cochran and Kim (1998), Beamon and Bermudo (2000), and Geraghty and Heavey (2005).
1.5
Research Objectives
It is without doubt that prefabrication technology brings vast benefits to construction projects. Within the concrete precast plants, the use of formwork, reinforcement and concrete can be better controlled, thus wastage is reduced. Close monitoring and better assurance of the quality of raw materials, together with the use of steel forms, produce finished products that are of superior quality. The components and their detailing can be standardised to reap economies of scale. Prefabrication also enables a less labourintensive and faster production of building components (Lim and Low, 1992). More than that, erection of the structure can be easier and quicker using precast components. However, precast components do offer all the above advantages with a higher price tag. In order to promote prefabrication technology, precasters need to work effectively to reduce production costs as much as possible and yet still meet the need for a greater variety of products. Since the manufacturing sector has always been a leading sector as far as operation strategies are concerned, efforts have been poured in to duplicate what has been successfully done in manufacturing and bring these to the construction industry. Due to a quite similar environment with a typical manufacturing plant, off-site prefabrication plants seem to be the most convenient starting point to bring in the concepts of operation strategies which are not so new in the manufacturing but have not yet been disseminated in the construction sector (Low and Chan, 1997). The purpose of this study is: a) To examine the extent to which the concrete precasters in Singapore have applied the concept of JIT in their production plants. b) To understand what are the major problems which precasters need to consider when applying JIT in their operation strategies. c) To examine the current adoption of MRP, MRP II and ERP in the concrete precasters plants.
d) To understand what are the major problems which precasters encounter while adopting MRP, MRP II and ERP or what are the main reasons why they choose not to adopt any of those. e) To study the feasibility of applying both JIT and MRP in the precasters production plants.
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f)
To recognise whether vertical integration or horizontal integration has more potential to penetrate into the construction industry.
1.6
Scope and Focus of Research

This study focuses on the first part of the supply chain where the precasters work with different raw materials suppliers to produce the precast components ordered by main contractors. The research examines how JIT and MRP can cooperate in an integrated system to raise the production efficiency. The research hypothesis has been formulated as follows: JIT and MRP both have their own strengths and weaknesses. When they work together, they would complement each other and further enhance the effectiveness of the prefabrication plants producing precast concrete components. The research starts with a study of books, journal papers, unpublished dissertations, and other reports relating to JIT, MRP and integration of JIT and MRP in both the manufacturing and construction sector. A comprehensive summary of relevant concepts and techniques is then presented. An analysis of the questionnaire results of the survey of precasters in Singapore follows to gain deeper insight into the current adoption of JIT and MRP in the local context and the research hypothesis is tested using findings from the survey. The study is concluded with some discussion about the limitations of the research and suggestion for the direction of future work.
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2.0 2.1
JUST-IN-TIME CONCEPT JIT Overview
Development of the JIT concept

Historically, in some respects, the just-in-time (JIT) techniques were already operationalised during the late 1920s at Henry Fords great industrial complex in River Rouge, Michigan as he streamlined his moving assembly lines to make automobiles. In My life and Work, Henry Ford wrote: We have found in buying materials that it is not worth while to buy for other than immediate needs. We buy only enough to fit into the plan of production If transportation were perfect and an even flow of materials could be assured, it would not be necessary to carry any stock whatsoever (1922, p 56). However, JIT did not officially embark in its revolutionary track until the Toyota Motor Company of Japan paid attention to Fords operation techniques and based its production system on what it saw. Toyota learned a great deal from studying how Fords plant operated and was even able to accomplish something that Ford could not: a system that could handle variety (Stevenson, 2005). The JIT approach started to be developed at Toyota by Taiichi Ohno, its vice president of manufacturing, and several of his colleagues since 1940s. At that time it was called the Toyota Production System (TPS). The system gradually evolved and became a success during the 1980s when Toyota created impressively high quality, yet lower priced cars compared to their American rivals. The development of JIT in Japan was probably influenced by Japan being a crowded country with few natural resources (Lim and Low, 1992). Not surprisingly, the Japanese are very sensitive to waste and inefficiency. They regard scrap and rework as waste and excess inventory as an evil because it takes up space and ties up resources. Lehner (1981) highlighted that much of the TPS originated in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when Toyota was producing exclusively for a domestic market that was not very strong. The company had been operating on the conventional assumption that it was most efficient to produce in large lots, but that kind of thinking has pushed us close to bankruptcy, because the large lots we were producing couldnt be sold, said Toyotas president Mr. Fuji Cho (Lehner, 1981). Toyota couldnt lay off workers Japans a lifetime employment system so Toyota executives hit upon the simple yet radical idea that still pervades its operations: overproduction is waste. Based upon that, Toyota refined its production system and perfected the JIT concept.
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As the victory of JIT became undeniable, quality experts W. E. Deming and J. M. Juran lectured on the need for American producers to adopt many JIT principles from their Japanese competitors (Chase et al. 2006).
JIT Strategic Concept Little JIT versus Big JIT

Taiichi Ohno, founder of the JIT concept, defined JIT as follows: Just-in-time means that, in a flow process, the right parts needed in assembly reach the assembly line at the time they are needed and only in the amount needed (1988, p 4). Schonberger, an American scholar on operation management, shared the same standpoint as Taiichi Ohno when he referred to JIT as a system which: produce and deliver finished goods just in time to be sold, sub-assemblies just in time to be assembled into finished goods, fabricated parts just in time to go into sub-assemblies and purchased materials just in time to be transformed into fabricated parts (Schonberger, 1982). As it can be seen from the above definitions, initially the term JIT merely referred to the movement of raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods within a production system. However over time, the scope of JIT broadened and the term became associated with lean production. In order to distinguish this difference in terms of the operational hierarchy, the JIT concept is classified into little JIT and big JIT. Little JIT is simply a scheduling production system which focuses more narrowly on scheduling goods, inventories and providing service resources where and when needed. The main purpose of little JIT is to reduce the level of required inventories. Big JIT (now often mentioned interchangeably as lean production) refers to a highly coordinated, repetitive manufacturing or services system designed to produce a high volume of output with fewer resources than traditional repetitive system, but with the ability to accommodate more variety than the traditional system (Chase et al., 2006). Big JIT represents a total corporate philosophy which encompasses every aspect of the process, from design to after the sale of a product; from materials and inventories management to vendor relationships, human resources, technology management, etc. (Lim and Low, 1992). The philosophy is to pursue a system that functions well with minimal levels of inventories, minimal waste, minimal space, and minimal transactions: truly, a lean system. As such, it must be a system that is not prone to disruptions and is flexible in terms of the product variety and range of volume that it can handle (Stevenson, 2005).
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JIT Tactical Framework

The JIT concept has been scrutinised by world-wide researchers and practitioners for decades. After hundreds of studies and books on JIT, the manufacturing world seems to agree upon the macro strategic level of JIT, yet at the lower level, there has been no universal tactical framework of what exact principles and techniques JIT comprises (Fullerton et al., 2003). Lim and Low (1992) presented that there is no one way of conceptualizing and classifying the principles of JIT, the same as Zipkins statement asking any two managers what JIT does will get you two different answers (Zipkin, 1991). This inability to explain systematically and theoretically JIT manufacturing methods may be due to JITs emphasis on practice and implementation (Monden, 1983). Each researcher provided a different set of guidelines on what principles were included in the JIT concept (Spencer and Guide, 1995). Shigeo Shingo (1981) started with eleven technical points to consider when deploying JIT in a plant: 1) Non-cost principle; 2) First pillar of elimination of wastes is non-stock; 3) Development to one piece flow operation; 4) Shortening time of exchange dies and toolings using single minute exchange of die (SMED) system; 5) Elimination of breakdown and defects; 6) Unification of load adjustment and non-stock; 7) Development of overall integrated one piece flow operation; 8) Second pillar of elimination of wastes is reduction of man-hours; 9) Development to brainwork converted to automation; 10) Maintenance and development of standard operation; and 11) Development of Kanban system. Schonberger (1982) presented nine lessons to learn from Japanese manufacturing: 1) Management technology is a highly transportable commodity; 2) Just-in-time production exposes problems otherwise hidden by excess inventories and staff; 3) Quality begins with production, and requires a company-wide "habit of improvement; 4) Culture is no obstacle; techniques can change behaviour; 5) Simplify, and goods will flow like water;
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Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education 6) Flexibility opens doors; 7) Travel light and make numerous trips like the water beetle; 8) More self-improvement, fewer programmes, less specialist intervention; and 9) Simplicity is the natural state. Monden (1983) asserted that TPS included eight principles: 1) Kanban system to maintain JIT production; 2) Production smoothing to adapt to demand changes; 3) Shortening of the setup time for reducing the production lead time; 4) Standardisation of operations to attain line balancing; 5) Process layout and multi-functional workers for the flexible work force concept; 6) Improvement activities by small groups and suggestion system (quality control circle) to reduce the work force and increase worker ; 7) Visual control system (Andon) to achieve autonomation concept; and 8) Functional management system to promote company-wide quality control. Taiichi Ohno (1988) provided no clear framework but rather a collection of various techniques that were practised at Toyota plants, such as cost reduction via elimination of wastes, kanban system, autonomation, emphasis on teamwork instead of individual work assignment, production levelling, small lot sizes, and quick setup. OGrady (1988) came up with four main pillars of the JIT philosophy, attack fundamental problems; eliminate waste; strive for simplicity; and devise systems to identify problems. Low and Chan (1997) reckoned eight distinctive features and broad principles were embedded in the JIT concept: 1) Attacking fundamental problems; 2) Elimination of waste; 3) The Kanban or Pull system; 4) Uninterrupted work flow; 5) Total quality control concept; 6) Top management commitment and employee involvement; 7) Supplier and client relations; and 8) Continuous improvements.
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Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education Vollmann et al. (2005) put forward the overview of the goals and building blocks of JIT concept as following:
Source: Vollmann, T. E. et al. (2005)
Figure 1: An overview of the goals and building blocks of JIT concept
2.2
JIT Goals
The framework suggested by Vollmann et al. (2005) indicates that the ultimate goal of JIT is a balanced system, that is, one that achieves a smooth, rapid flow of materials and/or work through the system. The idea is to make the process time as short as possible by using resources in the best possible way. The degree to which the overall goal is achieved depends on how well certain supporting goals are accomplished (Stevenson, 2005). Disruptions have negative effects on the whole system by hindering the smooth flow of products; therefore it is inevitable to set elimination of disruptions as one of the supporting goals. The sources of disruptions may originate from poor quality, equipment breakdowns, changes to schedule, and late deliveries. As long as these potential sources of problems are
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catered for, the uncertainty that the system must deal with will be reduced and there will be a better chance that the targeted balanced, rapid flow will happen. A flexible system is the one that is robust enough to handle a mix of products, often on a daily basis, and to handle changes in the level of output while still maintaining balance and throughput speed. This enables the system to deal with some uncertainty. In other words, a flexible system is a means to keep the ultimate goal practically feasible. To facilitate the flexibility of the system, reduction of setup and lead times is critical. The last but not least supporting goal of JIT is to eliminate waste. Waste can be defined as anything other than the minimum amount of resources which are absolutely essential to add value to the product (Rawabbdeh, 2005). It represents the unproductive resources, thus a systematic and continuous identification and elimination of waste can free up resources and lead to increased efficiency, improved productivity and enhanced competitiveness. Generally, companies that work towards the elimination of waste in their manufacturing processes realise the following benefits: lower raw material stock, work-inprocess and finished goods inventories which reduce the associated holding cost; higher levels of product quality; increased flexibility and ability to meet customer demands; lower overall manufacturing costs; and increased employees involvement (Chase et al., 2006). Reduction of all non-productive activities eventually saves time and allows more resources to be allocated to improving throughput and profitability. From a practical perspective, Shigeo Shingo (1981) classified waste into seven types: 1) Waste from overproducing - involves excessive use of manufacturing resources due to producing more than enough for the fear of shortage; 2) Waste of waiting time requires additional space, delays the work; 3) Transportation waste increases material handling due to temporarily re-arranging and moving inventories; 4) Processing waste makes unnecessary production steps, scrap; 5) Inventory (raw material, work-in-process and finished goods) waste adds cost to production due to extra handling, extra space, extra interest charges and so on; 6) Waste of motion involves unnecessary picking and placing or any wasteful movement due to the unreasonable process design and layout; 7) Waste from product defects requires rework costs and leads to possible lost sales due to customer dissatisfaction. According to Rawabbdeh (2005), the seven types of waste can then be categorised into three main groups related to: man, machine and material by means of activities or conditions that affect the fourth, namely, money. The man-group contains the waste of
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waiting, motion, and overproduction; the machine-group contains over-processing waste; and the material-group contains transportation, inventory and defects waste. However, man and material overlap in overproduction waste, whilst machine and material overlap in defect waste. Figure 2 shows this classification.
Source: Rawabbdeh, I. A. (2005).
Figure 2: Three categories of waste (man, machine, materials)
2.3
Building Blocks of JIT Concept
Product Design
Standard parts: The use of standard parts means that workers have fewer parts to deal with, and training time and cost are reduced. Purchasing, handling, and checking quality become more routine and lend themselves to continual improvement. Another important benefit is the capability to use standard processing. Modular design: Modular design is an extension of standard parts. It is a form of standardisation in which component parts are grouped into modules that are easily replaced or interchanged. Instead of dealing with numerous individual parts, workers only need to work on a handful of modules. This greatly simplifies assembly, purchasing, handling, training, and so on. Quality built in: JIT lays stress on high quality products due to the fact that poor quality creates delay or idles on the system if defects are found and rectification work is needed. In order to reach and maintain a high standard of quality, considerations in quality improvement and quality assurance are designed into the product and the production process at the design or conceptualisation stage. The earlier the quality is built into the product or process, the wider the cost of design quality can be spread over units; and the deeper the benefits can travel within the organisation.
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Concurrent engineering: This means bringing engineering designer and manufacturing personnel together early in the design stage in order to grab the expertise of the manufacturing personnel, and ensure the technical feasibility and cost-efficiency of the products. It also results in a major shortening of the product development process, which could be a key competitive edge. This concept further develops the quality built in idea.
Process Design
Small lot sizes: Small lot sizes in both the production process and deliveries from suppliers yield a number of benefits that enable the JIT system to operate effectively.
Source: Stevenson, W. J. (2005)
Figure 3: JIT versus large lot run sizes Firstly, with small lots moving through the system, in-process inventory is considerably less than it is with large lots. This reduces carrying costs, space requirements, and clutter in the workplace. Secondly, inspection and rework costs are less when problems with quality occur because there are fewer items in a lot to inspect and rework. Thirdly, small lots permit greater flexibility in scheduling. As described in Figure 3, using small lots, a JIT system would frequently shift from producing A to producing B and C on a daily basis, instead of long production runs of each product, one after another (Stevenson, 2005). This flexibility enables the JIT system to respond more rapidly to change in customer demands for output: JIT can produce just what is needed, when it is needed. Setup time reduction: Small lots and changing product mixes require frequent setups. Unless these are quick and relatively inexpensive, the time and cost to accomplish them can be prohibitive. Moreover, long setup time requires holding more inventory than with a short setup time. Hence, deliberate effort is required to reduce setup time; and workers are usually a valuable part of the process. In addition to training workers to do their own setup with simple and standardised procedures, multi-purposed equipment or attachments can also help to reduce job changeover time. Group technology (the grouping into part families of items with similar design or manufacturing characteristics) can add on the setup cost and time reduction by capitalising on similarities in recurring operations. For instance,
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parts that are similar in shape, materials, and so on, may require very similar setups. Processing them in sequence on the same equipment can reduce the need to completely change a setup; only minor adjustments may be necessary. Manufacturing cells: JIT contains multiple manufacturing cells, which are groups of closely located workstations dedicated to the production of a limited number of similar parts. The cells contain the machine and tools needed to process families of parts having similar processing requirements. Among the important benefits of manufacturing cells are reduced changeover times, high utilisation of equipment, and ease of cross-training operators. Lower level of inventory: This includes all three types of inventory: raw materials stock, work-in-process inventories, and finished goods. Without distinction of type, inventories are buffers that tend to keep problems hidden from view (OGrady, 1988), make problems become less obvious and less serious and eventually remain unsolved. It is also a tremendous burden in cost and space to carry excessive inventory. The JIT approach is to pare down inventories gradually in order to uncover problems. Quality improvement: Quality improvement focuses on never-ending finding and eliminating the causes of problems. One useful mechanism used by the JIT system to achieve quality improvement is autonomation (or jidoka in Japanese). According to Monden (1983) Jidoka automatically detects defects during production using foolproof instruments, then stops the production line to correct the cause of the defects. The halting of production forces immediate attention to the problem; investigation is conducted, and corrective action is taken. Consequently, quality is continuously improved. Production flexibility: JIT applies various techniques to reduce bottle-necks, and increase production flexibility. Knod and Schonberger (2001) suggested some guidelines for increasing production flexibility by using small lot sizes, reducing setup time, employing preventive maintenance, cross-training workers, using small units of capacity, and so on.
Personnel/Organisational Elements
Workers as assets: Instead of treating workers as a production cost, JIT empowers workers with more authority to make decisions than their counterparts in the traditional system. Well-trained and motivated workers are the heart of a JIT system. Cross-trained workers: Workers are cross-trained to perform several parts of a process and operate a variety of machines. This adds to system flexibility because workers are able to help one another when bottle-necks occur or when a co-worker is absent. It also eases the scheduling issue due to less constraint in the workers capabilities. Continuous improvement: Workers in a JIT system have greater responsibility for quality than workers in traditional systems, and they are expected to be involved in non-stop
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problem solving. The intent is to continually identify and eliminate the problem, or at least greatly reduce the chances of it recurring. Some companies in Japan use andon a system of lights used at each workstation to signal problems or slowdowns. Each workstation is equipped with a set of three lights. A green light means no problems, an amber light means a worker is falling a little bit behind, and a red light indicates a serious problem. The purpose of the light system is to keep others in the system informed and to enable workers and supervisors to immediately see when and where problems are occurring. Not only workers but also all levels of management are encouraged to actively support and become involved in problem solving to achieve continuous improvement or kaizen in Japanese term. Cost accounting: Traditional accounting methods sometimes distort overhead allocation because they allocate it on the basis of direct labour hours. While labour cost does not constitute all production cost, other costs need to be taken into account. Thus, JIT applies activity-based costing, which allocates overhead to specific jobs based on their percentages of activities. Leadership/project management: In JIT, managers are expected to be leaders and facilitators, not order givers. JIT encourages two-way communication, and a high level of support and commitment from managers.
Manufacturing Planning and Control

Level loading: JIT places strong emphasis on achieving stable, level daily-mix schedules. Toward that end, the master production schedule is developed to provide level capacity loading. Once established, the production schedules are relatively fixed over a short time horizon to provide certainty to the system; and daily adjustments are strictly controlled by the pull system with Kanban cards and other visual systems. Pull system: In traditional production environments, a push system is used: work is pushed to the next station as it is completed without considering whether the next station is ready to take the parts from the previous station. Consequently, work may pile up at the workstations that fall behind schedule. In contrast, JIT deploys pull system, which is defined by Taiichi Ohno (1988, p. 14) as below: Manufacturers and workplaces can no longer base production on desktop planning alone and then distribute, or push, them onto the market. It has become a matter of course for customers, or users, each with a different value system, to stand in the front line of the marketplace and, so to speak, pull the goods they need, in the amount and at the time they need
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In other words, JIT communication moves backwards; each workstation or customer communicates its need to the preceding work station or supplier (see Figure 4).
Each stage of the system is tightly linked. Material is pulled through the system only when there is demand.
Sub = Subassembly Fab = Fabrication
Source: Chase et al., 2006
Figure 4: JIT pull system Work moves just in time to the next station based on the demand pulled by the next station; stocks do not pile up at the warehouses and wait to be sold but rather are produced on the basis of customer demand (Hopp and Spearman, 2004). Visual systems Kanban Cards: There are various ways to communicate demand for work or materials from the preceding station, but so far the Kanban cards system is the most effective. Figure 5 shows how a two-card Kanban system works.
Source: Hopp, W.J., and Spearman, M.L. (2004)
Figure 5: A two-card Kanban system The move cards authorise the workers from the next station coming to the previous station to take the parts needed for his work. The production cards are a signal for the worker at the previous station to start to produce in response to the demand of the next station. A two-card can become a one-card Kanban system if the card is used to serve both
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purposes of moving and producing material. By controlling the number of Kanban cards available, managers can loosen or tighten the amount of inventory (Hopp and Spearman, 2004). Close vendor relationships: The JIT system typically has close relationships with vendors or suppliers, who are expected to provide frequent small deliveries of high-quality goods. The burden of ensuring quality shifts to the vendor in the sense that vendors can be relied on to deliver high-quality goods without the need for buyer inspection. Furthermore, instead of dealing with numerous suppliers as in the traditional system, JIT employs a tiered approach for suppliers as represented in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Traditional supplier network compared to supplier tiers The team of suppliers in the tiered approach reduces significantly the complexity of the procurement methods. Each supplier bears full responsibility for the quality of its portion of the product. Reduced transaction processing: Unnecessarily excessive transactions are a cost burden for any organisation. The JIT system cuts transactions costs by reducing the number and the frequency of transactions. Some practices can be direct deliveries of goods from suppliers to production floor which bypasses the warehouse entirely, trustworthily high quality material from suppliers which eliminates the need for buyers inspection, use of bar coding, etc. Preventive maintenance and housekeeping: Preventive maintenance is a proactive approach which maintains equipment in good operating condition and replaces parts that have a tendency to fail before they actually do fail. The goal is to reduce the incidence of breakdowns or failures.
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Housekeeping means maintaining a workplace that is clean and free of unnecessary materials, because those materials take up space and may cause disruptions to the work flow. The JIT system often links housekeeping with the 5-S principles. According to Monden (1983), 5-S represents the Japanese words Seiri (clearly separating necessary things from unnecessary ones and abandoning the later), Seiton (neatly arranging things in order for ease of use), Seison (continually maintaining cleanliness), Seiketsu (standardising cleanup activities to make these actions specific and easy to perform) , and Shitsuke (encouraging discipline among workers)
2.4
JIT II
Atkinson (2001) pointed out that in some companies - such as IBM, Motorola, Siemens and Sun Microsystems, - the JIT concept grows into JIT II where a supplier representative works in the companys plants, making sure that there is an appropriate supply on hand. The rationale for JIT II is that suppliers have more expertise on the parts they supply than their customers do, hence they can manage their parts better and also can provide some beneficial suggestions to improve the production process.
2.5
Benefits of JIT and Transition to a JIT System

A recent study of the average benefits accrued to US manufacturers from implementing JIT showed some impressive figures: 90% reduction in manufacturing cycle time, 70% reduction in inventory, 50% reduction in labour costs and 80% reduction in space requirement (Russell and Taylor, 2006). Salaheldin (2005) researched on the JIT implementation in Egyptian manufacturing firms and also found plentiful attractive benefits such as improved quality; lower costs; better connection with workers and suppliers; maximised use of space; full utilisation of people, equipment, materials and parts; and improved competition while reducing paper work. Thus, there is no doubt about the positive effects of JIT on the operation of the firms. However, in order to reap the benefits of JIT, companies needed to adopt a carefully planned approach to increase the probability of successful transition from the traditional system to the JIT system: 1) Make sure that top management is committed to the conversion. Make sure they are involved in the process and know what it will cost, how long it will take to complete the transition, and what results can be expected. 2) Obtain the support and cooperation of workers. 3) Begin by trying to reduce setup time and reduce inventories. Identify and eliminate emerging problems.
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4) Gradually convert operations, beginning at the end of the process and working backward. At each stage, make sure the conversion has been relatively successful before moving on. 5) As one of the last steps, obtain support and cooperation of suppliers, convert suppliers to JIT and be prepared to work closely with them. Managers need to know beforehand that converting from a traditional system to a JIT system may not be a smooth process and it requires a lot of effort to be poured in. OGrady (1988) even listed down nine potential pitfalls that may result in the failure of JIT implementation. Hence, firms with the ambition to reach the summit of the JIT mountain must prepare to counter-attack all the obstacles to conversion.
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3.0 3.1
MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING MRP Overview
MRP concept
The earliest mechanism used to manage inventory was the reorder-point/reorder-quantity system. Under the reorder-point system, the depletion in the supply of each inventory item was monitored and a replenishment order was issued whenever the supply dropped to a predetermined quantity the reorder point (Orlicky, 1975). This system suffered from two main difficulties. One was the enormous task of setting up schedules, keeping track of large numbers of parts and components, and coping with schedule and order changes. The other was a lack of differentiation between independent demand (end-items or finished goods) and dependent demand (raw materials, subassemblies, components) (Stevenson, 2005). During the 1960s in the United States, led by computer manufacturers - in particular, IBM there was a wave of widespread use of computers in business. As a result, a new manufacturing planning and control system called material requirements planning (MRP) was disseminated among American manufacturers. Joseph Orlicky, one of the major MRP innovators, defined MRP as following: A material requirements planning (MRP) system, narrowly defined, consists of a set of logically related procedures, decision rules, and records (alternatively, records may be viewed as inputs to the system) designed to translate a master production schedule into time-phased net requirements, and the planned coverage of such requirements, for each component inventory item needed to implement this schedule (1975, p 21). In other words, MRP is a computer-based information system that translates master schedule requirements for end items into time-phased requirements for sub-assemblies, components, and raw materials (Stevenson, 2005, p 576). It works backward from the due date using lead time and other information to determine when and how much to order. The main purposes of a basic MRP system are to control inventory levels, assign operating priorities for items, and plan capacity to load the production system (Chase et al. 2006).
MRP Position in Relation to Other Functions

MRP is not a stand-alone system. It rather coordinates with other activities of the operation process in order to foster strength of the planning and controlling function. Figure 7 demonstrates how MRP fits into the flow of the other operational activities.
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Master schedule (Demand for specific end-items)
Source: Author of this study
Figure 7: Operation flow using MRP

As can be seen from Figure 7, based on the master production schedule which specifies the production requirements for each end-item, MRP calculates the requirements schedules for dependant items - raw materials, subassemblies and components - which are needed in order to produce the required quantity of each end-item. Without the input from the master production schedule, MRP could not operate; and without another extended step which is "detailed capacity requirements planning", MRP output could not be validated and used to determine the dependent demands.
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Components of MRP
The components of MRP are presented in Figure 8.
Figure 8: Components of MRP The primary inputs of MRP are a bill of materials, which details the composition of a finished product; a master schedule, which details how much finished product is desired and when; and an inventory records file, which details how much inventory is on hand or on order. The planner processes this information to determine the net requirements for each period of the planning horizon. Outputs from the process include planned-order schedules, order releases, changes, performance-control reports, planning reports, and exception reports (Stevenson, 2005).
3.2
MRP Input
The Master Schedule

The master schedule is one of three primary inputs in MRP stating which end-items are to be produced, when these are needed, and in what quantities. Normally, the master schedule is formed after disaggregating the aggregate planning which consists of demand for groups of end-items. Based on the customer orders, forecasts, and orders from
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warehouses to build up seasonal inventories, the demand for each particular end-item within the groups is specified. Figure 9 illustrates what a master schedule looks like.
Item: X Quantity
2 700
Week number 3 4 5
8 900
Figure 9: A master schedule for end item X The master schedule separates the planning horizon into a series of time periods or time buckets, which are often expressed in weeks. However, the time buckets need not be of equal length. In fact, the near-term portion of a master schedule may be in weeks, but later portions may be in months or quarters. Usually, plans for those more distant time periods are more tentative than near-term requirements (Stevenson, 2005). Although a master production schedule has no set time period, it is important that the master schedule covers the stacked or cumulative lead time (the sum of the lead times that sequential phases of a process require, from ordering of parts or raw materials to completion of final assembly).
The Bill of Materials

A bill of materials contains a listing of all of the assemblies, subassemblies, parts, and raw materials that are needed to produce one unit of a finished product. A product structure tree is useful in illustrating how the bill of materials is used to determine the quantities of each of the ingredients (requirements) needed to obtain a desired number of end items:
Level 0
A(2)
2 3
C(3) F
E(2)
Figure 10: A product structure tree for end-item X In Figure 10, end-item X is composed of two As and one B. Each A requires three Cs and one D; while each B requires one D and two Es. Similarly, each C is made up of one F. These requirements are listed by level, beginning with 0 for the end item, then 1 for the
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next level, and so on. The items at each level are components of the next level up and, as in a family tree, are parents of their respective components.
The Inventory Records

Inventory records include information on the status of each item by time period or time buckets. This contains gross requirements, scheduled receipts, and expected amount on hand. It also includes other details for each item, such as supplier, lead time, and lot size policy. Changes due to stock receipts and withdrawals, cancelled orders, and similar events are also recorded in this file (Stevenson, 2005).
3.3
MRP Processing
MRP processing takes the end-item requirements specified by the master schedule and "explodes" them into time-phased requirements for assemblies, parts and raw materials using the bill of materials offset by lead times. The determination of the net requirements is the core of MRP processing.
Figure 11: MRP Processing Gross requirements are the total expected demands for an item or raw material during each time period. These quantities are derived from the master production schedule or the planned-order releases of their immediate "parents". Scheduled receipts are open orders (orders that have been placed) and are scheduled to arrive from vendors or elsewhere in the pipeline by the beginning of a period. Projected on hand are the expected amounts of inventory that will be on hand at the beginning of each time period: scheduled receipts plus available inventory from last period. Net requirements are the actual amount needed in each time period. In addition to subtracting projected inventory on hand from gross requirements, net requirements are sometimes adjusted to include safety stock and an allowance for waste.
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Planned-order receipts are the quantities expected to be received by the beginning of the period. Under lot-for-lot ordering (lot size = 1), this quantity will equal net requirements. Under lot-size ordering, the order size must be in multiples of the lot size, thus this may exceed net requirements. Any excess is added to available inventory in the next time period. Planned-order releases are the planned amount to order in each time period; equal planned-order receipts offset by lead times. This amount generates gross requirements at the next level in the assembly or production chain. When an order is executed, it is removed from "planned-order releases" and entered under "scheduled receipts". As time passes, the plans need to be updated and revised to reflect the moving horizon over time since old orders will have been completed while new orders enter; also there may have been some changes in quantities, delays, missed deliveries, and so on. Orlicky (1975) suggested that MRP records could be updated using either the regenerative system (approach that updates MRP records periodically) or net-change system (approach that updates MRP records continuously).
3.4
MRP Output
The MRP system has the ability to provide management with a fairly broad range of outputs. These are often classified as primary reports, which are the main reports, and secondary reports, which are optional outputs.
Primary reports
1) Planned orders: indicating the amount and timing of future orders. 2) Order releases: authorising the execution of planned orders. 3) Changes: Revising planned orders, including changes of due dates or order quantities and cancellations of orders.
Secondary reports
1) Performance-control reports: evaluating the system operation by measuring deviations from plans, including missed deliveries and stockouts, and by providing information that can be used to assess cost performance. 2) Planning reports: including purchase commitments and other data that can be used to assess future material requirements. 3) Exception reports: calling attention to major discrepancies such as late or overdue orders, excessive scrap rates, reporting errors, and requirements for nonexistent parts.
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The wide range of outputs generally permits users to tailor-make MRP to their particular needs.
3.5
Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II)

Manufacturing resources planning (MRP II) evolved from MRP in the 1980s because manufacturers recognised additional needs. MRP II expands the scope of MRP to involve other areas of a firm in the planning process and enable detailed capacity requirements planning (see Figure 12).
Manufacturing
Capacity Requirements Planning
No
Figure 12: An overview of MRP II Normally a firm generates a master schedule in terms of what is needed and not what is possible. The initial schedule may or may not be feasible given the limits of the production system and availability of materials when end-items are translated into requirements for
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procurement, fabrication, and assembly. Unfortunately, the MRP system cannot distinguish between a feasible master schedule and an infeasible one. Orlicky (1975) highlighted that "MRP is capacityinsensitive in that it will call for the production of items for which capacity may not, in fact, exist". Consequently, MRP was developed into MRP II to include the capacity requirements planning activity which compares the MRP output to the available capacity and materials via load reports. If it turns out that the requirements based upon the current master schedule is not feasible, management needs to decide to increase capacity (through overtime or subcontracting) or to revise the master schedule (Stevenson, 2005). MRP II also seeks for the appearance of finance and marketing personnel in the establishment of the production plan. The purpose for having these functional areas work together with manufacturing people is to tap on the expertise of each department and increase the likelihood of developing a plan that works. Moreover, because each of these functional areas has been involved in formulating the plan, they will have reasonably good knowledge of the plan and more reason to work toward achieving it. One of the most successful MRP II users of the last 15 years is the Coca-Cola Company. Coke assimilated MRP II into their management culture as a structure and approach for improving how they manage business. Eight different sites on four continents have achieved Cokes Class A recognition, and more are on the way (Chase et al., 2006).
3.6
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is the next step in an evolution that began with MRP evolving into MRP II. Table1: Major developers of ERP software Vendor
American Software The Baan Company i2 Technologies Manugistics Oracle PeopleSoft SAP Source: Chase et al., (2006)
Special software features

Comprehensive selection; focus on supply chain management Comprehensive selection of software for discrete and process manufacturing Forecasting, flow manufacturing Optimization of logistics functions Comprehensive system; major database vendor Comprehensive selection; client/server products Integrated client/server system
Web site
http://www.amsoftware.com http://www.baan.com http://www.i2.com http://www.manugistics.com http://www.oracle.com http://www.peoplesoft.com http://www.sap.com
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Like MRP II, it typically has a MRP core. ERP represents an extended effort to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system that can serve all those different departments' particular needs (Lamonica, 1999). It permits information sharing among different areas of an organisation in order to manage the system more effectively (Stevenson, 2005). SAP AG, a German firm, is one of the world leaders in providing ERP software. Its major product is known as R/3. Many of the world's largest companies use the software, including Baxter Healthcare, Exxon, and even the software giant Microsoft. R/3 consists of four major modules: Financial Accounting, Human Resources, Manufacturing and Logistics, and Sales and Distribution. The R/3 applications are fully integrated so that data are shared among all applications (Chase et al., 2006) (See Figure 13).
Source: Copyright by SAP AG
Figure13: R/3 Application modules As an enterprise-wide integrated system, various ERP success stories have been reported. Particularly, Singapore-based Flextronics International has rolled out ERP to its 26 locations around the globe (Plotkin, 1999).
3.7
Requirements to Apply MRP

MRP is most valuable in industries where a number of products are made in batches using the same productive equipment (Chase et al., 2006). It is often referred to as a planning and scheduling technique used for batch production.
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In order to implement and operate an effective MRP system, it is necessary to have: 1) A computer and the necessary software programs to handle computations and maintain records; 2) Accurate and up-to-date master schedules, bills of materials and inventory records; and 3) Integrity of file data. Accurate inputs are absolutely crucial for a successful MRP system. For bills of materials, errors at one level become magnified by the multiplication process used to determine quantity requirements. Inaccuracies in master schedules and inventory records can lead to ordering too many of some items and too few of others, which in turn contributes to wasted resources, failure to stay on schedule, missed delivery dates, and poor customer service.
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4.0 4.1
INTEGRATION OF JIT AND MRP IN MANUFACTURING Rationale for Integration of JIT and MRP in Manufacturing
JIT is often referred to as a "pull" system since the production of the previous work stations are pulled by the demand of the next stations. Conversely, MRP is usually considered as a "push" system since each work station produces up to the quantities stated in the MRP output reports and push their parts to the next station regardless of whether there is an actual need for their parts. The traditional viewpoint was that JIT and MRP could not exist in one entity due to the opposite characteristic of pull and push. However, taking a closer look at each system can reveal a contrary picture in which JIT and MRP indeed complement each other. JIT does not provide a broad view at planning level of the operational process; while in this area MRP is considered as a strong planning system. MRP does not provide a detailed shop floor schedule and often over-produces if the input data is not accurate; while JIT is a superior execution system on the shop floor. JIT requires a stable demand to maintain a level production, which narrows the application of JIT to almost repetitive manufacturing. In the meantime, MRP offers a larger allowance for variety since the system is most suitable for batch production. The MRP system encounters inaccuracy of input due to the lack of update from the shop floor while JIT's strength is to keep everything on the shop floor under control. Organisations working with JIT may sometimes be at a risk of shortage of goods since the system endeavours to cut down the inventory level and limits safety stock; inversely, the MRP system's job is to forecast demand, undertake production and pile up inventory beforehand. Owing to all these complementary attributes, it is rational to examine the potential of combining or integrating the best features of both JIT and MRP systems in order to develop a further advanced system in planning and controlling manufacturing operation (Low and Chan, 1997). These integrated systems are often referred to as hybrid systems.
4.2
Types of JIT and MRP Hybrid Systems

Geraghty and Heavey (2005) defined that "A hybrid production system could be characterised as a production system that combines elements of the two philosophies in order to minimise inventory and unmask flaws in the system, while maintaining the ability of the system to satisfy demand" (p 436). Hybrid systems can be classified into two categories: vertically integrated hybrid system (VIHS) or horizontally integrated hybrid system (HIHS). VIHS consists of two levels, usually an upper level push-type production control strategy and a lower level pull-type production control strategy. In other words, VIHS utilises MRP for long range planning and JIT for shop floor execution.
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HIHS consists of one level where some production stages are controlled by MRP and other stages by JIT. This type is more suitable for multi-stage production processes.
4.3
Vertically Integrated Hybrid System (VIHS)
General Framework of VIHS

VIHS accommodates the best planning features of MRP and the best execution features of JIT to formulate a more effective manufacturing system.
Components forecasting
Source: Lee, C. Y (1993)
Figure 14: General framework of vertically integrated hybrid system (VIHS)
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Figure 14 depicts the general framework of VIHS as a matrix of the functions divided into a planning and an execution phase and grouped into the four management activities demand management, inventory management, capacity management and quality management. The top half of the figure represents the planning phase of the vertical hybrid production system. It resembles a conventional MRP-based system composed of a stable master production schedule, a bill of materials and the corresponding inventory record for each product as the input data (refer to chapter 3 for further details of the MRP system). The bottom half shows the execution portion of the hybrid production system. The JIT system, consisting of four building blocks as explained in chapter 2, directs the production floor and vendor to produce exactly the required number of components. Parts arrive just in time when they are required. Production is authorised through consumption of the previous work station. The main principle of VIHS is plan work, but produce what is consumed (Lee, 1993). As a planning tool, MRP anticipates and addresses the uncertainties inherent in the production lines; while as an execution system, JITs task is to reduce the complexity of the manufacturing process.
How can MRP assist JIT in VIHS?

Working at the planning level, MRP can assist JIT at the execution level in three ways. Firstly, MRP aids JIT to counter long lead times and shortage of goods.
Source: O'Grady, P.J. (1988)
Figure15: Example of the use of MRP to counteract long lead times The example in Figure 15 shows the lead times for operations 1, 3, and 4 are one day each, whereas for operation 2 it is 17 days. This would often be the case where operation 2 was completed outside the JIT shop. Under these circumstances, it could take information about demand more than 18 days to reach operation 1 from operation 4. Clearly this could cause many problems if demand changes dramatically. In such cases,
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effort should be made to reduce the long lead times, but where it is difficult or impossible to do so (as with specialised raw materials, for example) an MRP system can be used to speed up feedback of information to the early operation. The MRP system inputs the future demand and evaluates the requirements for materials and components. The output from the MRP system can be fed directly into the early operations (operation 1 in Figure 15) so that these early operations will receive early notification of any changes in demand. In this manner, the information for operation 1 arrives, not from operation 2 but from the MRP system (OGrady, 1988). If a sudden rise in demand is anticipated, operation 1 will receive the information much earlier due to the forward-looking production triggering characteristics of an MRP system in which production is planned ahead based on future requirements (Lee, 1993). Thus, operation 1 will get enough time to prepare production of enough components or parts. Consequently, the risk of facing a shortage of inventory is reduced significantly and the service level is improved at a lower cost. Secondly, MRP facilitates the coordination of various shop floors. MRP is a computerised system while JIT with Kanban cards is a manual system. A major benefit of the JIT system is its simplicity; a major benefit of MRP is its ability to handle complex planning (Stevenson, 2005). In cases where there are multiple shop floors, MRP plays a very productive part in tracking the information, linking the shop floors via providing faster and more accurate information transferred among them. Figure 16 diagrammatically demonstrates that the MRP system can integrate the activities of different shops to ensure that sufficient raw materials and components are delivered.
Source: O'Grady, P.J. (1988)
Figure 16: Use of MRP system to coordinate JIT shops
Thirdly, MRP provides the means for an automated Kanban system which automatically recalculates the numbers of all the identified Kanban cards each time MRP is generated. It automatically creates and downloads a purchase order to the supplier when a suppliers Kanban item is triggered by consumption (Louis, 1997). Lee (1993) also agreed that computerised [MRP] systems can be used to monitor vendor delivery performance, to CEBE Working Paper No. 14 42
determine group efficiency measurements, to inform suppliers of parts demand, to track inventory, to consolidate part numbers, to facilitate re-planning, and to identify opportunities for order quantity and safety stock reductions (p 6). Overall, the automated Kanban system reduces the time and effort required to operate the production process via computerising and automating, where possible, the activities that are previously done manually.
How can JIT assist MRP in VIHS?

Obviously, JIT offers a detailed shop floor schedule which is absent from MRP outputs. Moreover, operating at the shop floor level, the discipline of a JIT system can be very effective in terms of providing the MRP system with more realistic input information relating to lead time and capacity. The hybrid system avoids the need to specify the planned leadtime, which is very hard to estimate. Rather, the actual lead time is derived from the schedule. The short-term capacity is also planned with higher accuracy since the scheduling process of the integrated system specifies the work centre and time-period for every operation of a part. This definitely helps to lessen the problems dealing with MRP assumptions of fixed lead times and infinite capacity.
Assessment of VIHS
As it can be seen from the above discussion, the two systems of JIT and MRP do not resist each other in VIHS but rather interact and lend assistance to each other. The combined system weeds out the individual weaknesses and reinforces the individual strengths of JIT and MRP. However, VIHS has one main disadvantage which is that MRP calculations must be performed for each stage in the production system. With comparison to HIHS, which will be discussed later, VIHS is more complex to implement.
4.4
Horizontally Integrated Hybrid System (HIHS)
General Framework of HIHS

HIHS orders some stages by a push-type (MRP) production ordering system and other stages by a pull-type (JIT) production ordering system (Cochran and Kim, 1998). Beamon and Bermudo (2000) described HIHS as one that the push elements of the system cover from the raw material storage until the components complete processing and goes to a buffer storage at the end of each line, while the pull elements start from this point down to the packaging station (p 351). Figure 17 depicts a framework of the horizontal hybrid system for a three-line, five-stage production system. From stage 1 to stage 3, the workstations are under MRP control, which means that components and parts are produced up to the quantities stated in the MRP output reports and then pushed to the next stage regardless of the demand of the upstream stage. At the end of stage 3, the
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inventories pile up to form buffering stock. From stage 4 onwards, the production of each workstation is controlled by the pull from the real demand of the next stage, i.e. each workstation is working under the JIT philosophy. For a more advanced model of HIHS, each production stage is not fixed to one production system but can rather switch between push and pull control depending on whether demand can be forecasted reliably or not (Hirakawa et al., 1992). Cochran and Kim (1998) noted that HIHS could have a movable junction point between a push sub-system and a pull sub-system (p 1142).
Source: Beamon, B. M. and Bermudo, J. M. (2000)
Figure 17: Example of HIHS for three-line, five-stage system
Assessment of HIHS
Various research has been conducted to compare the effectiveness of HIHS to pure pull or pure push systems. Hodgson and Wang (1991a and 1991b) developed a Markov Decision Process model for HIHS. The model solved problems using both dynamic programming and simulation for several production strategies, including pure pull, pure push, and integrated ones. Hodgson and Wang (1991a and 1991b) found that for both the four and five stage production system, a strategy where production downstream stage 1 and 2 pushed and all other upstream stages pulled was demonstrated to result in the lowest average system cost. The authors argued their findings from the control and information structure viewpoint. They indicated that the pure pull strategy was a group of decentralised controllers without any real-time coordination. The system focused on the local goal of each decentralised controller, which was to satisfy the local demand subject to the available local supply, instead of paying attention to the global goal of meeting end-users
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demand while saving inventory expenses. On the contrary, the structure of the pure push strategy was centralised control. Each stage had to obey the production commands given by the central computer. The intent of the commands was to achieve a global goal. In this scenario, individual controllers had no ability to affect the local inventory situation independently. This meant that the pure push strategy could not achieve the desired inventory situation at all stages. Finally, the horizontal hybrid system, in Hodgson and Wangs (1991a and 1991b) standpoint, appeared as a superior strategy containing a group of decentralised controllers with a centralised coordinator. Individual controllers had the ability to adjust their inventory situations to meet the local demand; but their material supply was controlled, in part, by the central computer. Pandey and Khokhajaikiat (1996) extended Hodgson and Wangs (1991a and 1991b) model to allow for the inclusion of raw material constraints at each stage. The authors concluded that the horizontal hybrid strategy in which the initial stages (1 and 2) operated under push control and the remaining stages operated under pull control was the best strategy when raw material constraints applied only to the initial stages. Wang and Xu (1997) reconfirmed Hodgson and Wangs (1991a and 1991b) findings by investigating four 45-stage manufacturing systems and suggested that the optimal horizontal hybrid strategy outperformed pure pull or push strategies. Beamon and Bermudo (2000) published a further specific result stating that statistically it can be concluded that the hybrid system at 95% confidence level outperforms the pure pull system in terms of lead time and outperforms the pure push system in terms of work-inprocess inventory (p 354). Overall, HIHS is suitable for application in multi-line, multi-stage production systems. Comparing to VIHS, HIHS is easier to model the key performance measures and their interactions (Cochran and Kim, 1998). For both VIHS and HIHS, the use of either JIT or MRP does not preclude the use of the other; only that, in effect, some situations are more conducive to a JIT approach, others to an MRP approach (Stevenson, 2005).
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5.0 5.1
INTEGRATION OF JIT AND MRP IN PREFABRICATION PLANTS Precast Concrete Production as a Kind of Manufacturing
Chan (1994) listed twelve different points between the construction industry and manufacturing which are: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) Vagaries of weather; Unique one-off nature of construction operations leading to absence of economies of scale; Ease of automation and robotisation; Certainty and problem identification; Designer-producer homogeneity; Immediate appraisal and possession; Influence of economic performance; Owners involvement; Safety provision; Organisational structure: short-term nature of construction; Mobility; and Marketing management.
Ang (1999) added onto the list some other differences such as complex communication and coordination, restrictions imposed by building regulations, and segmentation of the construction industry. However, most of these deviations happen on the construction sites during the transporting, unloading, lifting, and installing process of the precast components. This is after the components have reached the final stage of production and are ready to be delivered to the clients. In terms of supply chain movement, the part from the precaster to the main contractor or the owner reflects a pool of dissimilarities between construction and manufacturing, which calls for appropriate adjustments prior to the application of any management concepts from manufacturing to the construction industry. However, as long as it is still within the production process, which means still belonging to the process from the raw materials vendors to the precasters, the gap between a prefabrication plant and a manufacturing plant is not that wide. In reality, the production process at the prefabrication plants share many similarities with that of the manufacturing plants and this promises a vast potential of bringing managerial systems originating from manufacturing to the construction industry.
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Due to the off-site environment, production at prefabrication plants is, in fact, a particular type of manufacturing. Instead of producing some normal industrial products such as cars, airplanes, computers, televisions, mobiles phones, etc. the prefabrication plants manufacture precast concrete components which are then transported to construction sites for installation. Thus, in a broad sense, concrete prefabrication is almost like a normal manufacturing process with various stages or workstations operating within the precast plants.
Concrete mixing
Concrete curing
Source: Authors of this study
Figure 18: Typical flow of production process of concrete precast components
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Figure 18 illustrates a typical flow of the production process of precast concrete components. The production can be roughly divided into six groups of processes which are (1) cutting, bending and fixing reinforcement bars; (2) mixing concrete in in-house concrete batching plants; (3) preparing cast-in items (window frames, mounting brackets, prestressing tendons, connecting hooks, etc.) and finishes requirements (architectural tiles or special surface treatment); (4) moulding formwork according to the specifications stated in the contract with the main contractor or client; (5) casting and curing the concrete components; and (6) demoulding formwork to get the finished precast components. The second group can be eliminated if the plant uses external ready-mixed concrete. Of course, the production of precast concrete components cannot be totally the same as the production process of a typical manufacturing product. Some adjustments are still needed to align some differences between the two industries due to the influence of the complexity and high uncertainty in demand of construction businesses. These adjustments are discussed in the next sections.
5.2
JIT at Prefabrication Plants
JIT Goals
The ultimate goal of the JIT system remains the same whether it is applied in the manufacturing or precast concrete plants. JIT seeks for a balanced and rapid flow of raw materials, work-in-process ingredients and finished precast components throughout the production process. In order to achieve this ultimate goal, the JIT system at precast concrete plants follows the supporting goals which are set in the manufacturing environment. This means JIT needs to implement various methods to eliminate disruptions and attain a flexible system. For example, overhead gantry cranes of sufficient capacity and operating area coverage to cover the entire physical factory layout is used; access way is kept clear and wide to prevent traffic congestion, etc. Wastes at a precast concrete plant appearing in different situations should be avoided as much as possible. Low and Chan (1997) presented some insights of the prefabrication wastes as following: 1) Waste from overproduction happens when the precasters produce more than enough of some standardised and commonly used components. 2) Waste of waiting time comes from poor schedule coordination when the finished goods have to wait quite a long time in the plant before the construction site is ready to receive the precast components. For instance, when the project employs both in-situ and precast concrete, the installation of precast components must coordinate closely with the casting of in-situ concrete. Precast walls cannot be
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installed if the in-situ slab has not reached a stable strength. Waste of waiting time can also derive from the late deliveries of rebars, cement, aggregates, admixtures, cast-in items, and finishes materials vendors. Excessive curing time and extensive surface treatment such as patching works also trigger long waiting time. Delay of production due to rectification of defective components, breakdowns of gantry cranes, insufficiency of transport fleet can be other sources of waiting time. 3) Transportation waste derives from unnecessary internal transfer and rearrangement of raw materials and work-in-process parts. For example, if the reinforcement steel bar bending yard is too isolated from the production bed, it requires unnecessary long hours of transferring reinforcement bars from the bending yard to the casting bed. In some precast plants - especially for those producing civil engineering items components, after being casted, are lifted from the production beds to another location for subsequent finishing operations instead of implementing the finishing requirements at the same place as the casting process. 4) Processing waste happens when varied and different designs are ordered, which reduces the benefit of economies of scale since unique formworks are required to cast the components. Moreover, if wrong concrete grade, wrong sizes of reinforcement, or wrong types of tiles are used, these can also lead to processing waste. 5) Inventory waste is often found at precast concrete plants when the precasters stock large buffer amounts of both raw components and finished products without considering the risk of obsolescence. 6) Waste of motion comes from unnecessary picking and placing of materials and inefficient movement of workers during production stages. 7) Waste from product defects can happen in raw materials or in finished goods. Some examples are corrosive rust in prestressing tendons, or weak concrete due to impurities of composite ingredients.
JIT Building Block Product Design

The concrete precaster normally plays the role of a supplier or subcontractor of a project. As a result, the precaster usually does not have any say over the design aspects of the components. In order to apply JIT principles relating to product design, it calls for the entire construction industry to adopt some significant degree of standardisation for the design of precast concrete components. Too many varieties in design can lead to the need for unique formwork systems, which in turn can trigger excessive material wastages, difficulties in moulding and demoulding formwork, and obstruction to concrete casting. In case the client has concern over the tradeoff between standardisation and aesthetics,
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highly standardised components can be used for concealed structural items while nonstandardised items can be used for revealed faade walls to lessen the perceived impact of standardisation. In addition, incentives schemes from the government such as buildability scores, buildable design appraisal system, CONQUAS scores to facilitate the promotion of constructability, value engineering concept and design and build contractual arrangement in the industry may also contribute to the adoption of JIT application in precast concrete plants.
JIT Building Block Process Design

Small lot sizes: The precaster should produce in small quantities for each production batch and order reinforcement bars, cement, aggregates, cast-in items and finishes materials in small quantities so that it can reduce inventory, ease the quality control and obtain a higher degree of production flexibility. Setup reduction: Setup time in prefabrication can be increased if there is steel bar congestion or unique formwork being used. Thus, if these situations are minimised, setup time can be reduced. Flexible formwork that can be demoulded in various planes and directions instead of a few planes should be encouraged. Proper training for workers can reap the learning curve benefits. Besides decreasing setup time, production lead time should also be reduced. One of the major benefits of precast concrete is the high speed of construction. Therefore excessive curing time and extensive finishes treatment such as over-patching actually off-set the advantages of precast concrete components. To tackle this issue, technological advancement, new methods and materials are needed to achieve curing time within hours and minimise finishes treatment works. Low and Chan (1997) presented that: Some well-known examples of such innovative products are lightweight blocks or partition walls made from autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) or wood fibre concrete; and external wall panels made from carbon fibre-reinforced concrete (CFRC). These innovative products have not only better physical properties, durability and ease of workability than conventional concrete but also multiple uses as well, such as fire protection, thermal insulation, sound insulation, loadbearing, etc. The only common disadvantage of using these products is that they are not cost effective as compared to conventional precast concrete components. For instance, CFRC wall panels cost 30% more than conventional precast concrete wall panels (Low and Chan, 1997, p 151). Manufacturing cells: Currently, in precast concrete plants, sub-process activities centres (reinforcement steel bar assembly yard, concrete yard, finishing trades yard, formwork yard, and production bed) are usually scattered away from one another. This leads to
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more material handling during the production. According to JIT principles, precast plants should be reorganised for their production process to be based on manufacturing cells, in which interrelated operations are grouped together in cells (Low and Chan, 1997). Locating sequential production sub-process activities together would minimise costly space and resource, reduce lead time, eliminate waste, provide better communication, improve quality, and regulate work flow. Therefore, the precast concrete plants layout should include clusters of activities. Each cluster consists of its own reinforcement steel bar assembly yard, concrete yard, finishing trades yard, formwork yard, and production bed. Lower levels of inventory: Inventory should be gradually reduced to reveal production problems. After these problems have been solved, the system will continue to reduce the inventory level in order to identify and eliminate more subtle obstacles. Quality improvement: Quality at source may be implemented with the help of the ISO 9000 system, high quality raw materials, in-house concrete mix tests carried out at the concrete batching plants before mass volume of demand orders begins, and frequent checks of steel formworks to ensure a smooth surface. Superior workmanship is assured by efficient supervision. Workers are trained by both formal classroom teaching and informal on-site or on-the-job training. Tradesmen certification courses conducted by the Construction Industry Training Institute are required. Proper construction techniques and equipment are emphasised. For example, improper placing and compaction of concrete could result in segregation and subsequently, honeycombs. Plastering which is not carried out according to specifications could result in hollow spots. Research and development should be paid attention in order to promote innovative products that are as cost effective as conventional products but still provide better functional performance, durability, workability, and ease of installation. Mechanisation and automation are encouraged with the usage of machines in materials handling, and formworks assembly and dismantlement. Precasters, especially for those who use a variety of concrete mix designs such as normal concrete, lightweight concrete, wood fibre concrete, etc., should set up their own in-house concrete batching plants since this offers greater flexibility to the timing of orders, and better quality control at source. Production flexibility: Various techniques such as small lot size, reducing setup time, preventive maintenance, cross-trained workers are used to keep the system responsive to changes.
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JIT Building Block Personnel / Organisation

Workers as assets: The concept of workers as assets rather than production cost should be upheld and applied strictly in prefabrication plants. In effect, personnel issues should be considered more seriously in precast concrete plants than in manufacturing plants due to the fact that the construction industry in Singapore is heavily reliant on a foreign workforce. The narrow mindset with which foreign workers were looked down upon as cheap and unskilled labour should be changed. Precasters should actually establish a good relationship with their workers in order to reduce job hopping, since a high employment turnover rate will raise their cost. Training should be stressed to improve the workers skills because this directly affects the quality of the products. Workers need to be educated about the benefits and the requirements of the JIT system so that they can understand how the system works and then co-operate with their precasters. Empowerment of some skilled workers with more authority may be considered to be included in the employment policy. Besides efforts from the precasters, the government should also have some positive changes in the foreign workers employment policy. According to Low and Chan (1997), the government should expend the allowable working period of foreign workers before they are required to repatriate. A large scale promotional campaign should be implemented to attract Singaporeans to work in the local construction industry. Cross-trained workers: Based on the JIT principles, workers should be crossed-trained to perform multiple tasks. For instance, bar bender should be trained to do not only cutting and bending of steel bars but also formwork assembly and concreting works. Continuous improvement: Continuous improvement is an inevitable requirement if precasters want to bring the JIT concept into their plants. One obvious improvement that precasters should consider is replacing the current uncovered production beds, which makes production dependent on the conditions of the weather, by the covered factory concept. By covering the plants, production can proceed in any climatic conditions and also quality of the production can be enhanced due to better casting and storage conditions. Cost-accounting: Whether in manufacturing or in prefabrication plants, JIT applies activity-based costing, which allocates overhead to specific jobs based on their percentages of activities. Leadership / project management: Commitment and leadership from top management are as important in construction as in manufacturing. Open communication to share ideas for improvement as in quality circles should be encouraged.
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JIT Building Block Manufacturing Planning and Control

As in the personnel/organisation block, the manufacturing planning and control block in precast concrete plant should hold on to the same principles as in manufacturing. Level Loading: Production loading should remain level on a daily basis. This means that, as long as it is practically possible, the precaster should produce various types of prefabrication components per day so that it can fit into the installation schedule of the client. Pull system: The pull system, in which the production at the previous stage is not permitted until receiving the pull signal from the demand of the next stage, should be followed in precast concrete plants. Low and Chan (1997) found that the pull system has been subconsciously used in the production of non-standardised one-off prefabrication components; while the push system is widely used by prefabrication firms in the production of standardised and commonly used precast concrete components. In term of the production process, the pull system leads the material management and the production rate of the plant. If moving beyond the production process, the pull concept is actually the JIT deliveries in which the precaster works closely with the main contractor or the client to deliver the precast concrete components just precisely when the items are need. Visual systems Kanban cards: Kanban cards or any other visual systems that can convey the information of the demand throughout the prefabrication plants are encouraged to be used. Close vendor relationships: Precasters should have closer relationship with their raw material vendors since these vendors are expected to provide frequent small deliveries of high-quality goods. When the relationship between parties is trustworthy, the burden of ensuring the quality of raw materials will be shifted from the precaster to their vendors. As such, the selection of vendors should not only be based on price but also quality and ontime deliveries. Long-term purchase agreements with vendors should be encouraged since longer purchase contracts can provide the precaster with better credit payment terms. Reduced transaction processing: Just as in manufacturing, transactions in prefabrication plants should be kept to a minimum. Preventive maintenance and housekeeping: Preventive maintenance in precast concrete plants is as important as in manufacturing but housekeeping in prefabrication might need more attention since construction firms are often referred to as working in the Dirty, Demanding and Dangerous (3D) industry.
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5.3
MRP at Prefabrication Plants

The MRP and its extended versions MRP II and ERP are quite well-known at the level of the global construction industry. Leitch (2003) reported that the United Kingdom construction industry saw the top five ERP vendors SAP, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JD Edwards, and Baan with a combined market share of 64% - competing with one another in a market of which the potentially invested capital from clients raised up to hundreds of million pounds. Even though the adoption of MRP, MRP II or ERP in prefabrication plants in Singapore might not be as feverish as in the United Kingdom, the penetration of the MRP related software into local precast concrete plants still needs to be paid attention to. While applying the MRP system, the precaster needs to take note of some considerations on the input information. Ibn-Homaid (2002) found that the input variables are less controllable in construction than in a manufacturing environment. Firstly, the input data at a precast concrete plant contain much more uncertainty than at a manufacturing plant. The quantities and the delivery time of the prefabrication components depend on the actual construction schedule, which is often delayed or fast-tracked due to many factors on site. This leads to an unstable master schedule that reduces the effectiveness of the MRP system. Other than that, the homogeneity and standardisation of required materials of construction are lower than those of manufacturing (Ibn-Homaid, 2002). Major projects often have overlapping design and construction stages, so materials have to be managed without the benefits of having accurate and complete specifications at the beginning of procurement. The detailed design of the precast concrete components may not be available until in the late stage of construction process; therefore, the requirements stated in the bill of materials may need to be stated with higher tolerance for inaccuracy. Secondly, the situation is complicated by the fact that the input information fed into the MRP system in precast concrete plants is changed frequently. The changes may be in the quantities and the delivery time (i.e. only changes in master production schedule) or it can be changes in the specifications of the precast concrete components (i.e. changes in both master production schedule and bill of materials). Consequently, managing materials for prefabrication production is a dynamic process (Ibn-Homaid, 2002) and requires frequent update to ensure the accuracy of the input data.
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5.4
Vertically Integrated Hybrid System (VIHS) at Prefabrication Plants

While investigating the application of the materials management system from manufacturing into precast concrete plants, Low and Chan (1997) noted that: One of the major drawbacks of the "kanban"/pull system is its lack of visibility for macro or high-level planning. The pull system is unable to translate the sales forecast into materials planning and the subsequent detailed breakdown of component requirements. On the contrary, in a push system, the master production schedule and the MRP system do the planning and the detailed materials requirements breakdown. This software also provides an inventory control system to track production components in inventory locations and all materials transactions in the factory. This part of the push system works well, but the system gets into trouble when the prefabricator cuts purchase orders to suppliers and issue work orders to the factory floor without considering the actual materials needed. Pull systems, conversely, work very well in self-adjusting the process variations once the factory's production rate is determined. The individual workstations do not need to know the complete picture to do a good job in scheduling materials through the production process (Low and Chan 1997, p 144). The above remark highlights that it is possible for the VIHS to be applied in precast concrete plants. Employing the framework explained in section 4.3 while making the adjustments and considerations as discussed in section 5.2 and 5.3 when applying JIT or MRP alone, a VIHS can be established in the prefabrication plants. In this VIHS, the MRP system is used to forecast the demand of the raw materials (reinforcement, cement, sand, gravel or crushed stones, admixtures, cast-in items and finishing materials). The information about the forecasted demand is fed into the information system of the raw materials vendors so that vendors can plan for their own production. As the demand from the contractor or the client is officially informed, it triggers a pull signal to the production bed. The production bed in turn signals a pull demand to the reinforcement yard, the concrete batching plant, the finishing trade yard; and the formwork yard. Since the demand is forecasted beforehand, if there is a sudden strong pull from the contractor or the client, the raw materials vendors will still have enough time to meet the demand. If the precaster have separate production lines for different types of precast components (i.e. different lines for slabs, columns, beams, walls, etc.), the MRP system can be used to facilitate the coordination of the lines. The information will be transferred more easily and faster among the lines with the help from the MRP.
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MRP can also automate the Kanban system to automatically recalculate the number of Kanban cards. Instead of spending time to do all the tedious calculation manually, the precaster can save effort to do more value-added activities.
5.5
Horizontally Integrated Hybrid System (HIHS) at Prefabrication Plants

A HIHS can also be employed at precast concrete plants if the precasters apply the same framework as presented in section 4.4 along with the adjustments and considerations suggested in section 5.2 and 5.3. In particular, the process group 1, 2, and 3 in Figure 17 can apply the MRP push system. Based on MRP output reports of the materials requirements, the reinforcement bars are cut, bent, and fixed; the cement, sand, gravel or crushed stones, and admixtures are procured in the expected required amounts. Likewise for the cast-in and finishing elements. The important note is that the process group 2 can only apply MRP partially since the concrete cannot be mixed and stored in the warehouse long before the casting process at the production bed. For the process group 4, 5, and 6, the JIT concept is deployed. When the demand from the contractor or the client pulls the finished components at the end of the process group 6, the demand information is transferred to the production bed at process group 5 and formwork yard at the process group 4. The concrete mixing at the end of the process group 2 also receives the pull signal. After the formwork and the concrete mix are available, the casting process starts its course immediately since reinforcement at the end of the group 1 and the cast-in and finishing items at the end of the group 3 are all ready for the concrete casting activities at the beginning of the process group 5. The main purpose of using HIHS is to shorten the production lead time. Instead of waiting for the pull signal to pass through the whole production process, the demand only needs to reach the process group 6, then 5, 4 and partially 2. The process group 1, 3 and a part of 2 have already completed their works even before the demand pull signals reach their stations. Obviously, the lead time is cut down. However, HIHS can only be applied for commonly used components which have quite a huge amount of demand. For non-common components which require odd shapes, special concrete grade and reinforcement, or extraordinary surface treatment, the preparation for the process group 1, 2 and 3 ahead of the real demand would be a serious waste if the demand is changed.
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6.0 6.1
ANALYSIS OF SURVEY RESULTS Design of the Survey and Profile of the Respondents
The survey was conducted from December 2006 to February 2007 and based on the population of all 30 precasters in Singapore. Before the survey was officially sent to precasters, a pilot testing was done with the Department of Building, National University of Singapore. The pilot testing showed no ambiguity, which could lead to some misunderstanding among precasters. Out of these 30 precasters, plant operation managers of 19 firms responded to the survey on behalf of their firms. The response rate is 63.33%. The survey consisted of four parts. Part A asked for the precasters background. Part B surveyed on the application of JIT concept during the production process in the prefabrication plants. This part used a Likert scale of 1 to 5 (refer to Appendix A for the complete copy of the questionnaire). 1 represented strongly disagree to the statement asked while 5 denoted strongly agree. At the end of part B, the precasters were asked to rank the problems, when applying JIT in their factories, according to seriousness. Part C questioned the respondents about the awareness and the adoption of MRP, MRP II and ERP in the precast concrete firms. This part also included questions on the issues that hindered the application of MRP in local precast concrete plants. The last part investigated the employment of JIT and MRP hybrid systems in Singapores prefabrication firms. Overall, the main purpose of the survey was to examine the current adoption of JIT and MRP at precast concrete plants in Singapore and the potential of bringing the concept of hybrid systems into these plants. Table 2 presents the composition of respondents, which composed a wide range of categories from L6 to L1 registered with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and also included firms that have not yet registered with BCA. Table 2: Composition of survey respondents Categories
Registered with BCA L6 (Unlimited) L5 (Limited within S$10 million) L4 (Limited within S$5 million) L3 (Limited within S$3 million) L2 (Limited within S$1 million) L1 (Limited within S$500,000) Not registered with BCA Total 5 4 4 3 N.A. 1 2 19 26.32% 21.05% 21.05% 15.79% N.A. 5.26% 10.53% 100.00%
No. of respondents
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The variety in terms of the categories of responding precasters would help to keep the bias in the analysis to a minimum.
6.2 JIT Adoption in Prefabrication Plants in Singapore

JIT awareness and ultimate goals
Eighteen out of nineteen (94.74%) precasters confirmed that they had heard of the JIT concept. Seventeen out of these eighteen firms who knew about JIT (94.44%) agreed that the ultimate goal of the JIT system is to achieve a balanced, rapid flow of materials. These high percentages show that currently local precast concrete plants have no problem relating to the awareness of the JIT philosophy. The concept of JIT has been popularised among Singapores precasters. However, ten years ago, when Low and Chan (1997) asked the prefabrication industry the same question, only three firms out of fourteen responding prefabrication firms (21.43%) had heard about JIT. The dramatic rise of more than four times in terms of JIT awareness may be explained by the efforts of researchers, practitioners and BCA to promote the adoption of JIT in the construction industry. This can be viewed as a very positive sign of disseminating the manufacturing management concepts into the construction industry, and particularly into prefabrication plants.
JIT supporting goals

Table 3: Assessment of JIT supporting goals by precasters in Singapore
JIT Supporting Goals Production disruptions Poor quality Equipment breakdowns Changes to schedule Late deliveries from raw materials vendors Flexibility of production system Mix production Changes in level of output Current elimination of wastes Waste from overproducing Waste from waiting time Transportation waste Processing waste Inventory waste Waste from product defects Waste of motion Mean 3.13 2.56 3.06 3.89 3.00 3.69 3.78 3.61 3.29 3.39 3.28 3.33 3.11 3.28 3.28 3.33 Median 3.13 3.00 3.00 4.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.57 4.00 3.50 3.50 3.00 3.50 4.00 3.00 Mode 3.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 2.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 Standard Deviation 0.74 1.15 1.16 0.76 1.08 0.94 0.88 1.09 0.85 1.24 0.83 1.08 1.02 0.96 1.07 0.91 Coefficient of Variation 0.24 0.45 0.38 0.20 0.36 0.25 0.23 0.30 0.26 0.37 0.25 0.33 0.33 0.29 0.33 0.27
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At the strategic level, the mean, median (the middle number when the data are arranged in ascending order), mode (the value that appears most frequently), standard deviation, and coefficient of variation (the value equivalent to the standard deviation divided by the mean) for each element of the JIT supporting goals were calculated based on the Likert scale that was pre-set at the beginning of the survey. In case of elements consisting of various subelements, the mean of all the sub-elements for each precast plants was calculated. Based on these means, the composite mean, media, mode, standard deviation and coefficient of variation were determined. Firstly, the findings show that the local precasters do not face serious disruptions during the production process. The composite mean for the production disruptions was 3.13 (out of 5 as maximum). This figure was quite close to 3 which denoted a neutral stance towards disruptions. The standard deviation was kept quite low when compared to the other two supporting goals. However, if comparing to the standard deviations found in other JIT elements that will be discussed later, this standard deviation of production disruptions was considered as high. It means that precasters in Singapore vary largely in terms of their ability to eliminate production disruptions. When breaking down the reasons leading to production disruptions, the most common source is the change of schedule from the main contractor or the clients, which may lead to idling of the production plant if there was postponement in the required delivery time of the precast components. Changes of schedule actually got a mean of 3.89 and a mode of 4, which means that a large portion of precasters agree that their plants often encounter disruptions from unstable schedules. The least serious source of production disruptions seems to be the delay of work due to poor quality. With a mean below the point of 3, on average, the precast concrete plants in Singapore are positive that their production lines do not often have to stop due to the rectification and rework of defective components. However, it should be noted that the disruption due to poor quality had a very high standard deviation of 1.15 and a high coefficient of variation of 0.45. In the other words, the extent to which the production process is disrupted due to poor quality can fluctuate to almost 50% of the mean value among the precasters. Thus, the seriousness of disruption created by defects in quality could be underestimated if only the mean value is considered. Efforts should be poured in to raise the uniformity of quality among precast concrete plants. Secondly, the mean of 3.69 which is reaching 4 - for the degree of flexibility of production in the local prefabrication plants indicates that the precasters in Singapore owned quite a flexible system. However, again the standard deviation and the coefficient of variation of this supporting goal remained high, which indicated that the flexibility of prefabrication varies from precaster to precaster. When comparing with the deviation in the degree of disruption, the flexibility level of precast concrete firms is even more fluctuating due to the higher standard deviation and coefficient of variation. CEBE Working Paper No. 14 59
Lastly, the current elimination of waste in the prefabrication plants is considered as better than neutral. But the composite mean of 3.29 was not high enough to conclude that local precasters have an efficient waste elimination system. In all type of wastes, precasters seem to be best at reducing waste of overproduction. However, this type of waste had the highest standard deviation among the seven types of waste which illustrated the scattering of the precasters ability to eliminate those wastes falling in this category. In addition, reduction of processing waste is a little behind other categories with a mean of only 3.11; and elimination of waiting time seems to be the most stable waste category with a lowest standard deviation compared to other type of waste. Overall, the findings show a slightly high rate of disruption but provide some positive proof of the ability to attain flexible system and to eliminate wastes at the precast concrete plants. However, the positive proof was not strong enough when comparing with the desired mean of 4 which demonstrates an agreement on the effectiveness of JIT supporting goals.
JIT building blocks

At the tactical level, Table 4 to Table 6 represent the assessment of the application of three JIT building blocks - which are process design, personnel/organisation, and manufacturing planning and control - in the local precast plants. The product design block was not examined in the survey. The reason is that precasters normally do not have any say in the design aspects of the products. They just follow the specifications from the contract with the main contractor or the client. It is more effective to exempt the investigation of the application of JIT product design in this survey and only include in future works if there is the participation of clients in those studies. For the Process design block, the results were quite significant, with three out of six elements reaching the mean of 4. Quality improvement - especially in terms of using ISO systems and continuously identifying and eliminating problems - production flexibility, and the capability to lower the inventory level are three JIT process design elements that prefabrication plants in Singapore are good at. The means for these elements were 3.80, 3.94, and 3.89 respectively. Moreover, the modes of these three elements all had the value of 4, which indicated that most of precasters agreed that they have attained good quality improvement, high production flexibility and a low level of inventory. The standard deviation and the coefficient of variation for these elements were also at acceptable rates, which highlighted a higher degree of uniformity among precasters compared to other elements.
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Table 4: Assessment of JIT process design block

JIT building block - Process Design Small lot sizes Setup time reduction Simple & standardised tools Simple & standardised procedures Multi-purpose equipment Manufacturing cells Quality improvement ISO systems Continuous improvement Autonomation / Jidoka Production flexibility Lower level of inventory Raw materials Work-in-process Finished components Mean 3.06 3.69 3.78 3.89 3.39 3.28 3.80 4.06 4.11 3.22 3.94 3.89 3.94 3.89 3.83 Median 3.00 3.83 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 Mode 3.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 Standard Deviation 1.00 0.50 0.55 0.58 0.85 0.57 0.60 1.00 0.68 1.00 0.64 0.57 0.54 0.58 0.71 Coefficient of Variation 0.33 0.14 0.15 0.15 0.25 0.18 0.16 0.25 0.16 0.31 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.15 0.18
The main problem that precasters face in process design is how to use small lot sizes production batch and small lot sizes raw material ordering. This element has not only a low mean value of 3.06 but also low median and mode value of 3. It happens since the precasters were used to the old mindset of bulk production and procurement in order to take advantage of economies of large scale production. For the personnel/organisation block, the results highlight a very good situation in which the leadership element reached a mean of 4.17 which passed the desired mean point of 4. The standard deviation and the coefficient of variation for leadership were also one of the lowest in all the three tables. In particular, the top management in the precast concrete plants showed a very high level of commitment (4.39) to bring JIT into their plants. Other elements like workers as asset and continuous improvement were close to a mean of 4. Cross-trained workers and activity-based costing had quite high means as well. Overall, the standard deviation and the coefficient of variation of elements in this block were maintained at a low level, which indicates that the precast firms do not deviate too far away from one another in term of the personnel/organisation block.
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Table 5: Assessment of JIT personnel / organisation block

JIT building block Personnel/Organisation Workers as Assets Proper training Empowering with more authority Cross-trained workers Perform several parts of a process Operate a variety of machines Continuous improvement Workers involved in problem solving Workers can stop production line if find problems Workers are encouraged to report problems Activity-based costing Leadership Commitment of top management Managers as facilitator rather than order givers Two-way communication Mean 3.92 4.06 3.78 3.72 3.83 3.61 3.93 3.78 3.89 4.11 3.78 4.17 4.39 3.94 4.17 Median 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 Mode 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 Standard Deviation 0.55 0.64 0.65 0.57 0.51 0.70 0.48 0.65 0.58 0.58 0.81 0.46 0.50 0.64 0.51 Coefficient of Variation 0.14 0.16 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.19 0.12 0.17 0.15 0.14 0.21 0.11 0.11 0.16 0.12
For the last JIT building block of manufacturing planning and control, the findings do not offer a picture that is as bright as the one on personnel / organisation block. But it is still considered as better than the process design block. Even though preventive maintenance and housekeeping had high means of 4.17 and 4.11, the mean points for other the three elements (level loading, pull system, and reduce transaction) were only around 3.6. Close vendor relationships had quite a good result of 3.85 for the mean point and especially the long-term relationship sub-element even had a mean point of 4.44 (out of 5). This demonstrates that precasters, in reality, do connect closely with their raw material vendors in order to improve the production effectiveness. The lowest point in this block belonged to Kanban cards. The reason may be because precast concrete plants choose other methods to convey the demand information intra- and inter- organisations rather than using withdrawal and production cards as per the Kanban system.
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Table 6: Assessment of JIT manufacturing planning and control block

JIT building block Manufacturing Planning and Control Level loading Pull system Kanban cards Close vendor relationships Long-term relationship Frequent small deliveries Quality assurance shifted to vendors Small number of vendors Reduce transaction Logistical transactions Balancing transactions Quality transactions Change transactions Preventive maintenance Housekeeping 3.44 3.60 3.67 3.56 3.61 3.56 4.17 4.11 4.00 3.63 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 0.86 0.43 0.69 0.70 0.50 0.51 0.62 0.76 0.25 0.12 0.19 0.20 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.18 Mean Median Mode Standard Deviation 0.69 0.91 1.08 0.53 0.51 0.96 1.04 Coefficient of Variation 0.19 0.25 0.36 0.14 0.12 0.25 0.29
3.67 3.67 3.00 3.85 4.44 3.89 3.61
4.00 4.00 3.00 3.75 4.00 4.00 4.00
4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00
Problems encountered when applying JIT in prefabrication plants

Only fifteen out of nineteen respondents (78.95%) revealed the problems that they encountered when applying JIT in their production. Among these fifteen precasters, nine of them (60%) ranked requirement for stable demand (to facilitate level loading), inventory reduction (while still fulfilling the same service level), and difficulties in reducing setup time as the top three serious problems. The findings are in fact quite reasonable since the requirement of a stable demand is one the major drawbacks of the JIT concept while reducing inventory and setup time are two challenging prerequisites required at all JIT firms. The next serious issue was in how to get support from the raw materials vendors since JIT requires small frequent deliveries from the vendors. The other four factors which were lack of commitment from top management, poor support from workers, a long time to get positive results, and no assurance of cost benefits were those that are quite equally challenging when the precasters employed the JIT principles in their plants. Odd shapes in the design can also be a problematic issue. The findings from the problems encountered by precasters when applying JIT in their plants theoretically offer no surprise since all these problems have been discussed in chapters 2, 4 and 5. The value of the findings comes from the ranking sequence in which
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precasters in Singapore show the most difficulties in tackling the requirement for a stable demand, inventory reduction and setup time decrease. As the sequence has been established, the priority, in which more efforts are poured in to solve the more serious issues, is also determined.
6.3
MRP adoption in Prefabrication Plants in Singapore

The number of precasters who indicated that they had heard of the MRP, MRP II and ERP concepts were seven (36.84%), six (31.58%), and five (26.32%) respectively. As can be seen from these figures, the awareness of MRP-related software decreased as the software become more complicated. However, when coming to the application of those systems, four of respondents (21.05%) applied the inventory control method, two used MRP II (10.52%), and one (5.26%) had all MRP, MRP II, ERP and inventory control in their system. The remaining 12 precasters did not adopt any of the system mentioned above. Table 7 compares the findings of this study with those of Low and Chan (1997). From the table, there is an obvious trend reducing the usage of any of MRP, MRP II, ERP and inventory control systems. The application of inventory control systems decreased from 29% to 21%. This may be explained by the fact that the inventory control systems with their various shortcomings are no longer suitable for the manufacturing at precast concrete plants. For MRP, in both cases, none of the precasters has used MRP as a stand alone system. Table 7: Comparison of MRP, MRP II and ERP adoption
Systems Only inventory control system (1) Only MRP system (2) Only MRP II system (3) Only ERP system (4) (1) and (2) All of (1), (2), (3) and (4) None of (1), (2), (3) and (4) Low and Chan (1997) 29% N.A. 14% N.A. 50% N.A. 7% This study (2007) 21% N.A. 11% N.A N.A. 5% 63%
In 1997, 50% of the precasters employed MRP concurrently with the application of the inventory control system. In 2007, the number of firms using both MRP and inventory control method has fallen dramatically to zero. The usage of MRP II also dropped from 14% to 11%. Particularly, the application of ERP remains similar between two studies, which highlights that after ten years ERP still cannot penetrate into the prefabrication market in Singapore. Moreover, previously only 7% of the precasters did not use any of the MRP, MRP II, ERP and inventory system; now the number has risen to 63%. Overall, the findings offer a gloomy picture for the application of any MRP, MRP II, and ERP
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software. After ten years, the MRP related software do not become more popular but even show some signs of declining in terms of application rates. The underlying reasons may be because precasters have preferred other production management systems such as JIT and theory of constraints. The three precast concrete plants currently having MRP-related software in their systems (16%) indicated that the most serious issue while adopting the software was the lack of a detailed shop floor schedule. This actually provides a very good basis for vertical hybrid system to be developed since VIHS has MRP as the planner and JIT as the executer. Inaccurate inventory records and inaccurate lead time were the next problems that have to be tackled. Inaccuracy in demand forecast (i.e. master production schedule) and bill of materials (BOM) also triggered inefficiency for the system. The plants that applied inventory control argued that they still remained on this oldfashioned system due to the high initial investment cost and the complexity of installing MRP, MRP II or ERP. One of them also claimed that they saw no necessity in using the MRP, MRP II or ERP system due to their small scale production. This suggests that another reason for the low application rate of MRP-related software is the resistance to investment in technology due to financial insufficiency or because of the small operational extent of the firms. Twelve precast concrete plants that did not apply any of MRP, MRP II, ERP or inventory control systems did not provide any particular reason for the non-adoption. However, checking their awareness of the MRP system reveals that all of them had not heard about any of the MRP, MRP II and ERP systems. Therefore, their absence in adopting MRPrelated software can be attributed to the precasters insufficient awareness of such systems. It may be that the popularity of MRP software has been diminished since more advanced yet lower cost management systems have been innovated and gradually replaced the usage of MRP systems.
6.4
Adoption of JIT and MRP Hybrid Systems in Prefabrication Plants in Singapore
Awareness of JIT and MRP Hybrid Systems

Six out of nineteen precasters (31.58%) believed that JIT and MRP have different sets of strengths and weaknesses, thus these two systems can complement each other and coexist in one firm; while the remaining thirteen firms (68.42%) had no idea about whether JIT and MRP could work together or not. The figures show that there is an immediate need for raising the awareness level of the prefabrication industry about the JIT and MRP hybrid systems since more than two-thirds of the precasters do not know the benefits of these
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hybrid systems and thus they have no incentives to go through all the changes and adjustments in order to apply these hybrid systems into their production processes.
Willingness to adopt JIT and MRP Hybrid Systems

(a) Are precasters ready for the adoption of hybrid systems?
Table 8 presents the willingness of precasters to adopt JIT and MRP hybrid systems. As can be seen from the table, there were two precasters (10.53%) who have already applied JIT and MRP hybrid systems in their production system. For those that have not adopted any of JIT and MRP hybrid system yet, only one plant (5.26%) showed interest in bringing hybrid system into their production process. The rest were not interested (21.05% comprised of 5.26% who knew about the benefits of the hybrid systems but still do not want to adopt and 15.79% who do not know the benefits of those systems therefore do not have any interest in applying) or not sure about their choices yet (63.16% comprised of 10.53% who knew about the benefits of the hybrid systems but still have not decided whether they should adopt any of these systems or not and 52.63% who do not know the benefits of those systems thus are currently indecisive). The findings show that the current adoption of the JIT and MRP hybrid system are at quite a low rate. However, the potential to persuade the indecisive firms to lean to the adoption side is significant since this portion makes up to 63.16% of the firms surveyed; especially when more than half of the precasters (52.63%) have no idea about the benefits of the hybrid systems. Table 8: Willingness to adopt JIT and MRP hybrid systems
Number of Precasters Already adopted hybrid systems Adopt VIHS Adopt HIHS Have not adopted any hybrid system yet Knew about benefits and will adopt a VIHS Knew about benefits and will adopt a HIHS Knew about benefits but will not adopt any hybrid system Knew about the benefits but are not sure about future adoption Do not know about benefits and will not adopt Do not know about benefits and are not sure about future adoption 10 19 52.63% 100.00% 1 0 1 2 3 5.26% 0.00% 5.26% 10.53% 15.79% 2 0 10.53% 0.00% %
As it can seen from the Table 8 and also can be deduced from the answers for the last questions in the survey, the main reason for the low interest towards hybrid systems was
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unawareness of the existence of the hybrid systems and lack of knowledge of the benefits that these systems provide. Some other reasons are the lack of a clear framework that can be applied specifically in prefabrication plants, the complexity of installation process, the lack of experienced staff to manage the systems, and the fear of expensive installation costs. In order to promote the application of the JIT and MRP hybrid systems, firstly, academic researchers should help to raise the awareness level of the precasters via seminars or published works. It would be a great help as well if the government could come up with some promotional campaigns or incentive schemes to enhance the common level of knowledge about the hybrid systems. A clear framework should be established by researchers to facilitate the adoption of these systems. More importantly, precasters need to be open minded to bring innovations into their production plants.
(b) VIHS versus HIHS

For the two precasters who have already adopted hybrid systems, the VIHS were found at their production plants. None of the firms was found to have adopted a HIHS. For the plants interested in adopting hybrid systems in the future, the firms also showed their preference in the VIHS. None has shown interest in applying a HIHS in the future. So far, the VIHS seems to dominate the HIHS in terms of drawing interest from precast concrete plants. This can be understandable since the most serious problems ranked by Singapores precasters in employing MRP is the lack of a detailed shop floor schedule, which is the main rationale for a vertical hybrid system. A VIHS can address perfectly the problems encountered by the precasters since it uses MRP as the planning tool and JIT as the execution techniques on the shop floor.
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7.0 7.1
CONCLUSION Summary of the Findings

The findings from the survey reveal an optimistic picture on the application of JIT in prefabrication plants in Singapore. More than 90% of the precasters surveyed have heard about the JIT philosophy and understood the ultimate goal of the system. Even though the achievement of the strategic supporting goals - which are eliminating disruptions, obtaining production flexibility, and minimising wastes was not well expressed by the precasters, the application of each tactical principle offers a brighter view of the current adoption of the JIT concept in precast concrete plants. The most successful JIT building block that has been adopted by the prefabrication industry is related to the personnel and organisation aspects. This may be due to the high level of commitment from top management in improving the production processes. More attention is needed to enhance the application of JIT in process design; especially precasters need to change the traditional mindset of producing and ordering in bulk in order to attain the small lot sizes requirement in JIT. While applying JIT in precast concrete plants, much effort is needed to overcome obstacles from the top three severe problems, which are the requirement for stable demand and the difficulties in reducing inventory and setup time. Contrary to the rosy picture of JIT application, the employment of MRP, MRP II and ERP in precast concrete plants in Singapore seems to hold less promise. The percentage of precast concrete plants using MRP, MRP II or ERP is decreasing. In fact, ERP has not been able to break into the prefabrication industry in Singapore. In addition to less usage is the large percentage of precasters who do not have basic understanding of the MRP, MRP II and ERP systems. One of the most serious problems relating to the adoption of these systems seems to be the lack of awareness and poor promotion from the software vendors. For the application of the JIT and MRP hybrid systems, the survey results showed very low percentages from interested parties. 10.53% of the precasters surveyed have already installed a hybrid system in their production system; and 5.26% expressed that they might adopt hybrid systems in the future. In order to raise the potential of applying JIT and MRP hybrid systems, the first task that needs to be done is to promote the benefits of the hybrid systems, increase awareness of the existence and benefits of these systems, and help precasters to establish a clear framework concerning the integration process. Finally, while comparing the vertical hybrid systems to horizontal hybrid systems, the former seems to have a more favourable future than the latter.
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7.2
Validation of Research Hypothesis

The research hypothesis at chapter 1 was as follows: JIT and MRP both have their own strengths and weaknesses. When they work together, they would complement each other and further enhance the effectiveness of the prefabrication plants producing precast concrete components Based only on the theoretical discussions in chapter 2 to chapter 5, the hypothesis should be true since the two frameworks set out in chapter 4 and repeated in chapter 5 illustrated clearly how JIT and MRP can complement each other and enhance the production at precast concrete plants. However, the survey results did not show any direct evidence to support the hypothesis, but neither was there any rejection. As a result, the research hypothesis has not been conclusively proved yet. Further research to test the nature of the hypothesis is recommended. Nevertheless, the findings of this study suggest that lessons from the manufacturing sector, with specific reference to the integration of JIT and MRP, can be transferred for application in the construction industry, particularly in the context of manufacturing precast concrete components.
7.3
Comments on Pedagogical Rationale

The pedagogical rationale for teaching JIT principles to both undergraduate and postgraduate students was described in Chapter 1. It explained the incorporation of JIT principles in the two modules Quality and Productivity and Project Management at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore in response to the construction industry progressing towards a manufacturing-based platform. The module Development Technology and Management, which incorporates the basic building blocks of the BDAS and the underlying buildability principles arising from prefabrication, was also taught in the Department. In Singapores case, teaching JIT in the curriculum was a direct response to the Singapore government legislating buildability which favours precast components. Although the Singapores scenario may be a special one, there are lessons for other countries whose construction industries are also moving towards prefabrication, as in the case of Finland which embraces open building manufacturing (Eichert and Kazi, 2007). The Singapores experience suggests that JIT alone may not be adequate. From previous research in Singapore (Low and Choong, 2001a, b, c), it was found that some precasters were not adopting JITs pull production system in its entirety. Some precasters were found to favour MRPs push production system instead. The present study suggests that JIT and MRP may in fact complement one another. Hence, apart from teaching JIT in Quality and Productivity and Project Management, it may be appropriate to also include MRP in the curriculum. The over-arching purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of how and to what extent the construction industry, with specific reference to the precast concrete
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sector, had adopted JIT and MRP. With the findings of this analysis in mind, university teachers are encouraged to supplement the teaching of JIT with appropriate MRP concepts to provide a more holistic learning platform for students in so far as productivity enhancement lessons are concerned. Teaching JIT in professional building-related courses at the university cannot merely be based on text books alone. To be effective, real life case studies should be shared in the classroom setting. This was achieved at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore through collaborative research work with the industry. For instance, employees at a major construction firm were trained in JIT principles for real life application in site layout planning and management. The lessons learned were published and used in classroom teaching as part of case-based learning (Low and Mok, 1999). A systematic study of JIT application in the precast concrete industry as well as the ready-mixed concrete industry was also completed over the past ten years (Low and Chan, 1997; Low and Choong, 2001a, b, c; Low and Wu, 2004; Wu and Low, 2005a, b). Such studies provided significant findings on the challenges and problems faced by organisations when they applied JIT principles in their work processes. There is a strong link between research and teaching where classroom teaching of JIT is concerned. Along the way, it was also necessary to examine the MRP system as a possible complement to JIT. Hence, the approach is one of continuously refining classroom teaching of JIT to reflect real life practice as much as possible. For researchers and teachers outside of Singapore who wish to embark on the same journey to teaching JIT principles in the university classroom setting, the above narration can serve as a useful research agenda for implementation in their own countries and universities. This is especially relevant if they hope to achieve higher productivity levels through the manufacturing-based platform. From student feedback, the experience at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore suggests that the end objectives of teaching JIT principles have been achieved. There is a better understanding among the students of what JIT is all about and how its principles can be applied to enhance higher productivity in the context of the construction industry moving towards prefabrication in response to the legislation of buildability in Singapore. However, from past experience, it is also necessary to clarify to students that JIT is not about time management alone. This is because the time component in JIT (Just-In-Time) may give students the wrong impression that timely completion of tasks is what JIT is all about. With this reminder, the next step for educators in professional building-related programmes would be to extend the teaching of productivity to beyond JIT to encompass MRP. Experience at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore suggests that it is both desirable and possible to incorporate industry and professional practice issues in the teaching curriculum. From the pedagogical viewpoint, it is also desirable to include
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industry-led initiatives such as the BDAS and CONQUAS in the curriculum. In this context, the BDAS, which is an industry-wide evaluation criterion, was taught to building students through lectures, tutorials and final year dissertations. Students were assessed on their abilities to apply the buildability principles which they have learned in specific contexts through critical thinking. The curricular objectives for transferring the BDAS and related buildability issues to the classroom setting were achieved. Beyond the BDAS, which is one of the enablers driving prefabrication in the construction industry, the Department also found it desirable to teach JIT and MRP to building students. Nevertheless, the pedagogical approach towards teaching JIT and MRP in the classroom would need to be slightly tweaked following the findings of the analysis presented in this study. The analysis found that the most successful JIT building block that has been adopted by the prefabrication industry is related to the personnel and organisation aspects. Less emphasis was placed on the application of JIT in process design. Hence, more attention is needed in classroom teaching to enhance the application of JIT in process design; especially in conveying the need for precasters (and students) to change the traditional mindset of producing and ordering in bulk in order to attain the small lot sizes requirement in JIT. Furthermore, in order to raise the potential of applying JIT and MRP hybrid systems, the first task that needs to be done in the classroom setting is to promote the benefits of the hybrid systems, increase awareness of the existence and benefits of these systems, and help precasters (and students) to establish a clear framework concerning the integration process. Likewise, while comparing the vertical hybrid systems to the horizontal hybrid systems in the analysis, the former seems to be preferred than the latter by precasters. Hence, more attention should also be given to the JIT-MRP vertical hybrid system in the classroom setting.
7.4
Limitations of the Study

The limitations of the study mainly come from the input data of the survey: 1) The prefabrication industry in Singapore is small in scale, which makes the statistical analysis of the survey not as accurate when compared with other industries with larger populations; 2) The answers in the survey were subjective since the survey used the Likert scale instead of just having yes/no questions. As such, the answers may not truly reflect the whole industry since all respondents have their own range for the scale; and 3) Some questions in the survey were left unanswered by the respondents. For example, the question on the benefits of the JIT and MRP hybrid systems at the two precast plants that have already installed them was left blank. Therefore, some findings were left without an in-depth understanding due to the lack of information.
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7.5
Recommendations for Future Work

Since the hypothesis of this research was inconclusive, it is recommended that future work can provide another research method to test the hypothesis and offer a conclusion to the question of whether the hypothesis is correct or not. Based on the supply chain framework, this study only worked on the integration of JIT and MRP from the raw materials vendors to the precasters. The path of the supply chain from the precasters to the main contractors and the clients has not been discussed. Another direction for future work is that the integration of the JIT and MRP concept can be extended beyond the prefabrication plants to construction sites. No matter how much research has been done, there would always be room for innovation and improvement, which future work can explore.
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8.0
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank all the precasters who have responded positively to the survey. They would also like to thank the Department of Building, National University of Singapore for the administrative support rendered. Many thanks also to Professor Chris Webster from the Higher Education Academy Centre for Education in the Built Environment (CEBE) for his valuable suggestions relating to the pedagogical aspects of this Working Paper. His insightful comments have certainly helped us to refocus the thrust of the paper. Last but not least, we are grateful to Ms Diane Bowden for her professionalism and efficiency in responding to our queries ever so promptly. Ms Bowdens thoroughness in editing the proofs of the paper is really amazing.
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9.0
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Spearman, M. L. and Zazanis, M. A. (1992) Push and Pull Production Systems: Issues and Comparisons. Operation Research, 40 (3), 521-532. Spencer, M. S. (1991) Using 'The Goal' in an MRP system. Production and Inventory Management Journal, 32 (4), 22-28. Spencer, M. S. (1994) How "the best" companies use MRP and just-in-time for successful manufacturing. Hospital Material Management Quarterly, 16 (1), 27-34. Spencer, M. S. (1995) Production planning in a MRP/JIT repetitive manufacturing environment. Production Planning & Control, 6 (2), 176. Spencer, M. S. (1997) The impact of JIT on capacity management: a case study and analysis. Production Planning & Control, 8 (2), 183-193. Sriparavastu, L. and Gupta, T. (1997) An empirical study of just-in-time and total quality management principles implementation in manufacturing firms in the USA. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 17 (12), 1215-1232. Steinbrunner, D. (2005) The Happy Marriage of Push and Pull. Industrial Management, 47 (1), 27-30. Stockton, D. J. and Lindley, R.J. (1995) Implementing Kanbans within high variety/low volume manufacturing environments. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 15 (7), 47-59. Sum, C. C. and Poh, Y. M. (1991) A survey on manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) practices in Singapore, 1991 : computer report. Singapore: Faculty of Business Administration, National University of Singapore.. Sutton, J. R. (1991) JIT/MRP II the new benchmark of competition. Industrial Engineering, 23 (1), 16-17. Suzaki, K. (1987) The new manufacturing challenge: techniques for continuous improvement. New York: Free Press; London: Collier Macmillan Publishers. Swanson, C. A. and Lankford, W. M. (1998) Just-in-time manufacturing. Business Process Management Journal, 4 (4), 333-341. Thomas, H. R. et al. (2002) Benchmarking of labor-intensive construction activities: lean construction and fundamental principles of working management. Rotterdam: International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction. Toni, A. et al. (1988) Production Management Techniques: Push-Pull Classification and Application Conditions. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 8 (2), 35-51. Trunk, C. (1999) WMS and MRP II: High-tech, fast-paced manufacturing. Material Handling Engineering, 54 (5), 63-68.
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10.0 APPENDIX A
Research on: Integration of just-in-time (JIT) principles and material
requirements planning (MRP) in Prefabrication Plants in Singapore SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
The purpose of this survey is to find out whether there is an integration of just-in-time (JIT) and material requirements planning (MRP) concepts at the prefabrication suppliers factories in Singapore. Please be assured that the findings are for academic purposes only, and your particulars will be kept confidential. It will be very much appreciated if you could complete the following questionnaire by filling in the blanks and ticking the appropriate rating which best fit your company.
A. COMPANYS BACKGROUND 1. Companys Name:
2. Category:
L1 L4
L2 L5
L3 L6 N.A.
3. If the surveys result suggests that some further clarification is needed via conducting an interview at your office, would your company be willing to participate? If yes, then how would I contact you? Person in charge: Address: .... Email: Phone No: .
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B. EXTENT OF JUST-IN-TIME (JIT) APPLICATION 1. Have you ever heard of the JIT concept? [ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes then proceed to question 2 - part B. If no then proceed to part C.
2. Do you agree that the ultimate goal of JIT is achieving a balanced, rapid flow of materials and/or work through the system? [ ] Yes [ ] No
Choose the most appropriate choice for the following questions: (1 - Strongly disagree; 2 Disagree; 3 Neutral; 4 Agree; 5 Strongly agree)
3. To what extent does your company encounter disruptions from: 1 Poor quality Equipment breakdown Changes to schedule Late deliveries from raw materials vendors 2 3 4 5
4. How do you rate the flexibility of your companys system in terms of: 1 Being able to handle a mix of product lines on daily basis Being able to handle changes in level of output 2 3 4 5
5. To what extent does your company effectively eliminate wastes of: 1 Overproduction Waiting time Unnecessary transporting or handling Processing waste (unnecessary steps, scrap) Inventory waste (high level of inventory) Product defects (causing costly re-work or correction) Waste of motion (unnecessary workers movement) 2 3 4 5
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6. To what extent does your company include the following features in the process design of the production? 1 2 3 4 Using small lot sizes when ordering raw materials Reducing setup time by - Simple & standardised setup tools & equipment - Simple & standardised setup procedures - Multi-purpose equipment Establishing manufacturing cells (a group of closely located workstations dedicated to the production of a limited number of similar parts) Improving Quality by - Achieving quality certificates: ISO9000 & ISO14000 series - Continuously finding and eliminating the causes of problems even if it requires to stop the production line during the process of eliminating problems - Applying autonomation / Jidoka (automatic detection of defects during production) Creating production flexibility (ability to accommodate changes) Minimising inventories of - Raw materials - Work-in-process precast components - Finished precast components
7. To what extent does your company include the following personnel/organisational features? 1 2 Workers as Assets - Implementing intensive training programs - Empowering workers with more authority Cross-trained workers - Performing several parts of a process - Operating a variety of machines Continuous improvement - Workers get involved in problem solving - Workers can stop the production line if finding serious problems - Workers are encouraged to report current or foreseeable problems Application of activity-based costing (Allocation of overhead to specific jobs based on their percentage of activities. Replace traditional accounting method which allocates overhead on the basis of direct labour hours) Leadership/ Project Management - Commitment from top managers to improve production process - Managers are leaders/ facilitators, not order giver - Two-way communication between workers and managers
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8. To what extent does your company include the following features in the manufacturing planning and control? 1 2 3 Levelling loading (relative fixed production schedules) Pull system (work moves on in response to demand from the next stage in the process instead of being pushed to the next station as it is completed) Using Kanban card (or any other visual methods) to communicate demand for work or materials from the proceeding station Close vendor relationships - Has long-term relationship with raw materials vendors - Has raw materials vendors providing frequent small deliveries - The burden of ensuring quality shifts to the vendors - The company only deals with a small number of raw-materials vendors Reducing transaction processing / paperwork - Reduces logistical transactions (ordering, execution, confirmation of materials procurement, etc.) - Reduces balancing transactions (forecasting, production planning, production control, scheduling, etc.) - Reduces quality transactions (appraisal, prevention, correction of failures, etc.) - Reduces change transactions (changes in specifications, bills of materials, quantities, etc.) Using preventive maintenance (maintenance of equipment in good operating condition and replace parts that have a tendency to fail before they actually do fail) Housekeeping (maintain a workplace that is clean and free of unnecessary materials)
9. In your opinion, what are the most troublesome problems when applying JIT in a prefabrication suppliers factory? Please rank the problems according to their seriousness (1 is the most serious problem) Lack of top managers commitment Lack of support and cooperation from workers Lack of support and cooperation from raw materials vendors Difficult to reduce set-up time Difficult to reduce inventory level while fulfilling the same service level Require a quite stable demand Take long time to start getting obviously positive results No assurance of cost benefits Others (Please state)
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C. EXTENT OF MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING (MRP) APPLICATION 1. Have you ever heard of any of those concepts? Material Requirements Planning (MRP) Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) If yes then proceed to question 2. If no then proceed to the end of the survey. 2. Which of the following manufacturing planning systems you are currently adopting? (a) Inventory control system (b) Material Requirements Planning (MRP) (c) Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II) (d) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (e) Others (Please state)
If your answer is (b), (c), or (d) then proceed to question 3 and 4. After that, skip question 5 part C and move to part D. If your answer is none of (b), (c), or (d), please proceed to question 5 - part C 3. Please name the following: Software in use: Provider of software: 4. Please rank the problems you are currently encountering in term of seriousness. (1 is the most serious problem) Inaccurate forecasting of demand Inaccurate bill of materials Inaccurate recording of inventory level Inaccurate lead time MRP/ MRP II/ERP outputs do not consist of detailed shop floor schedule Others (Please state)
5. Please rank the reasons why you are currently not adopting any of MRP, MRP II, or ERP? (1 is the most important reason) High initial investment cost Takes long time to get obviously positive results Complex to implement Complex to maintain Risk of high inventory level due to inaccurate inputs into systems MRP/MRP II/ERP outputs do not consist of detailed shop floor schedule Others (Please state)
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D. INTEGRATION OF JIT AND MRP 1. According to your opinion, which following statement is appropriate? (a) JIT is pull system while MRP is push system. So these two systems are totally opposite. They cannot co-exist in one firm (b) JIT and MRP have different sets of strengths and weaknesses. Thus these two systems can complement each other and co-exist in one firm (c) No idea about whether these two system can co-exist in one firm or not If your answer for question 1 is (b) then proceed to question 2. If your answer is (a) or (c) then please proceed to the end of the survey 2. Is your company currently implementing both JIT and MRP systems [ ] Yes [ ] No If your answer for question 2 is yes then proceed to question 3 and 4. After that, skip question 5 and jump to the end of the survey. If you answer is no then please proceed to question 5.
3. Which one of the following situations describes more properly your companys practice? Vertically integrated hybrid - using MRP as a planning systems while using JIT as the shop floor execution system Horizontally integrated hybrid - using MRP push system for some production stages while using JIT pull system for the other stages Others. (Please state)
4. How do you rate the extent to which JIT and MRP hybrid system benefit your company? 1 Compared to using none of JIT, MRP, MRP II or ERP, hybrid system lowers inventory level Compared to using JIT individually, hybrid system lowers inventory level Compared to using MRP, MRP II or ERP individually, hybrid system lowers inventory level Compared to using none of JIT, MRP, MRP II or ERP, hybrid system lowers the risk of shortage Compared to using JIT individually, hybrid system lowers the risk of shortage Compared to using MRP, MRP II or ERP individually, hybrid system lower the risk of shortage 2 3 4 5
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5. If you have not applied both JIT and MRP in your company, is your company willing to apply both systems in the future? [ ] Yes [ ] No [ ] Not sure
If yes then which one would you prefer? [ ] Vertically integrated [ ] horizontally integrated If no then please rank the reasons based on their importance. (1 is the most important) Lack of a clearly defined framework for integration Complexity of the integration process Do not have experienced staff to be able to handle both systems Expensive to have two systems at the same time Others. (please state)
The end! Thank you very much for your patience in completing this survey.
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Just in Time Strategy

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14

ISSN 1774-9847 ISBN 978-1-905148-13-4

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Editor: Prof Chris Webster Editorial Assistant: Diane Bowden

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Acknowledgement References and Further Reading Appendix A

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

List of Figures and Tables

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

INTRODUCTION Pedagogical Rationale

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Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Buildable Design Appraisal System

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Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

g) Cast in-situ wall with prefabricated reinforcements

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3. Other design considerations

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Scope and Focus of Research

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

JUST-IN-TIME CONCEPT JIT Overview

Development of the JIT concept

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

JIT Strategic Concept Little JIT versus Big JIT

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

JIT Tactical Framework

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Source: Vollmann, T. E. et al. (2005)

Figure 1: An overview of the goals and building blocks of JIT concept

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Source: Rawabbdeh, I. A. (2005).

Figure 2: Three categories of waste (man, machine, materials)

Building Blocks of JIT Concept

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

Source: Stevenson, W. J. (2005)

CEBE Working Paper No. 14

Learning from Manufacturing: JIT and MRP in Built Environment Education

CEBE Working Paper No. 14