A Production Control Tool for Coordination of Teams, Meetings and Managerial processes

Abstract

During construction projects, the productive deployment of operations depends on the reliable supply of the production control function, where the proper coordination of teams, meetings and managerial processes is crucial for performance. Currently the use of the Last Planner System for providing this function has been successful; despite the importance it claims in the social domain, it does not explicitly regulate the coordination of teams and meetings with the managerial processes. In order to address this gap, we developed a prototype tool, based on a Multi- Domain Matrix, for handling and tracking the performance of these elements. This paper introduces the Matrix of Interacting Groups, which evaluates the interaction of teams, meetings and managerial processes during the production control function supply. It was initially tested in a Chilean housing project and it allows the identification of team members, meetings, processes, and provides insight into the system key properties. It enables a comprehensive description of the production control function and generates a framework for tracking and for potentially fine tuning it. Although the tool is still under development, it seems promissory for providing a high level and practical regulation of production control