Necessary and unnecessary complexity in construction (2005)
Presentation / Conference
Pannanen, A., & Koskela, L. (2005, September). Necessary and unnecessary complexity in construction. Presented at The 1st International Conference on Built Environment Complexity, Liverpool UK

The nature of complexity varies as construction progresses. This paper presents concepts and practices with which project (knowledge) management must foster complexity when it is necessary and dampen complexity when it is unnecessary in order to gene... Read More about Necessary and unnecessary complexity in construction.

On the metaphysics of production (2005)
Presentation / Conference
Koskela, L., & Kagioglou, M. (2005, July). On the metaphysics of production. Presented at 13th International Group for Lean Construction Conference, Sydney, Australia

Since the pre-Socratic period of philosophy, there have been two basic metaphysical views. One holds that there are substances or things, that is, atemporal entities in the world. The other insists that there are processes, that is, intrinsically tem... Read More about On the metaphysics of production.

Revisiting the three peculiarities of production in construction (2005)
Presentation / Conference
Vrijhoef, R., & Koskela, L. (2005, July). Revisiting the three peculiarities of production in construction. Presented at 13th International Group for Lean Construction Conference., Sydney, Australia

Compared to many other industries, construction is a specific type of project industry with certain peculiarities influencing the characteristics of constructed products, ways of production, and the industry itself. Previously three major peculiarit... Read More about Revisiting the three peculiarities of production in construction.

Approaches to managing complexity in project production (2005)
Presentation / Conference
Bertelsen, S., & Koskela, L. (2005, July). Approaches to managing complexity in project production. Presented at 13th International Group for Lean Construction Conference., Sydney, Australia

Since the seminal contribution by Shewhart, the dominating approach to production is to minimize all variation in order to get the productive activities into control. Thus, the goal is to avoid all such complexity and uncertainty which could disturb... Read More about Approaches to managing complexity in project production.

Context of production control in construction (2005)
Presentation / Conference
Henrich, G., Tilley, P., & Koskela, L. (2005, July). Context of production control in construction. Presented at 13th International Group for Lean Construction Conference, Sydney, Australia

It is commonly accepted that production control systems should correspond to the context within which they are operating, i.e. the production situation. However, rarely is this context indicated or made explicit; for example, the boundary conditions... Read More about Context of production control in construction.

Discussion of “Improving labor flow reliability for better productivity as lean construction principle” by H. Randolph Thomas, Michael J. Horman, R. Edward Minchin Jr., and Dong Chen (2005)
Journal Article
Ballard, G., Koskela, L., Howell, G., & Tommelein, I. (2005). Discussion of “Improving labor flow reliability for better productivity as lean construction principle” by H. Randolph Thomas, Michael J. Horman, R. Edward Minchin Jr., and Dong Chen. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 131(5), 615-616. https://doi.org/10.1061/%28ASCE%290733-9364%282005%29131%3A5%28615%29

Thomas et al.’s paper has the stated objective, “…to test whether improving flow reliability improves construction productivity.” They understand flow in terms of both the flow of work, that on which resources are to be expended, and of labor. Improv... Read More about Discussion of “Improving labor flow reliability for better productivity as lean construction principle” by H. Randolph Thomas, Michael J. Horman, R. Edward Minchin Jr., and Dong Chen.