Wakeup Copenhagen was the first major Arpe Kjeldsholm project which Nina Fogh-Andersen managed. She decided to use location-based scheduling on the project, also known as flowline planning. She first learned about the method at DTU where she studied civil engineering.
On the Wakeup project, Nina found that the LBS method was not only good in theory. “I realised that the method actually works! We delivered the project on time, and we didn’t have to work overtime in the evenings and at weekends,” says Nina.
Management saw great potential in the method, and subsequently gave Nina overall responsibility for planning at three major construction sites in Copenhagen. Management needed someone who could ensure that the project schedules were adhered to. The long-term plan is to phase out Gantt and implement location-based scheduling for all Arpe Kjeldsholm construction projects.
At the beginning, some trades on the site complained. But as time progressed on the project, and the trades better understood the method, they became positive and embraced the method.
At one point, a masonry foreman came to me in the construction trailer. He wanted to have an additional half day for each bathroom. It sounded reasonable, so I entered it into the schedule immediately to see the impact of the change. However, it turned out that it would shift the overall schedule by 5 weeks. The consequence would be impossible to comprehend and illustrate with Gantt. The mason could see that it did not make sense, so he left and brought in more people to the site instead. And then we could stick to the plan.
With flow lines (location-based scheduling), one can constantly see the impact of a change or if something shifts. In the example with the mason, in Gantt, I might see one derived effect on page 36. The schedule on the project filled 40 A3 pages in Gantt. With cyclograms, the schedule filled one A3 page. The biggest advantage of cyclograms/location-based scheduling is clearly the overview you get.
Nina points out that the success would not have been so significant without support from management. If the message, for example, had been, “you can deal with it if you want,” but there was no support on the site, it would have been more challenging.
“I have a really good boss who supported me 100%. If there were complaints on the site, he pulled out my schedule and referred to it. – It was also him who approved agreement sheets and handled the finances, so the craftsmen wanted to be on good terms with him,” she laughs.
On all three construction projects she is currently handling, she conducts site registration every week, and deviations are recorded in the minutes.
“We have good feedback from all trades. They don’t like it if they are behind. They have provided a schedule to me, and I have entered it into the location-based schedule. – And since they provided the schedule themselves, they commit to it and also know best what it takes to correct it. With location-based scheduling, a deviation never gets so off track that we can’t catch it in time. It keeps the conflict level on the site low and ensures the client that we deliver on time” Nina Fogh-Andersen concludes.
