Construction Project Control Innovation

Last Planner® System software increases construction efficiency

  • 2 minutes read

Our client was the head contractor in an alliance supporting the delivery of a $17.3b program to remove 110 railway-road level crossings across suburban Melbourne.

Following the successful introduction of Last Planner System software by a peer alliance on the program, the alliance leadership team responsible for a series of multi-storey car park construction work packages decided to trial the implementation of the same system to drive continuous improvement through their projects.

ORBIZ was engaged to support the alliance in implementing the Last Planner System software owned by our US-based partner, Touchplan®. Touchplan would be used to underpin the delivery of a level crossing removal project valued at approximately $200m, elevating the railway over a busy suburban road through a 22-month construction program.

>80%

On-time delivery of planned work versus the industry average of 50%
Collaboration across planning and construction disciplines driving productivity
Transparency of program status in real-time from the frontline
Accountability for accurate work front planning increased

The approach

ORBIZ provided end-to-end project management of the software implementation with a focus on the following activities:

  • Developing a change management plan by assessing existing planning systems, processes and infrastructure to identify change requirements.
  • Training key personnel in Last Planner System principles and all Touchplan use and maintenance aspects.
  • Setting up the new IT infrastructure required and developing new management practices to support the new system.
  • Coaching the project team through the implementation to establish effective and sustainable use of all software functionality.

The solutions

The implementation of Touchplan provided the following benefits:

  • Collaboration across planning and construction disciplines increased, resulting in a highly engaged team using Touchplan to deploy each phase of the Last Planner System.
  • Touchplan provided complete transparency of program status in real-time, with one version of the status accessible to all stakeholders on their mobile and desktop devices.
  • Increased accountability of frontline planners improved the on-time execution reliability of work promised for delivery.

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