Slack in Construction - Part 1: Core Concepts

Carlos T. Formoso, Iris D. Tommelein, Tarcisio A. Saurin, Lauri Koskela, Marcus Fireman, Karina Barth, Fernanda Bataglin, Daniela Viana, Rafael Coelho, Vishesh Singh, Carolina Zani, Natália Ransolin, Claudia Disconzi

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Construction projects are known to be complex, due to being subject to uncertainty and variability. The use of buffers to protect them from the detrimental impact of variability has been well-researched. A key managerial choice is not whether or not to buffer variability, but rather how to define the necessary combination of buffers. Slack is a concept related to buffers but has been used in the literature to describe a broader range of strategies for coping with complexity. It allows an organisation to adapt to internal pressures for adjustment or to external pressures for change in policy. This paper aims to further develop the concept of slack and to unveil its relationships with other concepts and ideas that are partly overlapping such as buffers, resilience, robustness, flexibility, and redundancy. A concept map was devised in order to articulate the nature of the slack concept. This paper explores in detail this concept map and proposes a conceptual role for slack in the realm of Lean.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of 29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)
Subtitle of host publicationLean Construction in Crisis Times: Responding to the Post-Pandemic AEC Industry Challenges
EditorsLuis Fernando Alarcon, Vincente A. Gonzalez, Danny Murgula, Xavier Brioso
Place of PublicationLima
PublisherThe International Group for Lean Construction
Pages187-196
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)9786124802546
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Jul 2021
Event29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Virtual
Duration: 14 Jul 202117 Jul 2021
Conference number: 29
https://www.iglc.net/Home/ActiveConference

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
Publisher International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)
ISSN (Print)2309-0979
ISSN (Electronic)2789-0015

Conference

Conference29th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction
Abbreviated titleIGLC2021
CityVirtual
Period14/07/2117/07/21
Internet address

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