Value stream mapping of the architectural executive design in a governmental organization

Abstract

Proposal: The authors proposes to use a Lean tool - Value Stream Mapping (VSM) - to analyze the flow of the architectural executive design in a government organization in charge of designing lowincome housing projects. The initial hypothesis was that the long lead time necessary to design such projects was a consequence of the many forms of waste that plague its design flow. The VSM represents the information and material flows which are part of a process, it allows the analysis of the resources used to carry it out and how these resources could be used in a more effective way. The authors used the VSM to carry out an exploratory study at Fundação de Desenvolvimento Habitacional da Prefeitura Municipal de Fortaleza – Habitafor to investigate the architectural executive design. The research design and its main phases were based on the literature about Lean Office. The current and future state maps are presented and suggestions to improve the flow of work are discussed. The changes proposed aimed at reducing lead times and promoting stability, e.g., availability of online information about the land available for projects developed by the city hall; addition of a staff and a value stream manager; use of safety resources; use of production cells; standardization of procedures used by different stakeholders involved in the process. The authors estimated that with the implementation of the proposed changes the total lead time would be reduced by 34.2% due to the reduction of rework and time wasted on non-value adding activities, but this number will have to be confirmed in future studies. This study intends to contribute to a more effective use of resources in the design phase of low-income housing projects through the use of solutions based on Lean Thinking. Key-words: Lean Thinking. Value stream. Design management.