Industry Feedback on Implementing Pull Planning in the Construction Industry

Pull planning is a collaborative approach that is used to develop a project-based production plan in compliance with principles of lean construction. Pull planning is a process of working backwards from a planned milestone to generate a project schedule or schedules. With the use of pull planning, project teams are able to evaluate and develop project schedules in collaborative ways that allow them to rely on the results and encourage buy-in to the project's success. This paper focuses on verifying benefits and obstacles of implementing pull planning in the construction industry using a survey of industry professionals. The gathered feedback of industry professionals is used to validate priority guidelines to promote the use of pull planning. The prioritized guidelines include (1) getting people on board early by choosing the right delivery method; (2) identifying the right people to be in the room by providing transparent expectations early to trades regarding foremen and superintendent involvement; (3) providing adequate time for planning by accounting for it early on, and after each session; and (4) defining scope areas by narrowing the breadth of planning sessions. The primary contribution of this research is validation of industry feedback to the recommendations provided by the body of research and documentation of the current use and promotion of pull planning in the construction industry.