• Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
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• autumn
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• pp.113-119
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• 2003

Since Lean Construction has been introduced as a new management approach to improve productivity in the construction industry, much research is in progress to develop lean concepts and principles for better implementation and to get results of the successful adaptation of lean ideas from manufacturing for application in the construction industry. Currently, several construction companies in the USA have applied the Last Planner System (LPS), a decentralized system developed by the Lean Construction Institute. Thus, there are demands to share information how other companies implement lean construction, to identify the benefits and barriers of lean implementation in the construction fields, and finally to improve their lean implementation. This study carried out case studies to assess current lean construction projects with the objective to find out how effectively and to what extent lean construction is being adapted by the construction industry. This study will only introduce the Last Planner which has four levels in the LPDS, findings based on interviews with project participants, and observations from the projects. This study will also provide empirically identified success factors associated with lean implementation on the construction site. Finally, the recommendations are offered to support the effort of adaptation of lean construction in the domestic construction industry. Even though lean construction still stood on the bridge crossing from current practice to lean practice, it is the researcher's conviction that lean construction would be successfully adapted to the construction industry in the near future and would be recognized as an effective management innovation.

• Journal of KIBIM
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.23-33
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• 2018

Recently, the industry actively adopts the cutting-edge technologies of the fourth industrial revolution and uses them to enhance the productivity and service of mass-customization. The manufacturing industry is creating new processes and business models by achieving digital transformations through a lean start-up approach aimed at achieving the highest customer satisfaction with minimal resources. Although attempts are made to manufacture the building by introducing the latest technology in architecture, it is applied sporadically, not as an integrated system, in the entire phase of the architectural project. This paper analyzes the changes in the construction industry through the application of core technologies of the fourth industrial revolution. Design processes are analyzed for the digital transformation of the construction industry by case study of advanced architectural design practice. A novel design concept model 'Architectural lean startup' is proposed by combining the architectural process and the lean start up method. Through the design of the bus stop based on the architectural lean startup concept, it is confirmed that the designer repeats the 'Generate-Test-Analysis' to develop the design and generate the final result.

• Information Systems Review
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.61-74
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• 2011

Software industry still has many deep-seated problems. As a natural consequence, it may have to learn from best practices in more mature industry like manufacturing. An example is 'lean' software development which is defined as translation of 'lean manufacturing' principles to the software development domain. The principles include 'eliminate waste' and 'amplify learning.' It was much asserted that these principles are worth applying. Not much study, however, was done on how to practically implement these principles into software development practice. In this study we attempt to present a method in which project lead time and software defects are regarded as major targets of management and are visualized using Cumulative Flow Diagram. We further applied this method on actual projects. The result confirms that agile is positively effective on reducing wastes.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.528-540
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• 2021

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: In a healthy person, from 35 years of age, there is an annual loss of muscle mass at the rate of 1-2% and is associated with a decline in the quality of life. This study aimed to identify the particular dietary patterns associated with the risk of lower lean muscle mass in Korean postmenopausal women. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) is a population-based, continuous cross-sectional annual survey. The participants of the KNHANES IV (2008-2009) and V (2010-2011) were considered for this study. The study sample consisted of 1548 postmenopausal women, aged 45-86 years. Lower lean muscle mass was defined as having appendicular skeletal muscle mass corrected for body weight less than 1 standard deviation of the young reference group aged 20 to 39 years in KNHANES IV and V. To identify the dietary pattern using factor analysis, 24-h recall data was used. RESULTS: The prevalence of lower lean muscle mass was 31.3% in this study population. Four dietary patterns were identified by factor analysis; 'Diverse', 'Western', 'Traditional', and 'Snacks and beverages'. The 'Western' pattern, highest factor loadings for flour and bread, potatoes, red meat, processed meat, eggs, and cheese, was significantly associated with a high (60%) risk of lower lean muscle mass (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 1.60 [1.07-2.39], P for trend = 0.01) after adjustments for potential covariates. The other 3 dietary patterns were not associated with lower lean muscle mass. CONCLUSIONS: The study findings suggest that the 'Western' dietary pattern that includes flour and bread, potatoes, red meat, processed meat, eggs, and cheese, may be associated with a higher risk of lower lean muscle mass in Korean postmenopausal women.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.11 no.7
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• pp.23-30
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• 2013

Purpose - The study attempts to investigate the relationship between inventory management and firm performance using a multi-dimensional aspect of inventory management with respect to lean management practices across countries. Research design, data, and methodology - 1643 manufacturing firms from Japan and the US that SIC ranges from 2000 to 3999 were chosen to conduct the empirical test. This study employs hierarchical OLS regression analysis to examine the impact of control variables, ABI, EBI, and the interaction between ABI and EBI on firm performance. Results - The result indicates that in Japan high level of inventory negatively influences the accounting flows of business, while US manufactures exhibit strong positive impact of ELI on firm performance across accounting and market measures. The results show that the complementarity between the amount and the speed of inventory does exist. Except for Tobin's q, the sign of interaction term coefficient is negative, suggesting that when the amount of inventory increases and it stays longer in a firm, market values, ROS, and ROA suffers. Conclusions - The major finding of this study is that there exist some complementarities between the scope and implication of inventory management for lean strategy across countries, particularly in U.S. and Japanese firms.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.1267-1281
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• 2015

Carbon steel plate girders have been used on a large scale in the building industry. Nowadays, Lean Duplex Stainless Steel (LDSS) plate girders are gaining popularity as they possess greater strength and are more impervious to corrosion than those that are constructed from carbon steel. Regardless of their popularity, there is very limited information with regards to their shear behavior. In this paper, the non-linear finite element analysis was employed to investigate the shear behavior of LDSS plate girders. Parameters considered were the web thickness, the flange width, and the girders aspect ratio. The analysis revealed that although the shear behavior of the LDSS girders was no different from that of carbon steel plate girders, it had obviously been affected by the non-linearity of the material. Furthermore, the selected parameters were found to pronounce effect on the shear capacity of the LDSS girders. That is, the shear capacity increased considerably with web thickness, and increased slightly with flange width. However, it was reduced as the aspect ratio increased. Comparisons between the finite element analysis failure loads and those predicted by the current European Code of Practice revealed that the latter underestimated the shear strength of the LDSS plate girders.

• Journal of the Korean Operations Research and Management Science Society
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.11-28
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• 2009

Intelligent investment in setup cost reduction and process reliability improvement is crucial to an emerging integrated lean six sigma practice today. This study examines a cost-minimizing problem of jointly determining production lot size, setup cost reduction, and process reliability improvement decisions for a manufacturer with an imperfect production process. We develop models for previously untapped discrete shipping in a supply chain context as well as continuous shipping and solve them optimally using differential calculus and nonlinear programming. We also conduct analytic and numerical sensitivity analyses to provide various important managerial insights into practices.

• The KIPS Transactions:PartD
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• v.17D no.3
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• pp.203-208
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• 2010

This study improves the productivity of software development of open-market systems using agile methodology. The current processes of an open-market system are analyzed and inefficient processes are identified which are changed by applying the agile practice principles in Lean software. This study analyzes the process lead times and defects after the processes are changed to see the improvement effect.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.150-156
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• 2011

Few studies have shown the correlation between metabolic syndrome and bone mineral density (BMD). The main pathogenic mechanisms of metabolic syndrome rely on chronic low-level inflammatory status and oxidative stress. There are few studies that examine the gender-specific effects of inflammation and antioxidants on BMD. In this study, we evaluated the relative contribution of these factors in patients with metabolic syndrome. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 67 men and 46 postmenopausal women with metabolic syndrome; metabolic syndrome was defined as having three or more metabolic syndrome risk factors. BMD, body fat mass, and lean body mass were evaluated. We also examined the levels of high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), adiponectin, vitamin E, and C in serum. Log-transformed hs-CRP levels were significantly higher in lumbar spine osteoporotic subjects than in normal subjects for women but not for men. There was no significant difference between the normal group and the osteoporotic group in other inflammatory markers. Stepwise regression analyses for BMD of the lumbar spine showed that lean body mass and vitamin E were significant determinants in men. Lean body mass and log-transformed hs-CRP were significant determinants in women Analysis for BMD of the femoral neck showed that lean body mass was a significant determinant for both men and women. There was no significant factor among the inflammatory markers or antioxidant vitamins affecting the femoral neck BMD for either gender. In conclusion, while hs-CRP is an independent predictor of the BMD of the lumbar spine in women, vitamin E showed profound effects on BMD in men but not women with metabolic syndrome.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.12-22
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• 2014

Over the last decade, Saudi Arabia has experienced significant economic increases as evidenced by the 30% growth in its gross domestic product; furthermore, the construction industry has increased 10% in the same time period. Due to this significant growth, the construction industry is encountering issues related to construction quality resulting in significant waste and associated environmental impacts. In this research, we applied our previously developed framework that integrates three different methods-Lean, Green, and Six-sigma - to a residential construction complex in Saudi Arabia. Our aim of this case study was to explore the application of the framework in practice to glean quantitative results and further validate the framework. In the case study, we used the developed framework to identify a significant issue related to quality and delays - final completion of 53 residential units was delayed because of failed exterior buildings surfaces. We then used the framework to define the causes behind the defects via a field investigation of the 53 units. Of the defect, construction execution was responsible for 43% of the defect, 31% untrained workers, 19% unfavorable construction weather condition, with 7% accounting for other issues. A procedure was developed in concert with the construction manager and overall developer reducing the amount of rework and waste causes revealed by the field examination and the framework. Although two steps were added to the original construction process to overcome waste causes, still save a lot of resources and reduces environmental impact. In summary, we found that the Lean, Green, Six-sigma framework increased productivity, quality, and reduced waste.