Teaching Takt-Time, Flowline, and Point-to-point Precedence Relations: A Peruvian Case Study

Abstract

Over the last few years, Point-to-Point Precedence Relations (PTPPR) has emerged as a significant theme in the construction industry, indicating that point-to-point relations are better than Critical Path Method (CPM), both theoretically and practically. As the same time, research has focused on takt-time and flowlines. Both methods have been compared and integrated. This article presents strategies for teaching the integration of these popular methods in construction-management courses to undergraduate students of civil engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. The case study is a community-house project that has highly repetitive processes in the structural works phase. First, we used traditional tools such as Excel spreadsheets and 2D drawings to teach production-system design with takt-time, flowlines, and PTPPR. Second, we used 3D and 4D models with Revit and Navisworks to integrate the previous takt-time schedule with a BIM model and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we used Vico Office for the automation of schedules and comparison of the methods in 4D and 5D. The article describes the lectures, workshops, and simulations employed, as well as feedback from students and instructors. The success of this teaching strategy is reflected in the survey responses from students and the opportunities for improvement identified.