A design planning and control model for modular construction companies

Amaro, Louise Chiarello; Cambraia, Fabrício Borges; Cunha, Vanessa Cardoso da; Formoso, Carlos Torres; Bulhões, Iamara; Nunes, Jéssica; Soares, Alexandre

doi:10.1590/s1678-86212025000100911

person Louise Chiarello Amaro

Conceptualization · Data curation · Formal analysis · Funding acquisition · Investigation · Methodology · Writing – original draft

schoolUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre – RS - Brazil

0000-0002-3412-4584

person Fabrício Borges Cambraia

Formal analysis · Investigation · Methodology

schoolUniversidade Federal de Juiz de Fora. Juiz de Fora – MG - Brazil

0009-0005-2797-8425

person Vanessa Cardoso da Cunha

Formal analysis · Investigation · Visualization

schoolUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre – RS - Brazil

0009-0006-5153-5875

person Carlos Torres Formoso

Project administration · Supervision · Validation · Writing – review & editing

schoolUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre – RS - Brazil

0000-0002-4772-3746

person Iamara Bulhões

Supervision · Validation

schoolUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul .Porto Alegre – RS - Brazil

0000-0002-1519-0455

person Jéssica Nunes

Resources

schoolUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Porto Alegre – RS - Brazil

0000-0002-4089-0365

person Alexandre Soares

Resources

schoolVISIA Construção Modular. Ivoti – RS - Brazil

0009-0008-7042-6388

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | E-mail:
vanessa.cardosocunha@gmail.com

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | E-mail:
formoso@ufrgs.br

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | E-mail:
iamara.bulhoes@ufrgs.br

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Civil | Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul | E-mail:
eng.jessicanunes@gmail.com

Editor:

Enedir Ghisi

Source	Description	Involved	Aim
Direct observation	2 work shifts (8 hours)	Design work routines	Design sector work routines Monitor daily activities to identify workflows and interactions between designers and other company sectors.
Participant observation	7 medium-term project meetings (7 hours)	Internal and external designers	Identify constraints and alignments in medium-term activities
	6 short-term daily meetings (3 hours)	Internal and external designers	Control daily and weekly work packages
	5 meetings for model development and structuring of support tools (12 hours)	Design manager and one of the lead designers	Develop the planning model
	2 kick-off meetings to identify design constraints (3 hours)	Managers and designers	Identify constraints and define project guidelines
Semi-structured interviews	1 hour per interviewee (5 hours)	Design manager and four design team members	Understand the design process, main features and challenges
Document analysis	Schedules, Design batch map, and long-, medium-, and short-term plans	Company documents	Map processes and validate alignment with the implemented model
Semi-structured interviews for the development of the MFV	1 hour per interviewee (5 hours)	Design manager, commercial design manager, cost estimator, product engineering coordinator and a designer	Development of current VSM
MFV Presentation Workshop	2 hours	Managers and designers	Present improvement suggestions, and assess Future VSM

Model Stages	Collaborative Practices	Objective	Key Stakeholders	Tools
Long-term PP&C	Long-term production plan for a single project	Define project delivery dates	Design, planning, factory, supply, and site managers	Line of balance with milestone definition for design batch delivery
Medium-term PP&C	Weekly medium-term PP&C meetings	Identify and remove constraints	Design, planning, factory, supply, and site managers	List of production constraints (including design batches)
Stage 1 (Long-term level at Phase A)	Long-term design plan for a single project	Divide design into work packages, control status and deliverables	Design Manager, Internal and external designers	Design batch map (Figure 5) and Long-term project plan (Figure 6)
Stage 2 (Medium-term level at Phase A)	Design kick-off meetings	Identify design constraints	Design Manager, Internal Designers, External Designers, Commercial Sector Designers	Complete list of constraints for a single project
Stage 3 (Long-term level at Phase B)	Long-term plan for multiple project	Visualize planning and manage resources	Design Manager and Internal Designers	Long-term plan using a location-based planning software
Stage 4 (Medium-term level at Phase B)	Fortnightly medium-term meetings	Identify and remove constraints	Design Manager and Internal Designers	List of constraints for all projects
Stage 5 (Short-term level at Phase B)	Daily meetings (Scrum)	Assess package completion, adjust tasks, and coordinate activities	Design Manager and Internal Designers	Design management board, PPC indicator spreadsheets, and analysis of causes for the non-completion of work packages

VM Tool	Description	Model Stages	Purpose
Design batch map (Figure 5)	Visual representation of design packages by location and discipline	Stage 1 (Long-term level at Phase A)	Control progress and identify delays
Location-Based Long-Term Plan for Single Project (Figure 6)	Schedule of design packages per location and discipline for one project	Stage 1 (Long-term level at Phase A)	Define work packages, delivery dates, and design milestones
Location-Based Long-Term Plan for Multiple Projects (Figure 7)	Consolidated plan showing demand per location across multiple projects	Stage 3 (Long-term level at Phase B)	Visualize planning and manage resources Balance workload and define priorities
Constraint Spreadsheet	Shared list of constraints with deadlines and responsible persons	Stage 2 and Stage 4 (Medium-term level at Phase A and B)	Track, anticipate, and remove constraints
Daily Scrum Board (Figure 8)	Visual layout of daily tasks using post-its, with task assignments and status	Stage 5 (Short-term level at Phase B)	Coordinate tasks, support adaptability, and improve transparency
Design Management Board (Figure 8)	Central board displaying long-term plans, short-term tasks, and performance metrics	All Stages	Centralize planning information and support decisions

A design planning and control model for modular construction companies

Modelo de planejamento e controle de projeto para empresas de construção modular

Abstract