BIM-enabled Kanban system in construction logistics for real-time demand reporting and pull replenishment

Purpose: The unstable labor productivity and periodic planning method cause barriers to improving construction logistics management. This paper aims to explore a demand-driven mechanism for efficient construction logistics planning to record the material consumption, report the real-time demand and trigger material replenishment from off-site to on-site, which is aided by Building Information Modeling (BIM) and the Kanban technique. Design/methodology/approach: This paper follows the design science research (DSR) principles to propose a system of designing and applying Kanban batch with 4D BIM for construction logistics planning and monitoring. Prototype development with comparative simulation experiments of a river remediation project is conducted to analyze the conventional and Kanban-triggered supply. Two-staged industrial interviews are conducted to guide and evaluate the system design. Findings: The proposed BIM-enabled Kanban system enables construction managers and suppliers to better set integrated on- and off-site targets, report real-time demands and conduct collaborative planning and monitoring. The simulation results present significant site storage and schedule savings applying the BIM-enabled Kanban system. Feedback and constructive suggestions from practitioners are collected via interviews and analyzed for further development. Originality/value: This paper brings to the limelight the benefits of implementing BIM-enabled demand-driven replenishment to remove waste from the material flow. This paper combines lean production theory with advanced information technology to solve construction logistics management problems.