Guidelines for the improvement of design, procurement and installation of lifts using supply chain management concepts

Abstract

This paper proposes guidelines to improve the process of design, procurement and installation of lifts, using supply chain management concepts. The research study was divided into three stages. Initially, the lift design, procurement and installation process and its main problems were described in general terms, based on a literature review and also on interviews with architects, engineers and specialists in construction management and engineering. In the second stage, a case study on the relationship between the agents was carried out, aiming to identify problems in both material and information flows. That involved interviews with lift manufacturers and installers, visits to construction sites, analysis of documents, and also a survey with lift final users. In the final stage, data were analyzed and a set of guidelines for improving the process under investigation was proposed. Problems related to the insufficient co-operation between agents and to the lack of coordination and integration of material and information flows were identified, suggesting that there are opportunities to apply supply management concepts for process improvement.