159 Proceedings IGLC-15, July 2007, Michigan, USA INTEGRATING STRATEGIC PROJECT SUPPLY CHAIN MEMBERS IN PRODUCTION PLANNING AND CONTROL Marcus P. Sterzi 1 , Eduardo L. Isatto 2 and Carlos T. Formoso 3 ABSTRACT Much of the waste in the construction industry is related to ineffective planning, including design delays, flaws in the planning system and ineffective integration of suppliers in the planning system. Although SCM literature suggested some opportunities regarding the integration between construction supply chain (SC) firms and pointed out the difficulty of identifying critical SC members, so far no previous research has proposed mechanisms for identifying and integrating strategic project supply chain members. This research study proposes a set of guidelines for integrating supply management functions through the production planning and control system as well as using it for understanding the main problems related to the lack of integration. Multiple case studies were carried out in a main contractor from the South of Brazil. In those case studies a set of criteria was defined for choosing strategic suppliers and some improvements in the production planning and control were implemented. Among the main conclusions of the study, this research work proposes a strategy to identify the SC members that have to be integrated into a typical construction project and manage them across the Last Planner System®. KEY WORDS Lean supply chain, Supply chain management, Integration, Last Planner System INTRODUCTION In recent years, there have been several research efforts focusing on how to improve the management of construction supply chains. These studies have revealed that the management and integration among participants in a supply chain reduces individual risks and has the potential to improve the efficiency of the production process as a whole, eliminating waste and unnecessary efforts (O'Brien, 1999; Vrijhoef and Koskela, 1999; 2000; O’Brien et al., 2002; Vrijhoef et al., 2003). According to Ballou et al. (2000), the SC comprises the integration and coordination of activities and processes throughout the chain member companies. Christopher (1999) points out that trust, commitment and willingness to share information among the members of the chain are very important for the functioning of the SC as a set of interconnected processes. The integration among participants reduces individual risks and has the potential to improve the efficiency of the production process as a whole, eliminating waste and unnecessary efforts (Christopher, 1999). 1 M.Sc, Civil engineer at BSF Engenharia. Rua Portugal, 776, CEP 90520310. Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil. Phone number: +55 51 3342 7622,,e-mail: mpsterzi@terra.com.br 2 Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Building Innovation Research Unit (NORIE), Osvaldo Aranha Ave., 99, 3º floor, Porto Alegre-RS, Brazil, phone number: +55 51 3316 3959, (NORIE), e-mail: isatto@cpgec.ufrgs.br 3 Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (NORIE), e-mail: formoso@ufrgs.br