Last Planner System (LPS)

EstablishedLPSPPC

Also: Pull planning, Percent plan complete

A lean, collaborative production-planning system in which the people who directly supervise the work plan it together, commit to what can be done, and measure how reliably they keep those commitments.

Explanation

LPS links several levels of planning: milestone or master planning, phase pull planning (working backwards from a milestone), look-ahead planning with constraint analysis, commitment-based weekly work planning, and daily huddles. Planning moves from what SHOULD be done to what CAN be done once constraints are removed, to what WILL be done as a commitment. Reliability is measured as Percent Plan Complete (PPC): the share of weekly commitments completed. Reasons for variance are recorded and analysed for improvement. The system was developed in the lean construction community and is promoted by the Lean Construction Institute.

Practical example

On a hospital project, PPC starts at 58%. Variance analysis shows most misses come from late design responses, so the team adds a weekly design-constraint log review; PPC rises to 80% within two months.

Why it matters

Reliable weekly workflow reduces trade stacking, idle crews and rework. LPS is often a central part of VDC programmes alongside 4D models.

Standards and references

  1. Last Planner System — Introduction and Principles. Lean Construction Institute.Widely accepted professional interpretation
    Supports: Pull planning, milestone and lookahead plans, commitment-based weekly work plans, daily huddles, should/can/will, PPC, variance analysis and constraint removal

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VDC Stack.io. (2026). Last Planner System (LPS). In VDC Stack.io Knowledge Dictionary. Retrieved from https://vdcstack.io/dictionary/last-planner-system/