Purpose: The research introduces means for improving premanufacturing processes (design, procurement and bidding) by leveraging digitalisation in offsite construction. Specifically, this paper proposes a framework that provides measures for the planning and implementation of digitalisation in offsite construction by positioning building information modelling (BIM) as the key technology and lean principles to add value and reduce waste.Design/methodology/approach: The paper follows the design science research approach to develop the proposed framework and attain the aforementioned objective. The developed framework includes data collection, value-stream mapping and simulation to assess current processes, develop and propose improvements. An empirical implementation is employed to demonstrate the applicability of both the framework and the measures used to evaluate the outcomes.Findings: The application of the proposed three-stage framework resulted in 9.45%–23.33%-time reduction per year for the various improvement categories in premanufacturing phases. Employing simulation and applying the developed measures provide incentive for upper management to adopt the suggested improvements. Additionally, while the empirical implementation was tested on a modular construction company, the methods used indicate that the framework, with its generic guidelines, could be applied and customized to any offsite company.Originality/value: While several studies propose that BIM-Lean integration offers an advantage in the context of production systems, this paper focuses on the initial design and planning phases, which are mostly overlooked in the literature. Moreover, the present study provides quantitative evidence of the benefits of data integration through BIM technology.

The goal of lookahead planning is to make a plan more realistic as construction tasks move closer to execution. To improve the reliability of lookahead planning, the construction industry has benefited from implementing the Last Planner^® System (LPS) which emphasizes improved workflow during construction. Lookahead planning involves transforming work that ‘should be done’ into work that ‘can be done’. This is accomplished by breaking down activities into the level of operations, designing operations, and making tasks ready by removing task constraints. The purpose of this research is to study, through computer simulation, the relationship between improving tasks made ready (TMR) in lookahead planning and the reliability of weekly work planning expressed as percent plan complete (PPC) and their impact on project duration. Results show that a high TMR can result in a reduced project duration but the same cannot be said about PPC, making a case for TMR serving as a better indicator for project duration than PPC.