Engaging in a major construction or renovation project is a significant investment for your business. When construction doesn’t proceed smoothly and efficiently, it becomes an even more substantial investment.
Lean construction is a philosophy and practice that applies Lean principles to construction projects to reduce waste, improve efficiency, and deliver greater value to the project owner and stakeholders. By taking a more holistic approach to design, construction, logistics, and overall project management, Lean construction helps projects come in on time and under budget.
This month, we’ll examine Lean construction, its principles, and how it can save money over traditional construction.
What Is Lean Construction?
The easiest way to understand Lean construction is to compare it to traditional construction philosophy:
Traditional construction segments a project’s construction into distinct tasks, each of which is contracted to a specific entity—a designer, engineer, contractor, subcontractor, etc. Each unit is responsible only for completing its own work, and the owner/stakeholders are responsible for ensuring quality and budget maintenance.
On the other hand, Lean construction requires everyone involved in a construction project to look beyond their specific role and keep one overriding consideration front-of-mind through the process: delivering the maximum amount of value to the owner and stakeholders with minimal waste.
A Lean construction project proceeds under six guiding principles sometimes called the Tenets of Lean.
Lean Construction Tenet #1: Respect for People
Contractors and others engaged in traditional construction can fall victim to being overly aggressive in “looking out for number one.” So long as their specific responsibilities are met and the job is paid for at the end of the day, their work’s impact on the other stakeholders involved is not a primary consideration.
Lean construction flips that on its head with its core guiding tenet of “respect for people.” A contractor on a Lean project accepts that the time, contributions, and success of other entities are just as valuable as their own in achieving overall project success. That means ensuring that timelines and budgets are adhered to, that the input of other contractors and subcontractors is acknowledged and considered, and that neither operations nor conversations are siloed and keeping individual voices from being heard.
Lean Construction Tenet #2: Optimize the Whole
In Lean construction, every member of the construction team is a valued stakeholder throughout the entire project. Their voices are heard from beginning to end, and every action taken is weighed against its impact on the project as a whole.
In other words, Lean construction changes the goals of each contributor to the project. Under traditional construction, each team’s goal is “to do what’s best for our specific slice of the project.” In Lean construction, every team has the same goal: “to do what’s best for the project.”
Lean Construction Tenet #3: Eliminate Waste
This tenet doesn’t only apply to material waste; it also addresses time waste, logistics waste, and even waste of individual team members’ talents and creativity.
Waste is addressed in Lean construction through a few different processes, including right-sizing the production of components, adopting an “as needed” production model, ensuring that workers aren’t waiting for preceding phases to be completed, materials aren’t wasted due to defects, and supply chains are integrated to allow for greater purchasing power and reduced per-unit costs.
Lean Construction Tenet #4: Focus on Flow
Almost every phase of construction is reliant on the phases that came before it. Framing can’t begin until the foundation is complete, interior work can’t begin until the building is dried in, and thousands of other dependencies exist. When teams sit waiting for a previous phase’s completion, they’re wasting not only the owners’ time and money, they’re in the way and slowing down production.
With a holistic view of workflows, a Lean construction project requires an intense focus on controlling workflows and ensuring that each phase is completed on time. When a problem occurs and prevents timely completion, the team on a Lean project coordinates as a unit to develop solutions that allow work to proceed in other areas while the problem is resolved.
Lean Construction Tenet #5: Generate Value
“Value” can mean different things to different people. On some projects, speed is the overriding concern, and the owners/stakeholders gain the most value when work proceeds quickly. For others, cost is the primary driver, and value is derived from the money that can be saved. However a project’s owners define value, every person on a Lean construction project is encouraged to make decisions that will maximize that value.
On most Lean sites, you’ll see a primary value proposition written down somewhere that team members can easily see it and be reminded of their responsibility to the project owners. These continual reminders help keep the project’s value-adds front-of-mind for the entire construction team.
Lean Construction Tenet #6: Continuous Improvement
Lean construction principles apply to more than just the job at hand; they also apply to the next job, the job after that, and so on. Throughout a Lean project, all teams are encouraged to list any roadblocks, issues, or other problems that occur and evaluate not only how to overcome them today but also how to avoid them tomorrow.
Through the use of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Adjust) cycle, Lean teams strive for continuous improvement in their processes to ensure that future projects run smoothly and efficiently.
How Lean Construction Saves Money
Even just applying one of Lean’s core tenets – “Focus on Flow” – can generate incredible savings on a project by eliminating a massive source of overhead waste. Adopting a fully Lean construction model for a project can save even more. Savings are realized through reduced waste, improved efficiencies, reduced material and labor costs, fewer ad hoc changes and bottlenecks, and an overall mindset of generating maximum value.
Call JLJ and Associates and Discover the Lean Construction Difference
When you’re pursuing a commercial or industrial construction project or renovation, Lean construction can help ensure your project stays on time and under budget. The experts at JLJ and Associates are well-versed in the tenets of Lean construction. Call us today to find out how we can work for you! 770-961-7600
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