Departments — March/April 2005

LEAN CONSTRUCTION: Improves productivity and lowers project costs

A transformation is taking place in how we work. Lean principles save time, streamline work flow
and reduce waste on every level.

By Paul Reiser, Guest Commentary

Many firms in the United States and throughout the world have found a way to drastically reduce the cost of products and services while increasing value to the customer. The key to their success is the implementation of lean production principles and practices first developed by the Toyota Motor Company.

Lean production management is now being successfully implemented in the construction industry. Projects have become increasingly complex and schedule-sensitive.

Lean Gains

In July 2004, the Construction Industry Institute released a research report on lean construction stating, "…there is an extraordinary opportunity for individual companies to develop world-class production systems by carefully applying lean principles to the construction process."

Like other companies around the world, we have found it is not uncommon for projects applying lean principles to experience 10 to 20% improvements in productivity, cost and scheduling. Customers, subcontractors, architects, engineers and employees attest to higher levels of planning, communication, workflow reliability, control, quality and safety.

In some ways, lean systematically applies and improves on the best practices of the past. Projects are temporary production systems influenced by highly dynamic and variable conditions. To ensure higher levels of reliability under these conditions, a systematic and disciplined approach to planning and managing work is needed.

Timing & Flow

Traditional project management may or may not provide a collaborative environment but lean processes demand it by decentralizing explicit planning and control of work at the production level. Workflow is streamlined, and wasted effort and waiting are reduced when the right work is handed off to the right people at precisely the right time. Overall project cycle time is shortened through the rigorous management of the handoffs between crews and by the disciplined elimination of constraints that threaten workflow.

Supply chains are structured to reduce lead times and promote preassembly, shifting labor to more ideal conditions offsite and reducing onsite assembly time. Just-in-time delivery of materials to the project minimizes accumulation of inventories onsite, reducing unnecessary handling and damage of materials.

During project planning, designers and installers work closely to simultaneously design the product and construction process. Three-dimensional prototyping assists in evaluating and optimizing the product and the process. When possible, detailed design is shifted to fabricators and installers to eliminate redundancy.

All Systems Lean

Lean construction practitioners are applying lean principles to all types of projects, regardless of size, contract and market sector. Large, self-performed industrial projects and small tenant improvements all benefit from rigorous production management.

We are applying lean principles on lump-sum, CM/GMP, and often most thoroughly, on design-build projects. Lean is moving into our supply chain of subcontractors and suppliers and extending into the back office to streamline administrative functions, including document control, procurement and accounting.

The successful implementation of lean construction principles takes time and dedication to change. Lean construction is not just a new set of management tools. It is the combination of processes, principles and people coming together to create a highly productive and reliable work culture.