This e-newsletter is written by Dennis Sowards to share ideas on the 5S’s and Lean practices especially as they are applied in construction. If you have ideas or lessons learned to share please contact me.

Lean Leadership

What does it take to support Lean implementation? Here are some of my ideas as I’ve seen and studied Lean initiatives.

Training – There needs to be basic training in Lean principles and tools. This training needs to be to everyone in the company not just a select few, though it usually starts with the core Lean sponsors. Anyone who contributes to the value of the product or service needs to know about Lean. If an employee doesn’t directly contribute or provide support to those that do, is the position needed? If the position is needed then the person should be trained. The amount of training on Lean tools would vary by the degree of skill and opportunity for each type of employee position. Some may only need to know the principles and a few basic tools applicable to their work area, e.g. 5S’s, Kanban and visual management. Other employees may need very specific tools such as the Last Planner System.

Besides the basic of Lean many employees need to be trained in problem solving since they will encounter problems as they try to implement Lean. Everyone solves problems (or they wouldn’t be working in your company), but few are very good at analyzing problems, finding the root cause and developing countermeasures. Lean’s success is magnified with effective problem solving. Most Kaizen events require problem solving.

Focus on the Whole System not Parts – Most companies start implementing Lean with individual improvements in various work functions. This is a good start but not sufficient. The improvements need to be connected throughout the system. Key processes do cross departments and functions and the Lean improvements must work across these areas. It does no good to improve cycle time of one step when the next one is the bottleneck, we want value to flow.

Line managers need to be engaged in implementing Lean. While field operations are usually supportive to the Lean concepts, they are still fighting fires due to issues up and down stream. They often say they like Lean but have no time to do it. The line managers' main responsibilities must be to continually solve problems in operations and support processes. They need to solve problems by working for preventions, not Band-Aid countermeasures.

Measures need to align - corporate metrics – those used to judge performance and reward managers, need to compliment and support Lean initiatives. The company cannot reward PMs as mavericks while promoting teamwork. Bonus and incentives, if given, must connect to the Lean behaviors desire.

The Last Planner System

Hal Macomber describes a well-run project:

“Some outside observers recently visited a job site and here’s what they observed at a good-sized construction project. As you read this, look for what is right and not who is right; consider the possibilities of what can be done better for our jobs. In their words…

“After touring the jobsite I was able to sit in on their weekly work planning meeting. The team was doing quite well keeping the project on schedule and on budget.
The meeting took the usual form:
Reviewing last week's performance,
Exploring and recording the reasons for plan failure,
Examining the look-ahead plan for the readiness of upcoming work, and
Committing to next week's weekly work plan.

“I was particularly impressed with the conversation. Participants freely commented, questioned, and negotiated commitments. Tasks were clear and had due dates. These folks knew how to make reliable promises.
“We regularly visit well-run projects. It seems that only people who are doing relatively well are sincere about their intentions to improve. The team I visited had that attitude. The members ask questions, invite assessments, and reach out to each other for help. I can't stress the importance of this enough. I'll take a rookie team who asks for help over a know-it-all experienced team any day.
“Well-organized jobsites and high project reliability go together. The site I visited was clean and organized. While I didn't inquire how long particular material had been on site, there wasn't much lying around. This is consistent with lean principles, specifically eight wastes. Now when I see a well-organized site I expect to see a project that is on time and on budget.
“Planning is an everyday practice. I was particularly struck by the negotiating underway last week. I am used to seeing people trying to reschedule today's activities based on what didn't get done or went wrong yesterday. The negotiating that was going on had to do with work to be performed in the coming weeks. There are two significant points to that:
The team saw the specifics of the up-coming look-ahead plan as just one approach to meeting the milestones as promised to the customer;
Planning is an on-going collaborative process that always includes those people executing the plan.

“The team and every other team taking a lean approach see planning and execution as tightly coupled or extensions of each other. This is unlike the description offered by PMI and in general practice where planning, execution, and control are seen as separate functions performed by different people.
“One last observation...I noticed a wonderful mood among the project team. Some people might say, "Of course! The project is on schedule and on budget." Sure, that helps. Or, is their mood contributing to the good results? Time and again I see the project leaders of high performing teams taking the time to shape the mood of the team. The leaders do this in the stories they tell.

“At the end of the tour I made the following suggestions to the project manager:
1. Post a graph of weekly PPC performance,
2. Post a Pareto chart of the reasons for plan variance, and
3. Add visual cues to the milestone plan hanging on the wall.”

Source: Your Bloglet Update from "Reforming Project Management. 12/17/02 and 12/19/02
* Last Planner System is a trademark of the Lean Construction Institute.

7 wastes for Offices Work

Over Production - More information than the customer needs, more information than the next process needs, creating reports no one reads, or making extra copies

Transportation - Retrieving or storing files, carrying documents to and from shared equipment, taking files to another person, or going to get signatures

Motion -Searching for files, extra clicks or keystrokes, clearing away files on the desk, gathering information, looking through manuals and catalogs, or handling paperwork

Waiting - Waiting for faxes or a copy machine, for the system to come back up, for a customer response, or a handed-off file to come back.

Unnecessary Processing - Creating reports, repeated manual entry of data, use of outdated standard forms, or use of inappropriate software

Inventory - Files waiting to be worked on, open projects, too much office supplies, e-mails waiting to be read, or unused records in the database

Defects - Data entry errors, pricing errors, missing information, missed specifications, or lost records

Source: NW Lean, Posted by: jmyers@hydro-gear.com Wed Jul 30, 2008

Dealing with Problems players in Projects

Ken Harden of Builder.com writes, “Remember your stars as you work with problem players”. The author advises project managers to not let weak players drag down the team, particularly the team members that give 100% everyday. His advice, "Find an acceptable point of failure, and then let it happen." He's saying to let the breakdown occur to surface the problem with the poorer performers. While that might look unacceptable to many high-achieving project managers, Harden argues it is often the only way to bring the necessary attention to the project. For project managers who have team members assigned to the project by others, this may be a reasonable point of leverage. Harden highlights the concern by noting "The most dysfunctional teams are always going to get the lion’s share of the company’s attention and remedial resources." (Hal Macomber)

Muda Walk in a Month II

Are you interested in doing the Muda Walk in a month challenge? Here’s how it works:
Starting in October each Monday I will email you a Muda Walk Theme for you to apply while doing your Muda walk each day that week. You will look for opportunities to drive out waste related to that theme. I ask that you try to go observe operations (shop, field, Service or office) for one hour every workday for a month. The goal is to implement at least one improvement each day. More is better. You invest about an hour a day to do what managers should do every day – drive continuous improvement and document your successes. The emails assignments are free. The time is yours to invest. To participate in this pilot Muda Walk for a Month Opportunity email me.

Learning Opportunities

You may be interested in attending one of these training seminars presented by Dennis Sowards:
Sept. 18, 2008 – Job Planning that Works - Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy
Oct 2, 2008 – Lean Works in Construction, Seattle, WA – Sponsor: SMACNA - Western Washington Chapter – contact Joanne Williams at 206 285-4144. Must be a SMACNA member to attend.
Oct. 16, 2008- Designing and Achieving World-Class Performance in Construction – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy

Other Lean Construction Learning Opportunities:
Sept. 10, 2008 – Northern California Lean Construction Chapter meeting, email Theresa Robinson or call (916) 554-7944
Sept. 15, 2008 - Introduction to Lean Design
October 28-31, 2008 - 10th Annual Lean Construction Congress, Boulder Colorado Sponsor: Lean Construction Institute

If your company is interested in training in the follow areas, contact Dennis Sowards:
Lean in Construction’
5S’s
Lean applied to Service Operations
Customer Loyalty
Strategic Planning – Leadership by Design
Process Mapping
Root Cause Analysis
How to make Meetings work – for Everyone!

A Quick Thought

If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you are doing.
- W. Edwards Deming

For more information about Lean applications to construction and especially the 5S’s contact Dennis Sowards at the office at 480-835-1185 or cell at 602-740-7271 or web site: www.YourQSS.com