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.

MUDA Walk for a Month

We just completed the 2009 Muda Walk for a Month event. There were 44 individuals who signed up to do the event. Some involved others in their company and some who signed up reported that they were not actually able to do the walk, so I have an incomplete count of how many actually did it. While evaluation information is still coming back to me, I thought it useful to share some of the feedback.



When asked, “What was the one of the best improvements you made or plan to make as a result of the walk,” answers included the follow. I share these not only so one can see the types of observations made, but also the value they can have to a company. You may have similar problems in your company.

“We have a large pipe job running through there right now. We geared up with manpower and tools. Looking at processes and doing little changes made things run a lot smoother.”

“Reduced crane use and an extra step by integrating tacking area and pipe out-feed table.”

“I was looking for over-processing, so I figured that a process-heavy area like our shops might be a good place to start. What stood out was the amount of paperwork, clipboards, checklists, files, etc. that the workers were handling. This should have been no surprise, as I was involved in writing most of the procedures we follow in the shops. But to observe the processes in action for a period of time brought some new light to the subject. I opened the subject up with each of my shop supervisors, and I heard, as expected, that every piece of paper had a reason and a home. But deeper inquiry revealed that some aspects of our Standard Operating Procedures were not “standard” across all the shops. There were different document handling procedures and different transmittal procedures being used. The outcome is that we will be reviewing our SOPs as a group starting this week to standardize the best practices among the local variations. I expect that we will cut some processing time along the way.”

“We had a stockpile of materials left over from a recent project. Those materials (one 50-foot semi when all was said and done) are now out of our hair with the result that we have cleared over 1000 SF of floor space. The other issue is the stash of random bits of carbon steel that the fitters keep around ‘just in case’ they might need some odd bits. Right now, there’s a big job going through the shop that takes all of our manpower to execute. I have talked to the new supervisor about the odd bits, and as that job comes down, we will be cleaning that pile up. That should gain us another 200 SF or so.”

The trailer for our small lift is in the middle of the new gravel parking lot. If we had a place where the trailer goes all the time, it would help and be out of the middle of the parking lot.”

“In the fenced in area where we keep the gas and LP and Freon. I noticed a couple of red gas cans that were marked with a black marker that it had Diesel in it. It is hard to read this marking and could be mistaken for gas. These cans should be yellow and that way guys would know that they are Diesel only.”

“We have a couple of empty carbon dioxide tanks setting in the middle of the walk way with tape on them saying they are empty. How about a separate area outside where the empty tanks can go?”

“The finger brake has all the extra fingers on the ground under the brake. Could there be a shelf next to the brake say waist high so the guys would not have to bend over and find the one finger they need?”

“Found old filters that came back from a job that had ended 1 year ago - threw them away.”

“Service called for a material handler to pick up parts. He was waiting for half an hour at the vendor before he was told what to pick up.”

“Need more tool storage in pipe fab shop. Foreman had more men, needed more tools, but needed a general area to store them after someone was finished. A gang box was put in the fab shop to store the excess tools needed for the increase in manpower. Simple tools such as levels and guides are now put in one general gang box.”

“Plumbers needed hand tools closer to work stations. Rolling carts were brought in to put hand tools on. Carts can be rolled wherever they are working.”

“Hand off of setting up a job. We would give it to project assistant to set up and they would hand it back to us to scan so we could send proposal to customer. The Project assistant now sets up job and does the scan for us and sends us the attachment to send to customers.”

“Paper process in tool room. When tools get checked in, two receipts are generated. One for the employee, and one for a checked in file. One was not needed for our file as it stays in a folder in program. We are no longer printing two receipts for checking in tools. One will get printed, for the employee. The back up copy for reference stays on the hard drive in a folder in the tool program. We did check with I.T. to be sure that Quick Pen does get backed up in the evening. This saves over processing of paper, putting it in a folder, and the time it takes to do that.”

Those who did the walk reported that it was very useful. Several said they would start doing similar walks regularly – not just during the Muda Walk for a Month.

Lean Video

Kevin Labrecque of Limbach Inc. found this video – well worth watching:

http://www.genielift.com/video/GCIJ/05-205_GCIJ_BB.mov

Checklists Do Help

Using surgical safety checklist deaths and complications have dropped by more than one-third. This has caused many hospitals to start implementing checklists. Here’s the actual report:



“A group of hospitals in eight cities around the globe has successfully demonstrated that the use of a simple surgical checklist during major operations can lower the incidence of deaths and complications by more than one-third.



The rate of major complications in the study operating rooms fell from 11 percent in the baseline period to 7 percent after introduction of the checklist, a reduction of more than one-third. Even more dramatically, inpatient deaths following major operations fell by more than 40 percent (from 1.5 percent to 0.8 percent) with implementation of the checklist.”

Source: JANUARY 14, 2009 - Robin Herman, Harvard School of Public Health



If checklists can reduce deaths in hospitals, it can help reduce errors, mistakes and accidents in construction. I have found that in most case companies already have good checklists. WE JUST DON’T USE THEM. Why? It may be for one of the following reasons:

We don’t need it because we have it memorized! – Then why do we still have errors and mistakes that would have been avoided had one used the checklist?

The checklists are not right. – Not using them will never make them right. Try it and correct it, then try it again.

We are to macho to use some silly checklist! – Probably the real reason though no one will admit it. What a poor excuse to cost everyone – the company and the customer money, time and maybe even safety.

So what to do about it? START USING THE CHECKLISTS. MAKE IT A STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE. We may not be saving lives but we can eliminate waste, improve productivity and beat the competition. WHEN WILL YOU START?

Lean according to Dr Seuss

Taken from the Lean the Grunau Way company newsletter, May 2009 edition, used with permission.



“Achieving a Lean culture is a never ending educational journey. As one strives to tune the mind and culture towards Lean thinking, countless time is spent in learning the tools and practice. The majority of the learning process is after the classes have been taken and books have been read. Through it all, something may end up being overlooked or missed. What is missed is not necessarily what Henry Ford or Toyota taught us, but rather what Dr Seuss tried to instill in all of us as we were first learning how to read. In “On Beyond Zebra”, Dr Seuss wrote the following:



Said Conrad Cornelius O'Donell O'Dell

My very young friend who is learning to spell

The A is for ape, the B is for bear,

The C is for camel, the H is for hare

The M is for mouse, the R is for rat I know all 26 letters like that

Through to Z is for zebra, I know them all well

Said Conrad Cornelius O'Donell O'Dell

Now I know everything anyone knows

From beginning to end, from the start to the close

Because Z is as far as the alphabet goes

Then he almost fell flat on his face on the floor

When I picked up the chalk and drew one letter more

A letter he had never dreamed of before

And I said ‘You can stop if you want with the Z

Most people stop with the Z, but not me

In the places I go there are things that I see

That I never can spell if I stop with a Z

I'm telling you this 'cos you're one of my friends

My alphabet starts where your alphabet ends

My alphabet starts with this letter called YUZ

It's the letter I use to spell yuzza ma tuzz

You'll be sort of surprised what there is to be found

Once you go beyond Z and start poking around

So on beyond zebra explore like Columbus ........’

“This may be a simple quote from a children’s book, but it holds a profound message for those who are trying to find a better way. If we stop the thought process where tradition has told us it ends, we will seldom make great advances in improvement. To consistently move forward, we must occasionally contemplate: What is after Z for Zebra?”

Learning Opportunities You may be interested in attending one of these training seminars:

• Oct. 29, 2009 – Lean Construction Overview – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: Arizona Chapter of the Lean Construction Institute – register here
• Nov. 19, 2009 – Designing and Achieving World-Class Performance in Construction – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy Mayeux at 480.966.0377
• >>>>>>>>>>>>>> Contact Dennis Sowards if you want a customized Lean workshop exclusively for your company.

Other Lean Construction Events:

• Oct. 28, 2009 - The California Healthcare Facilities Project 12th Meeting. Contact Prof. Iris Tommelein with questions: 510/643-8678
• Oct. 29, 2009 – Lean Construction Overview – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: Arizona Chapter of the Lean Construction Institute – – register here
• Nov 11, 2009, Forming and Re-forming The Team: Continuing The Lean Culture Over The Life of a Project, Sponsor: Nor Cal Lean Construction Institute Chapter Meeting, Hilton Garden Inn, Fairfield, CA - 6:00 PM-9:00 PM - Pacific Time, Contact: George Zettel
• Nov. 17, 2009 - Lean Collaboration and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Sponsor: LCI – Arizona Chapter Kick-off Meeting - 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM (MT) at The Buttes, 2000 Westcourt Way Tempe, AZ 8528. Register here
• Nov. 19, 2009 - The IPD Agreement - A Principled Approach to Negotiating a Collaborative Contract - Sponsor: LCI-SD-Chapter (San Diego, CA) Registration details coming soon.

A Quick Thought

Unfortunately there is too much waste in our work environment. While we talk constantly about the difficulties in making money, we tend to ignore the waste that surrounds us and to overlook opportunities for improvement.

- Kiyoshi Suzaki – The New Manufacturing Challenge

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

PRIVACY STATEMENT: I respect you and your privacy. Your name or e-mail address will never be sold, traded, rented or bartered, or given away - nor will it be used for any other purpose than to communicate with you. Period.



If you find this newsletter helpful, please forward it to anyone you know who will benefit from this information. You may help them improve their company.