Lean & 5S's in Construction

Newsletter #20 March, 2007

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

Keep it Simple

Some suggestions on the how to do the 5S’s and keep it simple:

“Whatever you do, don't seal it in the concrete, as you have to improve it as soon as you've implemented it!
Better stick tapes than paint lines,
Better use movable tools holders than fix them,
Better not using shelves next to workbenches as they hold dust, hide nuts and bolds underneath, put stress on workers having them make a choice for the good part, create walls between people, cut view,
So don't put money in something you're going to shoot out in few days, weeks, or months.”

Source: Emmanuel - Weekly Lean Forum Digest Subscription, 01/19/07

Reduce Set-up Time

Toyota has made great advances in reducing set-up time for their production lines. How does this apply to construction where we have no production lines? -- We still have set up requirements. In the shop we have to set up tools to fabricate various parts. Each part may be unique and may require different set-ups. In the field we have to set up the work area so we can install the product. Even in Service work we have to set-up the work to make repairs or do maintenance. Construction has its share of waste when it comes to set-up! In fact all set up is waste because when setting up there is no value produced for the customer. Yet set-up is necessary to complete the job. One way to improve productivity is to attack this wasted time. Here are some of the basic steps used to reduce set-up times:

1. Separate work that must be done while the equipment or the crew is stopped (not working) from work that can be done while equipment/crew) are in operation. Work that must be done with the equipment/crew stopped is called internal set-up work and tasks that can be done while the equipment/crew are operating are called external set-up work. Attack the two types of work differently.

2. Reduce external set-up by applying the 5S’s. Make sure everything needed is in a designated place and is located based on frequency of use. Have every tool and material ready so that when the equipment or the crew stops everything is ready to go with the next piece or to the next installation spot. One shop built a small cart with fixtures that holds the dies for changing the size on a hydraulic air brake. This reduced manhandling the dies into place.

3. Reduce internal set-up work in the shop by marking adjustments so the new adjustment can easily be found; by building fixtures or molds to set in place for the various sizes of fittings; by using base plates where various sizes are accommodated; and by using standard parts. For internal set-up work in the field or service, define what tasks need to be done once the installation is stopped to start the next task. Make sure each crewmember has and knows his/her assigned responsibility to move to the new spot.

4. Do parallel operations where possible.

5. Look at “large” blocks of set-up time and use employees to brainstorm ideas.

Think of a pit crew waiting for a racecar to stop. The crew has the tires in place ready to replace used ones. The fuel nozzle is in the right spot to reach the tank. Each crewmember has an assigned task to do. When the car comes in, everything is close by so no time is used searching for it. Each crewmember has assigned tasks and does them in minimum time. Pit crews take pride in taking the least amount of time needed to turn the car around and get it out on the track. They are also always seeking faster ways to do the tasks. For a tool change in the shop or a change in location or size of material to install in the field, we can apply the same ideas to reduce wasted time.

Last Planner System

There are three types of work in the Last Planner System – Should Do, Can Do and Will Do work. Hal Macomber describes them this way:

“Someone must take responsibility for seeing that the work that should be done is in a ready state so that it can be done and elicit promises from project participants so that it will be done.

OK, so if that makes so much sense, then why don't we systematically and organizationally address the issue of making work ready? One reason is that we act like announcing what must be done vis-a-vis a master schedule is enough for responsible people to successfully perform their tasks. That is all too often insufficient. Sure, all good projects have an always up-to-date master schedule representing what 'should' be done, but what about what 'can' be done? By 'can' I mean tasks that are in a ready state: the wherewithal has been addressed for both starting and completing the task. While this might appear to be sufficient, it still lacks one essential element: someone says it 'will' be done by a specific time. Only when an individual commits or promises to complete a task do we have a scheduled item that we can rely on. Within the lean project community we refer to this as should-can-will planning.

Are we done? Not quite yet. We don't want to leave reliability to chance on projects, therefore someone must take responsibility for seeing that the work that should be done is in a ready state so that it can be done and elicit promises from project participants so that it will be done. We call that role the project manager.”

Source: Blog - August 31st, 2002 by Hal Macomber

Learning Opportunities

You may be interested in attending one of these training seminars. Note that I teach some of the seminars and some are taught by the Lean Construction Institute.

March 26, 2007 – Lean Works in Construction –by Dennis Sowards - Oakland, CA – Sponsor: Bay Area SMACNA Chapter – Contact Audrey Kerns at (510) 635-8212 akearns@bayareasmacna.org
March 28, 2007 – Lean Works in Construction –by Dennis Sowards - Iselin, NJ –Sponsor: Sheet Metal Contractors Association of Northern New Jersey – contact Donna S. Valentine at 973-890-0890.
April 11, 2007 – “Lean Project Delivery” Construction User Roundtable, Mesa, AZ. (Open to CURT members curt.org )
April 25, 2007 – Lean Works in Construction – Salt Lake City, UT –Sponsor: Utah Sheet Metal Contractors Association – Contact James Paull at 801 486-8449 or jimpaull@sisna.com
April 26/27, 2007 – “Introduction To Lean Construction”, Atlanta, GA.
April 26, 2007 - Designing and Achieving World-Class Performance in Construction –by Dennis Sowards - Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy at pipetrust@qwest.net
May 31, 2007 – Lean Job Planning the Really Works – –by Dennis Sowards - Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy at pipetrust@qwest.net
Jul 18-20, 2007 - Annual International Group for Lean Construction Meeting, East Lansing, Michigan, USA Refer to iglc.net for more information.

A Quick Thought

When a plant changes over to a new car design, as Georgetown (Toyota) did for the 2006 Camry, production slows down as parts and systems are updated. The last time Georgetown overhauled the Camry, in 2001, 59 days were needed to fully convert the factory to new- car production; last year, the new model took 16 days. The extra cars probably meant additional revenue of about $100 million.
- From 0 to 60 to World Domination – Jon Gertner - The New York Times, Feb 28, 2007.

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