Lean & 5S' in Construction #15 Oct 2006

***************** Warehouse/Material Handling Savings Tips
Inventory is waste so the best approach is to get rid of it. Usually this is not entirely possible as some inventory may be necessary to ensure that the crews never have to wait on materials (waiting is also waste.) Inventory is keep to make sure you only have what is really needed and not excess. Beyond that, here are some ideas to save on material and parts storage and handing:
o For your supply storage areas consider locating the faster moving parts/material closer to you and in the ‘strike zone.’ Pareto’s law suggests that 20% of the items you store are used 80% of the time, so locate the high usage material and tools in the easiest locations to pick.
o Instead of putting everything in some numerical order place items by the normal sequence of use.
o Use a spaghetti chart to map the flow of materials/tools in the area. Look for excessive travel and touches.
o Look at your labeling – is it there? Is it easy to read?
o Look at your material order forms/ pick lists – are they user friendly to those having to pull the material/parts, or are they hard to read. Don’t assume that just because some employees have worked there long enough to learn all the hard to read parts that it is OK. The real test is can a new employee quickly read the order and fill it? Often forms are designed around an IT best print format not around the users needs.
o Check for poor or non-existent housekeeping practices.
o Look at storage shelves; arrange them away from the wall so that the material/tools come in one end and out the other (in a FIFO approach.) Items stacked against the walls usually have a LIFO approach, which is undesirable.
o Look for anything stored horizontally. That means the bottom items aren’t usually moving.
o Look for items covered with dust or for other signs on non-use. Ask why they aren’t moving and if we really need to store them?
o Look for anything out of place or in a location not labeled.
o Make sure cabinets have their contents are labeled on the outside and that what is in them is what should be there.
As Mr. Imai says, go to Gemba (where the work is done) and watch. Look at how things really are done and ask lots of whys. Many small improvements will add-up.

***************** Error Proofing
Productivity e-news carried this short article on error proofing, using an example of a mistake a contractor made at a plant in Canada:

“You don’t usually hear a lot of talk, even in lean circles, about poka-yoke, also known as mistake-proofing. Everybody tries 5S, and there are lots of other lean tools that have probably achieved greater prominence. I’m not sure if this is because many companies don’t bother with mistake proofing, or simply don’t bother talking about it. Maybe they don’t regard it as important.

But there’s a company in Canada that I’ll bet has begun looking for ways to prevent mistakes, even if they’re not familiar with lean principles.

According to a recent news report from Reuters, a worker at Nova Chemicals Corp. in Corunna, Ontario, accidentally tripped a switch that shut down the factory’s entire manufacturing process, halting production and forcing two weeks of repairs.

The 1,000-employee plant is one of Canada’s largest plastics facilities, capable of supplying up to 40 percent of the country’s primary petrochemical market.

As a result of the incident, Nova says it will be unable to fulfill contracts for shipments of propylene and some other products, with delays extending through two quarters. Company officials estimate this will reduce profits by $11 million.

Oops.

The switch in question exists so that anyone seeing a serious problem can shut down production. It was triggered by a contractor’s employee installing a structural steel platform. WHY he hit the switch is not yet clear, and Nova is conducting an investigation.

Let’s assume for the moment this worker did not press the button simply for the fun of it. At least for now, let’s say he meant to do something else and hit the wrong switch.

Maybe he was careless. Maybe he wasn’t paying as much attention as he should have. But I also have to believe that the switch wasn’t marked as clearly as it might have been, and perhaps was too easily accessible.

The best way to solve problems is to prevent them from occurring in the first place. Perhaps this story can serve as a wake-up call for those companies that have not made mistake-proofing a priority. Otherwise, we’re likely to see more stories about $11-million-dollar mistake.

There are many opportunities to error proof our work in construction. Why don’t we do it more often? Because we are always too busy to take the time! Why is there never time to do things right the first time but always time to do them over when broken? In this case, which way costs the contractor more?

Please share with me examples of error proofing in your companies.

***************** Last Planner System
This newsletter will discuss the weekly planning cycle as part of the Last Planner Process.

The typical weekly planning cycle is show by the following chart:

While each job's cycle may not use the same dates as described below, a typical cycle works this way:

On Friday: The Last Planner (foreman) reviews the weekly work plan for the past week and calculates the percent of the work that was planned and completed (PPC). He also notes on the weekly work plan the constraints that prevented the crews from completing all of the work assignments. Next, the Last Planner updates the next week's weekly work plan reflecting the current status of what has been completed to that point this week and what is ready to be done next week. The work that is ready to be done next week is selected from the Look-ahead plan. Finally he looks out to the week after next and does a first draft of a weekly work plan for that week. [The Weekly work plan that we use actually shows 2 weeks so these two steps are combined into 1 sheet.] Last of all he looks at the work assignments to be done on the coming Monday and rechecks to make sure the work is ready to be done, that all constraints have been remove and all tools, material and resources are ready.

On Monday: The Last Planner begins assigning the crew(s) according to his weekly work plan. He also updates any work that was completed on Friday or over the weekend that had not been previously included on last week's weekly work plan.

On Wednesday: The Last Planner meets with the PM/superintendent in the weekly coordinating meeting. This meeting has two parts: a leaning look at the past and a planning look to the future. A typical agenda is:

Learn from the Past
- Review last week’s plans - assess and learn from last week's PPC and constraints. Look for trends.
Plan for the future
- Create/update the Look-ahead plan for the next six weeks - identify constraints / update the status of existing constraints
- Review the Weekly Work plan(s) for the following week
- Discuss make-ready needs for the remainder of this week

On Friday: The foreman again reviews the weekly work plan for the past week and calculates the PPC and records the constraints. He updates the weekly work plans for the next 2 weeks.

Usually this is the superintendent or the Project Manager who conducts the weekly meeting depending on the size of the project. Besides the superintendent and PM, all general foreman and Last Planners (foreman) attend the meeting. Others who might attend the meeting include project engineers and admin support. Foreman or the PM of sub contractors, should also attend. Depending on the size of the job and the number of last planners (foreman) involved, the meeting will typically last 30 to 45 minutes and should not last more than an hour.

This meeting is the beginning of constraints analysis as constraints are surfaced; ways to remove or prevent them can also be discussed. The discussion should not be allowed to consume all of the meeting's time. A best practice is to have the analysis at the end of the meeting and if not finished, follow up on it a different time and meeting. The purpose of the weekly coordinating meeting is to do just that, to coordinate the look-ahead plans and weekly work plans so that reliable work can flow. Remember that quality work assignments are those that releases work for the next crew (your own or another contractor’s).

What to bring to the meeting?
• The Last Planners should bring their weekly work plans for the last week, this week and next week. Have the past week's PPC and constraints calculated and recorded. Foreman and GF should bring their look-ahead plans and/or notes.
• Superintendent/PM should bring a copy of the master and detailed or phased schedule for the job and the overall look-ahead plans with the next six weeks actions. Bring enough copies of the 6 week look-ahead plan so everyone can see it or have one big copy or an overhead. Be prepared to mark it up with changes. Bring a combined weekly work plan showing the weekly commitments of the Last Planners from the past week.

Tip of the Week: At the end of a weekly coordinating meeting it is very useful to do a plus/delta discussion. Basically ask everyone about what worked with the meeting and what could be done differently to improve the effectiveness of the meeting. If done with an attitude open to learning, people will share ways to improve and all meetings can be improved.

**************** Even the Military is going Lean
Quality Digest reports that the military is training its people to apply Lean and 6 Sigma tools. In South Korea a maintenance unit using Lean quick changeover techniques was able to reduce the time it takes to overhaul an M-1 tank from 195 days to 30. The Army estimates that it will save $11.9 million in Patriot missile maintenance using Lean tools. The Navy has announced that its commanding and executive officers, department heads, command master chiefs and senior enlisted advisors must complete Lean Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints (TOC). They say they will probably extend the requirements to other personnel too. Many who have served in the military know that there are great opportunities to make war on waste. What about our job sites? Waste is everywhere and Lean can help.

Source: Quality Progress Sept. 2006

*************** Learning Opportunities
You may be interested in attending one of these training seminars:
• Nov. 7 – 10 - The 8th Annual Congress of the Lean Construction Institute, San Francisco, CA
o Nov. 7 -"A Brief Introduction to Lean Construction"
o Nov. 8 – 9 - Lean Project Best Practices.
o Nov. 10 – A day of reflection and discussion. Registration at http://www.leanconstruction.org.
• Nov. 30 - Designing and Achieving World-Class Performance in Construction – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy at pipetrust@qwest.net
• Nov. 30 – Dec. 1 - A Lean Design Forum meeting - Berkeley, California. For more information please contact ghowell@leanconstruction.org.
• Dec. 6 – Leadership & the High-performing Contractor – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: Arizona Builders Association
• Jan. 25, 2007 - Lean Works in Construction – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy at pipetrust@qwest.net
• Feb. 13, 2007 - Lean Construction is not a Fad Diet - Chicago, IL, Sponsor: Chicago CFMA chapter
• Feb 22, 2007 - The 5S’s – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy at pipetrust@qwest.net

***************** A Quick Thought
“Several types of muda (muda is Japanese for waste) are typical in manufacturing companies. First is overproduction based on sales forecasts. Then there is the waste of people waiting for materials to arrive. Another is inventory. When you keep things in inventory, they sit still. Sitting still doesn't add value unless you are making red wine or Scotch whisky.” - Masaaki Imai, AZ Republic Jan. 13, 2005
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.
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