Implementation Road Map of Lean Construction at Project Level

Lean implementation begins with leadership commitment and is sustained with a culture of continuous improvement. Without deep commitment and consistent leadership, project teams tend to slip back into old habits of thought and action once the going gets tough. (RS234-1, p. 15)

Lean is a fundamental business philosophy, one that is most effective when shared throughout the entire value stream. The lean ideal is “to provide a custom product exactly fit for purpose and delivered instantly with no waste.” RT-234 identified 5 lean construction principles for use on projects: (RS234-1, p. 2)

1. Customer focus
2. Culture and people
3. Standardization and stabilization
4. Waste elimination
5. Continuous improvement and built in quality

Early adopters of lean have experienced some project success from the application of select lean tools, but true progress requires a lean business philosophy. One common theme on the deployment of lean within an organization is “Learn from one’s mistakes.” Learning by doing is an important part of any lean organization. (RS234-1, p. 8)

Stability – In projects, stability (the opposite of variability and unevenness) can be provided by making load predictable so that capacity can better be matched to it. This stability is achieved by making work flow predictable in projects.

Handoffs – It is necessary to specify the handoffs between specialists in project production systems. In a manufacturing facility, this can be done through layout of workstations and routing of materials, but such structures and routes change frequently in construction, so rapid redesign of the production system is a vital capability. Some theorists and practitioners believe that these redesigns are done best through collaborative team planning using a technique called reverse phase scheduling. (RR234-11, p. 13)

Due to the variability and scope of construction, there is no possible way to teach lean in a traditional academic sense. Learning in the field on a construction site was by far the most popular way of training. (RS234-1, p. 9)

RR234-11, Lean Implementation Roadmap

Provides general guidelines for starting your lean journey, that includes: (RR234-11, p. 136)

• Starting your lean journey – Lean is a journey, not a destination. A lean enterprise is in pursuit of the lean ideal.
• Guidelines for organizational change
• Implementing lean on projects
• Lean implementation by project phases
• Lean implementation issues by project role

The ability of individuals and organizations to follow an implementation roadmap will vary with position and circumstance, but to the extent possible, these guidelines should be followed to implement lean on projects.