I recently attended a 4-day program in Lean Construction in Halifax, Nova Scotia sponsored by the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS), with funding support provided by the Province of Nova Scotia. The education program was comprised of seven modules, with educational booklets for each module developed and published by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC of America).
The program instructor was Mr. James Johnston, President, Quality Dynamics Inc., Winnipeg. James is an Accredited Instructor for the Associated General Contractors of America – Lean Construction Education Program. With over 20 years experience in leading cross-functional teams, James brought a breadth of experience to his presentation of the program materials that helped illuminate key aspects.
The Lean Construction Institute of Canada (LCI-C), of which Scientext Technical Writing Ltd. is a corporate member, sponsors a Canadian Lean Construction Certification Program with the intent of encouraging Lean project delivery (LPD) capabilities across Canada. It is a robust certification program that should go a long way towards encouraging adoption of Lean principles and practices in the construction industry in Canada.
While not confined to any one project delivery method, Lean Construction is consistent with the alignments between owner, consultant and contractor captured by CCDC 30 – Integrated Project Delivery Contract. The risk and profit sharing transparency and alignment of interests inherent in Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) are well-suited to Lean Construction practices and implementation.
So, what is Lean Construction?
Originating with the Toyota Production System (TPS) and identified as “lean” in the 1990s, ‘Lean Construction’, as a term, was first coined by the International Group for Lean Construction in its first meeting in 1993 (from the Wikipedia article found under “Lean construction”, which I encourage readers to study). Since then, the methods involved have filtered throughout the construction industry in North America, and are now actively promoted by the AGC of America, and the Lean Construction Institute of Canada. My sense is that over the next 10 years Lean Construction will be widely adopted in North America and have a significant impact on construction profitability, scheduling, production planning, and cost.
Lean Construction is a production planning and execution methodology that places planning development with those who know it best, the field supervisors of the trade organizations involved in the construction project, and encouraged and facilitated by the general contractor’s project management team. Working backwards from contractually agreed milestones, the project is systematically organized into phases within each milestone grouping, with phase planning starting with the final action required to complete the requirements that comprise a milestone, and working backwards from that end-point to understand from the trade supervisors, “Last Planners”, what needs to happen as predecessor activities for the planned work outcomes to occur. Work is “pulled” rather than “pushed”, which means that a task is not completed and delivered until the receiving party signals that they are ready for the predecessor work product. In contrast, “pushed” work is work performed according to a predetermined schedule regardless of whether the receiving trade is ready for the work product or not, often resulting in “workers waiting for work and work waiting for workers”, in a nutshell, waste.
The primary “pull planning” products, deliverables, of Lean Construction are phase plans developed by “Last Planners” facilitated by the general contractor, six week lookahead schedules with supplementary constraint registries (Make-Ready Plans), weekly trade work plans, and daily trade work huddles. The Master Schedule, though developed for contractual and overview purposes, is deemphasized and the production focus is on the “pull planning” processes and planning deliverables just outlined.
Lean Construction, together with Integrated Project Delivery, has the potential of revolutionizing how construction is done in North America. Paired with eco-construction (building projects that are environmentally sound and sustainable from cradle to cradle), the next decades may well see the vital changes needed for a thriving, sustainable industry so central to our civilization.
To this end, Scientext has developed a Division 01 specification section intended to support and encourage Lean Construction. With the standard disclaimer that you use it at your own risk, we are happy to share this section with anyone who writes us and requests it; it is one way we want to support our industry. Naturally, related Division 01 sections also need to be adjusted to properly align with this new section, and the experienced specifier will address quality assurance and field quality control requirements in each technical section where appropriate to align with the Lean Construction initiative, and the effort to reduce waste.
I heartily recommend taking the full 7 module program in Lean Construction offered care of the AGC of America. Contact your local construction association for information.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
- “Participant’s Manual, Modules 1 – 7”, Lean Construction Education Program, published by Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), ©2012.
- Mastering Lean Leadership: Lean Construction Institute Canada – Special Edition, by Hal Macomber and Calayde Davey, March 14, 2018, published by Lean Construction Institute – Canada (LCI-C).
- CCDC 30 – Integrated Project Delivery Contract.
- Integrated Project Delivery: An Action Guide for Leaders; ISBN 9781095821527.
- Related Wikipedia articles.