Lean Integrated Design and Construction Case Study of a Design Office: LAB Design Studio
Gaurav Jhunjhunwala Student ID - @00373099 M Sc Project Management in Construction (2013 – 2014) 9th May, 2014
INDEX 1.0 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 01 1.1 What is Lean ……………………………….…………………………………………………………………………….….. 01 1.2 Principles of Lean Construction ….…………………………………………………………………………………. 01 1.3 Benefits of Lean ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 03
2.0 Case Study of Design Office…………………………………………….……………………………… 05 2.1 Company’s Background ……………….…………………………………………………………………….…………. 05 2.2 Problems identification ……………….………………………………………………………………………….……. 05 2.21 Internal Problems ……………….……………………………………………………………………………….. 06 2.22 External Problems ……………….…………………………………………………………………….………... 06
3.0 Solution Identification …………………………………………………………………………………… 08 4.0 Implementation …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 10 4.1 Last Planner System …………………………………………………………..…………………………………………. 11 4.2 Work Standardization ………………………………………………………..…………………………………………. 13 4.3 Five Steps Plan (5S)............................................................................................................. 13 4.4 Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA).................................................................................................. 15 4.5 Understanding the Client …………………………………………………..…………………………………………. 16 4.6 Use of BIM ....................……………………………………………………..…………………………………………. 16
5.0 Sustain Lean Construction …………………………………………………………………………….. 17 5.1 Kaizen Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
6.0 Recommendations ……………….……….….………………………………………….…….…………. 18 7.0 Conclusion …………..……………….……….….………………………………………….…….…………. 19 8.0 References……………………………………………………………………….….…………………………. 20 9.0 Appendix………………………………………………………………………….….…………………………. 22
Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 1.0 Introduction Every year the construction industry produces a large amount of waste. Most of the construction waste includes debris, earth and concrete which is suitable for land reclamation. Over 90% of these wastes are inert and used as public fill. As a result the 10% of the non-inert waste is non recyclable and needs to be disposed of at landfills (DEFRA, 2012). With 90% of the construction waste being inert we cannot rely solely on reclamation as it is not sustainable. Hence one needs to examine ways to reduce waste and promote recycling and reuse of construction waste. Today the world is running out of reclamation sites as well as landfill space (EPD, 2011). There is a need to think LEAN; need to reduce waste.
1.1 What is Lean? Lean is the process of eliminating waste. According to Womack and Jones (2003) lean is a combination of various techniques which are implemented in order to improve the process and reduce waste; such a process eliminates all kinds of waste that exist during a project. Lean construction is a process of adopting techniques implemented by the Japanese Manufacturing industry in order to improve construction and minimise waste. According to Howell and Koskela (2000), Lean is a theory that aims to minimise waste and maximise the value as well as the quality of work for the client. As per Ballard (2004) lean is the value added to the product by eliminating waste, being responsive, focussing on value, and enhancing the usefulness of the workforce.
1.2 Principles of Lean Construction Lean Construction comprises of five principles – 1. Value – This is the initial point of recognition to waste where you value the client’s needs and desire what he is willing to pay. It is a combination of all wastes that the client believes is of no value. There are various ways in which Koskela (2000) presented the flow principles to eliminate waste. Some of them are eliminating activities that are of no value; Reduce lead time; Reduce Variability; simplify the process by minimising the number of steps and an increase in flexibility and transparency. Value not only helps in reduction of cost but also helps in creating possibilities by increasing added benefits to a product which would increase the value of the product from the client’s perception. By the means of process diagrams one can eliminate the wastes which are adding no value; reducing the non-value activities is in itself a fundamental source of improvement. By removing unwanted wastes one does streamline the process and add value to a particular product.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 2. Value Stream – Technique that demonstrates the lean thinking production process is known as value stream. By applying this principle companies can improve the method of process perception and eliminate waste by reducing the non-value processes. Managing the flow i.e. transportation of material, movement of people and equipment on construction sites must be taken into consideration as a part of project planning. 3. Flow – This principle of lean thinking is to deliver complete elimination of waste. This principle requires a complete realignment of one’s intellectual thoughts. It requires reorganising of the departments to produce a better flow and to achieve a creation worth its value. Dealing with disconnected and aggregated processes does not lead to lean thinking. Achieving a flow of value helps in eliminating waste and reduction in lead time. 4. Pull – This is one of the underlying principles of lean. It is the ability to give what the customer needs. The customer pulls the product from you as and when needed rather than pushing products which are often unwanted (Womack and Jones, 2003). However one must know that the customer may not know what is the need of the hour. So innovation of a new product is always pushed at the start to the customer but later the policy of flow must be adopted. 5. Perfection – After the adoption of the first four principles one can observe that by reducing
effort, time, space, cost and mistakes comes close to the product what a customer really needs. The most important spur to this principle is transparency. Once there is transparency in the systems the employees help in giving feedback and achieving lean which would result in the implementation of all Lean principles to perfection.
Lean principles can be further developed and explained in different ways in which Toyota has implemented Lean philosophy in its manufacturing as seen in figure 1.21.
Fig. 1.21 – Toyota Lean Principles Source – Liker, 2004
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 1.3 Benefits of Lean Implementation of lean is not only beneficial for the company but also helps in understanding the client for which the product is being conceived. One is not only minimising waste but also adding value by the process of Lean Thinking. Lean thinking helps minimise all the eight types of waste as mentioned by Womack and Jones (2003). The wastes which are reduced by Lean thinking can be seen in figure 1.31.
Figure 1.31 – Types of Waste Source - GoLeanSixSigma
1. Transportation – It is the waste which is generated out of movement of materials. It is mainly seen on construction sites where the storage facility is segregated from the construction site. One needs to understand that lot of labour work hours are wasted by just transporting the materials between the two processes. Eliminating such waste will lead to smart building and would save time. 2. Inventory – Inventories do help in deliveries on time and if there are any problems in production could be taken care of inventory but inventory is nothing but waste. It is the waste of storage space and a result of overproduction. One can cut down the inventory by not ordering excess materials on site and thus save money. 3. Motion - It is the movement which in one needs to reach out, walk towards or move towards another system which could have been eliminated. It is the waste of motion within a process. Such a waste delays a process time of that particular process and by avoiding excess motion one can save time in a particular process. 4. Waiting – This waste is also known as time in hand. In the field of construction a person does need to wait for approvals and as a reason the next process may not be given that much time as required which results in multiple defects and problems on site. To eliminate such waste one need to make sure that the time in hand is reduced so that the following process is not affected due to this. This causes delay in the whole process and also time. 5. Over Production – This is nothing but making in excess. Result of overproduction is inventory which does increase more waste in terms of space. Overproduction may have an impact on quality. On construction sites making the workers work for long hours could lead to a few safety issues as well as some negligence. One needs to know the demand in order to balance the overall processing speed and avoid overproduction.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 6. Over Processing – This kind of waste is the extra time spent on a single process and the waste is termed as over processing. Too much time spent on a single process may lead to waiting in other process which may result in time delay. In construction certain processes take sometime eg. Curing. Too much time spent on curing would be nothing but over processing. 7. Defects - Defects causes rework which is generation of waste. Defects lead to waste of time and human effort. Defects in production generate the halting of assembly line and produces scraps. In the field of construction a defect on site could be disastrous at times and the process to remove the defect would lead to extra expense, time and effort of all the people involved on a particular project (eg. A leak in basement). 8. Skills / Under Utilization – The transfer of knowledge from the senior to his juniors may lead to lack of sharing and under utilization of the skills and assets an individual has. This could also be a waste where the company is not making use of the total capability of its employees. Such waste results in mistakes which are often repeated and could have an effect on the overall production. On a construction site having 100 labourers but just utilising 50 of them does have an effect on the speed as well as the cost of the project. The wastes listed above as per summarises the wastes which need to be eliminated when a company is moving towards lean thinking.
Figure 1.32 – Benefits of Lean Source - Jackson, T, L. and Jones, R, K (1996)
Lean helps in delivering more value to the client minimising the waste of resources and time as explained in figure 1.32. It helps improve the productivity of improving the overall planning and process. By minimizing wastes it reduces cost which results in quality improvement. By adopting a pull system one understands its client needs and reduces the waste from inventory. It not only helps deliver products and services within the estimates but also helps improve its quality.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 2.0 Case Study of a Design Office The author of this report worked at LAB design studio post his graduation and had been a part of the design studio for a year before pursuing his ambitions to do a masters degree. Having come across many problems that the company and its individuals have dealt with; the author decides to take up as a case study for his university report to highlight the company’s internal and external problems; critically analyze and offer solutions for lean thinking.
2.1 Company’s Background The study in this report deals with a small size design office (15 members) newly established and is named LAB design studio. The company is located in India and the country still has a traditional approach in construction projects. The architect is the head of the project and all decisions are taken by the architect/design studio in the best interest of the client. The role of the project manager in most cases is handled by the design company itself and in this scenario it was handled by LAB design studio. They were the head architects as well as the project managing company for all its architectural and interior projects. The organization is based in Mumbai and works on various types of projects ranging from housing, educational, hospitality and health care. The office is headed by an individual and all staff work in teams under the head. Each project has a head and a set of members who work together as a team; however different individuals from different projects may be working as a team on another project as well.
2.2 Problem Identification In the construction industry all teams and organizations go through multiple problems which lead to the delay in projects. There are a lot of factors which need to be taken into consideration while carrying on a construction project and overlooking a single factor may be disastrous. A detailed risk analysis needs to be carried out and one must make sure that the project is delivered on track and on time. Having a lean approach on a project leads to an overall success and big companies like Toyota have applied a lean philosophy from the time it was established which has taken the company to new heights. To understand the application of lean one must first understand the problems that a company faces. In a design studio like LAB one must understand that the traditional process makes them the head of the project and the contractor deals with this organization for all the inputs. Any problem that is not identified by the design company could be dreadful for the project and may question its completion. In his one year of experience with the company the author identifies a few problems that have been commonly noticed in most of the projects he has worked on and he summarizes it in two categories; i.e. the external and the internal problems. External problems arise due to factors affecting the project from the outside such as the economy (price rise) where as internal problems arise due to the inside problems of the company mainly due to poor management and overlooking the details into the project.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 2.2.1 External Problems There are a number of factors which result in the delay of a construction project and the most common external factors which the author notices during his tenure of work are listed below. 1. Approvals and Sanctions from Governing Bodies – In any construction project one needs to make sure that before a project commences all necessary approvals are taken before the start of the project. A delay or clearance from any governing body may lead to multiple failures in project deadlines and may result in the project coming to a halt if all permissions are not in place. 2. Decision Making – The lack of decision making is the most common aspect that results in time delay. Decisions do take time when various organizations are involved and internal conflicts does delay the process of decision making. Sometimes the client does take a few decisions once the project is started which are not accounted for. Unexpected delay in time schedule and making new alternatives also result in time delay. 3. Supply Chain Failures – One of the major delays that affect any project is due to the failure of procuring the materials on site, on time. A delay in supply of materials time and again leads to delay in projects and shifting the deadlines. 4. Inflation – Delay in projects sometimes leads to price rise and overall rise of the project economy. Projects which have a crunch budget are highly affected by the price rise. In case of inflation the project materials may need to be substituted by cheaper raw materials which results in reworking the estimation and detail specification.
2.2.2 Internal Problems Poor management skill is the main area of concern which leads to the internal problems within an organization. The lack of management skills not only affects the organization but also the way it functions. Management is something which needs to be handled affectively for the welfare of the staff as well as its clients for an organization to work effortlessly. Some of the problems which can be noticed within the design office are listed below. 1. Lack of Creativity and Innovated Solution – It is commonly noticed that design offices do not have time to do creative designs as most of the time goes into waiting for approvals after which there is no time to develop better solutions. One of the main reasons cited is that the client keeps altering the brief, the constant requirements which do make the preparation of workshop drawings troublesome. Minute details may be overlooked and as a result problems overseen may lead to delay in project. 2. Time Management – The design studio has multiple teams and each team is project based. Team member of different teams may be working together on another project forming another team altogether. As a result one can notice that the allocation of tasks are not effective in the office, as some of them are sometimes overloaded whilst others are almost without anything to do.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 3. On Site Management – a. It is often seen that there is a lot of wastage on site especially in the interior projects. The completion deadline is close and to finish work within the deadlines the contractor calls for materials on site; it is only during the finishing touches are being done and the site is being cleaned up it is noticed that there is a lot of additional materials which could have been utilized and the wastage could have been minimized. Special care needs to be taken because the budget of the project if effected because of this failure. b. Across many projects one does see that a lot of time is actually spent by labor just transporting from one part of the site to the other. In architectural projects where sites are large and quantity of materials multiplies considerably such a waste could result in delay of the projects and cost escalation. 4. Lack of Co-ordination – this is the most common and the most important aspect of all projects. A lack of co-ordination between the organizations involved leads to a lot of conflicts on site. There are often a lot of complains from the site that the drawings sent from different consultants do not match and as a result work needs to be stopped until the problem is solved. If it is carried out without the knowledge of the defects it could lead to some serious issues and the work carried out might have to be redone.
Figure 2.21 – Type of Waste produced due to Problems
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 3.0 Solution Identification The need for LAB to adapt to lean philosophy needs various implementations. As seen in figure 2.21 we could see the waste produced by the design firm with respect to the wastes produced in lean manufacturing. To understand the same we shall first discuss the solutions to tackle each waste and then apply the same philosophy with the design firm. There are mainly two sets of issues; external and internal. The external issues deal with wastes such as overproduction, over processing, waiting and unutilized skills where as the internal issues deal with inventory, motion transportation and waiting. To overcome such issues one must follow the lean principles applied by Toyota (Liker and Franz, 2011) . •
There is a need to “Level out the workload” (TPS, Principle 4) Overburdening individuals with work brings unevenness. By standardizing the work output we would be leveled and the quality would not have to be compromised. It is seen that due to delay in approvals and sanctions on government authorities it is often the employee who has to suffer and overwork so that work could start on site as soon as possible. Such overburden is also seen when there is a lack in decision making. This often leads to lack of creativity and if there are supply chain failures then the workers on site would also be made to work further. Standardizing the work and using a Last Planner System would not only standardize the work but also help in eliminating waste of overproduction and over processing.
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The need to standardize tasks. “Standardized tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee empowerment” (TPS Principle 6) In order to improve quality it is crucial that the work is standardized. Standardizing the work exhibits the sequence of doing work, its duration as well as the resources required for the work. It would mainly help in avoiding supply chain failures which in turn would prevent project delays and inflation costs. The waiting time which is the maximum waste in terms of construction industry would be reduced as each activity would be given same priority and lack of creativity and innovative solutions would not have to be compromised with.
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Implementing the 5 Step (5s) Plan “Use visual control so that no problems are hidden” (TPS Principle 7) A lot of waste is generated on site as well as offsite because of not having a visual organization. Implementing the 5S strategy will help the teams as well as the site remain organized. It would restrain the site from ordering extra materials and also prevent the studio from unnecessary expenses of utilizing resources (ex. additional printing).
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 •
The need to “Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy” (TPS Principle 10) LAB follows a policy of making new teams for new projects. This does create an opportunity to work with different people but also has issues with people understanding one another. This results in conflicts within teams and often over burden of work from some individuals who are working in more teams or have close deadlines for their projects. Developing the existing teams and members within each team would help the teams work more efficiently and effectively.
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Understanding the client This is the most important factor for all design projects. Understanding the client and his needs would lead to a success project. A majority of projects face trouble during the implementation stage as the client keeps changing the brief. As designers there should be flexibility in design and decisions once takes should be implemented rapidly. This would save time as well as the cost of the client and help the over production of work from the studio. This explains TPS Principle 13 “Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement decisions rapidly” (PDCA).
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Need for technology. “Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and processes” (TPS Principle 8) The use of new and improved technology like BIM does help manage construction project. It helps improve co-ordination between different organizations and work on site can be carried out efficiently. The conflicts in drawings between different organizations can be solved much before the project is being implemented on site which helps save defects, rework and the extra expense cause. The use of BIM has been proven and tested by various organizations and it is suggested that it be implemented in all construction projects.
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Need to develop a learning environment. “Become a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous improvement” (TPS Principle 14) Many defects are caused on site and sometimes there are a few issues which are always faced on every site. There is a need to learn from these mistakes. This helps in saving the rework caused on site which would save material cost and labor time. Becoming a learning organization could be dealt in many ways; providing training to employees would be beneficial for the company, the employees as well as the client. Lean Thinking emphasises on continuous learning and improvement. Hence one must understand that the implementation of all the above principles may help in achieving lean but the philosophy can only be adopted when there is continuous improvement as well as evolution towards thinking Lean.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 4.0 Implementation This section deals with the implementation of lean philosophy to the design studio. The organization being a shallow-wide organization can apply lean effectively and quickly using the various approaches as discussed in this section. Figure 4.01 explains the solutions proposed by the author to adapt to lean philosophy with respect to the lean principles adapted by Toyota.
Figure 4.01 – Solutions Proposed for LAB after Problem Identification
Implementing lean philosophy is not as easy as it appears. One of the most important criteria for implementing lean is teamwork. The TPS is based on Toyotas long term philosophy and the adaptation of lean has sowed the seeds for Toyota from its early days. Toyota believes in growth of individual of the company and its people; they do not believe in getting things done but make the workers think as to why it’s done in that way. It is the thinking of Toyota that drives the company to success and implementing lean from its core (Alarcon, L. 1997). In the same way LAB first needs to sow their seeds and believe in lean. Lean cannot be implemented in parts, for the overall success the company needs to continuously evolve to adapt a lean philosophy. There are various benefits of implementing lean and would help the contractors dealing with the company as well as the clients happy as it would save time and cost which is most essential aspect of all projects (Morledge et al., 2006). Further chapters discuss the methods in which lean could be implemented in LAB design studio and help the company deal with the external and the internal problems.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 4.1 Last Planner System (LPS) LAB being an architectural firm likes to manage their projects on its own so that they can tasks the plan accordingly. But what is seen as a positive aspect results in failures as there is no systematic planning and sometimes people are occupied with a lot of work at the same instance. Last Planner System impacts the way each project is handled and the system could also be helpful for individuals managing different projects at the same time. The use of this technique demonstrates the flow of work and the unpredictability in construction (Ballard, 2000). In the LPS a team as well as the individuals is responsible for the planning of tasks; this results in improvements in schedule when compared to the work output (Salem et al, 2005). The LPS should be done in different levels (Howell, 1999) as seen in figure 4.11.
Figure 4.11 – The Last Planner Schedule Source – Howell, 1999
The Master Schedule – This schedule describes the overall planning of the project and mentions the major phases. It gives the project a timeline as well as a time schedule for each stage. There should be buffer provided between each stage as a precautionary measure. Each process is given importance and will help eliminate over processing in each stage.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 Look Ahead Planning – This stage is generally done to monitor the work flow in phases on a basis of 4-6 weeks before the construction activity commences. Each action to be carried out in this process is determined by the senior employees who have experience. This stage uses the tasks mentioned in the master schedule and details of that phase is worked out. This would determine the task that has to be done in the time frame allotted. This results in focussing on tasks that have a high possibility of uncertainty and can be dealt with successfully (Junior et. al, 1998). The time frame for each phase depends on the criticality of the phase. Since LAB is an architectural firm more emphasis is given to the design stage so that call possibilities could be worked out and also for the necessary approvals required for each proposal. As a result more time could be scheduled for this stage compared to others. This stage of planning helps to form a sequence of work and measure its capacity. It helps in determining the backlog of work if any. From this phase it can be understood if the time allotted for the work in sufficient or not; if not then the planning could be revised and nee improved schedule could be prepared (Ballard and Howell, 2003). Weekly Work Planning – This stage is worked out on the basis of the look-ahead plan. It details the work plan and helps in knowing the activities to be carried out on site each week for the workers. This stage is updated on a weekly basis. It also helps in reviewing the weeks work if completed or not. If the work has not been completed relevant reasons can be noted down and the tasks could be rescheduled for the following week. Figure 4.12 shows an example of a weekly work plan and could be altered as per individuals need. For LAB every individual should make a weekly work plan for himself/herself. This would help an individual know if there is overload of work in a particular week. The WWP would avoid over production of work from individuals as each of them work in different teams and different projects. If an individual is occupied with some another project in a particular week then less work could be handled by that individual in that particular week. This schedule will not only be helpful for individuals but also help teams for better efficiency.
Figure 4.12 – Sample Weekly Work Plan Source – Lecture Notes, University of Salford
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 There is a need to measure PPC (Percent Plan Complete) to understand the work accomplished. It helps determine the level of work completed to the level of work scheduled. The work which is incomplete is mentioned in the PPC along with the reasons and the tasks left out could be rescheduled.
4.2 Work Standardization In order to improve quality it is important to standardize. Standardization of work is the sequence in which work has to be done; the duration in which it has to be done and the resources required for the work to be done (Liker, 2004). Categorization of work in companies could be categorized into three types. Routine nature is the task which is repeatable; a Non Routine nature is a task which is to be done differently to achieve a result and Ancillary task is one which is irregular (Feng and Ballard, 2004). Standardization of work deals with an approach to identify the best task and make it a routine. To apply work standardization tasks must be identified as critical tasks, the important tasks and the task of least importance. The critical tasks must be identified and the company should approach the best routine procedure for those tasks. The actions and processes to handle these tasks must be standardized to increase stability and improve the outcome. The important tasks may have a few variations but still be standardized to some extent as it could have an effect on the work. The work categorized as least important shall not be given great importance as it would not affect the work but it should still undergo continuous improvement. Errors do happen and when there are faults in standardized work procedures then there is a need to relook at the standardized process and new procedures must be adapted.
4.3 Five Step (5S) Plan The adaptation of the 5S Plan helps improve operations and would make LAB very organized. It would reduce inventory and avoid contractors from ordering excess material on site once visual order is maintained by implementing this strategy. No problems can be hidden as everything is clearly visible and they can be detected at early stages (Salem et. al, 2006). Implementing the 5S is done on the basis of the five S as seen in figure 4.31. Sort – It deals with keeping the necessary things that are needed while discarding the rest. Set in Order – Things should be placed where they belong so that it can be easily found (for example - dedicated location for storage of material on site).
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 Shine – Things should be clean so that it can be easily found. The unnecessary things which are found generally lead to untidiness and occupy space and keeping things clean makes inspection easier. This could be related to off-site activities as well. In design offices it is commonly seen individuals struggling to find drawings which are sent on site and one must use this approach to set things in order. Standardize – This deals with a system to evolved to maintain and monitor the first three S. Sustain – To maintain a workplace that is stable and an ongoing process that is continuously evolving.
Figure 4.31 – Five Step Plan Source - Brady Worldwide Inc., 2008
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 4.4 Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) As the topic suggests this is a four step process which deals with planning-doing-checking and then finally act (see figure 4.41). This process could be applied to all stages of the process.
Figure 4.41 – PDCA cycle Source – Liker, 2004
Plan – It is to first analyze the problems and the find solutions. If some work is not completed when the work is dedicated in the LPS then PDCA system can be applied. While the planning is being done all options need to be considered and the best needs to be applied. Do – The changes that are proposed to solve the issues are first considered on a small scale before being implemented. This could be also known as the testing stage as the small scale implementation is to verify if it could be an applied solution or not. Check – This step is to check the previous stage. Satisfied results from the last stage makes way for the next stage. It is to check if the solution proposed is the best or not. Act – Once all stages are verified and the best suitable option is selected it is implemented rapidly on large scale. It involves the company as well as the people who would be affected by these changes. In case of construction any changes carried out may involve all organizations, client and contractor. This cycle is necessary for continuous improvement.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 In case of LAB new techniques could be first implemented within a team and if a satisfied result is achieved then it could be transferred and applied by all teams.
4.5 Understanding the Client Most of the design changes occur because of the client changing the briefs and failure to understand the same by the organizations involved. To meet all requirements it is necessary that regular meeting are held between them so that more information can be extracted and rework could be avoided. It is necessary that the design studio takes in inputs from the client at all levels so that it increases the value for the client and keeps him satisfied (Forbes and Ahmed, 2011). It is also necessary for the client to understand that once a project is being implemented on site it should not be reworked. It would take a lot of time and also be uneconomical. From the designer view multiple options should be made available for the client to select so that he could have a varied vision. There should be some flexibility in terms of design so that the client can alter a few things which would not affect the project planning and cost. As the client does not have the tools and knowledge to design the innovative designs will be pushed for his understanding but that is developed out of the information pulled from him. It would require some over processing in this phase but it would deal with the critical aspect of the project as it would later avoid the alterations.
4.6 Use of BIM (Building Information Modelling) The use of technology in construction has evolved in the recent years and the application of it has been very helpful to the industry. The use of BIM helps in communicating effectively as well as better co-ordination on/off-site. BIM and Lean draw various similarities. The goal to use BIM and Lean is to minimize waste and increase the value of the product. The use of BIM helps in clash detection of various organizations (ex. MEP drawings with HVAC or fire fighting) at early stages of a project. It saves labor and cost. Use of technology helps in collaboration between teams from different organizations working on the same project. They provide a 3d visualization of space and also help in determining the cost of the project (Crotty 2012). BIM helps in continuously evolving the design keeping all factors and aspects of the project in mind. It helps develop sustainable design and gives great insights to the design as well as the build ability of the project. The use of BIM has been widely accepted by most of the construction companies and designers are using the same to continuously evolve and experiment with the same (Smith D. and Tardif M. 2009).
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 5.0 Sustain Lean Construction From early stages of implementing lean there is a need for training to develop the understanding for the employees. They must understand the benefits of lean and the challenges the company would face. Liker (2004) proposed that training for lean should be only 20% where as the rest should be implemented by actually doing it; lean cannot be implemented without practicing the act of doing. Most companies seeing a significant improvement after implementing lean move back to the old techniques. This results in failure for implementation and the management needs to be made aware that in order to achieve lean they must learn to sustain the same. By moving back to old systems delays the process and brings the company back to the same position where it had started (Sturdevant, 2014). Various strategies should be developed in order to sustain lean. It should be understood that adapting lean is a journey of constant improvement and the implementation of LEAN will not affect the company in a fortnight. It is a long term philosophy and to achieve lean the seeds should be sowed right to the foundation. Lean philosophy can only be achieved by thinking lean. All organizations working with the company must be made aware of its benefits and organizations must help each other in implementing lean philosophy.
5.1 Kaizen Methodology The term Kaizen is a Japanese word which means “change for the better� and collectively means continuous improvement. Implementing Lean should be adopted by the company and all individuals working in it. It is the pillar of lean philosophy. It focuses on two basic needs – Kaizen emphasizes on reduction of waste where as Flow Kaizen focuses on value streaming. Considering the improvements a company would have and the growth in the performance of everyone as a whole could be the soul and sole reason for implementing lean. It helps standardize procedures and elimination of waste. By adapting lean we reduce the time frame of projects and save some additional costs by avoiding rework and eliminating unneeded processes. Lean is a philosophy that helps in eliminating waste and increasing the product value, by eliminating unecessary processes you do add value to the product. Lean can be evolved and can be implemented in any field. The Toyota developed TPS on its own experience and implemented it which makes them so successful. They did not eye short term goals and beleived in continuous improvement keeping it in mind as a long term philosophy. Construction can be seen as a manufacturing process as it draws various similarities and implementing the TPS in the organization is beneficial.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 6.0 Recommendations In order to implement Lean in LAB design studio Lean theories and contribution of Toyota to lean philosophy plays a vital role. Using the TPS theories does not mean that LAB applies the application of these theories literally. They must first review all options and find the best way in which unnecessary processes can be reduced. The studio can use the production theories to reduce waste but the application of these must be done with respect to the construction industry. All conceived projects may not see the light of the day. The main reasons may involve technology and cost. It is necessary to use and develop technology for the benefit of reducing waste and increasing the value with an eye to reduce the overall cost. Management of sites are as important as managing the off-site activities and functional areas. If the management offsite is not coordinated well then it will have an impact on site. For overall performance improvement the company must find innovative ways and techniques to implement and follow lean. Use of skilled and experienced professions must be taken while implementing lean. Lean is a long term philosophy and would not reflect in short term benefits. Lean can only reflect the benefits in long term with the support of the management and staff. For LAB lean philosophy needs to be understood by the senior as well as the junior members in the team; together they must make the people associated with them understand the philosophy and benefits of lean and help them implement it in order to achieve better results. Lean deals with selecting the right people for the right work and following this philosophy will take the company to greater heights. The human resource management plays a vital role in the selection of members in the organization so that they can make the new employees understand the philosophy of the company and select the right people. With LAB being a small office, does not have any
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 7.0 Conclusion This report dealt with an understanding of lean. It focused on the internal and external problems faced by LAB design studio where the author has worked earlier and then finding out solutions to reduce these problems using the TPS. The assignment draws parallel to the manufacturing industry and the implementation of Lean philosophy into the construction industry. Multiple principles were proposed in which Lean philosophy could be proposed in LAB to tackle their problems. The only problem while implementing lean would be to not look at short term goals. A company would benefit in the long run and helping organizations that work with it implementing lean would not only make the process easier but also prove more beneficial. The benefits of implementing lean are intangible. The projects would be executed on time and budget increasing the overall value for the client making him feel satisfied. The duration of projects and cost overruns, which are the general problems in all construction projects would reduce if the above mentioned principles are followed. The use of appropriate tools and technology would help LAB in better coordination between organizations as well as onsite and offsite activities. The problems would be identified in the earlier stages and ways to tackle them could be implemented, thus saving time, money and rework. By continuous implementation and long term planning lean has intangible benefits; personal growth of individuals as well as the business performance of the company is certain.
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 8.0 References - L. Alarcon (1997) Lean Construction A.A. Balkema Publishers, Netherlands - R. Crotty (2012) The Impact of Building Information Modelling – Transforming Construction Taylor and Francis Group, USA - G. Ballard and G.A. Howell (2004) Competing Construction Management Paradigms Lean Construction Journal, 1(1), 38-45 - G. Ballard (1993) Lean Construction and EPC Performance Improvement IGLC-1, 1997, Balkema - G. Ballard (1994) The Last Planner Northern California Construction Institute, Monterey - G. Ballard (1997) Lookahead Planning : the Missing Link in Production Control IGLC, 1997, Gold Coast (Australia) - G. Ballard (2007) The Lean Project Delivery System : An Update Lean Construction Journal, 2(2), 22-50 - Brady Worldwide Inc. (2008) 5S / Visual Workplace Handbook 2014 from http://www.bradyid.com.sg/enRetrieved on April 12th, sg/products/~/media/brady/apac/singapore/Catalogues/workplace%20safety/Brady%205S%20V isual%20Workplace%20Handbook.pdf - DEFRA (2012) Waste and its affect on Environment Retrieved on March 15th, 2014 from http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/files/20110617-wastedata-overview.pdf/ - EPD (2011) Introduction to Construction Waste Retrieved on March 8th, 2014 from http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/misc/cdm/introduction.htm - P.P. Feng and G. Ballard (2007) Standard Work from a Lean Theory Perspective Journal of Management in Engineering - L.H. Forbes and S.M. Ahmed (2011) Modern Construction : Lean Project Delivery and Integrated Practices. Taylor and Francis Group, USA - GoLeanSixSigma (2014) The Basics of Lean Six Sigma : The 8 Wastes Retrieved on March 23rd, 2014 from http://www.goleansixsigma.com/8-wastes/ - L. Koskela and G.A. Howell (2000) Reforming Project management : The Role of Lean IGLC, 2000, Brighton (UK)
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 - T. Jackson and R.K. Jones (1996) Implementing a Lean Management System Productivity Press, Portland Or. (USA) - J. Junior, A. Scola and A.S.I Conte (2003) Last Planner Operations Tool Proceeding IGLC, 1998, Brazil - L. Koskela (2000) An Exploration towards a Production Theory in its Application to Construction. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland - L. Koskela and G.A. Howell (2002) The Underlying theory of Project Management is obsolete Project Management Institute - L. Koskela, A. Tezel and P. Tzortzopoulos (2010) Visual Management In Construction SCRI Research Report (3), March 2010 - J.K. Liker (2004) The Toyota Way – 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer. McGraw-Hill Companies, New York (USA) - J.K. Liker and J.F. Franz (2011) The Toyota Way to Continuous Improvement McGraw-Hill Companies, New York (USA) - R. Morledge, A. Smith, D. Kashiwagi (2006) Building Procurement Blackwell Scientific Publications Ltd., Oxford (UK) - O. Salem, A. Genaidy, M. Luegring (2005) Site Implementation and Assessment of Lean Construction Techniques. Lean Construction Journal, 2(2), 1-58 - D. Smith and M. Tardif (2009) Building Information Modelling – a strategic implementation guide for Architects, Engineers, Constructors and Real Estate Managers John Wiley and Sons Inc., United States of America - J.P. Womack and D.T. Jones (2003) Lean Thinking: Banish waste and create wealth in your corporation (2nd Edition). Simon & Schuster UK Ltd., London (UK) - UKGBC (2014) Waste Retrieved on March 22nd, 2014 from http://www.ukgbc.org/content/waste - University of Salford (2014) Lecture Notes Week 9 Lean Implementation, Blackboard - University of Salford (2014) Learning Package 4 Continuous Improvement, Blackboard - University of Salford (2014) Learning Package 6 Implementing Lean, Blackboard
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Lean Integrated Design and Construction 2014 9.0 Appendix – Problems Vs Solution Identification
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