2018Case18Exyte

66 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2018 Figure 3. Weekly Look Ahead. Once the Pull sessions are compiled on the tag boards and vPlanner®, the LPS team members have a daily meeting to discuss “yesterday’s performance versus today’s goals”. The team is made aware of goals that were achieved and those activities that were missed. The reasons why the activity was missed is recorded by the Last Planner and LPS team members on a daily basis. This information is then collated and a series of performance/variance on “actual versus percentage project complete” reports are distributed to the entire team. Variance reports are detailed reports that allow everyone to see the exact reason why a planned activity was not completed on the date it was committed to be completed. The reports are then issued as weekly “Management Information” to all senior management teams and respective subcontractor team leads. The variance report and the impacted work-fronts are the first topic of discussion on the Monday of the following week. Immediate mitigation is sought to recover lost time whilst not losing focus on the scope of work that was planned for the current week. Often the subject of reforecasting will arise, and this would demonstrate a poor approach to the initial plan and subsequent change of approach to execute the remaining scope in the areas planned for. Impacts & Outcomes of the Last Planner® System on Exyte Projects The complexities around implementing Lean and LPS in the construction industry are quite different to other sectors. In the case of the manufacturing industry the suppliers are usually selected quite early, they are then utilised based on the necessary strategic advantages. Reliable flow of the product that is manufactured is hence assured. On the other hand, in the case of construction projects it is seen that the projects are usually quite complex. The systems that are involved are very dynamic and heavily integrated in delivery, and, although a plan is in place, it becomes necessary for that plan to be adjusted based on some of the parameters and constraints at site or within the supply chain. These differences have to be taken into account when the Lean production process is applied to construction. It is this very complexity that warrants the need for a construction technique that will be efficient for the worksite. LPS is such a Lean construction technique, and as such incorporates the benefits of Lean Construction methodology – “Last Planner is part of a new production management system for one-of f project-based product ion such as that in construction and design. This business strategy allows project managers to significantly improve productivity and client/end- user satisfaction when compared to the equally consistent old way of doing business”. As with every type of fundamental change to the way an organisation delivers its projects, LPS was a challenging concept for the Exyte project teams to accept wi th immediate enthusiasm. Therefore, it became very apparent early on that coaching, handholding, and systematic Pull sessions must be structured to ensure each Last Planner believed they were enabled. Also, LPS is not there to replace current CPM progress methods , but rather to complement them and to al ter stakeholder mindsets into starting a Pull session with an end result in mind and then working collectively to achieve that result through the agreed sequence. The application of Lean principles and methodologies in Exyte, and increasingly across the wider construction sector, are now well-communicated and implementation is becoming widespread. Other industries that use Lean in their delivery models are showing positive results and are reaping rewards which may seem alarming, but which are entirely realistic if the model is unilateral in approach. Lean practitioners ranked Lean project delivery benefits as follows in a 2013 McGraw Hill Construction survey: 1.Improved safety. 2.Greater customer satisfaction. 3.Higher quality of construction. 4.Reduced project schedule. 5.Greater productivity. 6.Reduced costs. 7.Better risk management. The industry cannot maintain the approach of “it will do” and expect improved results. Early adopters to Lean project delivery have started their journeys and hold a competitive advantage and a track record of better project outcomes. A commitment to continuous and shared learning will improve the industry with added value and reduced waste. The benefits of Lean design and construction are proven, but this new way of operating is not without challenges. Cultural change is probably at the core of s low adopt ion wi thin companies and organisations. Change is difficult and there really needs to be a commitment at leadership level. However, frustration with traditional project delivery methodologies suggests this is a perfect time for change. Exyte’s use of Lean and LPS on this project had a surprising by-product. It enhanced safety culture onsite so much that the goal of zero incidents was reached – safety being something Exyte track constantly and regard as the first priority in delivering successful projects worldwide. The major benefit of all Lean project delivery methods is to cut down on overall project waste (time, effort, information, cost, quality), and LPS does seem to involve a lot of effort to essentially organise a team of professionals who, one could argue, should already be well aware of the scope and individual deliverables. But Exyte believe that the upfront effort and time afforded to the phased Pull sessions provide much less wastage in the latter stages of the project when often the deliverables are overlapped and work- fronts are congested. An unforeseen impact of this type of Lean approach is that often it is seen as an additional function to the daily site meetings when in actual fact it should replace the need to have multiple meetings, and the more Pull sessions that are held the more every Last Planner becomes aware of their deliverables on a daily basis. Finally, investment of time and resources are required from both client and contractor if the LPS concept is to be truly successful on a project. The overall outcome Exyte seeks from each LPS session is the improvement of the PPC. The values indicate that the project performance improved with time. This improvement was noted after LPS was implemented in Phases 1 and 2 of the projects. The case study hence indicates that the LPS is able to improve efficiency in productivity. In improving project management processes by means of individually planned phases and look ahead weeks, it also helps reduce the stress on project managers and hence is vital to construction project management. It should be noted that LPS does not focus on the issues from a unilateral angle but rather it takes into account a multitude of factors , thereby improving the processes . Al so the documentation of events and processes has greatly improved the accountability on projects. LEAN INITIATIVE IMPROVEMENTS & IMPACT