2018Case19GRAHAM

70 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2018 transferred to our Highways England Knowledge Bank, Lean Tracker, and Efficiency Register. The learnings will also be transferred to the M40, another Highways England scheme, and wi l l form par t of a joint award for the suppl ier recognition awards. Areas of Improvement include: • Cost Savings – GBP£560k saved to-date • Collaboration – Improved relationships with the Client and designer • Reduct ion in Paper – Blanket Temporary Traf f ic Regulation Orders and Risk Assessment Methods • Del ivery Conf idence – Al though some programme milestone dates have slipped, many have been pulled forward and reduced giving GRAHAM full delivery confidence • Mapped meeting structure • Mature the process and repeat planning sessions • Made the Collaborative Plan Mobile • Root cause analysis on non-delivery • Explored potential to compress the schedule. The Lean ini t iat ive has al ready highl ighted clear opportunities and unexpected challenges. There is growing recognition of the need to review and improve company culture and build greater collaborative partnerships within the supply chain. Engagement of clients, partners, and suppliers in collaborative planning and/or the adoption of LPS has introduced a different mindset, and the GRAHAM Lean journey is very much under way. Project 2: Building Business – Lean Integrated Project Delivery and Last Planner® System The adoption of a full Lean IPD approach by the Client on this project is believed to be the first of its kind in the UK. The seven essential tools resulted in many benefits. Conditions of Satisfaction Sharing the Client’s CoS provided clarity about customer expectations for project delivery performance and the means by which to visibly and openly measure and report ongoing “current status” in the Big Room collaborative space. By openly declaring, tracking, and sharing the CoS, the project team was able to take immediate action where necessary. Two of the Client’s CoS for this project are: • Meet cost target: USD$50M budget for everything • Meet schedule: Linked to regulatory requirements Integrated Form of Agreement (IFOA) The IFOA contract is being used on this project, potentially for the first time in the U.K. Due to the timing of its introduction and the ongoing duration of the project into 2021, evidence of the benefits gained are still too early to capture or report. Collaborative Design & Scoping (CDS) By adopting collaborative working, the team was able to validate schedule milestones, identify design improvements and identify work processes where additional Lean IPD activity could add value. When capturing the Plus/Delta feedback, it was not uncommon to learn that many of the sub-contractors had never been involved in the design activity before and how much pleasure they gained from doing so. Big Room The Big Room shared space enables open communication and has already highlighted OFIs in terms of more efficient workflow and opportunities to reduce Lean waste, including potential rework. The shared space also enables visual management including space for visual tracking of key information such as the CoS, cost projections, schedules, and site drawings. Further benefit has been gained through increased collaboration by enabling access to digital tools such as BIM, conferencing, and internet access. Collaborative Planning A benefit captured on Project 2 was the realisation by the project team that a task is not complete (‘done’) until the customer of that action is content (‘done done’). Although this took time to embed, the project team are now used to these terms , to being chal lenged about commi tment completion, and understanding what is now expected in terms of delivering on original promises. The value of the PPK process is now more widely accepted as a method to deliver significant performance improvements to a project in isolation of any other best practices. The project has only recently started the construction phase so further benefits are yet to be realised; however, in advance of delivering benefits on their own construction project, the GRAHAM team has identified a number of lessons learned: • If there is a true desire to improve the current status and this desire is supported by the stakeholder team managers, then significant improvements in revenue and time can be accessed simply by engaging everyone involved and seeking ways to improve processes and systems of work. • If the team can’t agree on the problem, how on earth will they ever agree on the solution. Co-locating the full project team will speed up communication and decision-making. • Without focus on continuous flow, errors cannot be caught or dealt with quickly because if they occur they tend to be hidden from plain sight. • As this is a process involving humans, it would traditionally be up to one person to decide what is prioritised first. Through collaboration, combined learning and knowledge can be used to add wisdom to the decision-making process. • In construction, re-work is almost expected as the norm. What can we do to minimise this waste? • A common and shared Lean strategy is needed across all GRAHAM business units. • For Lean to be sustainable, standard procedures and standard operations need to be identified and documented. • Sceptics will and do exist. Ensuring effective knowledge transfer to senior management and employees across the group is important once further benefits have been achieved and documented. • GRAHAM recognises that it needs to communicate the “why” of Lean as well as the “what” and the “how”. Everyone will need to understand why the new approach is necessary and that a continuous improvement mindset must become the norm.