2018Case2Ardmac

14 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2018 Case 2 – Ardmac Ardmac i s an internat ional construct ion special i st del iver ing complex high-value workspaces and technical envi ronments . Head- quartered in Dublin, and with offices in Manchester, Craigavon, and Brussels, Ardmac employ over 300 people and provide special i st construct ion services to the commercial fit-out, life sciences, and data centre sectors. Ardmac’s vision is to be “the contractor of choice for clients, and the workplace of choice for great people”. Ardmac’s mission is “to cons i stent ly provide the ul t imate solut ion for high value working environments through continuous investment in the best people, technology, and processes”. C O M P A N Y W E B S I T E OVERVIEW OF THE LEAN INITIATIVE The scope of the project where Ardmac commenced its Lean initiative was for its Client, MSD in Cork, covering 1,200 sq.m. and compr i s ing the demol i t ion of exi st ing cleanroom ceilings, partitions, and services, plus refit of the existing envelope to form new cleanroom systems including walk- on-ceilings, modular partitions, lights, terminal filter housings, floor finishes, doors wi th door automat ion, and f ixtures and f i tt ings . The Cl ient requested that Ardmac follow a Lean approach. LEAN INITIATIVE UNDERTAKEN – LEAN THINKING, TOOLS, TECHNIQUES www.ardmac.com AUTHOR Jason Casey This case describes the project planning practices prior to and following Lean implementation, an overview of LPS which used a pull-based approach to project scheduling, and the approach deployed by Ardmac. Traditional Project Planning Approach with Critical Path Method Before the adoption of LPS, Ardmac relied upon the Critical Path Method (CPM) to schedule projects. CPM scheduling seeks to identify crucial activities characterised by their impact on the project schedule. Ardmac found CPM to be very useful in enabling the development of high-level project schedules and managing high-risk activities on the critical path. The main benefits of CPM include: • Making dependencies visible between various project activities and clearly showing predecessors required to any given task. • Assisting in the planning of large-scale projects and facilitating a systematic approach to project planning. • Acting as a visual aid, which is a valuable tool when coordinating the various activities and assessing the impact of a delay and the impact of missed milestones. • Enabling the project manager to optimise efficiencies by allocating resources appropriately and consequently controlling the overall cost. • Providing opportunities to respond to the negative impact of running over schedule by identifying the activities that are most critical. The key limitations of CPM include: • The potential for integration of activities is not highlighted. • CPM does not seek to reduce the overall programme. • A team ethos is not promoted. • CPM is usually updated on a weekly basis and thus issues may not be identified in real time. • Tracking the performance against schedule is not included in the system and the percentage of tasks being completed on time not tracked. • Typical Percent Plan Complete (PPC), or task plan completion, is around 50%. MSD Project utilising the Last Planner® System for Project Scheduling and Management Ardmac was awarded the MSD project on the commitment of full participation in the Lean programme being deployed by the construction management team. Ardmac was aware that LPS was being implemented, however it did not have practical knowledge of the system. Initial research showed that LPS: • Is a scheduling control system for managing projects. BACKGROUND TO THE LEAN INITIATIVE Ardmac’s approach to Lean was born in response to Client demand and recurring issues at project level which were affecting performance and productivity levels. Tentative steps towards Lean were made following basic research and attendance at Lean conferences and workshops, including Lean Construction Ireland (LCi) events. The principles of Lean resonated with management, some of whom undertook further research and training, including Green Belt training. Thi s coincided wi th our involvement in a project implementing the Last Planner® System (LPS). From there, Lean practices and tools like LPS and 5S were piloted. The benefits were soon evident and triggered further expansion of Lean across various projects. Less than two years later, Lean is a key enabler to deliver Ardmac’s business strategy. Ardmac now utilise Lean across many sites in both the UK and Ireland. A key feature of this implementation has been the engagement of Lean practices by staff at all levels, which has led to a change in behaviours and the benefits of which are clearly evident across Ardmac. COMPANY OVERVIEW