2019Case10CollenConstruction

41 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2019 approval of information at early stages. With lead-in times onsite being reduced, there is not always time to put the necessary controls in place to ensure information is correct by the time it gets to the construction phase. This was an element Collen were keen to get right from the start. The Col len team are very fami l iar wi th cloud-based platforms for integrated document control and transmission. The software Col len employ is “Viewpoint” (formerly “4Projects”) which is similar to several other software systems on the market in recent years. This platform facilitated full and coherent collaboration with all key stakeholders in the process. It encouraged transparency towards critical project deliverables for all stakeholders, and, as a highly configurable platform, was amended to meet specific project demands, requirements, and constraints. The platform promoted efficiency with correct information retrieval, succession, and validation. It also drove consistency in quality protocols and standards. Ultimately, Viewpoint removed duplication and created transparency right through the project from feasibility through to commissioning and validation. The most difficult barrier was to onboard all key stakeholders to trust the system and share information through it rather than reverting to traditional outlook emails for sharing of information. Our Design Manager on the project, along with the entire Collen team, consistently encouraged the use of Viewpoint and assisted any stakeholder who was unsure of how to use the system. Figure 2. Collaboration Makes the Difference at Collen Construction Full training was carried out with each stakeholder by our Document Controller on the file structure, namely, how to retrieve, upload, and amend information on the platform. As the majority of our subcontractors work across all projects, this training proved invaluable and increased usage of Viewpoint was witnessed across all projects. Once we had al l stakeholders on board, the natural progression was to integrate our Pre-Construction Services with the Lean approach in mind and examine how we could maximise value whilst minimising waste. Communication Communication is key to the success of Lean Construction. From the des ign stage, Col len ensured open l ines of communication between all stakeholders, ensuring issues were mitigated prior to them arising onsite. Weekly Lean/Design Team meetings were held onsite, and, once the design was developed enough, our first LPS session was held onsite. This involved all key stakeholders and was one of the most beneficial meetings on our project schedule. Key milestones were set which allowed Collen and all other stakeholders to clearly identify critical times onsite and mitigate and plan for any issues that may arise. The session also gave ownership to all stakeholders of their key dates and commitments. BIM As part of the Lean initiative, Collen has fully embraced the BIM process and embedded it into every aspect of our daily activities. At a pre-planning/design stage, we have found BIM to be the last word from a visualisation perspective to clash detection. It is imperative that subcontractors are engaged from an early stage to ensure they are fully BIM-compliant and understand the importance of the process. Our trusted list of BIM-compliant subcontractors is paramount to the success of full BIM implementation on any project. Figure 3. BIM at the Gemba Coalface Housekeeping & 5S Collen Construction prides itself on its strong approach to housekeeping onsite, and all materials must be stored correctly. This in turn avoids incidents, materials being damaged, and loss of control of materials onsite. It has also assisted Collen in reducing slips, trip, and falls onsite, and improved Safety across all projects. The 5S approach has brought housekeeping to the next level onsite and assisted our operations team greatly with the standardised approach it offers. Preplanning/Forecasting Weekly des ign team meet ings were held to al low al l stakeholders to review current works onsite and compile 4, 8, and 12 week lookahead to identify and mitigate against any issues and solve them before they affected the programme. A monthly pull planning session was held to review previous lookahead and plan for the next 4, 8 and 12 weeks. This system proved invaluable as subcontractors felt there was more transparency and ownership of the project than under the traditional siloed approach. Eliminate Waste The key objective was to eliminate waste in processes, materials, and time from pre-construction through to practical completion. All stages of construction were fully designed in BIM prior to the build commencing onsite. All models were coordinated and federated by the inhouse Collen BIM team. Weekly BIM coordination/design meetings were held onsite where all parties would interrogate the models to ensure they were advanced. The Logistics Manager attended all meetings to ensure the logistics schedule al igned with the 4, 8 and 12 week lookahead. Lookahead lead-in items were highlighted early, and progress updates were reported monthly at the pull planning meetings.