2019Case17KirbyGroupEngineering

64 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2019 Case 17 – Kirby Group Engineering Founded in 1964, Ki rby i s a mechanical and electrical engineering contractor. The company operates in Ireland, the UK and Northern Europe, and directly employs over 850 highly- skilled employees. Kirby provides full mechanical and electrical contracting services as well as specialist high voltage (HV) and medium vol tage (MV) design and construction services to clients across a number of different sectors including Data Centres, Life Sciences, Industrial Manufacturing, Substations and Renewables, Power Generat ion, Petrochemical and Commercial. After 55 years in business, Ki rby has earned a reputat ion, supported by client references, for excellence in high-value mechanical and electrical engineering contracting services. This reputation is built on early engagement, finding innovative cost-effective solutions for complex bui ld chal lenges and an uncompromising approach to safety, quality and delivery. Kirby has strong capabi l i t ies in prefabr icat ion, modular i sat ion and digi tal construct ion, along wi th a Lean approach to project delivery, which ensures excellence and value for its clients. C O M P A N Y W E B S I T E OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND TO THE LEAN INITIATIVE Ki rby’s strong capabi l i ty in prefabrication, modularisation and digital construction, along with a Lean approach to project delivery, ensures excellence and value for our clients. As early as 2012, Kirby started following an EFQM (European Foundation for Qual i ty Management) framework approach to quality which included a phi losophy of cont inuous improvement. Lean and value became more and more prevalent to our strategy moving forward. As the construction industry’s value moved more towards Lean, including standardisation and consistency of outputs, the requirement for this is being realised ever more on projects through Qual i ty Assurance (QA) Benchmarking, First of Kinds (FOKs) and/or sample Mock-Ups . These methodologies help establ i sh a cons i stency and standard work approach, by ensuring a right first time (RFT) approach to the first installation of a service, equipment or system from a Mechanical and Electrical (M&E) perspective or from a Civil, Structural & Architectural (CSA) perspective for designed and/or construction building elements or building fabric finishes. Thi s was a major change to the industry and Kirby had to move with the industry or fal l behind the standards being set and expected by clients. This process is still being rolled out throughout the industry and certain cl ients have not requested Benchmarking, FOKs or Mock-Ups, as yet. Where it is requested, Kirby has established a process flow to follow to ensure completion and archiving is standard. A new form (MF6.27 – QA Benchmarking Inspection) was created for completion and to be signed off and stored electronically, including photos, as standardised work. LEAN INITIATIVE UNDERTAKEN – LEAN THINKING, TOOLS, TECHNIQUES www.kirbygroup.com AUTHORS Martin Searson A phi losophy of continuous improvement within the construction industry determined that standard work would become the norm, where possible, to add value to customers and meet legal regulations. This resulted in the development of Quality and Lean tools including Benchmarking, FOKs, and Mock-Ups. Construction contractors could either utilise these tools or get left behind. In addition, this provides a standardised reference standard for trades and professional personnel to benchmark the installation requirements versus the project specifications, i.e. design criteria, for consistency and replication, site wide. Previous to this, there was waste through defects, rework, rectification, change management, over-production, over-processing, and underutilised skills. This impacted the bottom line of any project, and also had an impact on schedule and reputation. Designing and getting approval of FOKs aimed to reduce all these wastes, and, as each component would be still used as the first installation, it removed these wastes from arising. Mock-Ups and First of Kinds (FOKs) Typically, the specialist installation company provide a schedule of Mock-Ups and FOKs of Capital Equipment and Field installation works within the first two to six weeks of starting a contract. The specialist installer and their qualified COMPANY OVERVIEW Kevin Wall