2019Case2GRAHAM

17 L EAN C ONSTRUCTION I RELAND A NNUAL B OOK OF C ASES 2019 (Def ine, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control ) methodology in Lean. Define – The define stage of DMAIC established opportunities for improvement, current problems, and the main aims and objectives of the process. We defined that, at a critical phase in the scheme programme, the soil nailing was affecting other contractors mobilising and starting work on their respective works. The goal was to improve production from original planned average of 23 soil nails per day to an average of 30 soil nails per day to deliver programme benefits for other work activities. • Stakeholders & Benefits – The customers of the process included the principal contractor, sub-contractor, and client. For Lean to be successful, all parties need to see the value and benefit of the initiative. As principal contractor, GRAHAM sought to improve the programme that allows the next dependencies to start earlier, protecting the programme, promoting success, and enhancing the reputat ion of the project . Additionally, the Sub-Contractor, Aarsleff, had the opportunity to develop a more efficient process to replicate on other schemes. Due to their sub-contract being a lumpsum, financial incentives were negotiated for delivering a certain rate of productivity. Removing waste from repetitive work also allowed Aarsleff to move on to the next project much sooner. Finally, the client gained confidence that the programme would be delivered on time or earlier. • Deliverables – The deliverables of the project were: live footage of the process in action; data collection sheets; KPIs ; a new best pract ice process and standard operating procedure for the sub-contractor. • Measures of Success – The Lean Team measured their success by reducing planned programme, maintaining zero incidents , and developing increased sub- contractor engagement from both management and operatives. Measure – The measure phase entailed data collecting to provide real evidence of production and performance. • Data Col lect ion – Data col lect ion sheets were developed for the gangs to collect the respective output rates. Figure 3. Data Collection Sheet for Production Rates From these data collection sheets, the ‘as is’ data was collected for week 1 to understand planned versus actual output rated of the soil nailing activity (see Table 1). Table 1. Production Rates Prior to Lean Analysis • Gemba – This is the Japanese word, made popular by Toyota, for visiting the place of work and productivity. During the Gemba visit the process was documented, photographs were taken, and the activity was filmed. During the go-look-and-see activity, a typical working day was documented as follows: o 07:30 – 08:00: Arrive on site & briefing o 08:00 – 08:30: Set up plant, prime lines, load out materials o 08:30 – 09:30: Installing soil nails o 09:30 – 09:45: Wash out grout plant ready for break o 10:00 – 10:30: Break o 10:30 – 11:00: Set up plant, prime lines, load out materials o 11:00 – 12:30: Installing soil nails o 12:30 – 12:45: Wash out grout plant ready for lunch o 13:00 – 13:30: Lunch o Repeat above until finish at 16:00 o Week 1 average installation = 23 nails per day Figure 4. Soil Nailing Tracker Week 1 Analyse – During the analyse phase, a number of graphs were produced. The below shows the cumulative actual versus planned. We knew from calculating the process efficiency that we were more often than not losing 10% on wasteful activity. It was found that 1 cycle was 5-minutes 23-seconds and that there were no real improvements within the cycle other than Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) was initially overloaded which could have saved approx. 40- seconds. This meant the slow productivity for the day was elsewhere outside the actual value adding activity, that is the drilling installation. In order to understand where the missing productivity had gone, the team looked to understand the root causes of the waste. It was found that the root cause of delays included: • Soil Nailing Materials were stored approximately 300m away from work area.