2020Case13 JohnPaulConstruction

Contents Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2020 50 Ca e 13 As turnover levels increased, and as the demands on all levels of management and subcontractors increased, John Paul Construction recognised that improved efficiencies, including methods of short-term planning, was required on sites. This requirement was also heightened with the undertaking of fast- track projects due to demands by clients to reduce durations on site and deliver projects in an accelerated manner due to their business-driven deadlines. As part of our approach to meet these demands and improve sustainability and efficiencies for our clients, John Paul Construction has adopted Lean principles and our Lean initiative commenced with the introduction of the Last Planner® System (LPS) across a number of projects. Training in LPS, which was supported by Enterprise Ireland, was introduced across various projects, including: a residential development, a city centre hotel development, and the Lidl Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Newbridge (entitled “Newbridge 2”). In addition to LPS, which was utilised on Lidl, we also used our relationship with the client which was developed at tender stage to openly and collaboratively challenge the tender design through detailed Value-Engineered proposals. The purpose of these proposals was to introduce proven Lean initiatives utilised on a range of industrial projects undertaken by John Paul Construction that were proven to reduce waste, improve the project schedule, and increase off-site fabrication to bring an overall increase in on-site efficiencies and assist the team in delivering the project. This case study explores some of these Lean initiatives that secured the contract for John Paul Construction and successfully delivered the project on time and on budget with minimal defects. As the single largest investment by Lidl in Ireland, “Value from the Customer’s point of view” on Newbridge 2 not only encompassed the delivery of the project on time and on budget, it also provided an opportunity for the Irish Construction team within Lidl to showcase to their Lidl International colleagues the added value that real collaboration between designers and contractors can deliver when given the opportunity to do so. John Paul Construction therefore recognised at tender stage that the Irish team within Lidl had to deliver tangible results of a Lean approach to building, and that investing energy and deploying resources into challenging the status quo from the earliest planning stages of the project to drive Lean thinking would be like “pushing an open door” and not set the contractor and designers on an inevitable route to conflict. It was therefore clear from the outset that all stakeholders – Client, designers, contractors, and suppliers – were open to collaboratively delivering value by identifying and driving the Lean processes and techniques that would be deployed to deliver this value. First and foremost, it is important to understand the project was all about scale and that marginal improvements had the potential to deliver real and tangible gains in the same way wasteful or inefficient practices are magnified to the detriment of a project and its commercial performance. Company Overview John Paul Construction johnpaul.ie Overview & Background to the Lean Initiative Niall O’Donoghue Michael Kelly Authors Lean Initiative Undertaken – Lean Thinking, Tools, Techniques John Paul Construction is a leading building and civil engineering contractor with a long-standing reputation for integrity, professionalism, innovation, and excellence. With more than 70 years’ experience across all sectors of the construction sector, our success is built on an uncompromising dedication to quality and service. We put our Clients’ interests first, providing a level of service that enables them to concentrate on their business in the knowledge that their project is in safe hands. One of our key strengths is our ability to forge strong partnerships and long-lasting relationships across clients, professionals, and supply chain. We are owner-driven and passionate about our work, with a hands-on collaborative approach and genuine commitment to delivering value and excellence in everything we do. Construction is all about people and performance, and our people are skilled and highly- trained with the experience and ability to deliver the most complex and challenging projects within demanding project deadlines and meticulous quality standards.