2020Case8DPSATG

Contents Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2020 Case 8 32 DPS Group is a global engineering, consulting, and project management company serving high-tech industries around the world. DPS delivers services for clients across the complete engineering and construction value chain, including feasibility studies, concepts, consulting, architecture, engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, qualification and validation, as well as contingent staffing solutions. DPS applies its extensive process engineering expertise built over 45 years, as well as significant Lean construction experience to assist clients in high-end process sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotech, and semiconductors to deliver manufacturing facilities speedily, safely, and cost-effectively. What sets the firm apart are the partnerships it builds with clients through a fundamental understanding of their businesses and its own agility, flexibility, original thinking, and high-calibre people. DPS has grown substantially in recent years and now employs more than 1,850 people in 14 offices and on client sites in Ireland, UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. This case study demonstrates the application of the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) methodology of problem solving to develop a global innovation roadmap for the DPS Advanced Technology Group (ATG). The DMAIC method for process improvement offers a structure for improvement initiatives that encourages both control and exploration in improvement endeavours, plus the active investigation encourages teams to be adaptable regarding diverse viewpoints. The following is a summary of the five phases of the DMAIC methodology applied on this Lean project. The define phase of the DMAIC approach utilised the following instruments: project selection, strategic planning, process mapping, and project management. Customer feedback on DPS performance was high regarding exe- cution tactics. However, customers highlighted a desire to see a better strategic approach from DPS in generating and implementing strategic improvements. Acting on this voice of the customer feedback, we launched a multidisciplinary team to deliver the customer requirement for DPS to have a more effective process improvement strategy. The measuring stage of the DMAIC approach involved the use of data sampling and gap analysis. A large amount of project improvement ideas were documented across multiple DPS ATG international locations. However, there was no central repository of improvement ideas and there was no mechanism for ideas to be shared between international sites. A multidisciplinary team was established with teammembers from each international DPS ATG site. Improvement ideas were collected from each site and added to a central shared repository. To measure the effectiveness of each improvement idea, they were each scored on a scale of 1 to 5 for impact (I) based on money, time saved, and ease of implementation (E). The product of impact and ease of implementation pro- duced a priority number (PN): Priority Number (PN) = Impact (I) x Ease of Implementation (E) In this measuring stage of the project, data was gathered on the improvement ideas’ merits and gaps by applying the priority numbering system based on each idea’s impact and ease of implementation. The dataset was then plotted for Impact versus Ease of Implementation to aid understanding of the collected data (Figure 1). Company Overview DPS ATG dpsgroupglobal.com Overview & Background to the Lean Initiative Lean Initiative Undertaken – Lean Thinking, Tools, Techniques William Schofield Author Define Phase Measure Phase