2020Case9Modubuild

Contents Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2020 36 Ca e 9 The success of the initiative hinged on the development of accurate data and not on inference, personal sentiment, or bias. Furthermore, it was essential that the data collection methods reflected the needs of the improvement process. The current state analysis allowed the team to create an illustration of the current state and formed a foundation for the entire intervention. Cognisant of the mapping session and its importance in shaping the direction and success of the intervention, it was important for everyone to discard any prejudgements or bias. Furthermore, it was important to remove any perception of Senior Management bias that might have been interpreted by team members. Consistent with the core Lean tenet of gemba, everyone was involved and had a voice in the mapping process. It was essential for culture and for a successful implementa- tion that every team member felt part of the improvement and that they formed a fundamental part of the process mapping activities. In its totality, the then current state ten- dering process involved 33 high-level steps and approxi- mately 150 sub-steps. From this, a workload analysis was developed to provide an understanding of which person took ownership of specific tasks. This identified that a disproportionate volume of workload – 53% – was being carried out by a commercial estimator (previously QS), whilst the workload allocated to others was substantially less. Furthermore, the commercial estimator had responsi- bility for completing 82% of the 150 sub-tasks. The next part of the intervention was to carry out a Waste & Why analysis of the tendering process using the 8-Waste categories of TIMWOODS. Using the process map, 25 wastes across multiple tasks and sub-tasks were identified, three of which were identified as NVA and which were completely removed from the process, and one step was identified as NNVA – a form of duplication – and this was subsequently removed. Additionally, a skills analysis was performed which offered helpful insight into the extant skills within the team. This enabled the process owner to develop a detailed under- standing of the team, and how to more efficiently allocate task ownership to personnel who offered greatest value-add to the process. Furthermore, the skills analysis provided im- portant data around areas where the gaps lay within and offered areas for upskilling and empowering of personnel with new tools and knowledge. The data obtained from the process mapping session high- lighted the need for end-to-end improvements of the tender- ing process. The data collection and diagnostic stage of the intervention offered concerning metrics and evidence that the existing delegation model was outdated and inefficient. Maintaining compliance with Lean philosophy, the process owner ensured the team were central players in develop- ment of the overall solution. In order to ensure the team understood the need for, and supported, the change, it was imperative for the process owner to convey the benefits of the intervention and how it would have a positive impact on each individual. Any resistance to change was temporary, and, by presenting the actual data to them, it encouraged personnel to support the improvement process. This was a critical stage in the context of the change model – particularly in the transition from steps 1 through 3 (creating a climate for change) and Figure 1. Kotter’s Change Model Figure 3. Task Analyses Figure 2. (Then) Current State Map