2021 LEAN CONSTRUCTION IRELAND ANNUAL BOOK OF CASES
Bristol Myers Squibb, Multi-Product Cell Culture Facility at Cruiserath, County Dublin (Image courtesy of Bristol Myers Squibb)
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 2 struction Ireland Annual Bo k of Cases 2021 Contents Contents n C e Editor Darrin Taylor Waterford Institute of Technology dtaylor@wit.ie wit.ie/lean Editor Darrin is a Lecturer in Management at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) School of Business. He is Joint Programme Director of the WIT Lean Enterprise and Operational Excellence por tfolio of executive/practitioner programmes; a Faculty Member of the RIKON Centre and Principal Lead of theWIT Academy of Lean Enterprise Excellence. Prior to entering academia, Darrin worked for over a decade in the private sector as an operations manager as well as in consultancy. He joined WIT in 2004, and lectures Lean and Operational Excellence modules on several executive/practitioner programmes, including: the MBS in Lean Enterprise Excellence, the Executive MBA, the Diploma in Lean Fundamentals, and the Diploma in Supervisory Practice. He supervises postgraduate research on Lean management, operational excellence, continuous improvement, and Lean in construction. Darrin continues to work extensively with industry, encompassing public and private organisations across services, manufacturing, healthcare, and construction. He is a founding member of Lean Business Ireland, he is Co-Chair of the South East Lean Network, and he advised on the establishment of the other Regional Lean Networks throughout Ireland. Darrin has worked with Lean Construction Ireland (LCi) since 2015, and acts as Special Advisor to the LCi Board of Directors and to the LCi Client Forum, as well as LCi Capability Development Lead and Editor of the LCi Annual Book of Cases. Darrin speaks at Lean and Operational Excellence conferences and events, and researches and publishes in the Lean space, including case books commissioned by LCi and Enterprise Ireland. i
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 3 Contents Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 Contents Managing Director: Production: Sales & Marketing: Ronan McGlade Susan Doyle & Paula Dempsey John McNamee Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases is designed and printed by BoxMedia. 616, Edenderry Business Campus, Edenderry, Co.Offaly Tel: + 353 46 9773434 BoxMedia and its Directors can accept no responsibility for the accuracy of contributors’ articles or statements appearing in this publication. Any views or opinions expressed are not necessarily those of BoxMedia and its Directors. No responsibility for loss or distress occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the authors, contributors, editor and publisher. A reader should access separate advice when acting on specific editorial in this publication. (BoxMedia is a Premier Business Media Ltd Company) Printed by GPS Colour Graphics. To cite this book: Lean Construction Ireland (2021), Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021, Ed. D. Taylor, Dublin, Ireland: Lean Construction Ireland. Conte ts Editor Profile, DarrinTaylor Waterford Institute ofTechnology . . . . 2 Foreword by Richard Fitzpatrick, Chairperson of Lean Construction Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter 1 Case Studies Suir Engineering . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8 GRAHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-12 Mace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-15 ACB Group . . . . . . . . . . . 16-19 DPS Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-23 SISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-26 Duggan Brothers Ltd. . . . . . . . 27-30 Mercury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31-34 Ardmac . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35-38 Jacobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39-41 SISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-44 Ardmac . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45-48 PM Group . . . . . . . . . . . . 49-52 SISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53-55 Suir Engineering . . . . . . . . . . 56-58 Modubuild . . . . . . . . . . . . 59-62 CField Construction . . . . . . . . 63-65 DPS ATG . . . . . . . . . . . . 66-69 Clancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70-72 Collen Construction . . . . . . . . 73-75 Modubuild . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-78 John Paul Construction . . . . . . . 79-82 BAM Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . 83-85 Jones Engineering Group . . . . . . 86-89 Sponsor Pages . . . . . . . . . . 92-93 Chapter 2 Glossary of Terms & Concepts . . . 95-103
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 4 Contents Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 Foreword Foreword Richard Fitzpatrick Chairperson of Lean Construction Ireland Foreword The Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases has established itself as the “go to” publication for our Irish community of learning and practice. It is the key Lean Construction reference for the Irish construction sector in providing core knowledge and case studies on Lean implementation for clients and their professional services providers, contractors, sub-contractors, and suppliers, and it continues to be the only such publication in the world. In the volatile, uncer tain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world we live and work in, Lean thinking and practices provide individuals and organisations the oppor tunity to embrace the philosophy, principles, tools, and techniques to deliver value-add for clients and project delivery par tners, as well as create collaborative and respectful working environments. This Book provides clear evidence that the Irish construction sector is beginning the process of normalisation of Lean thinking and practices and aligning with the complementary areas of digitalisation and sustainability. Additionally, collaborative contracting arrangements are increasingly accepted as the most optimal approach to design and deliver value on capital projects – a point referred to in the National Development Plan 2021-2030.This year’s Book demonstrates where sectoral organisations have adopted Lean for both internal operational excellence purposes as well as to enhance value-add in the design and delivery of capital projects. Alongside this Book, Lean Construction Ireland has its website, annual conference, monthly webinar programme, and other resources that provide a vast and rich repository of knowledge and information on Lean thinking and practices that are freely available to the Irish construction sector. I wish to acknowledge all involved in the publication of our Annual Book of Cases 2021, namely the case contributors, the book sponsors, and our publishing par tner, Box Media. Sincerest gratitude to Darrin Taylor for his role as Editor and in coordinating and compiling this invaluable publication for the Lean Construction Ireland community of learning and practice. Finally, on behalf of the Board of Lean Construction Ireland, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 and it is hoped that this Book inspires you and your organisations on your continuing Lean journeys. Sincerely, Richard Fitzpatrick Chairperson, Lean Construction Ireland Foreword
Case Studies CHAPTER 1 Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 6 Case 1 Established in Ireland in 1984, Suir Engineering is an Irish-based European provider of Mechanical & Electrical services to high-profile clients in the data centre, life sciences, manufacturing, commercial, substation, and renewables sectors. Suir Engineering has offices inWaterford, Dublin, London, Sweden, and Denmark, and across the UK, and directly employs over 1,000 highly skilled staff. Suir Engineering has developed a reputation for delivering cost-effective solutions for its clients whilst ensuring an uncompromised approach to safety,quality, and project delivery. Suir Engineering is a wholly owned subsidiary of EDF Energy Services, a JV between EDF Energy & Dalkia. Since 2015, Suir Engineering has invested in its strategic and company-wide improvement initiative entitled“SuirWay’’. Since April 2018, Suir Engineering has rolled out new processes for managing the entire organisation based on Lean principles and PDCA. Suir Engineering has invested heavily in its employees by providing a significant amount of both off-site and on-site training, and has developed its own purpose-built training centre at its Dublin location. Thanks to the company’s investment in its people, it is now seeing a transformation within the business. Employees are using their new skills on projects of all sizes to remove the eight wastes; introduce JIT for site deliveries; run Kaizen events; value stream map processes; utilise look-ahead planning based on the Last Planner System (LPS); apply 5S and Kanban systems to site stores; and develop standard work. These Lean tools and techniques are driven by Suir Engineering’s management system that promotes discussion, is data-driven, and ensures the correct and relevant information is channelled through the business, thus empowering everyone from the SMT, project managers, supervisors, and trades, to make informed decisions with all the necessary information. Suir Engineering looked at solutions as to how it could best make use of all the information and data it had collected, and how this could best be shared across the business. Its solution was the development of a bespoke app for the business that is referred to as the “T2 APP”, and this case study examines this initiative. Overview & Background to the Lean Initiative Lean Initiative Undertaken – Lean Thinking, Tools, Techniques Seán McHugh Author Figure 2. PDCA Cycle Figure 1. Training Room Citywest ISO 90001:2015 highlights the impor tance of the PDCA cycle. First proposed byWalter A. Shewhart, and further developed by W. Edwards Deming, the PDCA cycle is a widely-used four-step model that can be used to manage and control any continuous improvement process, including the quality management system. A vital aspect of Suir Engineering’s vision for the Suir Way is to utilise this cycle of Plan, Do, Check,Act. Whilst data recording and information gathering has always occurred within Suir Engineering, the successful implementation of the SuirWay across all Suir Engineering’s sites has resulted in a considerably greater volume and level of detail of information being gathered than a few shor t years ago. In order to make best use of this information and present it in a visual way to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), it required Company Overview SUIR ENGINEERING suireng.ie
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 7 Case 1 substantial resources and time to gather the information from each site and produce and share the information across the business.The significant amount of time taken to complete this work meant that, by the time the documents had been complete and presented to the SLT, the information was almost two weeks old.This had a significant effect on the business’s ability to make decisions and the SLT did not have the ability to be proactive with their decision-making. Decisions were, therefore, often reactive given that they were based on information that was several days or weeks old. A Kaizen event was held to address this issue using Lean principles. At this event, we discussed how we could standardise the recording of information across sites, reduce the workload in order to produce repor ts, and also make the information easier and more accessible throughout the business. Whilst there are many software packages that claim to offer solutions to these problems, when we engaged with the solution providers we found that we would need to spend significant time and effor t working with developers to make their software work as we needed, or that the software on offer did not have the flexibility to provide what we required to drill down for the business’s areas of focus and we would thus be confined to working within its limited parameters. Therefore, the decision was taken to create our own platform as this would allow us to develop a bespoke solution.While working with the developer on the design of the app, a critical consideration for us related to LeanWaste, namely Muda, Muri, and Mura.Working closely with the developer allowed us to simplify the application, thus making it extremely user-friendly and ensuring that even users with the most basic of computer skills could easily use the system and not feel overburdened (i.e. Muri) by the data collection.With a standard dataset being recorded across the business, it means everyone is working in the same way, thus removing ambiguity and potential imbalance (i.e. Mura). As only information that is needed is being requested by the app, there is no unnecessary data collection, thus eliminating waste overall (i.e. Muda). A 5S approach was applied to the T2 app.This approach was taken when it came to information requested by the app, and the order in which it would be requested, as we wanted to ensure there would be a natural flow when theT2 questions were being completed and that there would be no unnecessary questions that would be recorded in the app, thus keeping completion time to a minimum. By implementing a 5S approach to the project, we could develop a better and easier product to use, thus resulting in greater buy-in from management and site teams. Sort Remove data and information that was not needed and only keep what was needed. By doing this, the app becomes easier, quicker, and more efficient. Set in Order Arrange the questions in an easy to follow arrangement where information flows easily one step after the other. Shine Keep things clean and tidy.The app interface was kept simple to ensure a barrier-free and user-friendly approach. Standardise Establish standards and guidelines to maintain the first three S. Every site would then be recording the same KPI in the same format. Sustain Make 5S a habit.The benefits of 5S are only truly to be seen if it is maintained in the long-term.With the app able to generate beneficial real time data, users could see the benefit. Another critical aspect was that the senior management bought-in to getting their information from no other source other than via the T2 app and this was a considerable factor giving sites no choice but to adopt the app. Figure 3. Sections of theT2 app Figure 4. Data presented simply and without clutter
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 8 Case 1 The improvements gained from the development and roll out of theT2 app across Suir Engineering’s sites have been significant and improvements have been made both on-site and off-site. At SLT level, information and char ts can be called upon instantly, giving the user the ability to have a real time visual representation of how the overall business, individual projects, or even a variation within a job, is performing on a weekly basis.This information is then being used to determine the deployment of resources within the company. It is also becoming a steering device pointing the SLT team in the direction they need to focus their efforts.This enables the SLT to focus time and resources where they will have the greatest impact for the business. By placing an emphasis on those projects requiring the most input, a greater focus is placed on utilising more Lean activities such as Gemba walks, problem solving, and reaffirming the SuirWay on the project in order to ensure that the problems on the project are uncovered and rectified as quickly as possible. At the project level, Project ManagementTeams have the ability to perform a deep dive on the data being generated from their projects and use this information to analyse trends, compare actual progress to predicted progress, and ensure any steps to complete corrective actions that are within their control are taken swiftly.This ensures that negative trends do not begin to develop. Amongst Suir Engineering’s Supervision, the T2 app has been responsible for an increased focus on the importance of planning tasks in advance and ensuring we maximise customer value.This increased planning has meant that staff have had to make more of an effort to work more collaboratively with each other, therefore improving communication on site.The result is that issues are raised in a timely manner and with more time to discuss and resolve the issues, and items are being resolved before they have a chance to make an impact on the project timelines. With more people aware of the overall company objectives and goals, Suir Engineering personnel are able to see how their contributions make an impact within the organisation.This high level of employee engagement has resulted in improved morale. Additionally, there have been reductions in over-processing and Takt-time as we begin to see and address problem areas.The impor tance of a right first time mentality has been generally adopted by staff who are showing positivity towards Lean thinking and practices. Staying true to the PDCA philosophy that made the app come to fruition, theT2 app is continuously being developed and updated to implement more improvements and features that will better serve the business. As the volume of data we capture increases over time, the company will be able to better predict areas of risk when taking on new projects and build up the adequate resources in the required areas.This will allow Suir Engineering to continue to be a trusted and reliable provider of Mechanical & Electrical services to some of the world’s most high-profile companies. Lean Initiative Improvements & Impact Figure 5.Weekly Progress Repor t Figure 6. Example of information being tracked on site
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 9 GRAHAM is a privately owned contractor with an impressive 200year history. Specialising in building, civil engineering, interior fit-out, facilities management, and investment projects, we operate from a network of regional offices throughout the UK and Ireland. With an annual turnover of GB£808.1m and a healthy GB£1.7bn pipeline of opportunity, we are a trusted delivery partner to a range of prestigious clients across a broad spectrumof sectors. These include education and health, highways and maritime, and commercial and retail. We also participate on over 50 national and regional frameworks. Strengthening our reputation, we are an Investors in People (IIP) Platinum and Health andWellbeing accredited business, and we were named as the inaugural winner of the IIP Excellence in Health andWellbeingAward. With over 2,200 employees, these prestigious benchmarks demonstrate our commitment to being a best practice employer that invests in its people, prioritising their health and wellbeing within a culture of Fairness, Inclusion, and Respect. The Regional Delivery Par tnership is a five-year framework whereby contractors are monitored on both their behaviours and performance. In parallel, they are incentivised to innovate and work efficiently. A central component of National Highways (formerly “Highways England”) NEC Contract 3 model is a requirement for contractors to create the step-change desperately needed within the construction industry. The delivery of commitments is not only impor tant to GRAHAM, but also to our clients. Our P6 Scheme Programme includes everything associated with delivery, but excludes programming for suppor t functions such as tender commitments. From the outset, we identified the potential for software to allow us to programme everything outside of delivery whilst utilising the Lean Last Planner methodology. Our priority was that any proposed tool was cloud-based to meet the challenges presented by Covid restrictions, with the flexibility to run what were historically face-to-face collaborative planning meetings using post-it notes on the wall. What was the problem the Lean initiative was trying to resolve? As par t of the new National Highways Regional Delivery Framework, we were required to deliver 80 additional commitments as par t of our tender.These commitments were established to suppor t the National Highways ambition to move towards an alliance type framework.The commitments are activities which the contactor has agreed to deliver as par t of the framework, with an expectation that they are industry leading in order to generate the much-needed step-change within construction. Each commitment is costed by National Highways, and the consequence of non-delivery is a financial penalty equating to the anticipated cost of that commitment. At the hear t of the GRAHAM Lean Deployment Programme is an understanding of our client needs.We recognised the importance of simultaneously driving delivery and demonstrating progress against these commitments, thus offering cer tainty to our client, National Highways.We also identified significant benefits in breaking these commitments down into more detailed sub-tasks. Initially, commitment delivery was slow and cracks in our process appeared because: • The Covid pandemic meant meeting up and having a collaborative planning session using post-it notes became impossible. • There was no consistent approach for progressing and updating commitments.We did not know how we were progressing with the delivery of our commitments as they were being driven by people spread across different parts of the UK.This meant that people were working on multiple spreadsheets where data and updates were getting missed with no single source of governance. • The plan for commitments, despite being so important to the client, is not factored into the existing P6 Construction Programme.This made it difficult to understand our progress and which commitments required renewed focus. What was the goal of the Lean project? We wanted a simple cloud-based solution that allowed staff to efficiently provide updates on the commitments using mobile technology.The creation of a common platform would remove double data entry requirements and eliminate errors and duplication. Having a bottom-up approach, using a pull flow system, would also generate accountability and increase team engagement. Fur thermore, it would enhance productivity as it removed the time spent pursuing updates.Another requirement was to repor t progress to National Highways via a visual dashboard.This would ensure a focus on key areas identified through utilisation of the last planner methodology. Company Overview GRAHAM graham.co.uk Overview & Background to the Lean Initiative Lean Initiative Undertaken – Lean Thinking, Tools, Techniques Katie Jones Author Paramjit Lota Author Case 2
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 10 What was the Lean solution? GRAHAM evaluated the capabilities of a range of software development systems, and, after a rigorous selection process, VisiLean was identified as the most suitable solution.VisiLean is a simple yet powerful Production Management Platform for managing large programmes of work. As a cloud-based platform developed on proven Lean Construction principles,VisiLean ensures flow, value generation, and waste minimisation across workflows. Figure 1. Primary components of VisiLean VisiLean allows organisations to visualise project plans at a programme level, with a typical Gantt that supportsTask creation and even Plan import from P6,MSP and Excel, for example.Teams then utiliseVisiLean to drive the Last Planner® System (LPS) for collaborative planning. It allows all teams to par ticipate, visualise their commitments, discuss any potential issues, and map them in the look-ahead planning view. Once a clear look-ahead picture is defined with the teams par ticipating on the platform, each member usesVisiLean, either through the browser or the Mobile App (LiveSite), to update the progress on their commitments and flag any issues that require the team’s attention.They supplement this with Notes that allow for healthy discussions during the collaborative review sessions. Figure 2. Clear capture of shor t-falls, constraints, and conversations Finally, all of this data populates a completely automated Dashboard that promotes a focus on Value Drivers that can help improve the planning and delivery of commitments as a team. As the commitments did not form par t of our delivery programme, we had to try and organise the commitments into more manageable sub-groups.The sub-groups were identified as function areas which exist within GRAHAM, for example, customer, stakeholder, quality, or Lean. Next, we completed Master Planner sessions where we placed all 80 commitment milestones on a programme and then worked backwards to understand what other sub-tasks we may have to deliver to ensure that we would meet the commitment milestones. GRAHAM now has a solid and more detailed 5-year programme for delivery.The commitments programme could have been produced directly intoVisiLean, but we used spreadsheets and then impor ted them intoVisiLean. As our commitments are only over 5 years, we decided to run the collaborative planning meeting at 10:00 on the first Tuesday of every month. Challenges Setting up the LPS was challenging for the commitments for several reasons: • There was no existing programme for the commitments, and the original dates that were identified in our tender were from almost 4 years prior.As expected, the programmes had changed significantly since then. • Some commitments have evolved since the contract andtherefore more in-depth conversations had to be had with National Highways surrounding the amendment of contractual commitments to suit the current environment. • Setting up the initial workshops and allocating owners to provide updates. • Adaptations had to be made withinVisiLean to make the system suit non-construction-related activities.TheVisiLean team worked closely with us to swiftly make amendments. Meeting Format • Discipline leads within GRAHAM meet virtually on the first Tuesday of each month. • The leads will have submitted progress updates throughout the month using their mobile devices. • During the meeting, each discipline lead will take turns to run through their commitments for that month. Case 2
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 11 Case 2 • Any re-planning is then done with full consent from the rest of the team. • Completed commitments will already be marked as complete, but non-complete tasks will need to be pushed to a new date along with a reason for non-completion. VisiLean has resulted in major improvements, including the cer tainty it has provided to us in delivering on our contractual commitments. National Highways has really suppor ted GRAHAM by engaging in this new way of working and acting as the quality assurance approver for the commitments.Working collaboratively alongside the client on the same platform suppor ts the ambition to work as an alliance with trust and transparency. We are not only meeting but exceeding contractual requirements made by our client, National Highways, by driving Lean initiatives such as Collaborative Planning, identifying waste within the programme and construction processes, smoothing the flow and creating a pull system – meaning the programme is led from bottom-up with updates provided by the people that do the work. Figure 3. Clear capture of project conversations We have noticed that staff now have increased time to concentrate on more value-adding activities. Traditionally, the people doing the work more often than not did not engage in the programme. Now, our programme is led by our staff who have full accountability of their tasks. Not only is this more efficient, but we have seen an improvement on behavioural maturity assessments conducted on behalf of National Highways.There is much more communication and collaboration amongst the team, with a willingness to try and support one another. VisiLean enhances communication through a simple interface that promotes conversation, allows users to add notes, drawings, pictures, and voice notes against each commitment.This data is par ticularly useful as it provides a lessons learned log for any given commitment. National Highways uses this information to share and increase maturity of its supply chain, suppor ted by its data-driven improvement initiative. We have detailed visibility of live commitment progress and performance in any given area.VisiLean enabled GRAHAM to quickly identify where it was consistently falling shor t on its PPC. The output report fromVisiLean, very quickly and at the press of a button, provided a succinct business case to gain an additional resource.This meant that we have been able to identify a shortfall in our programme commitment to National Highways early in the process. This traditionally would not have been identified until the end of the project when our programme was delayed.We have also found thatVisiLean has strengthened collaboration between our suppor t functions, office staff, and our site workers who add the real value. The live dashboards and intelligence around commitments and highlighted areas, significantly reduce the time spent on reporting and administration. Equally, they provide us with repor ts against value drivers, themes, and potential efficiencies, all of which can be easily and quickly sent to National Highways. Notably, we have achieved 100% commitment programme cer tainty. Lean Initiative Improvements & Impact Figure 5. Single platform for capturing evidence for each commitment Figure 4. PPC of 82% achieved through Nov-Dec 2020 – Design Primary Constraint
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 12 TheVisiLean team has supported us along the journey and made adaptations to the system to suppor t our needs.This case study illustrates how GRAHAM and VisiLean, along with National Highways as the client, have established an exemplar collaborative par tnership that mirrors the UK Government desire to drive productivity and increase collaboration as referenced in The Construction Playbook. Tracking productivity and focusing on areas for improvement have been industry challenges for some time due to the lack of reliable data. GRAHAM,VisiLean, and National Highways continue to work closely to fur ther expand the process to track productivity, drawing from live data taken directly from site. Finally, our commitment relating to innovation was exceeded through thisVisiLean Pilot as it guaranteed visibility and achieved maximum efficiency. Case 2
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 13 MaceTechnology (Ireland) has been established in Ireland for over 10 years and has constructed two of Ireland’s largest and most prestigious projects, namely Dublin AirportTerminal 2 and Project CLN, a hyper-scale data centre campus in Clonee,Co.Meath.Mace Ireland operates not only as a general contractor here in Ireland, but also provides professional construction services such as cost management and programme management for blue-chip clients such as Microsoft, IrishWater, Eirgrid, and Facebook. This study was carried out on a hyper-scale data centre that entailed both design and build and design-bid-build phases. Preparation and approval of design documentation is a key factor for managing an efficient production control system. Construction projects are complex projects that involve multi-disciplined stakeholders with the preparation and coordination of design activities in line with strategic milestones. Design is linked to construction activities and then through to inspection and quality control. Design teams and construction teams need to collaborate to create and verify design documentation before procurement and site installation and inspection.Team fragmentation has been identified as a barrier for efficient design management, and design teams, contractor supply teams, and vender supply chain are dispersed. The Last Planner® System (LPS) was identified as a possible solution to managing contractor drawing and technical submission improvements. In parallel with Lean and BIM management, design deliverable dates were identified in advance of programmed construction dates. Shop drawings and technical submittals were prepared for review by the design team.This was managed in line with the construction programme which allowed planned works to proceed safely and in a timely manner. Design Last Planner System Construction is a series of actions undertaken by construction companies which produce or alter buildings and infrastructure. Individual construction companies become competent at one or more of the actions over many years, and they apply their specialised skills and knowledge on construction projects.The design and construction of buildings and infrastructure are undertaken by specialist design and construction professionals, and supported by an integrated network of suppliers and specialist contractors. Integrating project teams to work collaboratively has increased productivity in construction.The lack of approved design documentation had been noted as a significant factor for missed assignments in the construction last planner process. Improved coordination between trade contractors, main contractor, and design teams was required to improve the delivery of approved design information in line with planned construction activities.To integrate design and construction activities, a design coordination and last planner meeting was scheduled weekly.The purpose of that meeting was to improve communication between construction and design teams.The meeting was structured to provide a coordinated look-ahead document preparation schedule.This was managed in line with the construction programme for the timely preparation of documents to ensure that there was an uninterrupted workflow for construction activities.The vision for all stakeholders is to deliver the highest quality project with all documentation complete and defectfree at practical completion.To achieve this, a collaborative approach to design, construction, and inspection was required. Design and Quality At the interface between design and construction, the following questions accentuate: • Has the design of the elements been completed? • Have the necessary technical submissions and benchmarks been approved? Work needs to be considered in greater detail as the make-ready process focusses on matching the available resources for work with the present realities on the construction site to ensure production can proceed at an optimum level. Information flows connect activities to design and quality to facilitate the make-ready process. Only when this is agreed can tasks be considered for execution in weekly work plans. The importance of information management, and the ability to share information between project stakeholders to ensure that the project requirements are met, provides a robust platform for managing task allocations and sequencing. The value-added data is one that supports the craft worker by ensuring that the planned works proceed uninterrupted and that any variance from the plan is forecast and mitigated to manage resource utilisation.This relationship between information and material flow suggests that design last planner improves the overall production Company Overview MACE macegroup.com Overview & Background to the Lean Initiative Lean Initiative Undertaken – Lean Thinking, Tools, Techniques Daire Nolan Author Ciaran Fennell Author Case 3 Kevin McHugh Author
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 14 system by raising the efficiency of information logistical processes. The main challenge is to ensure the deliverables are issued in a timely fashion and at a standard to achieve approval right first time to allow works to progress in a timely fashion. The traditional approach used the standard Information Release Schedule (IRS), which itemises all deliverables and their planned delivery dates.This normally results in the Package Managers having to spend a lot of resources to ensure their contractors deliver. Figure 1. Submittal ProductionWaste The delivery and management of the technical submittal reviews often proves protracted and inefficient due to the large number of stakeholders, from Contractors to DesignTeam and Client. A previous building phase, which utilised the IRS approach, required 730 technical submittals that resulted in these being presented a total of 1,585 times to achieve a Status A. Any technical submittal presented more than once is considered waste. This was therefore identified as an area for improvement for site production as technical submittals are crucial for procurement and quality. The design last planner improved coordination of site activities and the last planner meeting provided a means for an integrated trade contractor and general contractor design interface.The design activities were identified and prioritised by identifying the makeready needs for the construction process. Short-termwork plans were developed wherein design constraints were identified and systematically removed to successfully complete design documentation in advance of trade contractor construction activities. Measuring planned percent complete (PPC) of planned design activities provided a more transparent and efficient means for tracking design productivity and improved the quality of the information produced. As principal contractor, the conditions of satisfaction were communicated tomultiple contractor design teams and the collaborative nature of the process increased the quantity and quality of the documentation. Therefore, this improved productivity on the project.Tasks were planned with greater certainty and the quality of the installations improved by adhering to the correct documentation.This in turn improved weekly work planning.When tasks are deemed to be sound, they can be considered for inclusion in the weekly work plans for production units on site.This process requires multi-disciplinary teams to coordinate production unit activities for the project.Team members who are making commitments were able to commit defined assignments and interact with other production units for trade-to-trade hand-overs and quality assurance inspection teams. Prior to the submittal process, the DesignTeam and the Client was where the technical submittal requirements were agreed, which in turn were relayed to the ContractingTeams individually via a series of workshops.The Last Planner requirements and expectations with all stakeholders were communicated and agreed. All contractors and the DesignTeam were required to prepare 6-week look-ahead plans and weekly work plans that itemised committed deliverables on a rolling week-by-week basis.Weekly meetings were set up to review the make ready needs to avoid pitch points and ensure smooth information flow.The teams were encouraged to act collaboratively and as one. Prior to the formal submission, the contractors were required to discuss with the design team the requirements and expectations. This approach resulted in significant improvements in reductions to the number of iterations required to achieve a Status A, right first time, and in turn saw a substantial improvement to the ratio of waste. Analysis to date is limited to work packages that have enough technical submittals presented, namely: 1. Civil. 2. Steels. 3.Mechanical. 4. Electrical. Figure 2 encompasses the mechanical work package of the delivery of technical submittals of planned versus actual, and is representative of all work packages analysed to date. Figure 2. Package Delivery Planned Vs. Actual The Mace Last Planner approach results in a smoother flow of information. It gives foresight to the DesignTeam of impending workloads, thus allowing provisions to be made to resource Lean Initiative Improvements & Impact Case 3
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 15 manpower to meet the workload. It is also dynamic, allows for change to be accommodated, and enables ease of tracking. Figure 3, for the mechanical services, compares the delivery of technical submittals iterations for the current phase to the previous phase and is representative of all work packages analysed to date. Figure 3. Technical Submittal Number of Iterations The number of iterations required to achieve StatusA has reduced and the quantity of technical submittals being approved right first time has also increased. Right FirstTime Improvements Figure 4. Right First-Time Percentage The average right first time after implementation of LPS increased to 62.93%. The number of iterations post-first release has also reduced following the implication of the Mace LPS, resulting in significant improvements to the ratio of waste. Figure 5. Ratio ofWaste The ratio of waste is trending at 0.62 for the current project compared to 1.17 for the previous phase. For the Civil Work Package, the percentage right first time has marginally reduced, and Ratio ofWaste has marginally increased. However : • The CivilWork Package was starting from a higher success ratio for the previous phase compared to the otherWork Packages. • The Civil Work Package was the first work package to employ the last planner approach, which required a learning curve period to bed in. • The current project had a new design team and there is an element of trust building to be developed. For the current project, the quantity of requiredTechnical Submittals is trending at c.1,600 and projecting the ratio of waste would see c.1,600 number of Technical Submittals being presented c.2,592 times.Using LPS,we were able to measure and recognise variability and highlight trends to improve our productivity. If we did not introduce the Mace Last Planner to the submittal process, it would likely have seen the quantity of technical submittals being presented c.3,473 times – a delta of c.880. An analysis of the time spent by the project team to prepare and review submittals for re-review equated to an average of 110 minutes of ProjectTime.The reduced number of re-submissions has resulted in a project saving of c.1,163 man-hours. Figure 6. SubmittalTime Calculation Case 3
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 16 ACB Group is a 100% Irish owned company that has grown and excelled both nationally and internationally, having more than 18 years of industry experience on a myriad of complex and fast-moving projects. ACB’s vision is to be the ‘GoTo external envelope solution provider in the global datacenter market’with a mission‘to differentiate our customer solutions using digitisation, innovation, and modern methods of construction’.At ACB Group we provide the complete design and build solution for your building envelope, including roofing and façade systems along with internal cladding solutions.We are accredited with ISO 9001:2015 (Quality), ISO 45001:2018 (Health and Safety), and are awarded BSI Verification Certification for Design and Construction. ACB Group is an organisation dedicated to Lean thinking and practice and continuous improvement for many years to enable the business to operate to its full capacity as it experiences exponential growth.With the advent of the Covid pandemic, and the associated worldwide shift to digital,ACB Group took the initiative to develop a new strategy plan to create a leaner system for lead evaluation through investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system called ConstructionBos (see Figure 1).The initiative came about through the desire to move information to the cloud across the organisation.The growth and expansion of teams into an online world heightened the need for an online system that could see multiple users interact with projects simultaneously. Figure 1. ConstructionBOS The agreed budget for the project was c.€15,000, including purchasing data, licences, and maintenance.The Lean initiative was implemented in two phases and based on making ACB CRM the master. Phase 1 entailed the implementation of the main CRM system, and getting data across and training users. Phase 2 entailed the live data feed to develop an automated governance mechanism. Having a Lean approach to the way in which the business operates and the way the tendering team conducts its business, aligns to the Lean principle of ‘Pursue Perfection’.This focusses on the business’s Lean and continuous improvement principles making the organisation as effective as possible. Figure 2. ACB Group Overview with Innovation Pillar Company Overview ACB GROUP acbgroup.ie Overview & Background to the Lean Initiative Luke Carroll Author Ruchira Kulshrestha Author Gabriel Murray Author Case 4 The Kaizen approach is heavily adopted by ACB Group with continuous improvement being a key pillar. One of the many business goals of ACB Group involves migrating all business data to the cloud, including the way in which leads and project data are held. Before the implementation of ConstructionBos, the organisation managed all tendering activities in one centralised excel sheet Lean Initiative Undertaken – Lean Thinking, Tools, Techniques
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 17 stored on a server. The problemwith that process, although a tried and trusted methodology for many years, was it had become too arduous to manage as the world adopted remote working due to the Covid pandemic. As ACB Group continues to grow and remote work becomes the norm here in Ireland, the UK, and Europe, the logistics of using one excel sheet for a team of six to update was proving problematic. Users were only able to access the sheet one-at-a-time.The information being updated could become inconsistent, and any failure to internal servers (although rare) would interrupt the workday and potentially corrupt the data held within the excel file. One individual working on and updating the sheet via a screen share with the rest of the team giving the information,meant the process was slow in areas such as note-taking, discussions on individual projects, and organising the excel sheet. The previous format relied on excel sheets to log notes against projects in leads and ones of high priority in the pipeline. Project ‘Levels’did not exist – instead projects were categorised as a First or Second Pass.High-priority projects in the Second Pass bucket were generally highlighted manually as opposed to nowwhere the system automatically flags the change in status, thus saving time resources. The key difference with the use of ConstructionBos is that more defined levels were developed by the PowerTeam (see Figure 2), with ConstructionBos tailoring the system to ACB specifications (see Figure 4). As well as using excel sheets, Construction Information Services (CIS) was used by the business to track projects in Ireland. Notes and the status of these projects were shared between the excel and CIS. Figure 3 presents the process map that was followed before the implementation of ConstructionBos.The CIS system was not user-friendly nor fit for purpose based on the specifications thatACB Group was looking for. However, Figure 4 illustrates the new process mapping along with in-depth information on the ACB strategy, quantifying Project Identification (Level 1) to ProjectWin/Loss (Level 5), and this all resulted in a much leaner tendering process. Figure 3. Old CRM Process Map Leads were manually managed and counted weekly in the excel. Reports involving new leads, leads to tender, and other KPIs used by the business were controlled through the excel file.ConstructionBos is linked to BarbourABI, a company providing project data through an Application Programming Interface (API) field into ConstructionBos. This means an easy passage of a lead into theACB Group pipeline. With the integrated system to manage leads,ACB Group can build on and improve lead to tender reports with an automated system. If a project enters in level one or two, it can be tracked from the moment it enters through to a tender being issued or the project being won or lost. Figure 4. New Process Map and Deep Dive on Levels The PowerTeam used the following Lean tools and techniques to map the process as we migrated from the traditional ACB system to the newer ConstructionBos system. BottleneckAnalysis A bottleneck analysis was used by the Power Team to map the process and identify issues.This was undertaken to look at the current workflows and processes in place, thus helping to improve the processes and eliminating most operational challenges, and thus enabling a streamlined tendering process. Plan-Do-Check-Act The team devised a plan using the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) framework. Figure 5 illustrates the detail of the process undertaken by theACB team. Figure 5. Plan-Check-Do-Act Map Case 4
Lean Construction Ireland Annual Book of Cases 2021 18 Case 4 Value Stream Mapping (VSM) VSM was used to illustrate the roles all members of the tendering team had, how they should interact with the system, and what happens at certain stages of the process.This enables the team to have clear, open, and honest collaboration on all pipeline and tendering workload, whilst also encouraging continuous improvement as to how the organisation operates. ACB Group has achieved tracking on all data centre projects in Ireland and the UK, thus reinforcing a hard strategic focus on this market sector. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) The OEE is being analysed in phases by the PowerTeam in charge of implementing the CRM. As a high-level view, the system is available to all team members who require access.The performance of the CRM is smooth,with additional fields or fixes made effortlessly. The usability is, as expected, based on the tutorials given both internally and externally. The tendering team have refined reports and the way in which the system is used to enable the CRM to be highly effective. There were several key improvements in the business process due to the implementation of ConstructionBos CRM. Streamlined Lead Meetings Before the CRMwas introduced,projects were categorised as a first and second pass item.With the introduction of the CRM,meetings about pipeline became focussed.The old process saw meetings take place two days a week, lasting between 2-3 hours, to provide project updates. One meeting was held to analyse the pipeline of key opportunities and one for the analysis of current projects on which to tender. With continued use and refining of the CRM from the PowerTeam, and input from all stakeholders of the tendering department, this has now reduced the meeting to one two-hour slot in the week. The team come prepared with their notes inputted into the CRM, so all stakeholders are aware of updates ahead of the meeting.The meeting is now used to focus on key updates and allows members to expand around other project related talking points. Figure 6. Deal Layout in ConstructionBos CRM & Geo-Mapping Overview Clear Understanding Since the introduction of the CRM, there has been greater breakdown of the pipeline and activities associated with each level (see Figure 4). A level is referred to by the team as the status of a particular project. Level 2 is the key level for the team where a project is identified as a ‘Sweetspot’. Each stakeholder understands the activities mapped out and what actions happen at each level, with their actions taken away from the meeting.This actively helps ACB Group align, for example, with the LCi slogan of being Better, Faster, Together. Strategic Focus on Sweetspot Projects The CRM has allowed the business to understand the Sweetspot projects that are being targeted and where.The CRM allows all users and anyone else in the business understand which market the current pipeline of work is situated, what sector, and what actions have taken place against the project.This allows ACB Group to continually operate in an open and transparent manner with all PowerTeams throughout the business. The geographical element (see Figure 6) of this is done through the ConstructionBos CRM being linked with Zoho Analytics which is included in the same suite of products as the CRM. Fields of information are synced from Barbour ABI to give the team geographical locations. Price reports and other features can be derived from the live data of ConstructionBos integrated with ZohoAnalytics. As well as internal transparency, the CRM allows all primary users understand conversations that have taken place offline with key contacts, as well as updates on individual companies with notes compiled against each Sweetspot company. Simultaneously Building a Marketing Database In migrating to a cloud-based CRM for all tendering and pipeline data, the CRM has also allowed ACB Group to simultaneously build a marketing database of information to ensure the best customer relationships are built on trust and transparency. It helps senior management identify those partners whose work aligns to ACB Group’s win: win approach. Improved Client Interaction Supply chain interactions have improved because the data collected and used byACB in the system can be arranged accordingly and then discussed with suppliers.Data is now being organised and used right first time.The team has lists that are easily filterable based on sector and supplier,meaning meetings can be streamlined and both parties can get a satisfied outcome.Merging the data gathered offline with data from BarbourABI results inACB being able to understand and interact with projects at an early stage. Team Satisfaction All the tendering teammembers have reported great satisfaction in terms of phase one of the implementation of ConstructionBos.The tendering team reported that the new procedure and processes Lean Initiative Improvements & Impact
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTIzMTIxMw==