Report - Build Lean. Transforming Construction Using Lean Thinking

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©CIRIA 2011. Entitled recipients may duplicate this Workshop Report for internal company use only. Opinions expressed inarticles or editorial comments are not necessarily those of CIRIA. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracyand completeness of this work, no warranty or fitness is provided or implied. The authors and publishers shall have neitherliability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage arising from its use.

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Event report E11102

Transforming construction using lean thinking

Report of a min confrence organised by CIRIA held at BIS, 1 Victoria Street, Londonon 09 May 2011

SpeakersDerek Drysdale Highways AgencyMartin Perks Mott MacDonald Alan Hodges BAM NuttallStuart Smith Bourton Ltd

Adrian Terry The Advanced Problem Solving Partnership Andy Butterfield BREBrian Swain Lean Construction Institute UK Alan Mossman Nottingham Trent UniversityOwen Jenkins CIRIA

ChairmanNigel Fraser BAA

THE ISSUESCIRIA launches its new publication C696, Build Lean. Transforming constructionusing Lean Thinking . The manufacturing industry has been using the Lean approach

to reduce waste, increase productivity and give the customer better value fordecades. This book aims to assist the construction industry in adopting thephilosophy of Lean. It is not a textbook or a manual to the tools associated with Lean.It is a light read with a narrative to motivate and begin enabling change throughoutthe industry. Lean requires commitment from an organisation and an investment inlearning but, as speakers at this book launch described, the rewards are alreadybeen reaped by some.

LEARNING POINTS1. Lean presents opportunity to construction businesses, particularly to deal with

current economic challenges.

2. Lean is more than a set of tools and measures; it is a philosophy, a mindset.3. It is a good way to do business because it about eliminating waste and adding

value.4. Collaboration is vital, even with competitors, because the supply chain is shared

and improvements are mutually beneficial.5. There needs to be a commitment and understanding of Lean at a senior level.6. It is a philosophy and approach that should be adopted throughout the

organisation.7. Clients can demand Lean operation in their supply chain, and evidence of this.8. Build Lean is not a textbook. It was designed to be readily accessible.9. The Lean approach resonates with the current Government’s demand of ‘more

for less’.



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PART 1: Introduction

CHAIR’S INTRODUCTIONNigel Fraser, Head of Systems and Standards, BAA Capital Projects

Nigel is Head of Systems and Standards for BAA Capital Projects. He previouslyworked in automotive and aeronautical manufacturing. Now, he’s involved in the promotion of Lean throughout BAA’s supply chain. Previously, he participated in thesetting up of Buildoffsite. With CIRIA, Nigel is proposing a set of performancemeasures for construction suppliers and contractors.

THE NATIONAL NEED AND PERSPECTIVE FROM A MAJOR PUBLIC SECTIONCONSTRUCTION CLIENTDerek Drysdale, Divisional Director Lean and Benchmarking Division Highways Agency

Derek wanted to share with the audience why the Highways Agency (HA) has

committed to Lean, investing £2million so far in adopting it. There are, currently,significant challenges. The mismatch between National spending and the taxreceipts, and the current Government’s swift action to address this have demandedthat all public spending is cut by 20 percent. With an annual spend of £2.5billlion and2000km of road to maintain, the HA, can make a significant contribution. Lean is oneof a number of ways that the challenge is being met.

Lean is not a problem for the construction industry; it is an opportunity.Implementation is a chance to improve competitive edge, as well as to cut costs.There are many definitions of Lean:

• reduction of waste

• a passion for perfection• a toolkit, a set of techniques, a philosophy

• customer focus.

Lean was originally conceived for manufacture; over the last 2 years, the HA havedemonstrated it can also work for construction. Researchers in the universities ofCardiff, Salford and Bath, as well as private consultancies, have all been translatingLean for the construction industry, producing tools, visual aids, guidance notes, etc.More details of these are included in Build Lean.

Highways Agency’s Lean Deployment StrategyLeadership andengagement – it isvery important to haveacceptance andenthusiasm at a seniorlevel and thenthroughout theorganisation’smanagement, all theway to the workforce. Achieving this hasbeen done by

engaging with thesenior management ofthe supply chain.



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Developing capability – this is increasing understanding by using a training scheme(used to train more than 170 people in the supply chain free of charge), writingguidance notes, holding quarterly seminars internally and for others to encourage theindustry-wide chain. This is on-going.

Improvement engine – myriad of projects to disseminate learning. Done incollaboration with the supply chain, there have been around 20 secondees. Therehave also been interventions from specialist organisations producing large benefitsand great efficiencies. An online tool, PartnerNet, enables knowledge transfer anddiscussion of Lean issues.

Sustainability – this is achieved by notonly using the appropriate tools with thesupply chain but also having the supplychain adopting the philosophy of Lean.Supply chain members are assessed and

their progress towards Lean is mapped.The Lean Maturity Assessment Toolkit(HALMAT) is used:

This will become part of the tender processas it will be linked to the Motivating Success Toolkit. In this way, the HA isdemonstrating leadership, making it clear that suppliers who do not demonstrateLean in their own operations, will soon no longer be able to work for the HA. Processis important, but to maintain Lean, it must be evident at an enterprise level, not justwithin projects. To engage with a wider audience, the HA is also part of H-LIG, aHighways Lean Improvement Group, with Local Highway Authorities and TfL.

Success of LeanProjects where Lean is in use include traditional construction, such as road-widening,maintenance. Asset support contracts have Lean written into them. Motorwaymanagement has totally changed. Instead of widening roads or building new ones,congestion is handled through technological means.

To date, Derek’s team can claim £43m planned (potential) benefits, of which £31m isrealised. He believes this is just the ‘tip of the iceberg’ though because every projectis seeing improvements with the implementation of Lean, in some cases small, insome much larger.

Derek finished by re-iterating the HA’s commitment to Lean. Large investments have

been made but these are already reaping efficiencies and changes throughout thesupply chain.

CHAMPIONING PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT: A PRIVATE SECTOR CLIENTPERSPECTIVENigel Fraser, BAA

BAA has asked its supply chain to demonstrate use of Lean, and would like to see itacross the industry. Everyone faces challenges and all, including BAA, have scopeto do better. Lean can aid improvement.

Construction Cost Performance



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Paul Morrell often shows thisdiagram, demonstrating how farfrom Lean the constructionindustry currently is. Thisprojection is not a foregoneconclusion and Lean has variousroles to play in avoiding fulfilmentof this prediction. These are:

1. Delivering client value2. Reducing waste3. Improving flow of work

Clients are able to facilitate this last function in particular.

Client valueThis will vary between clients but for BAA critical to value are:

• safety

• security

• meeting legislated deadlines

• constrained access

• maintaining pier use

• minimised working at height

• product durability and quality

• predictability of time and cost

• value for money for shareholders and customers.

Different clients will have a different list of what constitutes value to them. It isimportant that whatever it contains, it is well understood.

Intelligent measurement and wasteThe construction industry is good at measuring but there is still insufficient evidenceto demonstrate progression to Lean. Nigel has encouraged suppliers to use theirown management systems to demonstrate their improvements but there is lack ofunderstanding of a concept of waste beyond the amount of material that goes tolandfill. Within the Lean philosophy, there is the concept of muda. Muda is theJapanese word for waste. Tackling waste is key to achieving Lean construction.Waste comes in many different forms:

•

transport• inventory

• motion

• waiting

• over production

• over processing

• defects

• skills

Nigel is working with CIRIA and other clients to see if a set of standards could becreated to measure with this broader concept of waste and its reduction. He andOwen Jenkins (CIRIA) seek collaborators for a benchmarking activity and interestedparties should contact them.



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Creating flow As a client looking for Lean suppliers, BAA looks for the following enablers of flow inthose organisations, on site as well as off site:

• integrated team

• CAD

• low capital cost facility

• single piece flow line

• quick change over times

• modular product design

• batch size = 1

• value stream mapping

• assembler verification

• JIT, sequenced delivery

• Visual Management

• 5S regime

• flexible working

• collaborative

• structured problem solving

• measurement:• defective components• in process problems• un-planned downtime• on time delivery (OTIF)• takt time adherence• Overall Activity Efficiency (OAE)

BAA has proven that Lean can be applied to construction. In 2004, BAA won the

Construction News QIC Product Award for new, swiftly erected corridors to deal witha security requirement following a terrorist threat to airports.

DESIGNING LEAN: A CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTANT PERSPECTIVE –TRANSFORMING CONSTRUCTION DESIGN EFFICIENCYMartin Perks, Regional Director, Mott MacDonald

Martin has worked with Derek Drysdale to help the Highways Agency achieve itsLean goals.

Why use Lean thinking in design?The process of design is a major cost in all construction projects. Variations in design

due to errors are a major source of cost. This can be avoided by understandingexactly what the customer wants. Inefficiencies in taking an erroneous designforward to build will multiply incurring waste and cost. Miscommunication across aproject, any delays in the design process, with either designers delivering late orwaiting for the work of others, will contribute further to expenditure. Lean is a meansof avoiding these issues.

At Mott MacDonald, the organisation has recognised the need to examine theapplication of Lean in the multidisciplinary environment. It has been integratedthroughout the organisation. Martin presented some examples where Lean is beingused; one is at the project inception and the other is in the risk assessment ofprojects.

Lean in the project inception process



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The failings of most projects begin with inadequate preparations. Project success isnot inevitable; it is planned. Taking the Lean approach, Mott MacDonald hasreconsidered how a project is brought into the organisation. Now, their fees areworked out against milestones. There are regular stops at which they take stock.Reports are generated to fit with the reporting of the client. Careful consideration isgiven to the interface between different parties involved in different stages of aproject, including internal teams. This avoids errors at these interfaces.

The successes that Mott MacDonald has achieved at the project inception stage byimplementing Lean are an improved process, reduction in errors and initial designconcepts of at least 48 per cent, and improvement in time to complete in excess of37 percent.

Risk assessmentRisk and controlling risk are fundamental to success in construction projects. Riskassessment is vital for protection of all parties in a project. It covers variousconsiderations from health and safety to contractual commitments. Eliminating risk

will increase efficiency and decrease cost. Mott MacDonald carried out a detailedLean review of project process risk. The resulting risk assessment process:

• includes a process map, marking timescales and major decision points

• smooth running of day to day Risk Management

• exceptions are reported and reviewed immediately

• the main elements of risk are clearly identified and receive particular focus.

Future of Lean in Mott MacDonaldMajor reviews of project and design processes continue. These include variationcontrol, re-work of drawings, scope change, drawing verification process and designverification process.

DELIVERING LEAN: A CONTRACTOR’S PERSPECTIVE Alan Hodges, Company Quality Manager, BAM Nuttall

BAM Nuttall, part of Royal BAM Group, concentrates on the civil engineering sectorsof highways, railways and airports, marine, water, energy and remediation. ‘Our aimis to improve your infrastructure!’ It has a turnover of £695m and around 3000 staff. Alan has a keen and long-standing interest in Lean.

UK business climateThe general business climate is challenging, with both public and private budgetsbeing cut. This is driving a need for wise spending, customers seeking ‘more forless’, but there remains a legacy of waste. There are still delayed handovers,budgets exceeded, changed requirements and the resulting unplanned work. In1999, Sir John Egan published his challenge to the construction industry to do better,Rethinking Construction. A decade later, after assessing the progress, he has onlyscored the sector ‘4/10’. There has not yet been the revolution that he called for. Thepublic perception of the industry is also not wholly positive.

CIRIA’s Bui ld Lean report Alan joined the steering group for Build Lean with other members from a variety ofsectors within construction. This brought together a number of different viewpoints to

the project. Applying Lean to construction, as opposed to manufacturing, bringsunique challenges. Unlike manufacturing, weather conditions, geographic diversityand variety, and even ground conditions, all effect construction. It is not easy to



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translate the Lean approach from manufacturing to construction, and the approachesare likely to vary for the different sectors, for example for construction, building ormaintenance. Lean thinking has to be applied at every phase of the project frominception through design to construction and maintenance and at everyorganisational level and throughout a project. This has resulted in a book thatpresents the philosophy of Lean, not just its tools, and the book is narrative, notsimply a textbook.

How BAM Nuttall are applying LeanBenefits are to be gained from applying Lean to complex projects. This appeals tocivil engineers and the drive to be efficient. At BAM Nuttall, there was commitment toLean at an executive level. Directorsand senior managers were briefed,as were senior project staff. Middlemanagement are being briefedthrough a series of workshops.Specific projects are targeted

accompanied by detailed training onLean, and supported by ongoingmentoring. Essential to Lean isrespect for people and theengagement of the workforce. Onsite, this is translated in to involvingpeople through daily debriefs -reviewing progress and discussing the problems they encounter plus the good ideaswhich they can bring – the essentials of visual management. Everyone can feel thebenefit of such activities when they are able to leave for home on time and they nolonger have to keep tackling the same delays and problems every day. This sort ofengagement helps embed the philosophy ready for the next activity and the next

project.

DISCUSSIONCustomer value vs. cost – is a system change required?Engagement with the client is critical. It is important to understand not only whatclients ask for but also why they are asking for it, including what the benefit is to theend-user.

How do you take the Lean philosophy from individual projects to the enterprise level?How do you justify investing in the procedural part of the business in strapped times?There is a need to persuade senior management of the benefit of Lean. Using the

financial figures on waste can be effective.

Don’t overdo procedures, which can be costly to audit and maintain. Do make surethat everyone knows what is expected of him or her. For example, at Jaguar, thereisn’t a written procedure of the minute steps for putting a wheel on; the person whodoes that job simply knows that they must attach the wheel so that it does not comeoff and the systems are designed to achieve this by preventing unnecessarymistakes and making problems transparent.



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PART 2: THE GUIDE: BUILD LEAN – TRANSFORMING CONSTRUCTION USING

LEAN THINKING

AIMS OF THE GUIDENigel Fraser, BAA

Nigel brought experience of Lean to BAA from his time in the manufacturing sector.Seven publications have inspired and guided him, none of which are formaltextbooks:

• The Goal

• Six Sigma Toolkit

• Lean Thinking – moving on from the roots of lean in Toyota

• Learning to See

• Seeing the Whole

• Who Moved My Cheese – a ‘light’ read

• The Egan Report

Ten years on from the Egan Report, Never Waste a Good Crisis was written inNovember 2009 by Constructing Excellence. It explores the challenges andopportunities presented by the economic climate, seeking to restart the process ofchange begun by Egan. Suppliers were challenged to take the lead, by focussing onthe value to end clients and the business outcomes of any facility. Recommendationsincluded working in collaboration and using integrated Lean processes.

Build Lean considers if and how this can be done. It was written to add to Nigel’s listof readily read books on the subject: it is not a textbook. It is not a guide to Lean orSix Sigma tools. It provides insight, using the experience of the advisory group, intodeveloping a culture of Lean in an organisation. It has a narrative, based on real

examples, and this covers alternative approaches. It is relatively short and can bedipped into, though it is best read cover to cover. However, four distinct parts couldbe picked out on different occasions. None is overly long:

• Lean in a construction context – 45 pages

• implementation – 30 pages

• leadership, measurement, etc. – 35 pages

• checklist and problem-solving worksheets – 30 pages

Build Lean is also a call to arms.

THE LEAN PHILOSOPHY AND LEAN PRINCIPLESStuart Smith, Managing Director, Bourton Ltd

Stuart has been managing change at board level for much of his career withextensive experience of implementing improvement programmes using Lean and SixSigma methodologies to deliver bottom line benefits. As a qualified accountant healso has extensive experience of working capital management, financial modelling,feasibility studies and business strategy creation.

Stuart considered the challenges facing his clients: the need to reduce time, defectsand waste, the need to improve agility (flexibility and speed of response), internal

capability and processes. In what are economically difficult times, reducing wasteand costs is vital. In adopting Lean, Bourton has already seen benefits such as



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halving the construction timescale on specific activities, a 20 percent reduction inapproval times, plant and labour cost on a specific activity was reduced by 60percent, reduction in total scheme costs (excluding land) of around 4 percent perannum.

The Lean TimelineLean has only recently spread from manufacturing into service industries, publicsector and, more latterly, construction. The principles are well established in othersectors:

What is Lean?Lean is a way of thinking that will improve processes. It is a means of doing morewith less, better – less human effort, less equipment, less material, less time and lessspace. It is addressing customer needs in terms of cost, quality and timeperformance targets. Lean requires flexible, motivated teams continuously solvingproblems usingprovenmethodologies andtools.

Lean can be takenas a set of tools or a

philosophy, or amixture of the two.In Stuart’sexperience,organisationsembracing thephilosophical side are more likely to transform their business. This is the stancetaken in Build Lean.

There are Five Principles of Lean:1. Customer value – understanding and agreeing your customer needs2. Value stream – understanding your processes

3. Flow – allowing processes to run smoothly, eliminating bottlenecks and dead-ends



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4. Pull – pulling value through the supply chain, at the rate that suits the customer5. Strive for perfection – continuously attacking waste.

Taking the whole philosophy, Lean will encompass improvements at all levels of anorganisation and a whole spectrum of interventions:

Waste and valueKey to the Lean approach is an

appreciation of both value and waste.Traditionally, organisations concentrateon the former but, as this chartindicates, this neglects a great deal.This represents a typical process thathas undergone a full analysis: pleasesee diagram.

Lean’s StakeholdersThere are three stakeholders considered within Lean: the customer, the employeeand the organisation.

The customer is to be given the highest satisfaction of needs.The employee is to be engaged with. As Stuart said, ‘with every pair of hands, youget a free brain’, so encourage people to think.The organisation should eliminate all waste to produce speed, precision and cost

Lean in constructionIt is easy to say that construction is not a business of great repetition, unlikemanufacturing. However, if projects are broken down, many constituent parts arerepeated processes and activities. Some projects, some activities will require a moretailored approach.

Summary of this very swift overview of Lean

• Lean is an approach that has been taken for decades in some industries and nowis being used successfully in construction

Top down

interventions

Bottom up

continuous

improvement

Work team and

colleague level

Work team

level

Complex, cross-

functional business

processes

Basic cross-team

business processes

Lean approach integrated into all

strategic and transformation

changes

‘ Event’ driven application –

solving operational problems

and improving processes –

Rapid Improvement Events

(RIEs) & Lean Sigma projects

Daily way of working –

Lean embedded in how

teams operate – all staff

involved in both doing the

job and improving the way

it’s done

I n c r e a s i n g c o m p l e x i t y

o f p r o b l e m / i s s u e



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• the focus of Lean has always been on doing more for less, and this now seems tobe the mantra of the current Government

• the customer, external or internal, is at the heart of Lean

• it focuses on reducing costs, not making cuts

• it enables and depends upon the true empowerment of staff

•

it engages people, making it effective and even fun!

IMPLEMENTING LEAN ORGANISATION-WIDE Adrian Terry, The Advanced Problem Solving Partnership

Adrian’s previous experience was in the operational management of teams for theNavy, and enabling change through leadership. He then applied the same skills inthe construction industry. Having looked at various change methodologies, he startedgaining major results from using Lean, making cultural changes. As one of theauthors of Bui ld L ean , he explained the book’s development and the key findings ofthe research behind it.

Developing Bui ld L ean Researching Lean in construction took the form of a desk study and a seriespractitioner interviews and discussions with a variety of people including contractors,clients, Lean consultants and academics. This was all carried out under theguidance of an expert panel, a CIRIA working group. A key finding of the researchwas that achieving sustainable Lean transformations requires:

• a holistic approach

• the ability to create the right climate

• leadership that knows what to do, specifically

• focus on learning and the underpinning thinking, not tools

• the ability to widely distribute engagement

The reasons for failure were also investigated. Insufficient leadership was often cited.It was clear that those in a position of leadership did know have sufficiently specificguidance on the action they should be taking. It is also the case that, in general, thetools designed for Lean are, when rigidly applied, only suitable for simple orstraightforward activities.Construction tends to be complexand dynamic, with many peopleinvolved. Such activities requireunderstanding, and applying, the

philosophy of Lean. A holisticapproach is needed and theCIRIA book addresses this need.Based on 50 years use indifferent sectors and proven innumerous construction projects,here it is called ‘The Four Ps’:2:

Press is the influences that exert pressure on the organisation.Process is the work process itself, as well as the process of improvement.Knowledge needs to be in the hands of the people who are applying new methods

and measuring their progress. Lean is only slowly adopted and even faces barrierswhen the learning remains within a specialist team, or with consultants.



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Climate vs. cultureThe role of the leaders in making Lean successful is creating the necessary climate. Adrian’s table shows the differences between climate and culture. Most importantly,climate is amenable to change.

Adrian characterised the climate for Lean with the following points:

• challenge & involvement - How challenged, how emotionally involved, and howcommitted am I to the work?

• freedom - How free am I to decide how to do my job?

• trust & openness - Do people feel safe in speaking their minds and openlyoffering different points of view?

• idea time - Do we have time to think things through before having to act?

• playfulness & humour - How relaxed is our workplace? Is it OK to have fun?

• personal conflict - To what degree do people engage in interpersonal conflict or"warfare"?

• idea support - Do we have a few resources to give new ideas a try?

• debate - To what degree do people engage in lively debates about the issues

• risk taking - Is it OK to fail when trying new things?

Good leadership is vital for successful adoption of Lean. Leaders must knowspecifically what to do, making evidence-based changes, including setting the climateand enabling genuine ownership throughout the organisation.

Investment in learningNot all projects will result in the desired outcomes. However, every project whereLean is applied is an opportunity to learn. This should be accepted. Thoroughanalysis will ensure that lessons are taken into subsequent projects. Adriansuggested that the same rigor and due diligence usually associated with a mergershould be applied. Change will be sustained through the learning process.

Summary A sustainable transformation to Lean requires:

• a holistic approach

• the ability to create the right climate

• leadership that knows what to do, specifically

•

focus on learning and underpinning thinking – not tools• the ability to widely distribute engagement



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PART 3: OTHER GUIDES AND GUIDANCE

BRE – Andy Butterfield Andy is associate director at BRE Global. He gave us a brief introduction to BREConstruction Lean Certification Scheme. The aim of the CLCS is to raise standardsindustry-wide. It will give organisations confidence in the competence of Lean practitioners and it will provide a means of practitioners to prove their qualification to practice, demonstrating their on-going development.

BRE owns and manages the Construction Lean Improvement Programme (CLIP).The then Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) launched CLIP in 2003 in order tospread knowledge and learning of Lean throughout the industry. In a pilot phase,tools and techniques had been developed. More than 200 companies have used theprogramme to train individuals. Experience from CLIP feeds into CLCS.

There are two routes of entry to the CLCS for individuals. One is thorough formal

qualification, the other for experienced practitioners:

Benefits to the scheme’s practitioners, in addition to having demonstrable, up-to-dateskills, are entry into the GreenBookLive (online soon) and a members’ website forsupport and information. The next steps for CLCS are its official launch in Octoberduring Insite 2011, refinement of the scheme as BRE collaborates with industry andpublished leaflets.

LEAN CONSTRUCTION INSTITUTE UK – Brian Swain Brian is Director of the Lean Construction Institute UK. He talked us through theorganisation’s story and current activities.

In 1990, Womack, Jones and Roos published The machine that changed the world –how Lean production revolutionized the global car wars, and ‘Lean’ became the term



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it is now, a social-economic description of value-adding business activities. At thetime, the construction industry was not interested in anything from the manufacturingindustry except its products. But, through the ‘90’s the awareness and use of Leanspread. Published in 1996, Womack and Jones’ book, Lean Thinking , was abestseller. In 2001, the Egan Report on construction was published and one of theauthors was James Womack and Lean was being recommended to the constructionindustry in the UK.

In 2006, the Lean Construction Institute UK formed, and there are now similaractivities in Denmark and France, with growing interest in Russia. LCI-UK is acharitable organisation, utilising volunteer time to share information and experiencethrough summits and workshops. Current activities include an academic forum,regional groups and a major Summit organised by LCI-UK in conjunction with theHighways Agency, planned for November 2011. For more information about LCI-UKsee www.leanconstruction.org.uk

NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY - Alan Mossman Alan stood in for his colleague Dr Christine Pasquire. He began by assessing thecurrent position of the construction industry. Those organisations adopting Lean arestill early adopters. A Lean approach is being taken on site in some cases but not all.Here, for example, a plasterer, unable to start work himself on a particular room, hasblocked the entrance for all with his materials. In another example, a makeshiftworkbench has been constructing from six compressors worth £2500 each!

Researchers are currentlyworking on how Lean is takeninto the Design process,adopted at an enterprise leveland how it becomes amindset. It has tended to bethe case that Lean has spreadfrom the bottom of thisdiagram upwards. Perhaps itwould be better if it were theother way round? Build Leanadvocates this strategy.

Critical issues that researchers are considering:

• construction is different from manufacturing – it is point production

• it is a complex process – a network of changes• losses associated with each change accumulate.



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Collaboration is important for learning and that can result in competitive advantage.The construction industry is arranged in the UK such that the supply chain is sharedby all. Therefore, it is to everyone’s benefit if each organisation is training the supplychain in Lean. Higher education institutions are in a good position to facilitate sharedlearning. They can develop a curriculum, facilitate knowledge transfer activities andundertake action learning. At Nottingham Trent University, a programme is beingdeveloped to do these activities. There is also an MSc course being developed,which would be the first in the UK, if not the world. There is also PhD now underway.There is funding available for industry to undertake research in this field also,including from the EU and UK research councils.

CIRIA – Owen JenkinsCIRIA is aiming to raise the awareness of Lean beyond those already using it. This isdone by promoting the book, making presentations to industry groups and seekingpress coverage for both those activities.

A new portal will be available on the CIRIA website: www.ciria.org/service/lean. Thisincludes suitable KPIs, briefings and guides. In future, it may also include guidancefor clients on how to promote and enable Lean. For the industry, there may bequestions to ask prospective Lean consultants.

Introductory training courses will be based on the book. There will be opportunitiesfor readers to discuss it. This might be in the form of an online forum.

As mentioned by Nigel, there is a group looking to produce a set of new Lean KPIs.They are aware that there may be too many KPIs in general but, it is felt, an industry-wide set would have its benefits.

DISCUSSIONClient focus is an important tenet of Lean. How do we help the client? Do you eversee a time when it is as easy for a client to commission a construction project as it isfor them to buy a laptop?There was some discussion about the use of standard solutions, included pre-fabricated buildings. There is a challenge in getting consistently good briefs fromclients. The public can be critical of buildings being too similar. However, it ispossible to replicate components of a building or project.

Lean could be a means of achieving sustainability in construction. There does not

seem to be widespread understanding of this. How could the link be made?The concept of stewardship might be the link. It embodies a long-term view of assetswithin an organisation and the assets it has in society. An interesting piece of workwould be to understand the pressures shareholders exert on company boards andhow that makes them respond to sustainability. At BAA, the sustainability team hasbeen focussed on waste, of the kind WRAP is interested in, but is increasinglyinterested in the wider concept of waste that Lean tackles.

CHAIRMAN’S SUMMARYNigel would like to see whole management teams reading this book. He challengesthe event’s attendees to consider who would benefit from reading Build Lean. Mutualbenefit across the industry is to be gained by more people understanding the Leanapproach.

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Report - Build Lean. Transforming Construction Using Lean Thinking