Na15 agl01 leading construction industry to lean-agile (leagile) project management

Session Title: Leading Construction Industry to Lean-

Agile (LeAgile) Project Management

Session Code: NA15AGL01 Suhail Iqbal, PE, PfMP, PgMP, PMP, PMI-PBA, PMI-SP, PMI-RMP, PMI-ACP, CAPMSysComp International Private Limited, Pakistan.

“PMI” is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc. ©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only.

ObjectiveTo introduce a new concept of Lean-Agile

(LeAgile) Project Management for Construction Industry.

Not only to highlight the positive need for adoption of agility in construction but also an attempt to

marry it up with the lean construction.


Contents• Introduction to Lean and Agile • Lean and Lean Construction • Possibility of Agility in Construction • Can Lean and Agile be used in unison? • Proposed application of Lean-Agile (LeAgile)

Project Management in Construction.


Questions Addressed1. What is LeAgile? Does this term exist already or we just

invented it?2. What is the biggest challenge in introducing agile in

construction industry?3. How do we propose lean and agile approaches can be used in

construction industry?4. Is there any existing methodology or approach which closely

resembles the idea of LeAgile in Construction?5. Will the existence of Lean Construction facilitate the

acceptance of LeAgile Construction?


Introduction to Lean and Agile


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’• ‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ - two separate approaches • Some identified relationship • Parallel development paths• Some common features and intrusions• Sometimes mistaken to be the same.• Both approaches - distinct and unique in purpose


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ – What to do?• Find a way how to best utilize them together. • Find the similarities and differences • Try to have the best of the both worlds.


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ – Construction Industry• Difficult to draw a parallel or clear distinction.• Most organized and well managed industry

– still causes a lot of waste – already realised the need to be lean,

• Concept of lean construction is already accepted.• Clearer objectives and static scope • Assumed “agile is not for construction”


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ - LeAgile• If lean and agile can work together in software

and other industries, then why not construction?• Construction projects may be few but command

larger budgets.• Greatest benefits to reap if agile and lean can

work for them together.


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ – Diverse Views• Many researchers and diverse views

– Agile - as a way to do things within the overall perspective of lean

– Some debate they cannot work together at all. We will try to establish

• Reinforce the commonalities of both and • Smoothen out the jagged edges• Present a fit for construction industry.• Marriage of convenience - LeAgile


Definitions – Lean is Value• “Lean is an approach that identifies the value

inherent in specific products, identifies the value stream for each product, supports the flow of value, lets the customer pull value from the producer, and pursues perfection.”

(Karkukly, 2013)


Definitions – LeanDoing more with less• “Lean is doing more with less. Use the least

amount of effort, energy, equipment, time, facility space, materials, and capital – while giving customers exactly what they want.”

(Womack & Jones, 2008)


Definitions - Agile• Agility is the ability to both create and respond

to change in order to profit in a turbulent business environment.

• Agility is the ability to balance flexibility and stability.

(Highsmith, 2002)


Definitions – LeAgile (Lacher View)• Lacher and Bodamer (2009)

– Agility in Project Management.– Agile in the perspective of lean.

• Lacher and Varisco (2008) – Agile is the implementation of Lean Thinking. – Lean-Agile is a combination of Lean Thinking and

Agile disciplines. – Lean is the ‘What’ and Agile is the ‘How’.


Lean Organization – Exact and Precise• Most economical usage of resources - Just-In-

Time (JIT). • Manages and maintains flow of all its materials

and resources • Eliminates all chances of waste. • Reach a level of precision.


Lean Organization – Managing Projects• Work and only the work required contributing

directly to the organizational objectives.• All such effort leading to waste is not taken up. • Highly proactive and experienced with

processes.• Be able to forecast and plan very soundly.


Agile Projects• Focus is not on accuracy or precision but on

speed and flexibility. • How quickly team can react to the changing

requirements• Be able to complete the job in less than expected

times.


Agile – How it works?• Distributes whole work in smaller chunks.• Concentrates on one piece at a time.• Remaining work is open to suggestion and

change. • Cost effective response to customer demand.• Based on flexibility of design, production and

delivery. • Projects with constantly changing scopes. • Delivers the product faster. • Reduces the development cycle considerably.


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ – Foci & Scope• Lean focuses on reducing waste, • Agile focuses on being alert to opportunities

effecting changes in a fast manner. • Agile is for projects with constantly changing

scope. • Lean needs to be very well-planned right from

the outset, so scope must be as clear and static as possible.


History of Lean and Agile

Exhibit 1 – History of Lean and Agile (Copyright Ennova 2011, Friday, 23 September 2011)

1960 - JIT by Taiichi Ohno 1982 - Lean as a formal approach 1990 - Lean in quality and supply-chain 1993 - Effective scheduling for construction 1998 - Repetitive scheduling method

/ LBMS1999 – LeAgile for Supply Chain Management

1950 - Line of Balance (LoB), a visual method of construction planning

2000 - Last Planner System

2011 – Agile and Lean for Construction (ENNOVA)


‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ - Similarities & DifferencesLean AgilePrimarily a philosophy A conceptual frameworkFocus on customer value Focus on customer satisfactionFocus on eliminating waste Focus on simplicityIntegrated and collaborative teams

Self-Organizing teamsDaily and weekly planning Close and daily cooperation

between all partiesFocus on improving task reliability and reduction of overall duration

Focus on speed and adaption to changing circumstances

Maximising profitability by reducing unit cost

Profitable sales maximisationExhibit 2 – Comparison of Lean and Agile

(Copyright JACOBS)


Lean and Lean Construction


Lean Principles Task Groupings• Specify value• Identify the value stream• Flow • Pull• Perfection

Womack & Jones (2008)

• Value-added• Enablers• Waste

MacAdam (2009)&

Moujib (2007)


Seven Types of Lean Waste• Over Production Waste• Waiting Waste• Transportation or Conveyance Waste• Over Processing Waste• Inventory Waste• Motion Waste• Correction or Defects (Repair or Rework) Waste


Lean A3 Process – What is?Leads to rapid and effective alignment of • sponsor, • key stakeholders, and • program team around a • revised vision, • strategy, • objectives and • resource requirements.

Moreci (2014)


Lean A3 Process – LeAgile Possibility • Lean A3 process is a possibility of Agile in Lean. • In a case study it was successfully applied to fix

a troubled program.• There seems to be an opportunity for

construction projects to use similar combination.Moreci (2014)


Value & Value Stream• Value is defined as a capability provided to a

customer at the right time at an appropriate price, as defined in each case by the customer

(Womack & Jones, 1996, p. 353)• Value Stream is defined as all the actions, both

value added and non-value added, currently required to bring a product from raw material to the arms of the customer or through the design flow from concept to launch. (Morgan, 2002)


Value Flow• Make the value flow• Differentiate between the value-adding

activities, enablers and non-value adding activities

• By eliminating non-value adding activities we eliminate waste.

• Once value is created, it is not delivered to customer until and unless customer needs it and pulls it on JIT principle.

• The whole process is then perfected by continuous improvement.


Possibility of Agility in Construction


Agile Manifesto (2001) Software Industry• Individuals and interactions over processes and

tools• Working software over comprehensive

documentation• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation• Responding to change over following a plan


Agile Manifesto (2001)• Created for software industry• Adopted by several other industries• Possibility for Construction industry

– Change ‘software’ to ‘product’ in 2nd point


Agile Manifesto – How Can It Apply?Construction IndustryIndividuals and interactions over processes and tools• Processes and tools are valued more and status quo

maintained. • Still Construction industry evolves, innovates and adapt.• What if we consciously promote creativity • Give initiatives to team and stakeholders to innovate.• LBMS where a conventional schedule may not be workable for

all locations, plan separately for each location. • Start prioritizing individuals and interactions over processes and

tools.


Agile Manifesto – How Can It Apply?Construction IndustryWorking product over comprehensive documentation. • Needs a workable product but perfection sought.• Results in gold-plating and exceeding the basic specification. • If not for customer’s changing requirement, we are causing

waste and are not even meeting the target of being lean. • In LP system, the schedule is divided into five layers, only first

being mandatory, and are not detailed or restrictive.• LPS has already taught us to reduce documentation and take to

the last planner level.


Agile Manifesto – How Can It Apply?Construction IndustryCustomer collaboration over contract negotiation. • Contract is the binding force in any construction project. • Engineers will never agree to give priority to customer

collaboration over the contract. • Contract revisions and changes, anyways, still occur. • Why can’t we remove this barrier and work as partners?• In LP system, last planner improves his bottom-level plan due to

feedback of the customer.


Agile Manifesto – How Can It Apply?Construction IndustryResponding to change over following a plan. • We must be ready to respond to change as and when it is

needed. • Make our construction phases smaller in size and iterative in

nature. • In LP system, Weekly Plans are prepared and collaboration with

customer is promoted.


Can Lean and Agile be used in unison?


‘LPS’ and ‘LBMS’Common Characteristics• Both systems are lean by nature • Both focus on decreasing waste and increasing

productivity.


‘LPS’ and ‘Agile’Similarities• LPS uses approach similar to agile• Last Planner is the person actually doing the

work or the lowest level supervisor. • The planning is not centric and involvement of

this last planner is essential. • This makes the planning a collaborative effort

and better commitments are achieved.


‘LBMS’ and ‘Agile’Similarities• LBMS is more of a technical system in which

work flow lines are created for different locations • Overall plan may be governed by traditional CPM

and PERT methods. • LBMS makes the buffers of critical chain explicit • LBMS forecasts future performance based on

statistical projections.


Last Planner System - Phases

Exhibit 3 – Scheduling Levels in Last Planner (Copyright Ennova 2011, Friday, 23 September 2011)


‘LPS Phases’ and ‘Agile’Phases• LPS interacts with the customer like Agile and

adjusts and improves the plan based on the feedback.

• Master schedule is just to define the key milestones.

• Phase Schedules are slightly more detailed explicitly defining the handoffs from one phase to the other.

• Only these two levels are mandatory.


‘LPS Phases’ and ‘Agile’Phases• Look-Ahead Schedule is optional • If you have time to forecast or if anything has to

be re-planned, we can use this level. • Last two levels have similarity to Kanban as well

as Agile. • Weekly Work Plan may be considered like an

agile iteration • Progress Tracking may be the feedback loop with

the customer,


‘LPS Phases’ and ‘Kanban’Phases• Weekly Work plan is something we intend TO

DO.• Progress Tracking deals with DOING and DONE

of Kanban. • The missing link between Lean and Agile is

Kanban which has the capacity to bind them together into LeAgile.


Last Planner in Construction

Exhibit 4 – Last Planner in Construction Management (Copyright Ennova 2011, Friday, 23 September 2011)


Proposed application of Lean-Agile (LeAgile) Project Management in Construction


Any Existence of Proposed Application• No proposed application exists so far• Discussion to stir up minds to the possibility of

LeAgile• Some research and white papers exist but none

for construction.• Lean Construction does exist.• LeAgility in Construction is not a far-fetched idea.• LPS and LBMS already hold the key to LeAgility.


Expected Benefits of LeAgility• Opposition expected from construction industry • Opening the floodgates of new possibilities• Reduce waste in construction projects • Make them much more efficient and profitable • Can be fast and flexile• Saving enormously on time and cost• Satisfy our stakeholders and • Be able to sell more• Making even more profits


LeAgile Supply Chain Management


Leagile Construction System (LCS)

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• Name: Suhail Iqbal• Web: http://www.syscompk.com• Email: [email protected]• Twitter: http://twitter.com/shewal786• LinkedIn: http://pk.linkedin.com/in/suhail• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suhail.iqbal.54• Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/10456095253363094682

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Na15 agl01 leading construction industry to lean-agile (leagile) project management