An AHA Moment: All in for Lean Teams

For Saskatchewan's first LEED project we used an Integrated Design process to deliver what I promised the Boss, a LEED Gold Building at no additional cost. Unfortunately when we open the tender documents we got a BIG Shock! Hold the scream please. We were $2.2M over on a $7.5M budget!

What Went Wrong?

The Low Tender Contractor quickly identified that the wood structure was a $1.5M premium and so we needed to convert this project to a collaborative Design-Build-HighPerformance@LessCost project. Our team collaboratively reengineered the project to deliver LEED Gold, 55% less energy with a $100k contingency. An amazing team effort that exceeded expectations and achieved an Innovation Point for this wonderful new collaborative process that delivers high performance at less cost.

An Aha Moment ... Its all about the Team

The Saskatchewan Forest Center project provided the AHA Moment as to WHY we need contractors at the table with a process similar to the the ole Master Builder approach. An approach where owners, designers and contractors work together on one plan, one budget with respect and collaboration. In a search for a more modern name we did a NetScape (Not Google) search for Integrated Project Delivery and found this whole new world of collaborative Lean Project Delivery

A Team with a Great System wins Championships

With no formal training on lean construction systems, it was time to head to the 2011 Lean Construction Institute National Congress to learn about the Last Planner System, Pull Planning, Multi-party Agreements and Target Cost Design. Attending a Lean conference for a PM interested in project delivery innovation was like putting a kid that loves candy in a candy factory. I spent the next four years flying to the candy store each fall and spending my whole allowance developing my lean tool box. At one of the first LCI Congresses I met Jack Avery, a Master Builder from Sellen who was cool to hang out with and became an informal mentor. This relationship recently came in real handy as I needed show a client how a Master Builder plies his trade.

On a recent project in Victoria, our Shift2Lean team facilitated workshops and coached the Kinetic team on Lean Project Delivery systems. We first had the Last Planner System bootcamp with the Villego Simulation, we pull planned the current phases of work, we established weekly meetings to coordinate work, improve the process and remove constraints. But there was something missing in the motivation and discipline for managing the process. The initial efforts helped get the process started but without seeing the Last Planner System in action on a real project by a real master, it was a hard sell to establish buy-in and the discipline needed to execute the system. Time to go an a Gemba walk!

Go and See how the Masters Do it!

Fortunately Jack offered to show the Kinetic Team how they deliver lean construction projects. We jumped on the opportunity to tour a 45 story residential tower that they were building for Amazon. As an early pioneer in lean construction practice, Sellen has built strong relationships with clients like Amazon, leading to securing negotiated work enable them to avoid the tendering game. By becoming a reliable solution provider able to address Amazon's challenge of developing quality space fast enough to handle it's amazing growth, Sellen has become a preferred contractor.

The Gemba walk of the Amazon project provided the Kinetics team with inspiration needed as the team witnessed what a fully coordinated lean project looks like, WOW. It was a symphony of lean construction productivity. The site was 5S clean, work was fully coordinated in Takt time zones with one trade per zone, Just-In-Time supply and installs, optimized sharing of equipment and hoisting systems.

We had timed the Gemba walk to coincide with the Weekly Coordination Meeting to see first hand the high level of coordination and production work flow that can be achieved by an experienced lean contracting team. The approximately 30+ trades reported out in the one hour coordination meeting. The team achieved close to a 90% percentage of planned work completed (PPC) for the week. The project was close to being topped out on floor 43 and there were suites on the main floor that were clean, locked and and ready for M&E systems to be turned on.

Brilliant Systems with a Average Team deliver Great Projects

It is really amazing what we learn when we get out on a GEMBA walk. How masters of lean implement brilliant systems with average people to achieve exceptional results. The reward is repeat business by negotiated work with clients that understand value, relationships and the lean way of doing business.

I have had my AHA moments as to why we need a New Project Playbook. Have YOU?

Please Connect on LinkedIn so that you don't miss any of the plays needed to contribute to YOUR project success story.