You might have heard of Lean – Toyota & Boeing are among the best exponents of Lean thinking, but it’s used by almost all of the top 1000 blue chip companies to drive effectiveness. Simplistically, Lean involves studying all of the activities carried out during delivery of a product or service, improving those that add value and eliminating those that don’t. By identifying discontinuities and poorly coordinated or unproductive activities throughout the delivery team and supply chain Lean can eliminate waste and improve value. Lean Project Management is the theme of the March 16 Norfolk Branch event to be held at the Norfolk Record Office. Here two experienced Lean Practitioners; Stephen Pearson and David Butcher, will provide you with an insight as to how Lean can help your own business and will give you some tools and ideas that can be used immediately to make a difference in your own organisation.

1. Lean Project Management
David Butcher and Steve Pearson

2. Outline of Presentation
• Overview of Lean Project Management
• Lean Project Management in the Highways
Agency
• Lean Project Management in construction
• Lean Project Management Tools

3. Lean History
From Mass Production …
1860s Mass production of armaments and clothing
Early 1900s Beginning of the development of statistical methods of analysis
1920s Ford – time and motion studies
1930s GM – choice based on complicated forecasts and big batches
1950s worldwide – mass production, lower costs but waste evident
1960s Motorola – Six Sigma process method for analysis of variation

4. Lean History
… to Lean Production
1940s Eiji Toyoda visits Ford – impressed with scale/flow BUT not waste!
1950s Toyota commences the path of “Toyota Way” and Production System
1970s Six Sigma methods incorporated in the “Toyota Way”
1980s The “Toyota Way” begins the development of Lean
1990s Worldwide all major blue chip manufacturers have adopted Lean

5. What is Lean?
Outcomes
• Lean will maximise customer value while minimising waste
• Lean creates more customer value with fewer resources
• Lean provides:
– fast, flexible processes
– that give customers what they want, when they want it
– at the highest quality and affordable cost

6. What is Lean?
Process
• Lean is a methodology which aims to identify blockages to
workflow, and take away those which have no use.
• The ideal of Lean is uninterrupted workflow, with every
action providing value of some kind.
• However, Lean is also about building a culture in which the
abilities of staff are fully used and continuous improvement
is embedded into the organisation.

7. What does Lean look like?
• Workflows kept simple, eliminate complexity where possible
• Strive for error prevention rather than constant checking
• Minimise work in progress, queues and delays
• Provide what is required, not what you think is customer demand
• People work in self-managed teams to deliver a first class service
• Active involvement of everyone in the improvement process
• Focus on processes not individual tasks
The overriding emphasis is the focus on adding
value and removing waste

8. The four ‘P’s of Lean:
People & Partners Philosophy
Building a solid relationship Following a
with our partners in order to philosophy of long
fully integrate our work term sustainable
process. improvement.
Problem
Solving
End to end Process Making the
Continually improving most of staff
processes to deliver value experience,
efficiently and effectively. knowledge &
ingenuity.

9. Isn’t Lean just another word for ‘Common Sense’?
• This is not rocket science – and it is not magic
• Yes, it is common sense, but it’s a system which has
been tried and tested, and has been proven to be
workable.
• It scrutinises the way that people do things and
identifies very specifically those things which cause
unnecessary interruptions to the way that work
progresses.
• CLOTHES HORSE

10. The 8 Wastes
Lean classifies different kinds of waste which
prevent streamlining.
• Transport (of materials, equipment)
• Inventory (overstocking, understocking, or damage of materials)
• Motion (Design of material flow)
• Waiting (e.g. waiting for signatures)
• Over-processing (handling something more times than is necessary)
• Overproduction (creating a system which produces too many items)
• Defects (e.g. production defects through any means)
• Skills (This was added later to the Acronym due to the realisation that training
etc. was essential for all the others to be found and eliminated)
Acronym: TIM WOODS

11. Lean differs from conventional thought with its
ideas of ‘push’ and ‘pull’
Push: Making product before the customer demands it
– mass production in advance of order
Pull: Creation of product is triggered by the customer
– one piece flow stimulated by order
Benefits of pull:
• can confirm that each product has a customer
• opportunity to be flexible and make changes
• defects are spotted early by only producing one unit at a time

12. Creating the Lean Enterprise
3 Key Questions
• Where are we today? (‘the current state’)
• Where do we want to be? (‘the future state’)
• How do we get there? Many initiatives dive straight in
here . . . and don’t deliver the benefits
• This is fundamental to allowing robust improvement

13. How would using Lean impact on me/my team/ my
directorate?
• Lean project management will free up valuable time for
staff by removing actions which add no value.
• It will reduce the frustration which may come from
aspects of work which are not felt to be necessary.
• It will allow staff to attend to those tasks which are the
most productive.

14. How Lean impacts the bottom line
• Do More…
– World class customer service
– Improved quality
– Speeding up the programme
– Improved working environment

15. How Lean impacts the bottom line
• With Less…
– Equipment/plant
– Space
– Human effort
– Inventory
– Time/cost
– Through the relentless elimination of waste and
reduction of variation

16. The 8 Wastes- TIM WOODS
Transportation Inventory Motion
•Retrieving or storing files •Open projects •Handoffs
•Going to the printer •E-mails unread •Extra key strokes
•Carrying or posting paperwork •Office supplies •Going to get signatures
•Unused records in database •Searching for files / handling paperwork
Waiting
(Idle time) Over-Processing Defects / Rejects / Re-work
•Repeated manual entry of data
Waiting for…
•Data entry errors
•Un-needed process steps
•Slow pc’s
•Pricing errors
•Customer response
•Missing information
•Authorisation
•The printer / photocopier
Over-Production Skills Misuse
•A system which calls for extra copies
•Not using people to their full potential
•A system which continues to create reports
which are no longer read

17. What characteristics does a Lean organisation have?
Problem Solving
(continuous improvement and learning)
Process
(eliminate waste)
People and Partners
(respect, challenge and develop)
Philosophy and Purpose
(long-term thinking)

18. It’s about getting more (or the same) for less by
empowering people to ensure we are doing the
right thing the right way!

19. Summary
• Lean is a way of thinking
• Lean aims to come closer and closer to providing
customers with what meets their need/s
• At the heart of Lean are flexible, motivated team
members continuously solving problems
• Lean is about continuous improvement, the path doesn’t
end

20. Outline of Presentation
• Overview of Lean Project Management
• Lean Project Management in the Highways
Agency
• Lean Project Management in construction
• Lean Project Management Tools

21. Lean Delivery in HA – History
• Nichols Review (March 2007) highlighted
– need to improve delivery of value
• Lean Pilot studies over last 3 years
– M6 Extension Carlisle to Guards Mill
• HA Lean Delivery Team established (April 2009)
– supported by Mott MacDonald
• Target of £66m savings for HA in 2010/11 (April 2010)

22. Lean Delivery in HA – 3 Year Plan

23. Extracts from HA Presentation (2nd November)
Better Outcomes In Tougher Times
Derek Drysdale –Division Director Lean Improvement
Highways Agency

24. CSR Outcomes
• 2009 – White paper on roads programme for next six years
• In the CSR, Chancellor George Osborne revealed £83bn of cuts
• Transport funding will fall by 15% over the next 4 years
• Expenditure on new infrastructure down 11% over the period
– HA cash budget £2500m in 2011/12 declining to £2000m in each subsequent year
– Reduction of over 20% - a challenging budget!
– Emphasis on asset repair, life extension, renewal at lowest initial cost or short term cost

25. “Lean Genome” (the blueprint of common sense)
People capability Lean Daily
Leadership Management
5S Process Focus
Standardise
Customer value Visual
Collaborative Management
Strategy
Planning Process Control
Off site build

26. HA Major Projects
• M25 Bell Common Tunnel: Lean techniques contributed saved
£5.8m
• M1 25 to 28: Collaborative Planning contributed to delivery
ahead of programme
• M1 10 to 13: Greater productivity on sheet piling and sheet
nailing
• A1 Dishforth: Daily asphalt laying rate increased from 1000t to
2000t
• M40 J15: 6-12 days saved on original 42 day surfacing
programme
• A421: Increased blacktop production saved £2 a tonne for
40,000t
• A46: Earthworks efficiency activity creating a potential saving of
up to £7.5m on the project

27. Knowledge Transfer
Lean practitioners develop a Knowledge Transfer Pack to capture
lessons learned and ensure benefits can be applied to other schemes
(Mott MacDonald developed the KTP methodology for the HA)

28. Outline of Presentation
• Overview of Lean Project Management
• Lean Project Management in the Highways
Agency
• Lean Project Management in construction
• Lean Project Management Tools

29. Outline of Presentation
• Overview of Lean Project Management
• Lean Project Management in the Highways
Agency
• Lean Project Management in construction
• Lean Project Management Tools

30. A46 Newark to Widmerpool
Knowledge Transfer Pack
30

31. Background and Objectives – Project Options
Extending earthworks season Earthworks 100% dry day output
Design Process
High Target early completion
Stats
of Pavement Construction
Pavement Construction
Earthworks CBM North
3km earthworks platform
Benefits
Minimum costs of CBM, Blacktop
Low
Low Ease of Implementation High

32. Background and Objectives – Definitions
Achieve maximum output in dry weather for earthworks
Deliverables:
• Maximum achieved on any given day
• Resource efficiency
Success:
• Completion

33. Current Earthworks Process
The current process was examined during High Level Process Mapping and was
not previously defined.
The Earthworks sub contractor (John Jones), operating with a programme,
resourced and planned the works with fluctuating resources as they deemed
necessary. “Trial and error” (their words) and conservation of resource
(excavator, trucks etc) was the approach
John Jones is operating on an Open Book contract using Target Costs
33

34. Earthworks Process Implementation
It was important to establish current productivity in order to measure any
improvements. Working with the Team measurement took place on site of the
Excavator utilisation over a working day and the Dumper Truck Run Time
variation
Initially the Team were sceptical about meaningful variation
However Mott MacDonald’s finding in the Analyse stage identified significant
variation
34

35. Earthworks Process Implementation
Excavator Utilisation
– Identified as a key indicator of utilisation and performance
– Anecdotal evidence from the team on site suggested Excavator
down time was “very low - about 5%” (words from the contractor
5%
PD)
– However analysis showed excavators were idle much more than this

36. Earthworks Process Implementation October 5
Down Time Down Time
4% 24%
Loading Loading
Time 96% Time 76%

37. Earthworks Process Implementation October 5
Excavator Down Time 5 October

38. Earthworks Process Implementation October 12
Excavator Down Time 12 October
Excavator KOM PC450
was engaged in Spreading
for much of this
observation period,
however a significant
portion of excavator down
time was due to a lack of
availability of trucks

39. Earthworks Process Implementation October 12
Causes for Downtime
• The major cause for down time observed on the 12 October was identified as
being insufficient Trucks for 2 Excavators
• No additional trucks were introduced to maintain the programmed work output
and thus Excavators were left idle
This highlights the importance of ensuring
the number of trucks on the site is sufficient
at all times

40. Earthworks Process Implementation
Run Time October 5 Run Time October 12
Elements on the haul are effecting the On both full days of analysis, variable
run times of all trucks run times are experienced by all
trucks observed

41. Earthworks Process Optimisation
Excess Trucks sitting idle
Potential to add
We can see that the number of trucks did not
always adequately cater to the Haul Length extra trucks to
balance haul length

42. Earthworks Process Potential Savings
The remaining amount of earthworks is 1.38M m3. If a similar
regime of optimising the trucks was adopted the earthworks
programme could potentially be shortened by 113 days. Using the
same method of calculation the costs for the optimised teams
would be: Potential saving of
Un-optimised Optimised £201,809
equipment costs
Days 416 303 Plus
Total Cost
113 days
£2,462,289 £2,260,479 overhead costs
Fully optimised process (including excess trucks) has potential
saving of £7,130,000

43. Outline of Presentation
• Overview of Lean Project Management
• Lean Project Management in the Highways
Agency
• Lean Project Management in construction
• Lean Project Management Tools

44. Lean Tools
A3 Problem Solving and Reports
Affinity Diagrams
Pareto Chart
Cause and Effect Diagram
PDCA
Chi Squared analysis
Process Mapping
Intervention
Process Review
Kaizen
SIPOC
Five Whys
FMEA Visual Management System
Voice of the Customer (VOC)

45. Some of the basic tools
• Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control-Transfer (DMAICT)
– the improvement cycle that underpins Lean implementation
• Blitz Improvement
– a tool of continuous improvement
• The 8 wastes
– the cornerstone of Lean implementation
• 5’s
– creating a productive and safe workplace, where abnormalities are made visible
and corrected

46. Some of the basic tools
• Visual management
– simple communication of the state of the process (e.g. what needs to be done,
how things are going)
• Standardisation
– doing things the same. Every time. In the least wasteful way
• Takt Time
– the process ‘heartbeat’ to fir customers’ need
• ‘Pull’ not ‘push’
– value to the customer (e.g. Releasing work only when ‘pulled’ i.e. through
demand)

47. Visual Management System
4 elements
• Primary Visual Display (PVD)
• Regular Team Meetings
• Action Sheet System
• Short Interval Leadership
Every team can create its own VMS
– The frequency of meetings is agreed by the team
– For individual projects, daily is often best
– Agree a frequency to start and change it as necessary

48. Examples of Primary Visual Displays

49. VMS – Benefits
• Improves team communication
• Focuses on daily performance
• Encourages improvement ideas
• Captures small issues early and regularly
• Builds and embeds a continuous improvement culture

50. Collaborative Planning
The Traditional Approach to Planning
The Plan
• Main Contractor/Planning dept does the plan
• Imposed on the contractors
• Contractors plan site work individually and
independently

51. Collaborative Planning
The Traditional Approach to Planning
On Site
• Contractors try and follow the Main Contractor plan
• But not always bought into achieving the plan
• Penalised if they don’t perform to plan

52. Collaborative Planning
The Traditional Approach to Planning
Project Management
• Did we make a profit? – if not who needs to
improve?
• Did we finish on time? – if not who needs to
improve?
• What we will try and do better next time?
What are the results of this?

53. The effect buffer on the Plan
Plan for 1 floor of the hotel construction project
Estimated
Duration
Boarding 2 days ½ Plan
1½ days
day (each floor has
12 rooms) Elevation
Electrician 1st fix 1 Theoretical
3 days 2 days
day
completion time if
all buffer is moved
¾ ¼ to the end of the
Plumbing 1 day day day plan = 7¾ days or
17¾ days to
complete all 6
Plastering 3 days 1 floors
2 days
day
Painting 1st coat 1 day ¾ ¼
day day
Electrician 2nd fix 1 day ¾ ¼
day day
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
buffer

54. Collaborative Planning Process
Feedback Loops
-The measures indicate when something is going wrong
- Any activity not achieved in the 1 week plan goes into next 1 week
plan and 6 week plan
- The 6 week plan updates the collaborative plan
- The collaborative plan updates the agreed project programme

55. The effect buffer on the Plan
Plan for 1 floor of the hotel construction project
Estimated
Duration
Boarding 1½ days 1½ days Plan
(each floor has
12 rooms) Elevation
Electrician 1st fix 2 days 2 days
Theoretical
completion time if
all buffer is moved
¾
Plumbing ¾ day day
to the end of the
plan = 7¾ days or
17¾ days to
2 days complete all 6
Plastering 2 days floors
¾
Painting 1st coat ¾ day day
Electrician 2nd fix ¾ ½ 1 ¼ 1 ¼ ¼
¾ day day day
day day day day day
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
buffer

56. Collaborative Planning – Objectives
• The team establish a collaborative programme
• The programme is stabilised and uncertainty removed
• Utilise the team’s skills and experience
• Identify potential risks and opportunities
• Identify issues and common interface problems and collectively resolve
these
• Produce forward plans and identify mobilisation needs
• Increase predictability of activity and project completion

57. Programme Planning in Action
Detailed Project Plan
Designer
Trades
Sub-Contractor Architect

58. Implementing 5S in the Workplace

59. The 5S Process
What is needed for work? What is not needed?
Sort
Don’t stop! “A place for
Make 5S a Sustain Straighten everything and
5S
good habit everything in its
place”
Do things the
same way with … and get rid of
the same Standardise Sweep up what is not needed
equipment (waste)
The 5Ss are an approximate translation from Japanese

60. Implementing 5S in the Workplace

61. The Six Sigma Process – DMAIC
• Business Case/ PIP Team Define
• Problem Statement / Objective What is the process improvement opportunity ?
• Primary / Secondary Metrics What is the scope of the problem ?
• Voice of the Customer (VOC) Who’s involved / affected ?
• Process mapping
• Cause and effect analysis Measure
• XY Matrix, FMEA What does the process look like ?
• Data Collection How is the process performing today ?
• Capability Analysis What are the primary causes of failure ?
• Graphical data analysis
• Statistical analysis Analyse
• Correlation (X/Y) Where and when do defects occur ?
• DCOM
• Quick wins/ solutions
• Simulation Improve
• Design of Experiments How can we optimise improvements ?
• Select best solutions
• Implementation/Control Plans
• PBL tools to sustain gains
Control
• Establish Process Management System What controls can be put in place to sustain gain ?

62. Cause and Effect Diagram (Fishbone Diagram)
The Ishikawa diagram (fishbone) is the brainchild of Kaoru Ishikawa, who pioneered quality
management processes in the Kawasaki shipyards, and in the process became one of the
founding fathers of modern management. First used in the 1960’s
COMMUNICATION PROCESSES different Agents, different quality plans
forget
Documents get lost
No universal
documented procedure
no standard copy to list
'
sits in the in-tray too busy “doing” rather than recording
Misunderstanding
Not a KPI
Misunderstand
Do not understand the shorthand intention of
comments Original due dates tight
trying to be too succinct
Reduce
submission
Different reviewers review time
Different disciplines different types
people not always available No common method of
Variable content
comments
Lack of dedicated
resources Delay in receiving
no set standards
Can not use people 100% documents
projects vary
Do not know level of review Variable quality
Because “review” is open ended save wasting people’s time
need to find out what is important lack of understanding
decided by SW sloppy
Lack of customer
feedback Specialists do not know when
documents are coming
PEOPLE DOCUMENTS

63. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Potential Failure S Potential O D R
Potential Failure Current Process
Modes (process E Causes of C E P
Effects (Ys) Controls
defects) V Failure (Xs) C T N
Lack of visibility Design
Does not include of what the deliverable Audit at end of
8 9 9 648
detailed design Contractor is requirements implementation
going to supply not prescriptive
De-scoping and
Unclear Not compliant
8 re-scoping of 9 Financial budget 9 648
definition with standards
works

64. Lean Project Management
David Butcher and Steve Pearson

65. United Kingdom
£7.5 mILLIOn sAVIng On thE Applied to the remainder of the project, truck and
A46 nEwARk tO wIDmERpOOL excavator optimisation offered savings of over
£7.5 million.
30% savings
■ £220 million dualling of 28km of single
carriageway Productivity has been improved through better
■ Construction start and completion: co-ordination between the main contractor and
July 2009-summer 2012 earthworks subcontractor. When the project
■ Lean focus: dry weather earthworks started a fixed number of trucks and drivers was
supplied. Trucks were subsequently matched with
A 10 day study revealed that significant excavator fluctuations in earthmoving demand, enabling
working time was being lost because too few maximum output.
for highways sector
trucks were available for loading. Lean analysis
showed that, over the study period alone, As earthmoving operations advanced, increasing
optimising truck movements would have enabled the length of the haul road, the number of trucks
128 extra ‘truck days’, moving 40,890cu.m more was steadily increased to account for the greater
earth and saving nine days against programme. time taken to pick up a load, transport it to the
The cost of additional truck hire would have been dump site and return for another load. Account
outweighed by savings on excavator hire, delivering was also taken of delays due to plant crossings,
£20,000 net benefit. Of far greater significance, mechanical breakdowns, maintenance of haul
We’re enabling the UK Highways
HOW WE’RE aDDinG value the benefit to the project of early earthworks
completion would have been almost £680,000.
roads and haul road congestion, as well as time
taken to clear stuck mud from the dump truck skip.
Agency to realise efficiencies of nearly a third using
a process improvement system known as Lean.
W
e spend £2 billion a year on construction don’t. “Whether a car, a plane or a new section
and maintenance of the network of highway, numerous processes are combined in
and believe that we can achieve producing the desired outcome. Each process has
efficiency savings of 20-30%,” says Highways its own sub-processes. Lean techniques are used
Agency divisional director for Lean improvement, to look at the way every sub-process is performed.
Derek Drysdale. Lean is a process and product By identifying discontinuities and poorly co-
improvement tool which has been used in the ordinated or unproductive activities throughout the
manufacturing sector for the best part of 40 delivery team and supply chain we can eliminate
years. The Highways Agency has made Lean a waste and improve value,” Steve explains.
requirement for its supply chain for all future
work. Mott MacDonald is providing the know- prOvinG lean On uK HiGHWaYS
how the Agency needs to deploy it nationwide. Up to September 2010, Mott MacDonald-led reviews
Mott MacDonald director Martin Perks says: of six projects had identified £14 million of efficiency
£10
“From top to bottom, the Agency’s supply chain gains – contributing towards £30 million of savings
must demonstrate that it is implementing Lean across 40 Lean pilot projects. Studies included
processes. This is an industry changing move.” dualling of the A46 Newark to Widmerpool (right)
and widening of the A1 Dishforth to Barton (over
Mott MacDonald has worked with the Agency page), as well as construction of highway drainage
benefit from every to develop its own in-house Lean capability and and information gantries, winter gritting and salting,
produce a strategy and tools to enable the take-up design and construction of standard highway
£1 invested in Lean of Lean thinking across the supply chain. structures, roadworks set-up, highway inspection,
traffic management and customer care.
WHaT iS lean?
“Toyota and Boeing are among the best known Derek says that the studies clearly indicate the
£600M
exponents of Lean thinking, but it’s used by almost cost benefits of implementing Lean management
all of the top 1000 blue chip companies to drive practices: “Experience suggests that every £1
effectiveness,” says Mott MacDonald project invested in implementing Lean processes will
manager Steve Pearson. Simplistically, Lean yield, on average, at least £10 of benefits.” He is
potential annual savings involves studying all of the activities carried out emphatic that Lean is not aimed at paring back
during delivery of a product or service, improving suppliers’ profits – quite the reverse. “Working
to the Highways Agency those that add value and eliminating those that more effectively is to everybody’s advantage.”
6 Mott MacDonald www.mottmac.com 7

66. United Kingdom
£14M
of efficiencies achieved Lean involves studying all of the
across six pilot projects activities carried out during delivery
of a product or service, improving
those that add value and eliminating
those that don’t.
Martin perks, Mott MacDonald director
martin.perks@mottmac.com
£3 MilliOn SavinG On THe supply of materials to the paving machine, while DrivinG eFFeCTiveneSS, unique. It’s easier to see how you might perfect a Lean knowledge. The firm has also assisted in
a1 DiSHFOrTH TO BarTOn the number of workers in each paving gang was CuTTinG WaSTe process if you’re producing tens of thousands of developing what Derek calls a ‘Lean maturity DiD YOu KnOW…
halved – the strength of each gang was initially Most of the recommendations that come out of cars. It’s less obvious in construction where every assessment tool’. This requires suppliers to report as well as applying lean on
■ £318 million widening of 22km of dual matched to the paving machines’ theoretical output Lean analyses are not revolutionary. “But on most road you work on has its own topography and the activities they have undertaken and show construction projects, we’re
carriageway into a three lane motorway rather than their actual output, which was almost construction jobs people are immersed in the ground conditions, unpredictable weather and a evidence of benefits delivered – both in terms working with customers
■ Construction start and completion: 50% lower. Productivity was increased thanks to day-to-day activities of running the project and different set of construction personnel – and even of cashable savings and the growth of skills and
to achieve lean efficiencies
April 2009-April 2012 better communications across the project delivery delivering on their contract. So it’s hard to make where adjacent sections of the same project can knowledge in their workforce. Reporting provides
in the banking and financial
■ Lean focus: earthworks, road paving and chain, reducing time lost waiting for deliveries. the time or see the benefits of stepping back be significantly different.” What is common from a measure of how far they have progressed in
implementing Lean and identifying scope for future
services, waste management,
communications duct installation Improvements resulted in 17 days time saving and considering whether their operation is as project to project is generic activities – dry and wet
and cost savings in excess of £600,000. effective as it could be,” Martin says. Derek adds weather earthworks, construction of foundations, improvements. “We reckon it will take about five
and central and local
Earthworks: Disposal of topsoil was eliminated that in the past the Highways Agency has been retaining walls, culverts and bridges, drainage, years for Lean to be fully embedded and 10 to government sectors.
and the quantity of imported fill material was Communications: On the 16km Dishforth to focused on issues such as quality, value for money, lighting and communications. deliver maximum benefits. Other industries show
halved by looking project-wide at excavation Leeming section, 9m lengths of communications predictability of outturn and journey time reliability, that Lean’s an ongoing journey,” says Derek.
and fill requirements and classifying excavated ductwork were installed instead of the normal not on process and product improvement, per se. “We want our suppliers to think about the process “There’s continual scope for improving efficiency,
material more accurately. Efficiencies reduced the 6m lengths. This yielded £15,000 of savings on as well as the product and demonstrate steady effectiveness and value.”
number of tipper truck journeys by 34,000 and connecting collars alone. With fewer connections, Many in the construction sector initially struggle to improvement in the way they perform the activities
saved £2.45 million on haulage and disposal. a 15% time saving was achieved on pressure see how Lean will work for them, Martin adds. “In involved in expanding, improving and maintaining Cracking down on the deficit, the UK government
testing the joints. As well as cost benefits, safety manufacturing you have a controlled environment the highway network,” Derek says. “And we require cut budgets across most departments in October
Blacktop: The quantity of asphalt laid in each was improved by reducing worker exposure with a consistent supply chain – it’s relatively easy our suppliers to share their learning with the rest 2010. Transport saw available capital fall by 11%.
shift was increased by 8% by improving the to traffic. to continually refine the production process. By of the highways community, so that everybody “Lean will play a key role in achieving better
contrast, each construction project involves setting drives better value for the public purse.” outcomes in these tougher times,” Martin says.
up, running and then decommissioning what is
effectively a business, all in the space of a few To this end, Mott MacDonald has designed
ClienT: HIGHWAYS AGENCY
years. And the majority of construction projects are a methodology for recording and transferring
8 Mott MacDonald www.mottmac.com 9