No More Chaos – The Future Belongs to the Lean Construction Site

Objects are left lying around; trade contractors get in each other’s way; in some rooms no progress is made for weeks. With construction projects, waste of materials, time, and labor is a big issue. Rework delays construction progress and pushes up costs. Often the planned completion deadline can only be met at a high monetary cost by implementing ‘firefighting’ measures or by cutting down on quality.

But no company can afford, or is willing to tolerate, chaotic construction processes any more. Faster, better, more efficient: companies are increasingly applying the rules of their core business as a principle for their construction and real estate projects. Construction departments in industrial manufacturing companies are among those discovering agile and lean methods for planning and implementing their construction projects.

The More Complex, the Leaner – Lean Raises Project Management to a New Level

The lean method lends itself particularly well to large, challenging projects involving several participants. Instead of setting out an overall schedule based on experience, Lean focuses on the process as a whole. This is developed by all the participants together. They concentrate on sequences, dependencies, and preliminary work (input). This creates mutual understanding and enables potential risks to be identified considerably more quickly.

Once the overall process is in place, process planning follows. The project team assigns durations to the developed processes and brings them into a flow. This makes dependencies clear and the future construction process can be visualized, adjusted and updated on a monthly basis.

The detailed planning acts as a visual control tool on the construction site for site management and contractors. The construction process is smooth and stable. Nevertheless, those involved can react flexibly to changes.

For works to proceed smoothly and steadily, meticulous planning is needed. This can be creative and flexible, especially at the start. Agile design management can be used to overcome a multitude of obstacles to the working and project routine. The agile planning method was first used in software development. At the forefront of the method are the people, and their close collaboration in cross-functional teams with few rules.

• Unclear schedules
• No understanding of the tasks done by others
• Tasks or problems lost in emails
• Unclear and uncoordinated interfaces
• Wrong assumptions, bad planning
• Continuous changes

There is an overall process analysis, process planning, and task management (Scrum). The Scrum Board acts as a visual task control tool. Aids such as sticky notes make progress and current tasks directly visible to all participants.

The Solution: Lean Construction

With LCM®, Drees & Sommer transfers the lean principles from the manufacturing industry and the agile methods from software development to construction processes and projects. The greatest impact of LCM becomes apparent when it is used consistently in all phases of a construction project. Lean design management and target value design in the planning process, lean site management on the construction site, a lean supply chain and construction logistics, process optimization in the workplace, and training of staff – all this is part of Lean Construction.

The results are impressive

• Significant increase in project efficiency
• Achievement of schedule, cost and quality goals
• Increased efficiency across the entire value chain - with improved Quality
• Improvement in communication and processes
• Time savings of up to 30%
• Greater stability ('Everything goes according to plan')
• Avoidance of obstacles and disruptions
• Early identification and avoidance of risks

In early stages, the project managers define the buildings and the associated value for the principal using Target Value Design. A modular planning approach and Agile Design Management are used in the planning phases of the project. Gradually, a detailed construction project emerges that conforms to the principal's wishes and goals. Lean Site Management is used during the construction phase, increasing effectiveness and efficiency on the construction site. During commissioning, standardized processes and close coordination with the construction site ensure perfect on-schedule handover.

500 successfully implemented projects

Drees & Sommer has been using Lean Construction for over ten years and has successfully completed more than 500 projects. In addition to principals, the company advises construction companies, planning offices and suppliers on how to make project execution leaner.

As a pioneer in Lean Construction, Drees & Sommer is involved in various non-profit institutions for the promotion and further development of lean methodology in the construction industry. Drees & Sommer is a member of the German Lean Construction Institute (GLCI), and participates in various working groups in the Association of German Engineers (VDI).

We look forward to hearing from you!