It was surprisingly chilly on Monday morning as Sam Brooks, Project Superintendent for ProCon Builders, pulled into the parking lot. His dashboard’s thermostat told him it was fifty-two degrees outside, and he took a long swig of black coffee from his Thermos as he surveyed his vacant jobsite through the …
Are You Leveraging the Power of Your Construction Team? READ MORE
In my previous posts, I wrote about the Construction Leaders Dashboard to help newly promoted team leaders become clear about their vision and the EAR Framework to lay the leadership foundations. In this post, I focus on Kick-Ass Meetings (KAM), a straightforward, three-step process that will help Lean team leaders …
Kick-Ass Meetings: The Secret to Epic Problem-Solving READ MORE
In my article Confessions of a Social Researcher in the Building Industry, I shared the challenges we face in the construction industry because we don’t have a formal research structure. What I have been working on lately is the tie between Lean and equity exploring what is a lean equitable …
Why Lean and Diversity are Going to Get You the Best Results READ MORE
We have all seen Big Rooms. Some are dynamic and exciting. There is open discussion and healthy conflict. By contrast, others are Big Room in space only. People from companies congregate together, instead of cross-functionally. Information is hidden from fear of consequences and lost reputation. Interaction is formal and trust …
Building complex capital projects with Lean Integrated Project Delivery has many advantages. Choosing the best contract to encourage a collaborative team right from the start is crucial for a successful outcome. How can you go about this? How can you ensure that the owner, design partners, and builders are collaborating …
IFOA and the Advantages of Bringing People Together Faster READ MORE
Since the popularization of quality circles in the 1960s, companies around the globe continue engaging front line employees to improve their work using variations of PDCA, a scientific method for problem-solving using four steps: Plan a change or test aimed at improvement. Do carry out the experiment. Check (study) the …
A3 Thinking for Powerful PDCA to Improve Project Delivery READ MORE
Everything is connected. This first Law of Ecology “reflects the existence of the elaborate network of interconnections in the ecosphere: among different living organisms, and between populations, species, and individual organisms and their physicochemical surroundings.” Similar to our ecosystem, small changes ripple across companies and organizations with unintended consequences. Decisions …
The Impact of Decisions in Lean Construction Projects READ MORE
In many presentations, I have asked these questions: “How many of you consider yourselves to be effective collaborators?” (Most people raise their hands) “How many of you have worked with someone who wasn’t an effective collaborator? (Everyone raises their hands) “And if those people were in the room today, …
Are You Collaborating or Muddling Through Your Construction Projects? READ MORE
Teams utilizing Scrum most often double their output in the first couple of Sprints because they become more efficient and effective. Equally impressive is that they sustain their gains and that they continue improving their teamwork and work product. As a result, they optimize customer value. So, why would design …
What Every Lean Project Team Should Know About Scrum READ MORE
What does Takt Planning & Scheduling have to do with Covid-19? Takt is a German word that refers to the rhythm or the beat of the music. Takt Planning & Scheduling is a method to structure work around a set pace and could, therefore, be one of the most important …