The design process is an organized method to gather the thousands of decisions needed to design a building, ranging from the big picture vision and architectural image to excruciating details about every system and every surface in every room. Despite having a well-established process honed over centuries, too many projects […]
Getting Decisions that Stick in Design and Construction (Part 1) READ MORE
One of my mentors asked me what is the biggest factor preventing me from spending more time forgetting the past (unlearning) and innovating for the future. My instant response was, “Innovation? I hadn’t thought about it.” As an Extrovert with a capital “E”, I next blurted out something about hyper-awareness
The Secret to Increasing Daily Performance and Happiness READ MORE
Have you just been promoted into a leadership role in the construction industry? Wondering how to excel in your new role? You are most probably sitting in your office thinking about what you are going to do in the next three to five years to really nail this next chapter
How to Excel as a Leader of a Construction Team READ MORE
Felipe Engineer-Manriquez is the brain behind the podcast The Easier, Better, for Construction Show, which focuses on Lean IPD in construction and sharing how to make large construction projects easier and better. The following questions are an extract from Episode 11 where we chatted about: Building with Integrated Project Delivery
5 Minutes with Felipe Engineer-Manriquez READ MORE
The healthcare industry is growing. According to Revista’s construction report, “from June 2018 to June 2019 over 21 million square feet of medical office space have been delivered across the country” (Revista, Hilda Martin, 2019) and this number is expected to continue to grow. The report further states that “preliminary
Can Owner Standardization Transform Healthcare Construction? READ MORE
What if you as a project owner in healthcare could build faster, control your supply chain, increase the quality of the finished product, and lower costs by utilizing an industrialized construction approach? Sounds too good to be true? Read on. At Mark III, we are fuelled by our vision to
Project Mountain: Build Better, Faster, and Cheaper 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
When people hear the word research, they often think of research in science or medicine that seeks new solutions to known problems by building on studies that came before. It’s expected that new research builds upon previous findings and does not repeat them. To give you an example from the
Confessions of a Social Researcher in the Building Industry READ MORE
Are you one of those people who think that Scrum is for a bunch of software nerds who sit around programming all day? Maybe it’s time to shift your perspective. Yes, Scrum originally took hold in the Software industry as companies realized how Scrum allowed them to adopt and react
The Secret to Gaining Market Advantage in the Construction Industry 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
Going BIG in the Big Room READ MORE
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
Humans are generally resistant to change. Change requires courage, trust, and faith. We tend to stick to long-formed habits even when we realize that they are hindering progress or create pain. Forming and establishing new habits requires effort and commitment. Sometimes, painful experiences. How does this relate to Lean construction
Lean Construction: Improving Your Team Performance One Habit at a Time 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