Real Life Lean 039

Happy Monday lean construction family and welcome to another edition of Real Life Lean. This newsletter is intended to give construction professionals worldwide 4 quick and easy resources to grow and continue on your lean journey.

Today's Summary:

• Lean Article - What Is The Secret To Creating A Culture Of Learning

• Lean Podcast - America In Crisis

• Lean Event - Two Coaches Analyze LPS Success/Failures

• Real Life Lean - How To Eliminate Waste When Searching For Materials

Lean Article

One of the core tenants of lean is the idea of continuous improvement.  How do we as leaders foster continuous improvement within our teams?  The answer can be found in leading by example. When you turn yourself into a continuously improving leader, you are setting an example for your team to follow. In the article below Katie Anderson shares a simple framework for "Leading to Learn".

Takeaway - When we as lean leaders learn to practice what we preach, we inspire our teams to do the same. By helping guide, support and lead our teams in the proper direction, we not only grow the individuals strengths, but also our own.  Learning to lead should be the top priority of any lean leader.

Lean Podcast

The American construction industry is in a crisis. We have non-lean companies that lack respect for people and are causing burnout at a rapid rate. In the podcast below Jason shares his thoughts on the labor crisis and offers ways to combat this crisis.  Most of the solutions he gives revolve around sharing what you are doing. Break down company barriers and share best practices and how you are improving the projects you are working on. We only will get out of this crisis together!  When other people get better, we all get better. 

Takeaway- A main point that Jason mentioned that stuck with me was that technology is not the solution! I have often heard that new tech is coming out that simplifies this problem, or streamlines this process and that will make construction more efficient and will help solve the labor crisis. I think a better solution to be COUPLED with the new technology is sharing how you are implementing it to improve you projects.

Lean Event

Interested in hearing more about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to implementing the Last Planner System? Do you want to get tips and tricks to better run your LPS program either virtually or in person? The webinar below brings two coaches with years of experience together to share why LPS is a success with some teams and a failure with others.

Takeaway - Successfully managing a Last Planner System program on your project takes effort and understanding of what works and what doesn’t. This webinar sounds like it is going to be full of lessons that you can take back to your project to successfully implement the Last Planner System.

Real Life Lean - Lean practices in the real world

I came across this episode of Daily Huddle last week and really liked the breakdown in provided on the cost of our waste. This would be a great video to share with your project team when discussing the 8 wastes or 5S Systems. Being able to put a cost or a value to the time wasted searching for material can make a huge difference.

Takeaway - I have been working a lot recently on identifying waste on my projects and looking for ways to eliminate it. I spend a couple of hours each week walking the different project areas focused on looking for improvement. This video is the first that I have seen that breaks down the financial side, and puts actual numbers to the waste that we are seeing in the field.

Takt University Special Offer

I have partnered with Spencer Easton from Takt University to share a great offer for Real Life Lean subscribers. Purchase Spencer’s Introduction Course at the link here and enter “reallifelean2023” for 50% off your purchase!

Have a Real Life Lean story you think would be a great feature in an upcoming newsletter? Send me an email at [email protected].