Real Life Lean 042

Happy New Year to my 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.

2024 is an exciting year for Real Life Lean. I hope to grow this newsletter and help change the course of the construction industry. I hope to convert lean naysayers into lean advocates. And most of all, I hope to continue having fun and meeting new people in this industry.

Today's Summary:

• Lean Article - Do Our Trade Partners Deserve a Second Chance

• Lean Podcast - The First Planner System

• Lean Event - Pull planning is #&A^#! hard!

• Real Life Lean - So Many Steps To Recycle

Lean Article

Do you have a plan on how to handle conflict when it arises on your jobsite? Is it hard for you to balance the relationships you have built with trade partners/GC’s/Designers? What do you do when someone messes up and you need to find the root of the problem? Do you immediately place blame somewhere else? Do you let it slide because of the relationships you have built? The article below from The Lean Builder shares some ideas on how to mitigate issues and ensure you are asking the right questions, while also balancing the relationships you are forging. After all, construction is a relationship based industry.

Takeaway - I really like the question structure that the author (Katayoun Mokhtarzadeh) offers for ensuring we aren’t incorrectly placing blame on others. This idea really ties into the podcast that I am sharing below related to the First Planner. In the podcast episode, Jason Schroeder shares the idea of a First Planner and the work needed to go into Pre-Con. I feel that a lot of the conflict management ideas shared in this article are the type of things that should be planned in your pre-construction process. To highlight these conflict management questions, I have shared them here:

• How are we handling conflict resolution and remediation steps?

• Are we training and communicating our expectations for timelines, quality, budget, and teaming?

• Are we fostering a safe environment that’s conducive to communication?

• Are we asking the right questions and actually listening to the answers?

• Are we providing the information needed for response in a timely manner and in a method that is accepted by all?

Lean Podcast

First Planner? I thought it was the Last Planner? In the podcast episode below, Jason Schroeder shares the idea of the First Planner and how important this role is to getting a project off in the right direction. The First Planner is the person (or team) that makes sure a project sets off correctly by ensuring all the proper preconstruction items are being considered. Is there a proper logistics plan that includes way-finding signage? Is there a plan for the proper construction trailer with ample space for a big room? Is there areas onsite dedicated to project communication? Have a site specific on-boarding plan been developed? Does the team have enough pull plan boards to properly plan the project. The First Planner sets the Last Planners up for success.

Takeaway - I can’t tell you how many times I have either been the superintendent or talk to other superintendents that show up to a new jobsite and hit the ground running on day 1 with nothing set up. You walk on the jobsite on day one and you have 25 guys ready to get to work. There is no onboarding plan, the temp toilets haven’t shown up yet and you only got the drawings the night before. Its sad, but it is common. I love the idea of a first planner and setting the project up for success. Preconstruction is more than estimating, budgeting and writing contracts. A true preconstruction team needs to set the project team up with everything they need for success. If you have found yourself in a situation similar to the one I describe here, I encourage you to share this podcast with the leadership at your office and see if you can help start a team of first planners.

Lean Event

The team at Nialli is hosting a free webinar all around Pull Planning. This event will be hosted by James Johnston and will help attendees find more success in their pull plans.

Takeaway - Pull planning is a great place to start if you or your teams are new to lean construction. Pull planning make sense with how work flows and can help your teams get on the lean train. This event would be great for anyone new to lean constuction.

Real Life Lean - Lean practices in the real world

Over the New Years holiday I spent some time with visiting my parents. It was a great way to relax and feel refreshed coming back to work. But that is not the point of this story.

One thing I noticed while visiting, was the waste that went into my dad’s recycling routing for plastic cans and bottles. To set the stage, this was his process.

1. Pull cans or water bottles out of the trash can after people threw them away.

2. Rinse bottle or can and place on the counter

3. When the counter becomes too cluttered, take cans and bottles outside to large 55 Gallon Drum

4. When 55 Gallon Drum is too full, sort cans and bottles into separate plastic bags

5. Place bags in the truck and drive to recycle center.

In some cases, my dad was touching the “product” (cans or bottles) 5-6 times! With my lean hat on, I had to help my dad fix this system. After pointing out the waste to him, he was onboard to come up with an new system that would help save him time. The new system he created relied on trusting that people (his family) were smart enough to do a couple things

1. Do not throw recyclables in the trash

2. Rinse bottles or cans when finished

3. Place bottle or can into a designated bag outside

With a simple family discussion, my dad went from touching the cans and bottles 5-6 times, to 2 times. The interesting part in all of this is that my dad never saw the waste before, but once enlightened, he saw it in other daily tasks around the house.

I think this is a great example of how the lean mindset can spread on a jobsite. You help one person notice one thing that can be improved upon, and soon enough you have created a waste fighting machine!

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].