Last Updated on January 18, 2023 by Showrooms Online
Lean Construction
Lean construction is a program that optimizes the construction process by reducing waste, improving efficiency, and delivering overall project quality. It is based on the concept of Lean Manufacturing, which was originated by Toyota. Recently, lean construction has been realizing more popularity among home builders and renovators as a way to provide greater value to clients.
To implement a lean construction program, builders should first learn the basic principles of lean thinking. These manly include identifying and eliminating waste. Also, implementing continuous improvement underlies the whole effort. It can take time and effort but it is worth it.
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A key principle of lean construction is the elimination of waste. Waste is everywhere in the construction process, waiting, errors due to poor communications, wrong materials, and defects. By eliminating these examples of waste, builders can improve the construction process and save money. Profitability will improve even more.
An important principle of lean construction is planning the flow in the overall process. Smoother flow means the efficient movement of materials and information throughout the worksite. By creating flow, builders delays are reduced, communication improves, and productivity grows exponentially.
Establishing pull planning is another key feature of lean construction. Pull systems are based on the approach of “pulling” work through the building process. Builders can respond more quickly to changes in the planned schedule and better manage the delivery of materials and the planning of labour resources.
“Lean construction is a project delivery process that uses Lean methods of maximizing stakeholder value while reducing waste by emphasizing collaboration between teams on a project. The goal of Lean construction is to increase productivity, profits, and innovation in the industry.” The Lean Construction Institute
Finally, continuous improvement is an essential culture in lean construction. Continuous improvement is the every day acts of identifying and making changes to the process to achieve a bit better quality, a few lower costs, and somewhat greater value for clients. Do this everyday and all the little improvements add up to a major improvement in performance.
To start a lean program, custom home builders and renovators need to introduce and use specific tools and practices that are the established approach of lean construction. Some of these include:
- Value Stream Mapping: Identify and eliminate waste in the process. Create a flow sheet of the entire detailed construction process, from start to finish. Then identify steps and activities where waste can be reduced.
- Kanban: This is a visual communication used to manage the flow of materials and information throughout the design build process. A visual representation shows the status of materials and information at every stage of the construction plan.
- Standard Work: This is a tool that is used to establish consistent and efficient work practices throughout the construction process. It involves creating standards and continuously training and retraining workers to follow these procedures.
Incorporating lean techniques into the construction process will result in custom home builders and renovators improving the quality of their projects, at lower costs, and provide better value to their clients. However, remember that the success of a lean construction program is not determined by the tools and techniques that are used, but by the culture of continuous improvement that is practiced.
A lean construction program must involve all members of the construction team, including workers, managers, and for certain the clients. Builders need to establish clear goals and objectives for the program, and measure and report progress on a regular basis.
In conclusion, lean construction is a process that will help custom home builders improve the construction process and generate more value to clients, while increasing the profitability of all their projects.
Home Renovations – Plan, Design, Build a previous blog on Showrooms Online
