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Lean Culture for the Construction Industry
Many of the struggles that we are currently experiencing when attempting to implement Lean in the construction environment are the direct result of applying Lean tools out of proper context. Understanding Lean as an overall operating system will help to avert this all too common pitfall. An in-depth exploration of the application of Lean initiatives in the construction industry, Lean Culture for the Construction Building Responsible and Committed Project Teams, Second Edition provides updated chapters with new insights on the relationships between owners, architects, general contractors and subcontractors - demonstrating how Kaizan events focused on building positive culture through vulnerability-based trust improved processes and eliminated work stoppages. Lean tools alone don't lead to successful Lean the missing piece is culture. Written by a veteran consultant in the construction field, the book draws a connection between how construction professionals act as leaders and how their attitude and behavior affect productivity and waste daily. While value stream mapping is an important tool for righting broken processes and resolving conflicts, future state maps will fail if leaders continue to work in silos, protect their territories, and don't see that their success is directly tied to the success of their co-leaders. The author expands the notion of ethics beyond the simple litmus test of right and wrong, so team leaders can adopt professional and productive attitudes and behaviors toward the implementation of Lean improvements. This book demonstrates how, in an industry where waste is rampant, and depends on wide range of people and personalities to successfully build a job, Lean thinking can make the difference between a profitable, competitive construction team, and mass inefficiencies, stunted profitability, and lost future opportunities.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2010
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May 22, 2022
More research for a job (that wasn't what I was led to believe, and it turned out I was "way overqualified" for...) This made a lot more sense and was more accessible than the academic essays of the last one (Lean Construction: Core Concepts and New Frontiers - those were academic studies about academic studies), but it is not without its own problems. Santorella has a bias and may not know it, but... that's quibbling, although he cited a lot of actors I am not fond of or think overrated (Lencioni, Goleman, pop into mind). The book did pretty much confirm that I've already been doing a hybrid of the concepts... different contractual arrangements, different focus, so it was a matter of learning a different dictionary.
Handful of takeaways I highlighted:
[on continuous improvement] Perfectionism is exhausting and demoralizing. Continuous improvement is about optimism—that we can exert control over the things we can control and make our world a little better every day.
{Spot on with that assessment of perfectionism. The Demings TQM and zero-defect ideas (ideals?) are essentially unobtainable, and we should learn to work with "close enough" - all while moving the bar closer to "enough"]
[on measurement] But if measurement becomes our entire focus we’re missing something vital: the human element. Creating the perfect process as the be all and end all doesn’t encapsulate Lean. The heart of Lean is about people: collaborating, sharing information, and helping each other to improve workflow.
["If it can't be measured, it can't be managed." A lesson I learned a long time ago is that when you mire yourself in the weeds of data, you miss the big picture.]
[and as to that big picture] But Lean isn’t about simply throwing a bunch of tools at problems and then naively believing that you are a “Lean company.” Yes, each Lean tool has a specific purpose, but their deployment can’t be done in a vacuum. If you make changes without considering the entire system, then you could actually create more waste than you are trying to eliminate— and this is where culture comes into the picture.
{This is the essence: holistic project management from concept to operations with the life cycle as a keystone.}
[on attitude, in the construction world] Leaders understand the big picture. Want to succeed and want the people under them to succeed. Willing to provide people with the tools to do the job. Create trust by having people’s backs who produce. Have regard for people and company policies. Leaders expect everyone, including themselves, to live up to their commitments.
{Too often, people make the mistake of "managing" construction, when the greatest successes are from leading construction.]
[more on leadership] Please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. This isn’t about “buying” people’s loyalty, cooperation, and teamwork. It is about having their backs so they don’t have to be diligent about watching their own.
[where Santorella goes wrong] The biggest mistake that GCs and subcontractors alike make on public works jobs is to assume that all of the various "clients' who are involved in a project actually care about the job getting built. Most times, they don’t. The sooner you realize that the primary thing that most in the public sector care about is how you are making them look, the better off you are going to be.
[…]
In the public sector it is all about dotting your i’s, crossing your t’s, and avoiding anything that could negatively come back on you. That’s not to say that there aren’t such characters in the private sector, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule.
{I had issues with this. He couldn't be more wrong and he really doesn’t understand public sector. And while it shouldn't, it does color my perception of everything I read after that.}
[and where Santorella REALLY goes wrong] So, what does all this have to do with being an effective Lean leader? I certainly don’t mean to compare a job site with a concentration camp (though some of you who have worked on particularly trying projects may disagree).
{Okay, I'm going to go ahead and share the note I made on this passage: "jerk". That's in the whole "I'm not a racist but..." vein.}
[one of the epigraphs that resonated] A guy who shows up everyday on time, never calls in sick, and does what he says he’s going to do is less likely to *&%# you in the end than the guy who has an incredible resume but is less reliable. Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t.
Anthony Bourdain - Kitchen Confidential
{Character matters. Always.}
[a truth about design] In our current state, we are demanding a crushing level of information from architects, and we are demanding it be provided within shorter and shorter time frames. And with the advent of more and more technology, we also seem to be carrying around more misperceptions in our heads as to what is doable. 3-D platforms such as Revit evoke the promise of delivering a revised product with a click of a button, when in actuality, changes are painstakingly slow and labor intensive to administer.
{This is so important to convey to owners/stakeholders. Changes are almost never simple.}
Handful of takeaways I highlighted:
[on continuous improvement] Perfectionism is exhausting and demoralizing. Continuous improvement is about optimism—that we can exert control over the things we can control and make our world a little better every day.
{Spot on with that assessment of perfectionism. The Demings TQM and zero-defect ideas (ideals?) are essentially unobtainable, and we should learn to work with "close enough" - all while moving the bar closer to "enough"]
[on measurement] But if measurement becomes our entire focus we’re missing something vital: the human element. Creating the perfect process as the be all and end all doesn’t encapsulate Lean. The heart of Lean is about people: collaborating, sharing information, and helping each other to improve workflow.
["If it can't be measured, it can't be managed." A lesson I learned a long time ago is that when you mire yourself in the weeds of data, you miss the big picture.]
[and as to that big picture] But Lean isn’t about simply throwing a bunch of tools at problems and then naively believing that you are a “Lean company.” Yes, each Lean tool has a specific purpose, but their deployment can’t be done in a vacuum. If you make changes without considering the entire system, then you could actually create more waste than you are trying to eliminate— and this is where culture comes into the picture.
{This is the essence: holistic project management from concept to operations with the life cycle as a keystone.}
[on attitude, in the construction world] Leaders understand the big picture. Want to succeed and want the people under them to succeed. Willing to provide people with the tools to do the job. Create trust by having people’s backs who produce. Have regard for people and company policies. Leaders expect everyone, including themselves, to live up to their commitments.
{Too often, people make the mistake of "managing" construction, when the greatest successes are from leading construction.]
[more on leadership] Please don’t misinterpret what I’m saying. This isn’t about “buying” people’s loyalty, cooperation, and teamwork. It is about having their backs so they don’t have to be diligent about watching their own.
[where Santorella goes wrong] The biggest mistake that GCs and subcontractors alike make on public works jobs is to assume that all of the various "clients' who are involved in a project actually care about the job getting built. Most times, they don’t. The sooner you realize that the primary thing that most in the public sector care about is how you are making them look, the better off you are going to be.
[…]
In the public sector it is all about dotting your i’s, crossing your t’s, and avoiding anything that could negatively come back on you. That’s not to say that there aren’t such characters in the private sector, but they tend to be the exception rather than the rule.
{I had issues with this. He couldn't be more wrong and he really doesn’t understand public sector. And while it shouldn't, it does color my perception of everything I read after that.}
[and where Santorella REALLY goes wrong] So, what does all this have to do with being an effective Lean leader? I certainly don’t mean to compare a job site with a concentration camp (though some of you who have worked on particularly trying projects may disagree).
{Okay, I'm going to go ahead and share the note I made on this passage: "jerk". That's in the whole "I'm not a racist but..." vein.}
[one of the epigraphs that resonated] A guy who shows up everyday on time, never calls in sick, and does what he says he’s going to do is less likely to *&%# you in the end than the guy who has an incredible resume but is less reliable. Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t.
Anthony Bourdain - Kitchen Confidential
{Character matters. Always.}
[a truth about design] In our current state, we are demanding a crushing level of information from architects, and we are demanding it be provided within shorter and shorter time frames. And with the advent of more and more technology, we also seem to be carrying around more misperceptions in our heads as to what is doable. 3-D platforms such as Revit evoke the promise of delivering a revised product with a click of a button, when in actuality, changes are painstakingly slow and labor intensive to administer.
{This is so important to convey to owners/stakeholders. Changes are almost never simple.}
July 23, 2014
Good easy read. A lot of the lean concepts are common sense but can definitely apply in the construction industry.
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