April 27, 2007

Applying a lean manufacturing concept to construction industry

PATRICIA WILLIAMS

staff writer

COLLINGWOOD

In today’s world, so-called lean manufacturing processes are being implemented to counteract increasing competition, a strengthening Canadian dollar and rising raw material costs.

Yet the principles are applicable in other industries, including construction, says Philip Kirby, founder and managing director of Guelph-based Organization Thoughtware International Inc.

“Lean thinking is no more or less than eliminating waste from business processes and focusing on generating value,” he told a workshop at the Ontario General Contractors Association’s 4th annual construction symposium.

Kirby, whose firm assists enterprises restructure their processes to improve operational and financial performance, said the lean methodology is tantamount to “reverse thinking — thinking differently about how you do your business.”

The concepts can be applied to a wide variety of processes, among them customer relationship management, supply chain management, demand generation, service fulfillment and distribution and new product introduction.

"Once you begin to see the process, you can begin to eliminate waste."

Philip Kirby

Managing Director

“What I am going to tell you today is going to change the way you do business,” Kirby told contractors attending the interactive, two-hour workshop.

Kirby, whose clients include an Alberta builder supply company, said there are “lots” of processes inherent in construction to which lean thinking can be applied.

Lean thinking combines “the best elements” of craft production with mass production, he said. The key premises involve:

• Transferring the maximum number of tasks and responsibilities to those workers who actually add value.

• Putting in place a system that detects defects quickly and traces the problem to its ultimate cause.

“Lean is not a bandage,” Kirby told Daily Commercial News later. “It’s a way of life that requires a cultural change coming from the top down.”

Kirby has worked with corporate officers and senior management as well shop floor and front-office supervisors on organizational change strategies.

He said the paths to unlocking value are three-pronged:

• Eliminating waste within a company’s operations by reducing, eliminating or combining activities that do not add value or even worse, destroy value.

• Synchronizing activities across the supplier-customer chain by optimizing the flow of materials, information and performance of activities.

• Reconfiguring process/product to create new value and connect with the customer.

“It’s all about process improvement,” said Kirby, who worked in the manufacturing industry prior to establishing his consulting firm in 1991.

“Once you begin to see the process, you can begin to eliminate waste.”

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