lean design & production
TRANSCRIPT
0
MODULE | LEAN INTEGRATED DESIGN & PRODUCTION | ANDREW FLEMING
Lean and BIM arrive ‘Just In Time’
Implementing Lean principles within a BIM enabled UK Commercial Architectural Office
06-May-16
MSc BIM and Integrated Design
1
Fig 1: Photo of Taiichi Ohno (leanproduction.co)
“Never be satisfied with inaction. Question and
redefine your purpose to attain progress”.
Taiichi Ohno
(founder of TPS)
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NOS.
1.0 SYNOPSIS 04
2.0 SCENARIO 05
3.0 INTRODUCTION 06
4.0 UK CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY 08
5.0 CHAPMAN TAYLOR - A COMPANY PROFILE 10
6.0 LEAN PRODUCTION AND TPS 14
7.0 WASTE – CLEAN IT UP, MAKE IT VISUAL 20
8.0 BIM HELPS REDUCE WASTE 24
9.0 THE BENEFITS OF A BIM PROCESS 28
10.0 THE SYNERGIES BETWEEN IPD, BIM & LEAN 29
11.0 OFFICE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN 34
12.0 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT 40
13.0 POST SCRIPT 46
14.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES 47
15.0 APPENDIX A – LEAN GLOSSARY OF ABREVIATIONS 48
16.0 APPENDIX B – BIM GLOSSARY OF ABREVIATIONS 50
17.0 APPENDIX C – LEAN PRESENTATION ON STANDARDISATION
3
LIST OF FIGURES PAGE NOS.
Fig 1: Photo of Taiichi Ohno (leanproduction.co) 01
Fig 2: Chapman Taylor Logo (chapmantaylor.com) 05
Fig 3: BIM Level 2 Maturity Ramp (Bew & Richards - bimtaskgroup.org) 07
Figs 4 & 5: Construction 2025; HM Government (July 2013) 08
Fig 6: Chapman Taylor Profile (chapmantaylor.com) 10
Fig 7: Sample Chapman Taylor Projects (chapmantaylor.com) 11
Fig 8: A ‘4P’ Model of the Toyota Way (Liker, 2004) 14
Fig 9: Diagram adapted from Pascal Van Cauwenberghe & Portia Tung 15
Fig 10: Table showing problems linked with The Toyota Way/Lean 17
Fig 11: Table showing problems linked with The Toyota Way/Lean 18
Fig 12: Toyota Production System House (Liker, 2004) 19
Fig 13: Elevation of standardized building components within a residential block 23
Fig 14: The Patrick MacLeamy Curve 2004 (aecmag.com) 24
Fig 15: McGraw Hill Construction Report on the value of BIM for construction 2014 26
Fig 16: Information flow in the design & construction process 27
Fig 17: Lean Principles (Sacks et al. 2010) 31
Fig 18: Toyota’s Practical Problem Solving Process (Liker, 2004) 35
Fig 19: Process mapping with the design team in the Obeya ‘War Room’ 35
Fig 20: A typical A3 Report (sloanreview.mit.edu) 37
Fig 21: Plan-Do-Check-Act (O’Connor et al. 2013) 38
Fig 22: Eliminating Waste by using the 5S’s (Liker, 2004) 42
Figs 23-26: Examples of following the 5S philosophy (lean lectures 2016) 42
Fig 27: Possible path of an intern's growth within the company (Tetervov, 2013) 44
Fig 28: Image source: Ben Wallbank, BIM Lecture 2015. University of Salford 46
4
1.0 Synopsis
The focus of this report is to analyze and provide a comprehensive background to current
lean principles and lean thinking, and its application to a commercial, BIM enabled
commercial architectural practice in Manchester.
I hope to critically evaluate and distinguish key lean elements from ‘The Toyota Way’ along
with current BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodologies and look at bringing these
together for the attention of senior personnel within the organization, and to allow for
possible implementation, as both lean and BIM are being widely adopted as Dave et.al (2013)
explains:
“In the last 10 years, both (lean and BIM) have been started to diffuse into advanced practice
with accelerating speed.”
And, as the use of BIM grows, there is an increasing need for construction practitioners to
understand the principles behind it and how work practices change to accommodate it. Full
collaboration across the entire project team and standardised, well-structured information
are at the heart of BIM and can enable enormous efficiencies and reductions in waste within
the construction industry.
Much attention is therefore currently focused on the construction industry for all projects to
include lean principles and BIM in some form or another.
5
2.0 Scenario
Currently in my job as Senior Architectural Technologist and BIM coordinator I hope to put
forward this report to senior management at Chapman Taylor, an AJ top 100 international
architectural practice in Manchester, with a current global workforce of around 260 people.
Having worked within various private architectural practices for 15+ years, I have seen first
hand both good and bad practices in many offices. Chapman Taylor is the third private
architectural ‘BIM enabled’ practice I have been involved with. I hope to combine the best
BIM practices I have witnessed from the two previous offices and take these along with key
lean principles from ‘The Toyota Way’ and investigate how these can be successfully
implemented to give long-term value to the office as a pilot before expanding these ideas
throughout the organization.
To do this, I hope to critically evaluate current challenges faced at Chapman Taylor as a
world-leading design practice and suggest key improvements with a focus on lean and BIM
and offer these findings to the Director and BIM Manager for discussion and possible
implementation.
Fig 2: Chapman Taylor Logo (chapmantaylor.com)
6
3.0 Introduction
Construction productivity lags behind most industries in terms of time, cost savings and
minimizing waste. Recently the UK construction industry has been forced to improve its
productivity, quality and incorporate new technologies such as BIM due to the Governments
UK BIM Level 2 mandate which came into force on 4th April 2016.
With recent developments in the UK construction industry, introduction of BIM has had a
significant influence on ‘leaner’ construction. Both lean and BIM are complimentary in
several ways. More and more companies are adopting BIM as an acceptable waste reduction
tool and recent case studies conducted show that BIM is crucial in reducing project costs,
time, site conflicts, project duration, drawing errors, better and faster design development.
Although BIM has been around for over 30 years, it has only recently increased in popularity.
BIM involves representing 3D design objects that carry their geometry, relations and
attributes (Eastman, 2009). Separate drawings for contract documents and then developing a
separate set of detail drawings are considered waste and inefficiency in terms of time and
cost. BIM not only helps reduce this waste and inefficiency but also helps in reducing the
potential for litigation (Eastman, 2009). Thus, BIM helps enhance the leaner outcomes in any
company or project that is on a lean journey (Slacks et al. 2010).
A comprehensive study of lean theory (The Toyota Way) and BIM was conducted,
underscoring ways for BIM to help achieve a leaner construction. These results are broadly
conducted in five parts:
1. Critical evaluation of the current (lean & BIM) processes.
2. Rehearsal of the lean principles.
3. Development of a target process based on consideration of alternative approaches.
4. Lean implementation plans.
5. Proposals for instituting continuous improvement with performance measurement.
7
Currently, both lean and BIM are effecting fundamental changes in the AEC industry by
reducing waste and inefficiencies (Slacks et al. 2010). This report will show how through BIM
we can reduce waste, help implement lean techniques and principles within a commercial
architectural office. A comprehensive analysis, conclusion along with recommendations is
derived from a broad range of research material addressing my report………Lean and BIM
arrive ‘Just In Time’.
Fig 3: BIM Level 2 Maturity Ramp (Bew & Richards - bimtaskgroup.org)
8
4.0 UK Construction Industry
According to a survey conducted by the Government Service in 1998 in the UK, the
construction industry produces over 70 million tons of waste, which is about 4 times the rate
of household waste production produced by every person in the UK every week (Keys at al.
1998).
Many variables and constraints affect the design process that in turn affects the wastes
arising and the resultant opportunities for designing out waste. Such issues include materials
choice, complexity, collaboration, communication and co-ordination.
In May 2011, the UK government published its Government Construction Strategy Report
outlining the following targets:
“15-20% cost and carbon reduction on centrally procured government construction projects
within the current parliament”.
Figs 4 & 5: Construction 2025; HM Government (July 2013)
With increased foreign competition, the scarcity of skilled labour and the need to improve
construction quality, there is an urgent demand to raise productivity, quality and incorporate
new technologies within the industry (Koskela, 1992).
9
Constructing the Team, written by Sir Michael Latham and published in 1994, identified a
very inefficient and wasteful industry, subtly describing industry practices as:
‘adversarial’, ‘ineffective, ‘fragmented’, ‘incapable of delivering for its clients’ and ‘lacking
respect for its employees’.
The second, a response to the recommendations in the Latham Report, was produced by an
industry task force led by ex-jaguar car chief executive Sir John Egan. Published in 1998 and
titled ‘Rethinking Construction’, it took experiences from other industries (not surprisingly
car manufacturing) and identified key areas of change required, one being integrated
processes and teams.
Both reports recommended a focus on collaboration, and combined with another Egan
Report, ‘Accelerated change’, which identified the importance of IT in achieving greater
integration, they went on to inform the UK Government’s 2011 Construction Strategy Report
which set out their commitment to BIM.
One of the many initiatives to come out of these reports was the Avanti Project, better
known today as BS 1192 (the document which underpins almost all of the information
production requirements for BIM). The Avanti project set out to structure and standardise
the way information is produced in the construction industry using BIM to support
collaborative working.
With the lean construction paradigm (and BIM), the construction industry is being viewed as
an industry with possibilities of implementing lean principles of production concepts in the
construction industry processes to optimize the overall construction performance on the
construction stage as well as the design stage.
Lean production philosophy is laid on the concepts of conversions and flow (Ningappa, 2011).
Therefore, performance improvement opportunities in construction can be addressed by
adopting waste identification/reduction strategies in the flow processes in parallel with value
adding strategies with the introduction of BIM tools and with proper lean training and
education.
10
5.0 Chapman Taylor – A Company Profile
Chapman Taylor (CT) are an international practice of architects, master-planners and
designers, established 57 years ago. There international team currently operates from 19
regional offices, undertaking projects worldwide. Combining a strong ethos for high quality
design with a deep understanding of commercial requirements enables Chapman Taylor to
deliver schemes that exceed client expectations and provide award-winning, sustainable
environments that people enjoy.
Fig 6: Chapman Taylor Profile (chapmantaylor.com)
SECTORS
CT have established a reputation for delivering commercially successful, creative and
innovative environments across a variety of sectors worldwide, including:
Master Planning Residential Transportation
Mixed Use Hospitality Healthcare
Retail Sports & Leisure Conservation
Workplace Interiors & Graphics Design and Build
CT have grown from a practice of just three people into a large international firm and one of
the UK's largest exporters of commercial architectural services and awarded The Queen's
Award for Enterprise International Trade.
11
CT HISTORY
The practice was founded in 1959 by Bob Chapman, John Taylor and Jane Durham, and the
early work was predominantly residential and workplace-based, such as the landmark
headquarters of London's Metropolitan Police, New Scotland Yard. After being appointed
Architects for Eldon Square - part of the redevelopment of Newcastle's city centre and the
largest indoor shopping mall in Europe at the time - CT began to establish their expertise in
retail-led schemes. CT designers cultivated the architectural principles of North American
retail projects to meet the needs of the UK and European markets, pioneering new concepts
in the exploitation of levels, sloping malls and pedestrian flow.
Based on their strong track record, clients appoint CT for developments across most
sectors. In particular, they have built a reputation as experts in urban regeneration and
master-planning, culminating in such recent projects as Etten-Leur Centrum - The
Netherlands, Prague Marina - Czech Republic, and Princesshay - Exeter, UK.
Fig 7: Sample Chapman Taylor Projects (chapmantaylor.com)
MY CT EXPERIENCE
Currently I work within Chapman Taylor’s Manchester office as Senior Architectural
Technologist & BIM Co-ordinator. There are approximately 50 people in the office made up
of 3 Directors, 4 Associate Directors, a BIM Manager, with Architects, Technicians and
Interior Designers making up the remaining numbers. After having spent over 18 months at
CT, I know the daily operations of the office very well and I have observed the following
aspects of the office that could do with improvements to allow it to become leaner, reduce
waste and become more efficient:
12
1. Projects lack in having a completed Employers Information Requirements (EIR) and/or
BIM Execution Plan (BEP) as required under PAS 1192-2: an information management
process to support BIM Level 2 in the capital/delivery phase of projects and setting
out a framework for collaborative working (bimtaskgroup.org).
2. Team members do not have a program/schedule on the running of projects except for
deadlines received from the Associate Directors.
3. There are always several projects running at the same time and at different stages
within the office – some lack resources, in terms of design/technical input, whilst
other projects seem to have too much resource.
4. There is good communication between project team designers, but there is a lack of
weekly group meetings to review/highlight progress and problems.
5. Lack of communication between design team members on aspects of the projects
being worked on (resulting in no.4 above)
6. Directors and Associate Directors have a basic knowledge BIM Level 2, but do not
know how to use Revit (BIM software).
7. Interns come and go every year and it is difficult to implement a standardized
approach to team working on projects.
8. High turnover of staff – I have noticed that several Senior Architects/Designers have
left the office to join similar commercial offices elsewhere, possible due to the lack of
progression within the company.
9. Lack of project team contact information listing external design consultant’s names,
addresses, emails etc – hence there is reliance on other members of the team to pass
these details on when required.
10. Individual employee ability’s and strengths are unknown to fellow office members –
hence employee creativity and skills may be underused.
11. Work load during final week of deadlines is always extremely high, requiring staff to
work late into the evenings and on weekends.
12. Although staff are highly versed in Revit software to carry out their duties and are
given regular cpds on Revit, there is still a lack of knowledge regarding the UK BIM
Level 2 mandate. Ie most people in the office incorrectly presume that Revit is BIM!
13. CT is a ‘BIM enabled’ architectural practice but is not BIM Level 2 certified.
14. Lack of traditional drawing schedules, hence drawing requirements are unknown.
13
15. Knowledge and experience of Senior Designers not effectively transferred to younger
designers – there is a lack of group discussion and collaborative problem solving.
16. Most projects are internationally based and as a result knowledge of local building
codes are unknown to design team members.
17. The checking of drawing information received from external consultants takes a lot of
time, experience and expertise and the time to do these checks is mostly unavailable.
18. Lack of interoperability between Architects and Engineers BIM models. IFC
interoperability is only 90%.
19. Design changes leading to rework & repetition of drawing tasks could be minimised if
prior planning and reviews are undertaken with the BIM Manager and Project
Architect at the earliest possible stage of the project.
20. Clash detection/error checking between architecture, MEP and structural
coordination drawings is not undertaken on a regular basis.
Chapman Taylor has an international reputation for providing creative and innovative
architectural solutions hence I would recommend the above issues to be reviewed and
acted upon to allow for a more lean and efficient office to operate.
14
6.0 Lean Production & TPS
Lean Production was originally developed by Toyota, led by Engineer Taiichi Ohno. The term
lean was coined by the research team working on international auto production to reflect
both the waste reduction nature and to contrast it with craft and mass forms of production.
The basic idea behind lean production is the elimination of inventories and other wastes
through small lots of production, reduced set up times, semi-autonomous machines, co-
operation and collaboration with suppliers (Monden 1983, Ohno 1988, Shingo 1984).
The success of Toyota’s performance is a direct result of its operational excellence. This is
based in part on tools and quality improvement methods made famous by Toyota within
manufacturing such as: Just-In-Time, Kaizen, One-Piece-Flow, Jidoka and Heijunka.
Liker (2004) describes the “Toyota Way” within 14 principles. These principles are also the
foundation of the Toyota Production System (TPS) practices at Toyota manufacturing plants
around the world. Liker (2004) has divided the 14 principles into four categories as the 4Ps:
Philosophy, Process, People/Partners and Problem solving.
Liker has incorporated a further 4 high-level principles from Toyota’s internal training
document and these are: Genchi Genbutsu, Kaizen, Respect and Teamwork, and Challenge.
Fig 8: A ‘4P’ Model of the Toyota Way (Liker, 2004)
15
TPS is the basis for much of the lean production movement along with Six Sigma in the past
10 years. James Womack and Daniel Jones define lean, in their book Lean Thinking, as a five-
step process: defining customer value, defining the value stream, making it ‘flow’, ‘pulling’
from the customer and striving for excellence.
Fig 9: Diagram adapted from PascalVan Cauwenberghe & Portia Tung
The 14 principles constitute ‘The Toyota Way’, organized by Liker (2004) into four categories:
Long Term Philosophy.
The Right Process Will Produce the Right Results.
Add Value to the Organisation by developing Your People and Partners.
Continuously Solving Root Problems Drives Organisational Learning.
14 Principles of The Toyota Way are listed below: (adapted from leanblitzconsulting.com)
1. Base your management decisions on a long-term philosophy, even at the expense of
short-term financial goals.
16
2. Create a continuous process flow to bring problems to the surface.
3. Use ‘pull’ systems to avoid overproduction.
4. Level out the workload (work like the tortoise, not the hare!).
5. Build a culture of stopping to fix problems, to get quality right first time.
6. Standardized tasks and processes are the foundation for continuous improvement
and employee empowerment.
7. Use visual controls so no problems are hidden.
8. Use only reliable, thoroughly tested technology that serves your people and process.
9. Grow leaders who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy, and teach it
to others.
10. Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy.
11. Respect your extended network of partners and suppliers by challenging them and
helping them improve.
12. Go and see for yourself to thoroughly understand the situation.
13. Make decisions slowly by consensus, thoroughly considering all options; implement
decisions rapidly.
14. Become a learning organization through relentless reflection and continuous
improvement.
I produced a matrix to evaluate The Toyota Way’s 14 principles against the issues highlighted
by my observations at Chapman Taylor, in Chapter 5.0.
I have used a simple method of a cross (X) to indicate no relevance and a tick (✓) to show a
connection between the problem raised against the 14 principles. As shown within the
following tables (pages 17, 18), some issues cross over to more than one principle. The
results raised by this analysis can be viewed quickly and analysed with the design team to
highlight, and discuss the problem areas within the company, and how they could be
resolved by applying one or more of the Toyota Way Principles.
17
The Toyota Way 14 Principles
Areas for Improvement 1
) B
ase
you
r m
anag
emen
t d
eci
sio
ns
on
a
lon
g-te
rm p
hilo
sop
hy,
eve
n a
t th
e ex
pen
se
of
sho
rt-t
erm
fin
anci
al g
oal
s
2)
Cre
ate
a co
nti
nu
ou
s p
roce
ss f
low
to
bri
ng
pro
ble
ms
to t
he
surf
ace
3)
Use
“p
ull”
sys
tem
s to
avo
id
ove
rpro
du
ctio
n
4)
Leve
l ou
t th
e w
ork
load
(h
eiju
nka
). (
Wo
rk
like
the
tort
ois
e, n
ot
the
har
e.)
5)
Bu
ild a
cu
ltu
re o
f st
op
pin
g to
fix
pro
ble
ms,
to g
et q
ual
ity
righ
t th
e fi
rst
tim
e
6
) St
and
ard
ized
tas
ks a
nd
pro
cess
es
are
the
fou
nd
atio
n f
or
con
tin
uo
us
imp
rove
men
t
and
em
plo
yee
em
po
wer
men
t
7
) U
se v
isu
al c
on
tro
l so
no
pro
ble
ms
are
hid
den
8)
Use
on
ly r
elia
ble
, th
oro
ugh
ly t
este
d
tech
no
logy
th
at s
erve
s yo
ur
peo
ple
an
d
pro
cess
es
9)
Gro
w le
ader
s w
ho
th
oro
ugh
ly u
nd
erst
and
the
wo
rk, l
ive
the
ph
iloso
ph
y, a
nd
tea
ch it
to
oth
ers
10
) D
eve
lop
exc
epti
on
al p
eop
le a
nd
tea
ms
wh
o f
ollo
w y
ou
r co
mp
any’
s p
hilo
sop
hy
11
) R
esp
ect
you
r ex
ten
ded
ne
two
rk o
f
par
tner
s an
d s
up
plie
rs b
y ch
alle
ngi
ng
them
and
hel
pin
g th
em im
pro
ve
12
) G
o a
nd
se
e fo
r yo
urs
elf
to t
ho
rou
ghly
un
der
stan
d t
he
situ
atio
n (
gen
chi g
enb
uts
u)
13
) M
ake
dec
isio
ns
slo
wly
by
con
sen
sus,
tho
rou
ghly
co
nsi
der
ing
all o
pti
on
s;
imp
lem
ent
dec
isio
ns
rap
idly
(n
emaw
ash
i)
14
) B
eco
me
a le
arn
ing
org
aniz
atio
n t
hro
ugh
rele
ntl
ess
ref
lect
ion
(h
anse
i) a
nd
co
nti
nu
ou
s
imp
rove
men
t (k
aize
n)
1. Employers Info. Requirements (EIR) and/or BIM Execution Plan (BEP) missing on some projects.
✓ X X X X ✓ X X X X X X X ✓
2. Team members do not have a program/schedule on running of projects (ie.project plan/program)
✓ ✓ X X ✓ ✓ X X X X X X X X
3. Some projects lack resources, whilst other projects have too much ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ X ✓ X X X X X X X X 4. Lack of weekly design team meetings to review/highlight progress and problems.
✓ X X X X X X X X X X X X X
5. Lack of communication between design team members on projects. X ✓ X X X X X X X X X ✓ X X 6. Directors & Associate Directors lack knowledge & use of Revit. ✓ X X X X X X ✓ ✓ ✓ X X X ✓ 7. Difficult to implement a standardised approach to team working with temporary interns.
✓ X X X X X X X X ✓ X X X ✓
8. High turnover of staff – due to the lack of progression within the company/organization.
✓ X X X X X X X ✓ ✓ X ✓ ✓ ✓
9. Lack of project team contact information listing external consultant’s details (tel, email etc.)
✓ X X X ✓ ✓ X ✓ X X X X X ✓
10. Individuals abilitys and strengths are unknown to fellow staff. ✓ X X X X X X ✓ ✓ ✓ X ✓ X X
Fig 10: Table showing problems linked with The Toyota Way/Lean Principles (adopted from Tetervov Lean Report, 2013)
18
The Toyota Way
14 Principles Areas for Improvement 1
) B
ase
you
r m
anag
emen
t d
eci
sio
ns
on
a
lon
g-te
rm p
hilo
sop
hy,
eve
n a
t th
e
exp
ense
of
sho
rt-t
erm
fin
anci
al g
oal
s
2)
Cre
ate
a co
nti
nu
ou
s p
roce
ss f
low
to
bri
ng
pro
ble
ms
to t
he
surf
ace
3)
Use
“p
ull”
sys
tem
s to
avo
id
ove
rpro
du
ctio
n
4)
Leve
l ou
t th
e w
ork
load
(h
eiju
nka
).
(Wo
rk li
ke t
he
tort
ois
e, n
ot
the
har
e.)
5)
Bu
ild a
cu
ltu
re o
f st
op
pin
g to
fix
pro
ble
ms,
to
get
qu
alit
y ri
ght
the
firs
t
tim
e
6
) St
and
ard
ized
tas
ks a
nd
pro
cess
es
are
the
fou
nd
atio
n f
or
con
tin
uo
us
imp
rove
men
t
and
em
plo
yee
em
po
wer
men
t
7
) U
se v
isu
al c
on
tro
l so
no
pro
ble
ms
are
hid
den
8)
Use
on
ly r
elia
ble
, th
oro
ugh
ly t
este
d
tech
no
logy
th
at s
erve
s yo
ur
peo
ple
an
d
pro
cess
es
9)
Gro
w le
ader
s w
ho
th
oro
ugh
ly
un
der
stan
d t
he
wo
rk, l
ive
the
ph
iloso
ph
y,
and
tea
ch it
to
oth
ers
10
) D
eve
lop
exc
epti
on
al p
eop
le a
nd
team
s w
ho
fo
llow
yo
ur
com
pan
y’s
ph
iloso
ph
y
11
) R
esp
ect
you
r ex
ten
ded
ne
two
rk o
f
par
tner
s an
d s
up
plie
rs b
y ch
alle
ngi
ng
them
an
d h
elp
ing
them
imp
rove
12
) G
o a
nd
se
e fo
r yo
urs
elf
to t
ho
rou
ghly
un
der
stan
d t
he
situ
atio
n (
gen
chi
gen
bu
tsu
)
13
) M
ake
dec
isio
ns
slo
wly
by
con
sen
sus,
tho
rou
ghly
co
nsi
der
ing
all o
pti
on
s;
imp
lem
ent
dec
isio
ns
rap
idly
(n
emaw
ash
i)
14
) B
eco
me
a le
arn
ing
org
aniz
atio
n
thro
ugh
rel
entl
ess
refl
ect
ion
(h
anse
i) a
nd
con
tin
uo
us
imp
rove
men
t (k
aize
n)
11. Work load during final week of deadlines extremely high resulting in late working in eve/weekends
X ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ X X X ✓ X ✓
12. Lack of UK BIM Level 2, BS1192, PAS 1192-2 knowledge in office ✓ X X X X X X X X X X X X ✓ 13. CT is a ‘BIM enabled’ architectural practice but is not BIM Level 2 Compliant (ie. BIM certified)
✓ X X X X X X X ✓ X X X X ✓
14. Lack of drawing schedule list. Hence drawing package requirements unknown.
X ✓ X X X ✓ X ✓ X X X X X X
15. Knowledge/experience of Senior designers not transferred to younger staff.
✓ X X X X X X X ✓ ✓ X ✓ X ✓
16. Most projects are internationally based-local building codes unknown ✓ X X X X X X ✓ ✓ X X ✓ X ✓
17. Information received from ext consultants - time to carry out checks unavailable.
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ X X X X X X X X X X
18. Lack of interoperability between Architects/Engineers BIM models. ✓ X X X X X X ✓ X X X X ✓ ✓ 19. Rework/repeat tasks – Revit model families/schedules not carried over to new projects.
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ X ✓ X X X X X X X ✓
20. Clash detection between arch, MEP and structural drawings not undertaken on regular basis.
✓ ✓ X X ✓ ✓ X ✓ X X X X X X
Fig 11: Table showing problems linked with The Toyota Way/Lean Principles (adopted from Tetervov Lean Report, 2013)
19
“Kaizen is a total philosophy that strives for perfection” (Liker, 2004)
The Toyota Way is more than tools and techniques. It is a system designed to provide the
tools for people to continually improve their work (kaizen). The Toyota Way means more
dependence on people, not less. It is a culture, you depend upon the workers to reduce
inventory, identify hidden problems and fix them straight away. Everyone is involved in
continuous problem solving and improvement, which over time trains everyone to become
better problem solvers (Liker, 2004).
To help explain the Toyota Production system to its employees and suppliers, the ‘House of
Toyota’ (below) was created by Taiichi Ohno disciple Fujio Cho (Liker, 2004). He chose the
house shape because it was familiar and conveyed stability. The roof contains the primary
goals of TPS: superior quality, cost and delivery through waste elimination.
Each element of the house by itself is critical, but more important is the way all the elements
reinforce each other. The sub-systems and improvement tools within the TPS house are the
building blocks for a world class operating system that continuously improves by engaging
people to find creative ways to eliminate waste.
Fig 12: Toyota Production System House (Liker, 2004)
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7.0 Waste – Clean It Up, Make It Visual
What is waste? Toyota defined waste (muda) as:
“Anything that is different from minimum quantity of equipment, materials, parts and labour
time that is absolutely essential for production”. (Alacorn, 1995).
Significant research had been done related to waste in the construction industry. However,
most of the studies focus on the waste of materials, which is only one of the sources involved
in the construction process. The flow aspects of the construction have been historically
neglected. Hence current construction demonstrates a significant amount of waste, loss of
value and non-value adding activities (Formoso et.al, 1999).
Toyota has identified seven major types of non-value adding wastes, with an eighth included
by Liker (2004):
1. Overproduction – Producing more than is needed or which there are no orders.
2. Waiting Time – People, equipment or products wait for other processes to finish.
3. Unnecessary transport – Carrying work in process (WIP). Unnecessary movement of
products/materials that do not support immediate production.
4. Over-processing (or incorrect processing) – Inefficiently processing due to poor tool and
product design causing unnecessary motion and defects.
5. Excess Inventory – Excess raw material causing long lead times, damaged goods,
transportation and storage costs and delays.
6. Unnecessary Movement – Any wasted motion employees have to perform during their work,
such as looking for, reaching for, or stacking parts, tools etc.
7. Correction (or Defect) Waste – Production of defect parts. Repair or rework, scrap,
replacement production, and inspection mean wasteful handling, time and effort.
8. Unused Employee creativity – Losing time, ideas, skills, improvements, and learning
opportunities by not listening to employees.
Ningappa (2011) lists an additional 3 types of waste in her book BIM a Lean Tool:
Confusion – Caused when there is missing or misinformation, causing uncertainty.
Unsafe or Un-ergonomic – Work conditions that compromise health & productivity.
Unutilized human potential – Restricting employee’s authority and responsibility.
21
Taiichi Ohno considered the fundamental waste to be overproduction, since it causes most of
the other wastes.
Toyota managers and employees use the term muda when they talk about waste and
eliminating muda is the focus of most lean manufacturing efforts. Liker (2004) refers to the
elimination of the three M’s:
Muda – Non-value added: extra movement, excess inventory, lead times, waiting.
Muri – Overburdening people or equipment: pushing a machine/person past their limits.
Mura – Unevenness: more work than the person or machine can handle, or lack of work.
Focusing on muda is the most common approach to implementing lean tools (Liker, 2004),
because it is easy to identify and eliminate waste. But what many company’s fail to do is the
more difficult process of stabilizing the system and creating ‘evenness’ – a true balanced lean
flow of work. This is the Toyota concept of heijunka, leveling out the work schedule.
Achieving heijunka is fundamental to eliminating mura, which in turn is fundamental to
eliminating muri and muda (Liker, 2004).
Most business processes are 90% waste and 10% value-added work (Liker, 2004). A good
place to start for any company to begin its lean journey is to create continuous flow
wherever possible in its core manufacturing or service processes. Flow is at the heart of the
lean message that shortening the elapsed time from raw materials to finished goods (or
services) will lead to the best quality, lowest cost, and shortest delivery time.
22
In a TPS/lean environment the goal is to create “one-piece flow” by constantly cutting out
wasted effort and time that is not adding value. How to distinguish the value added work
from the waste? For example, in an architectural practice where all the Architects are busy
designing buildings, sitting in front of a computer, looking up technical specifications, and
having meetings with co-workers – are they doing value added work? To measure this you
would need to follow progress from initial concept design through to the final completion in
terms of drawing output & production. You would need to ask:
At what points do the Architects make decisions that directly affect the designs?
When do Architects undertake checks or analysis that impacts those decisions?
When these types of questions are asked then you find that very little work is truly ‘value-
adding – ie. work that ends up shaping the final design.
Therefore, you need to take the right people with the right skills to do the value-added work,
and flow the project through those people with appropriate support/meetings to work on
integration and you will get speed, productivity, and better quality results (Liker, 2004).
By following flow with the other Toyota Way principles – pull, standardization and visual
management, you get control over lead times. Standardisation is critical to controlling lead
times and also to bringing people on and off projects to address peak workloads/deadlines.
When you try to attain one-piece flow, you are also setting in motion numerous activities to
eliminate muda (wastes). Below I have listed some benefits of one-piece flow and how they
can help to eliminate waste and improve efficiency within an architectural office:
Building in quality – it is much easier to build quality in one-piece flow as every designer is
also (to an extent) an inspector and is able correct or highlight any errors or omissions within
the drawings/BIM models they create before they are passed on to the Director to sign off.
Creates flexibility – If there are dedicated ‘hot-desks’ within the office then additional staff,
interns or visitors are able to use these terminals instead to waiting for IT staff to set one up.
Creates higher productivity – It is easier to see who is busy and who isn’t and decide which
and how many people are needed to achieve the deadline for the required drawings.
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Frees up desk space – With everything organised and in its place. Eg sketches in one drawer,
detailed drawings in another, freeing up desk space.
Improves safety – With drawings, models, folders, stationary etc. all organized in their
relative places allowing for you to move around more safely.
Improves morale – If designers are allowed to manage/run projects from initial design
through to completion they can do much more value-added work and can immediately see
the results of that work, giving them a sense of accomplishment and job satisfaction.
Reduces cost of inventory – With BIM, both time and cost savings of up to 20% capital
expenditure cost savings can be achieved (BIM Task Group).
Fig 13: Elevation of standardized building components within a residential block.
(Baku Knightsbridge - Chapman Taylor)
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8.0 BIM Helps Reduce Waste
Analysis of various literature, case studies and discussions with BIM experienced
professionals all suggest that BIM helps reduce waste in the construction industry. After a
detailed survey of ‘lean’ literature from various research articles, journals and books, it was
found that BIM plays a major role in lean project delivery. BIM helps implement several lean
techniques to achieve several fundamental lean principles which in turn help reduce
construction waste (Ningappa, 2011).
The MacLeamy curve below was introduced in the Construction Users Roundtable in 2004.
The black curve represents the traditional design effort from conceptual stage through to
construction. The heavy work effort (and costs) comes at the construction documents stage.
In Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) the bigger effort (and cost) is moved to earlier in the
project. The blue descending curve (1) represents the declining ability to impact cost and
functional capabilities of a design, ie. early changes can be implemented cheaply, reduce
costs efficiently, and this declines as the design is developed into construction drawings. The
red ascending line illustrates that, as the project proceeds, cost of making changes goes up.
The MacLeamy curve suggests that if we move the design effort earlier in the project (to the
left), this should be more efficient than the traditional design process.
Fig 14: The Patrick MacLeamy Curve 2004 (aecmag.com)
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A summary of some of the key benefits of a BIM and lean partnership include:
Reduced design co-ordination errors by identifying early on in the design stage,
conflicts inherent in the design through clash detection simulations.
Lower engineering and detailing costs through increased use of parametric design and
analysis software packages, leading to reduced re-work.
Increased use of automated manufacturing technologies for steel fabrication and off-
site construction.
Increased preassembly and prefabrication.
As a result, more structurally diverse buildings such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los
Angeles or the Dublin Aviva Stadium can become possible and increasingly more of the
standard part of buildings can be prefabricated economically (Eastman, 2011).
From first hand experience of using BIM, over the past 3 years, on live projects based in the
UK and internationally, it has become clear that every BIM user, be it Architect, Engineer or
Designer has realized its benefits and each user agrees that BIM did in fact help reduce waste
in the construction process. BIM helps reduce wastes such as rework of designs, over
production of details, confusion, over processing, waiting, under-utilized potential and errors
and omissions within the designs and drawings.
With its benefits realized, BIM certainly can be used as a waste reduction tool along with
many of the lean principles mentioned previously. According to a market survey conducted
by McGraw Hill Construction, the use of BIM has increased to 48% in 2011 from 28% in 2007.
And also, 75% of contractors globally reported a positive Return On Investment (ROI), with
Japan, Germany, France all at 97%.
This trend shows that people are
Realizing the benefits of BIM more
often and soon the majority of the
industry will be using it.
26
Lean is a process that was originally adopted by the manufacturing industry to reduce waste
in the processes adopted. Though several attempts have been made to adopt lean in the
construction process, its full benefits have not been realised due to the ‘one off’ nature of
construction projects. In a traditional construction process, the project is divided into smaller
activities, which does not support implementation of lean process effectively, however, BIM
is helping get over this issue by getting all the professionals involved on the project to
participate early in the design and tender process and treat the entire project as one process.
BIM not only helps detect collisions and provide clearer understanding of the design intent,
but also helps in making the construction process leaner. The results below show the many
benefits of utilizing BIM and we find a similar paradigm between these and the seven wastes
identified by Taiichi Ohno within the categories of unproductive manufacturing practices.
With benefits realized so far by BIM in various construction projects, it would be safe to call
BIM a Lean tool.
Fig 15: McGraw Hill Construction Report on the value of BIM for construction 2014.
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9.0 The Benefits of a BIM Process
The process map below shows the typical information and product flow of materials on a
construction project. This process has three major parts:
Preliminary design and tendering
Detailed design (engineering & co-ordination)
Delivery & installation (including fabrication)
Fig 16: Information flow in the design & construction process (Eastman, 2011).
This process includes cycles that allow the design proposal to be formulated and revised
repeatedly. This will typically occur between preliminary design and detailed design stages
where the contractor is required to obtain feedback and approval from all the design teams.
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There are a number of problems with this process. It is labour intensive, with much effort
spent producing and updating drawings, specifications etc. Sets of drawings and other
documents will have high rates of inaccuracies and inconsistencies, which will not be
discovered until the erection of the products onsite. This workflow has so many intermediate
points for review that rework is common and cycle times are long. Leveraging BIM can
improve the process in several ways. First, BIM can improve the efficiency of most existing
steps in the 2D CAD process by increasing productivity and eliminating the need to manually
maintain consistency across multiple drawing files.
When implemented in the context of lean construction techniques, such as with ‘pull-flow’
control of detailing, production, and installation, BIM can substantially reduce lead times and
make the construction process more flexible and less wasteful.
To enable a pull-production system where preparation of production drawings is driven by
the production sequence. Short lead times reduce the system’s ‘inventory’ of design
information, making it less vulnerable to changes in the first place. Detailed drawings are
only produced once the majority of changes have been made. This minimizes the likelihood
that additional changes will be needed. In this ‘lean system’ of working, detailed drawings
are produced at the very last possible moment.
These benefits derive from the high degree of automation that BIM systems are capable of
achieving, when attempting to generate and communicate detailed fabrication information.
Parametric relationships between building model objects and their data are two features of
BIM systems that make these improvements possible.
To sum up:
Use pull systems to avoid overproduction.
Only produce information at required stages.
BIM Coordinator to ‘police’ flow of design information.
Supply drawings only on demand by using Takt Time.
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10.0 The Synergies between IPD, BIM & Lean
With lean construction, value to the client is maximized through continuous process
improvements that optimize flow and reduce waste. These basic principles are drawn from
lean production and much has been learned from The Toyota Way and TPS. Therefore,
significant adaption is needed before these ideas and tools can be applied to construction.
Lean daption has been both practical and theoretical, and the process has given rise to new
ways of thinking about production in construction, such as the Transformation-Flow-Value
(TFV) concept defined by Koskela (1992, 2000). Some lean tools and techniques, such as the
Last Planner System (Ballard, 2000), requires commitment and education, but can generally
be implemented with little or no software support. There is a strong synergy between lean
construction and BIM, as BIM fulfils many lean principles and greatly facilitates fulfillment of
other principles. As discussed previously, there are many causes of waste in construction that
result from the way information is generated, managed, and communicated using drawings.
Many of these, such as inconsistencies between design documents, restricted flow of design
information in large batches, and long cycle times for requests of information, have been
discussed earlier. BIM goes a long way to improving these wastes, but it also does something
more – it improves workflow for everyone in the construction process, even if they make no
direct use of BIM.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has provided information on Integrated Project
Delivery (IPD) which is closely aligned to BIM and lean construction methodologies. IPD
shares principles with BIM and lean including: collaborative innovation and decision making,
which is encouraged when information is freely exchanged, early goal definition which is
comparable to hoshin kanri, which aligns all participants to agree on a common purpose,
intensified planning, similarly to lean it tries to eliminate waste and increase efficiency, open
communication, which lean thinking persuades by providing a set of tools, appropriate use of
technology, mutual rewards and benefits which is promoted by teamwork, mutual trust and
respect through collaboration between partners and co-workers (AIA 2007, Tetervov 2013).
30
In the US, BIM is viewed as a separate but integral part of IPD. The AIA state that:
“BIM is a tool, not a project delivery method, but IPD process methods work hand-in-hand
with BIM and leverage the tool’s capabilities”. Thus, IPD and lean processes provide the
framework to address these deficiencies, allowing a project team to get the most out of BIM.
When all three components of collaboration (IPD/BIM/Lean) are implemented together, we
see project teams successfully work together for maximum benefit of the project. With IPD
agreements structuring people's interactions and incentives, and with lean processes to
increase value and efficiency, and with reliable, pervasive BIM to provide clarity and a single
source of truth, practically any project can be successful in the 21st century.
In the study of the relationship between lean and BIM, Sacks (et al. 2010) lists 24 lean
principles and 18 BIM functionalities and has identified 56 interactions between them, of
which 52 were positive interactions (see next page). The first area of significant synergy is
that the use of BIM reduces variation. The ability to visualize form and to evaluate function,
rapid generation of design alternatives, the maintenance of information and design model
integrity (clash checking) and automated generation of schedules, reports, all result in more
consistent and reliable information that greatly reduces waste of rework, duplication and
waiting. This affects all members of the design team, but its economic impact on those
involved in construction is much greater.
The second area of synergy is that BIM reduces cycle times. In all production systems, an
important goal is to reduce the overall time required for a product from entry into the
system to completion. This will help reduce the amount of work in process (WIP),
accumulated inventory, and the ability of the system to absorb and respond to changes with
minimal waste. The Sutter Medical Centre reports how BIM enabled the project team to
reduce cost-estimation cycles from months to just 2 weeks (Eastman, 2011). BIM use for
automated generations of construction tasks, construction process simulation, and 4D
visualization of construction schedules all serve to reduce cycle times for construction
operations because they help reveal process conflicts and design errors.
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Principle Area Principle
Flow Process
Reduce Variability Get quality right first time (reduce product variability) Improve upstream flow variability (reduce prod. variability) Reduce Cycle Times Reduce production cycle durations Reduce Inventory Reduce Batch Sizes (strive for single-piece flow) Increase flexibility Reduce changeover time Use multi skilled teams Select an appropriate production control approach Use pull systems Level out the production Standardise Institute Continuous Improvement Use Visual Management Visualise production methods Visualise production process Design the production System for Flow and Value Simplify Use parallel processing Use only reliable technology Ensure the capability of the production system
Value Generation Process Ensure comprehensive requirements capture Focus on concept selection Ensure requirement flow down Verify and validate
Problem-solving
Go and see for yourself Decide by consensus, consider all options
Developing Partners Cultivate an extended network of partners
Fig 17: Lean Principles (Sacks et al. 2010).
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Thirdly, BIM enables visualization of both construction products and processes. Where BIM
systems are integrated with supply chain partner databases, they provide a powerful
mechanism for communicating signals to pull production and delivery of materials and
product design information.
The most obvious place BIM supports a number of lean principles is in the design stages.
Clients understand design intent better when it is expressed in 3D models, and designers can
perform better performance analyses. Requirements capture and information flows are
improved. The much reduced cycle times for drawing production means that the conceptual
design stage can be extended allowing greater analysis of alternatives to be evaluated
thereby minimizing design errors later on.
BIM’s support for prefabrication leads to leaner practice in all areas. Prefabrication reduces
variation in product quality and process timing, reduces cycle times for production and
installation, and supports the use of various tracking technologies that help make the process
visible.
We must remember BIM is only a tool. BIM will not create, correct nor prevent errors.
However, BIM will help find and fully expose errors earlier in the construction process,
particularly when the project teams work responsibly together. Accordingly, full
interoperability is critical to the construction team and to the success of BIM. To maximize
interoperability between disciples, one standard software package must be chosen, and this
needs to be incorporated within the BIM Execution Plan (BEP).
With the recent passing of the BIM Level 2 mandate, the construction industry will now
proceed towards BIM Level 3, mandated for 2019. In its purest form, a BIM Level 3 project
would be single data model for all purposes. Each discipline would access the model, adding
content that could be accessed immediately by everyone in real-time. Exploration, analysis
and evaluation would take place within the model, with information being exported as
contract drawings, fabrication drawings, bills of materials etc.
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It looks like BIM is here to stay. It offers a technologically driven opportunity for all built
environment stakeholders to break free of the archaic chains of 2D ‘dumb’ information that
bind the process, and to revolutionize the system of design, construction and management
of the built environment.
BIM can help the construction industry improve productivity and waste fewer materials.
Construction can be a wasteful process and BIM tackles this by creating a robust, data
accessible model and making it available to everyone who needs it.
Construction does not lend itself to automation as every piece of the built environment is a
prototype that must address its own unique set of user requirements, site constraints,
aesthetic and social goals, economic realities and cultural context (Cousins, 2014). There are
few opportunities to build and test large elements of the projects or to pressure the supply
chain for parts that are frequently bespoke and require a great deal of skill to make.
And this is where BIM comes in. A true building information management system holds the
data in one place. My experience at Chapman Taylor is that this will allow people to use their
time for design issues rather than for chasing information to support the design work.
BIM information can be voluminous and easy access to a single source can help to reduce the
time we need to complete a design. A comprehensive BIM model can also help to reduce the
quantity of material needed (inventory). The 3D BIM model improves both our
understanding and the contractor’s understanding of what is being built, and any re-work
due to misunderstandings can be significantly reduced.
Finally, BIM can keep the whole design and construction team enthusiastic about their
projects. Readily available information saves time, improves communication between
disciplines and reduces re-work both at the design stage and on site. This leads to a greater
focus on doing things right and better project outcomes. So, it’s clear: BIM reduces waste.
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11.0 Office Implementation Plan
“Applying the Toyota Production system outside the shop floor can be done, but this takes
some creativity” – Fujio Cho, President of Toyota Motor Corporation (Liker, 2004).
Manufacturing companies around the world have applied the Toyota Production system on
the shop floor to varying degrees, and interest in TPS or lean manufacturing continuous to
grow. As company’s experience great improvements on the shop floor, it is natural to ask
how this can apply to technical or service operations. Many service companies that initially
look at Toyota are attracted most by the technical TPS principles of flow and how they can
apply it to a highly variable and often chaotic process (Liker, 2004).
In service organizations, such as Chapman Taylor, the work is often organised around
projects that vary in size, complexity, number of people involved and lead times. But if we
start with the client, define value, and then map the process that adds value to the client,
identifying workflows can be more manageable. And waste in this case is mostly information
waiting for someone to act on, and because this is information inventory, rather than
physical inventory, it is more difficult to determine the amount (Liker, 2004).
In order to make an appropriate lean implementation within Chapman Taylor, the design
teams will need to work together and with their partner contractors in the mapping process.
With the sole intension of capturing all tasks which are included in the delivery of the project.
An example is to use post-it notes to allow everyone to see the various activities on a wall. In
this case, everyone would see how much work is needed to be done, who is responsible for
the various tasks and how different trades should work together in terms of sequential or
parallel working (O’Connor et al. 2013). Once a decision is made it should be implemented
quickly (Nemawashi).
Don’t identify a problem, but identify the root cause of the problem by using the 5 Why
approach. This is to keep asking why until the root cause of the problem is determined. This
is one part of the Toyota’s Practical Problem Solving Process. At Toyota it is said that problem
solving is 20% tools and 80% thinking (Liker, 2004).
35
Fig 18: Toyota’s Practical Problem Solving Process (Liker, 2004)
Fig 19: Process mapping with the design team in the Obeya ‘War Room’.
36
The step of mapping the process should be organised as early as possible before starting the
work, as a kaizen workshop, in order to agree on the main objectives delivered in the project
(hoshin kanri), and in order to get a tight but realistic and achievable programme (O’Connor
et al. 2013). Liker (2004) suggests using the Obeya ‘War Room’ for making the key decisions
and reviewing the process of the project. However, to seek achievable results, the group
working together should not exceed fifteen people in order to keep the balance within the
Obeya room (Liker, 2004).
There are three phases to a kaizen workshop: Preparation, the actual workshop, and
sustaining and continuous improvement after the kaizen workshop.
When the first workshop of weekly process mapping is completed, objectives of the project
are agreed and deadlines discussed, the second workshop should be arranged. The plan from
the first kaizen workshop should be developed further within the second workshop.
O’Connor et al. (2013) suggests that the plan for the next four to six weeks should be
developed in detail into a day-by-day programme.
Design processes are often complex and involve many activities with many stakeholders. If
you try to map everything all at once, it leads to a mess. But, by developing a ‘big-picture’,
macro value stream map of the current system, you bring everyone together to agree on all
the waste in the processes. A macro-future state map can then identify the big issues and
help identify where the biggest opportunities are for reducing waste in the value stream.
Although the process of mapping can become long and complex, a simpler method that
could be used to arrive at decisions would be to use Toyota’s A3 Report method which would
allow you to put only key information on one side of an A3 sized paper. As Liker (2004) says:
“A typical A3 Report is not a memo – it is a full report documenting a process”.
The advantages of the A3 Report includes increased productivity, helps meet deadlines,
lowers costs, reduces defects and mistakes, and as a problem solving device, the A3 Report
would state the problems, document the current situation, determine root cause, suggest
alternative solutions, suggest the recommended solution and include a cost-benefit analysis.
37
This would all be on one side of an A3 paper, using figures and graphics as much as possible
(see below). The information from these A3 Reports can become a key part of the process of
efficiently getting consensus on complex decisions with the design team.
Fig 20: A typical A3 Report (sloanreview.mit.edu)
The A3 Report is read from the top-left down then onto the second column, and should be
refined to include only critical and visual information. Embedded in the A3 Report is Toyota’s
problem solving process, is based on the Deming Cycle. Deming said any good problem-
solving process should include all of the following elements: Planning, Doing, Checking and
Acting (PDCA). You can use the A3 Reports to identify the most obvious 5-10 high level
phases to work on to eliminate waste. The kaizen workshops are typically one-week events
where the current process is analysed by all participants, a lean vision for the process is
developed, and most importantly, begin implementation.
38
On completion of a live project, a reflective and constructive follow up should be carried out
to capture any mistakes and difficulties experienced during the whole process. As Liker
(2004) describes continuous improvement (kaizen) cannot exist if hansei (relentless
reflection) is not done. Therefore, each week and then after finishing the project, the team
has to look back to process and note where it had made mistakes and where possible
improvements could be implemented.
Liker (2004) and O’Connor et al. (2013) also make reference to the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA)
cycle which could be used for further improvements after the workshops have ended. This
improvement cycle could be adopted by the architectural practice as well, in order to strive
to become a learning organization (Tetervov, 2013).
Fig 21: Plan-Do-Check-Act (O’Connor et al. 2013)
Liker (2004) says that creating lean flow is the technical backbone of TPS in both service and
manufacturing organizations. And that there are five steps to creating flow:
1. Identify who the customer is for the processes and added value they want delivered.
2. Separate out the repetitive processes from the unique, one-of-a-kind processes and
learn how you can apply TPS to repetitive processes.
3. Map the flow to determine value added and non-value added activities.
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4. Think creatively about applying the broad principles of the Toyota Way to these
processes using a future-state value stream map.
5. Start doing it and learn by doing using a PDCA cycle and then expand it to the less
repetitive processes.
A transformation of this size even in one office will not be an overnight process and will
require a continual cycle of improvement and stabilization. And more importantly, it will
require focused leadership from management.
Folowing on from the mapping process and kaizen workshops the implementation teams
could meet on a weekly basis to:
Review the status of the open action items from the project.
Review process metrics to ensure improvements are being achieved.
Discuss additonal opportunities for improvements.
Continue to improve the process.
Management should undertake monthly reviews of the lean status board to evaluate
metrics, open items on the project plan, and resolve any issues to implementation. They
should also provide recognition to the team as it achives key milestones in implmentation.
Fleming (2016), says there are 3 steps to adopting a Lean Paradigm, these are:
Build a vision, establish need, make comittment.
Record current state of operations.
Chart the flow of information.
Lean is a holistic model – it can be widely implemented if management:
Understands it
Are comitted
Have patience
Otherwise, implement lean in select parts of the organisation or as a pilot (Fleming, 2016).
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12.0 Recommendations for Continuous Improvement
“The power behind TPS is a company’s commitment to continuously invest in its people and to
promote a culture of continuous improvement” (Liker, 2004).
A number of initiatives or plans need to be set in motion to allow lean principles to be
implemented within the office, with many of the lean principles mentioned previously
allowing for a culture of continuous improvement to exist.
Collaborative planning would allow current problems and challenges to surface within the
office so that improvements could be made. Firstly, proper planning would be put in place
for everyone involved in the office, with a dedicated lean ‘Champion’ to oversee and push
the lean initiatives on a regular basis. The design team would have clear goals on project
delivery and would encourage closer collaboration between Architects & external disciplines.
Weekly meetings would allow the teams to discuss previous and upcoming tasks. Problems
as ‘overburdening’ and ‘unevenness’ in the work flow of the office would significantly
decrease since leveled-out planning would take place in the office, in turn leading to an
increase in the teams efficiency and hence to a less stressful workplace. This would also allow
the design team to reflect on previous projects and the employees would be highly
encouraged to make improvements continuously.
When these procedures become standard practice within the office, then continuous
improvement can be implemented, as Liker (2004) says:
“Standardised tasks are the foundation for continuous improvement and employee
empowerment”.
This quote also fits in well with Toyota’s own view that:
“Today’s standardization…..is the necessary foundation on which tomorrow’s improvement
will be based. If you think “standardization” as the best you know today, but which is to be
improved tomorrow – you get somewhere. But if you think of standards as confining, then
progress stops” (Liker, 2004).
41
As part of my own ‘lean learning’ a personal study was undertaken on the subject of
standardization and a presentation was given to MSc lean students (see Appendix C).
Following Principle 10 of The Toyota Way, ie “Develop Exceptional People and Teams Who
Follow Your Company's Philosophy”. Within the design office, I would advocate a lean
‘champion’ or facilitator to create a future state vision that eliminates waste, improves first-
time quality in terms of drawing production, and optimizes the flow through the entire
process and to lay out new flow of tasks.
Similarly, a BIM coordinator (or BIM ‘Policeman’) would be placed on each project no matter
how small or large - if there is only one person working on a project, then he/she would be
the principle designer as well as the nominated BIM coordinator. This should be implicit
within the BIM Execution Plan as it would help ‘police’ the flow of information on the project
from inception to final completion, making sure he/she are working to the prescribed BIM
standards such as PAS1192 etc. Liker (2004) says:
“People are the most flexible resource you have. If you have not efficiently worked out the
manual process, it will not be clear where to need automation to support the process”.
As a cursor to implementing lean principles within the office, I would begin with the basics
using Japan’s 5S program. The 5S program comprises of a series of activities for eliminating
wastes that contribute to errors, defects and injuries in the workplace. The 5S’s comprise:
Sort (seri) – Sort through items and keep only what is needed.
Staighten (seiton) – A place for everything and everything in it’s place.
Shine (seiso) – Cleaning process, form of inspection exposing errors/defects.
Standardise (seiketsu) – Develop systems/procedures to maintain the first three S’s.
Sustain (shitsuke) – Maintaining a stable workplace in an ongoing process of
continuous improvement.
The 5S’s together create a continuous process for improving the work environment around
us, by firstly sorting through what is in the office to separate what is needed every day to
perform value-added work from what is seldom or never used.
42
Fig 22: Eliminating Waste by using the 5S’s (Liker, 2004)
Lean systems use the 5S program to support a smooth flow of Takt Time. 5S’s help to make
problems visible and can be part of the process of visual control of a well-planned lean
system. Some examples of 5S application are shown below.
Figs 23-26: Examples of following the 5S philosophy (lean lectures, Fleming 2016)
Design Office
heijunka box!
Traditional Plan Holder/Chest
43
Liker (2004) has listed 13 tips for transitioning your company into a lean enterprise, they are:
1. Start with action in the technical system; follow quickly with cultural change.
2. Learn by doing first and training second.
3. Start with value stream pilots to demonstrate lean and provide a ‘go see’ model.
4. Use value stream mapping to develop future state visions and help ‘learn to see’.
5. Use kaizen workshops to teach and make rapid changes.
6. Organise around value streams (processes or functions).
7. Make it mandatory.
8. A crisis may prompt a lean movement, but may not turn a company around.
9. Be opportunistic in identifying opportunities for big financial impacts.
10. Realign metrics with a value stream perspective.
11. Build on your company’s roots to develop your own way.
12. Hire or develop lean leaders (or champion) and develop a succession system.
13. Use experts for teaching and getting quick results.
If you want a lean organization, you will need to bring lean (expert) knowledge into the
company. Hence I advocate, that each office would have a lean facilitator or lean champion
who would help quick start the process by educating others through action - Starting off any
continuous improvement scenario with the foundational tools of Lean:
Ie. 5S, standardized work, process mapping, and value stream mapping. These tools, can
help to create a baseline understanding of where a process, work cell or company is
operating at. Ie, They help answer the question “where are we now?”
Another, overlooked ‘lean’ method that could be used is benchmarking. Chapman Taylor
could use benchmarking to bring knowledge of applications of lean principles and practices
to the entire office. Benchmarking is the process of comparing the company’s current
performance against the world leader in any particular area (Camp 1989, Compton 1992).
Quality, cost and time are the typically measured performance indicators. It is, in essence,
finding and implementing the best practices in the world (Ningappa, 2011). Bench marking is
essentially a goal setting procedure and should stimulate the continuous improvement
process.
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Staff retention is also a major problem for many architectural offices in the North West.
Employees who are on a year-out placement or have been with the organisation for several
years are leaving. The solution would be to focus on the Toyota principle of: “Grow leaders
who thoroughly understand the work, live the philosophy and teach it to others”.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Liker, 2004) looks at motivating people as equivalent to
satisfying their internal needs. Your highest level of motivation will be to do things that
better you as a person called ‘Self-Actualisation’. The company needs to ensure that they
provide job security, good pay and safe working conditions which would satisfy lower level
needs (Liker, 2004). If the needs are met then interns could go on to become permanent
employees; creating a stable team environment allowing for growth within the company
both personally and professionally.
Fig 27: Possible path of an intern's growth within the company (Tetervov, 2013)
Frederick Herzberg‘s theories are similar to Marlow’s, as they focus on characteristics of
work that are motivators. He refers to Maslow’s lower level needs as ‘hygiene factors’. He
recommends that if you wait to motivate people, you have to go beyond the hygiene factors
and enrich jobs so that they are intrinsically interesting. People performing the work need
feedback on how they are doing. They need to be given a whole piece of work and a degree
of autonomy, followed by recognition and approval/feedback on the work undertaken – as
having the responsibility of participating in the project from the beginning to end enriches
and empowers the employee. For example, if a designer is given the same task to do
repeatedly and is only responsible for a small part of the project, then interest levels and
motivation starts to drop and the designer may look elsewhere for employment.
45
There are many things people find rewarding beyond money. It could be praise or
recognition from the Senior Designer or Supervisor, and as Liker (2004) says:
“People are motivated by challenging but attainable goals and measurement of progress
towards these goals…..careful measurements everyday let teams know how they are
performing”.
Hence people drive continuous improvement. And this is done by building a system that
follows The Toyota Way Principle 10:
“Develop exceptional people and teams who follow your company’s philosophy”.
People must have a degree of security and feel that they belong to a team. You must design
jobs to be challenging and people need some autonomy to feel they have control over their
aspect of the job. As Liker (2004) eloquently puts it:
“Building exceptional people and teams derives from having in place some forms of respect
for a humanity system”.
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13.0 Post Script
Start small!
At the beginning, the architecture office could adopt a few key lean principles. Once the
results are clear to see then the office could go on to implement more advanced lean
concepts. A simple way to begin this process would be to introduce lean to people by playing
quick lean ‘games’. It is important that the office is supported by senior management and
that employees are involved in the change process. This will require a ‘change agent’ such as
a lean champion or facilitator who would be cultivated from within the company. But, the
most important part of the process is that the office is willing to sustain this process and as
Liker (2004) says: “Become a Lean Learning Enterprise”.
Fig 28: Image source: Ben Wallbank, BIM Lecture 2015. University of Salford.
IMPLEMENTING
BIM & LEAN
47
14.0 Bibliography & References
BARNES, P. and DAVIES, N. (2014) BIM in Principle and in Practice. London. ICE Publishing.
DAVE, B, KOSKELA, L, KIVINIEMI, A, OWEN, R, TZORTZOPOULOS, P (2013) Implementing Lean
in construction: Lean construction and BIM, C725, CIRIA, London.
EASTMAN, C M, TEICHOLZ, P, SACKS, R and LISTON, K (2011) BIM Handbook: A guide to
building information modeling for owners, managers, architects, engineers, contractors, and
fabricators, 2nd edition, John Wiley and Sons, UK.
Fleming, A. (2016). Lean Integrated Design & Production. [Lectures to MSc BIM & Integrated
Design/Construction Project Management students]. University of Salford. 2016.
KOSKELA, L. and HOWELL, G., (2002) The Underlying Theory of Project Management is
Obsolete, Proceedings of the PMI Research Conference, 2002.
LIKER, J E (2004) The Toyota way: 14 management principles from the world’s greatest
manufacturer, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York.
NINGAPPA, G. (2011) BIM a Lean Tool?, Germany. LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
O’CONNOR, R and SWAIN, B (2013) Implementing Lean in construction: Lean tools and
techniques – an introduction, C730, CIRIA, London.
SAURABH TIWARI and PARTHA SARATHY (2012) Pull planning as a mechanism to deliver
constructible design, IGCL 20, San Diego, USA.
TETERVOV, V. (2013) Implementing Lean to an Architectural Office. Lean Integrated Design
and Production Coursework Report, University of Salford, UK.
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15.0 Appendix A – Lean Glossary of Abbreviations
Continuous Flow Process: Achieving sequential flow of production, ideally one piece from
station to station.
5S: A five step housekeeping discipline that includes methods for creating and maintaining an
organized, clean, high performance workplace.
5 Whys: When a problem arises, keep asking the question "why" until you reach the
underlying root of the problem, and until a robust counter-measure becomes apparent.
Jidoka: used in the TPS (Toyota Production System) can be defined as ‘automation with a
human touch’. The word jidoka traces its roots to the invention of the automatic loom by
Sakichi Toyoda, Founder of the Toyota Group Machinery capable of inspecting parts after
producing them, then notifying if a defect is detected.
Just-in-Time: A production scheduling concept that calls for producing the necessary part, at
the necessary time and in the necessary quantity using minimum necessary resources.
Kaizen or Incremental Continuous Improvement: A philosophy that advocates continually
improving products, processes, and activities of a business to effectively and efficiently meet
or exceed changing customer requirements and standards set by the organization.
Continuous improvement focuses on the elimination of waste or non-value added activities
throughout the organization. Conversely, it also attempts to alter processes for the purpose
of adding value.
Kanban: Literally translated means sign card. A card or other visual control that authorizes
the production or movement of product. A tool for managing Just-in-Time.
Lean Production (Lean Manufacturing): An English phrase coined to describe Japanese
manufacturing techniques as exemplified by Toyota.
Level Production: A prerequisite for Just-in-Time production. The smoothing of production
requirements over time. The intent is to take customer orders and sequence them over time.
Mistake Proofing: A manufacturing technique of preventing mistakes by designing the
process, equipment and tools so the operation cannot perform incorrectly.
Non-Value Added (NVA): Refers to any activity that does not raise or increase value to the
customer value or to the organization; also known as waste. NVA reflects the belief that the
activity is wasteful and can be redesigned, reduced or eliminated without reducing the
quality, responsiveness or quality of output required by the customer or organization.
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Poka-yoke: See Mistake Proofing.
Pull System: A manufacturing planning system based upon the communication of
downstream needs to upstream suppliers and processes.
Push System: A manufacturing system that schedules upstream processes based on a
projected or planned downstream needs.
Work In Process (WIP): The minimum number of unfinished products required for
smooth completion of a work sequence prescribed for a given purpose.
Standardised Work: Documents, centered around human movement, that combine the
elements of a job into the most effective sequence, without waste, to achieve the most
efficient level of production. Standardized work forms the basis of continuous improvement.
Standardised Work Chart: One of three Standardized Work forms. It shows an operator’s
work sequence, takt time, and Standard Work in Process (SWIP) as well as quality checks, and
operator safety.
Takt Time: Calculation that describes the time required to produce one unit of production
given the available production time and customer requirements. Takt time is one of the three
elements of Standardized Work and supports the concept of Just in Time.
Value Added (VA): Any activity that advances the process or increases the value of the parts
produced or value to the organization’s needs. Focus should be on reducing costs by
eliminating waste for NVA activities. The higher the proportion of work that adds value, the
greater the efficiency of that operation.
Work Standards: Documents that detail the most suitable operating conditions, work
methods, and control methods. Work standards form the basis for processes in
manufacturing.
Note: The above abbreviations have been adopted from the Toyota Production System -
Basic Handbook. Art of Lean, Inc. (www.artoflean.com)
50
16.0 Appendix B – BIM Glossary of Abbreviations
AIM Asset Information Model
BEP BIM Execution Plan
BIM Building Information Modelling
BIMM Building Information Modelling & Management
BIP BIM Implementation Plan
BRE The Building Research Establishment
CAD Computer Aided Design
CDE Common Data Environment
COBie Construction Operations Building Information Exchange
EIR Employers Information Requirements
GSL Government Soft Landings
IFC Industry Foundation Classes
IPD Integrated Project Delivery
KPI Key Performance Indicators
LOD Level of Detail
LOI Level of Information
MIDP Master Information Delivery Plan
PAS1192 Publicly Available Specification 1192 series
PIM Project Information Model
PIP Project Implementation Plan
PM Project Manager
RIBA The Royal Institute of British Architects
RFI Request For Information
ROI Return on Investment
17.0 Appendix C – Lean Presentation on Standardisation (next document)
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Standardization and its contribution to Continuous Improvement and Quality
Group 10
Content
1. Standardization and Quality
2. Standardization and Continuous Improvement
3. Case Study
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Standardization and its contribution to Quality
“Standardization is crucial in creating and sustaining quality” (BSI)
• Quality is the extent to which a user's requirements and expectations are satisfied.
(businesscasestudies.co.uk)
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“Standardization is crucial in creating and sustaining quality” (BSI) • A standard is a rule or example that provides clear
expectations (Anjna Gandhi)
• Standardization is the practice of setting, communicating, following and improving standards
• Standards are applied to numerous materials, products, techniques, and services. They simplify most aspects of our lives and improve the reliability and the effectiveness of the goods and services. (businesscasestudies.co.uk)
Standardization benefits businesses
• Standards are about both products (how goods function or interact, or how service is delivered) and management systems.
• Businesses are dominant beneficiaries, since standards, basically, generate clarity alongside certainty as well as get rid of confusion.
• Standardization benefits the quality management in particular
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Standardisation from an historical perspective
• standardised parts and tools facilitated the American system of mass production, during Fordism, standardisation was extended to skills, training and even social standards
• Together with Taylorist time and motion standards the forms and functions of standardisation changed to providing quality standards.
• The advent of Total Quality Management (TQM) idea and EFQM models
• The historical overview shows that a key form and function of standardisation has been to assure the quality of products and processes
Clarke, C. (2005). Automotive production systems and standardisation: from Ford to the case of Mercedes-Benz. Springer Science & Business Media.
Standardization benefits Quality management
It provides a sole framework for quality
It joins the best practices into regular quality procedures
It strengthens synergies between divisions
Regulatory is raising the bar for compliance
The organization becomes much more manageable, consistent, and easier to identify trends
Standardization is like the ultimate mix tape: it takes all the best practices from the organization and combines them into a single, well-defined process.
By having a single, common standardized process, we can ensure that all operating companies or divisions are using the same process we have deemed regulatory compliant.
The closer we are, the better we work as an enterprise team. Standardization is the foundation for the common Quality environment.
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Standardization and its contribution to
Standardization and its contribution to continuous Improvement
• To standardized ; that mean To select one of the best methods and it mean nothing if it doesn’t mean standardizing upward
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Standardization is the first step of improvement and its the way to sustain the Kaizen Gains.
• Drawing methods. • Engineering change methods • Tooling development • Specifications • Gaging, test methods, test equipment • Maintenance procedures. • Programming documentation • Order entry • Work-to-schedule discipline.
Some examples of standardization
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Basic Improvement
Identify Waste
Improve Process Setup time down –flow rates
balance
Physical workplace organization
Cycle Time Concept
Promote Visibility of status , of problems
Uniform load, homogenous schedule , if possible
Standardizing Improvements
Eliminate Waste
Time Cycle Concept : regular ,repeating time patterns to increase
potential for standardization
High –level Performance (Hall, 1987)
Continuous Improvement through Standardization
Healthcare
Aviation
Manufacturing
Service Industry
Home Engineering
Garage
GROUP 10: How does Standardisation contribute to continuous Improvement and Quality?