In the second Insights article on Lean Construction Kevin Dougall, Project Manager at esc construction consultants, Iooks at the next three principles of Lean Construction and what the team at esc is doing to ‘Eliminate Re-Work, Improve Safety and Increase Productivity’ on projects.
Eliminate Re-Work
What is “re-work”? Re-work can be defined as “to redo, correct, or rebuild”. In this context, re-work is the result of errors and/or omissions. It is not work required as the result of a change to the project brief.
Re-works are costly, time consuming and wasteful. This should put eliminating re-works at the top of the list of key project objectives.
It is often said that, given the number of variables involved, every construction project is a prototype. It would follow that, being a prototype, during the design phase there will be a degree of trial and error, consideration of different solutions and, inevitably, mistakes made, all of which would lead to re-works.
esc construction consultants seeks to eliminate re-works on projects by adopting strategies on:
- Checklists
- Coordination
- Documentation
- Sandboxing
- Artificial Intelligence
Checklists
The use of checklists on projects reduces the risk of errors and/or omissions occurring, which would otherwise require re-works. It is said that one of the main reasons why flying is one of the safest means of transport is because pilots routinely use checklists.
Coordination
“Coordination” is defined as “the organisation of the different elements of a complex body or activity so as to enable them to work together effectively”.
An important managerial task for the lead designer is the control and coordination of all design disciplines’ activities, with the project manager monitoring the task. Central to this is the production of a coordinated design information release schedule.
It is important to distinguish clash detection from coordination, as they are not the same thing, albeit the former should be an integral part of the coordination task.
Documentation
Maintaining comprehensive, and accurate, documentation provides essential reference points throughout the life of a project. Key decisions, and the thinking behind them, can be recorded and there is less likelihood of something being forgotten. At esc we maintain an Integrated Management System accredited to BS EN ISO 9001:2015 underpinning our commitment to maintaining and continually improving our policies and procedures.
Sandboxing
Taking a lead from the software industry, sandboxing allows different design solutions and/or construction methods to be considered, developed, tested, and costed without the risk of adversely impacting other elements of the project during the process.
Artificial Intelligence
The increasing adoption and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the construction industry will undoubtedly increase productivity, particularly where repetitive and/or mundane tasks are undertaken by a computer, which advocates of AI say will not only mean tasks are completed more quickly but also more accurately.
Improve Safety
Health and safety must never ever be compromised on a construction project, however large or small it may be.
The role of the Principal Designer during the pre-construction phase is a vital one and, when appointed as Project Manager, esc will always advise a client to appoint a Principal Designer at the outset.
It is important that the Principal Designer liaises with the Principal Contractor, informing it of any risks that need to be controlled during the construction phase. The Principal Contractor will be required to implement and police an effective health and safety regime on site, with regular inspections being undertaken by a qualified health and safety practitioner.
Increase Productivity
esc places great importance on increasing productivity on a project, as it typically leads to shorter overall project programmes, reducing cost to the client, the project team, and the contractor.
To achieve increased productivity esc construction consultants promotes:
- Good communication
- Omitting re-works
- Planning work
Good communication
At the start of a project, esc implements a communication protocol, which governs how the parties to the project communicate with each other, when, with whom and how.
Omitting re-works
One simple way to increase productivity is to reduce the number of re-works. The two should not be seen as being the same though.
Planning work
The most efficient and productive work is planned, documented, and coordinated across the project team, in advance of when it is carried out. Reactive work is always less efficient.
For further information on our Project Management or Cost Management expertise please check out our website https://escconstructionconsultants.com/about/ or contact Kevin Dougall T: 028 9077 9392 | E: kevin.dougall@escconsult.co.uk.