Continuous Improvement: Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA)
D. Brown Management
September 18, 2018
Improving productivity in construction is exceptionally challenging. It must be embraced as a journey and not a destination. It must be made into a game so that people clearly see what winning looks like and fall in love with the process.
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Impacted Productivity - Stacking of Trades and Installation Efficiency
D. Brown Management
September 15, 2018
Each craftsperson needs about 200 usable square feet for a productive installation. This assumption is included in production units used to estimate and budget projects. Having less than that can impact productivity up to 50%.
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Impacted Productivity - Highly variable Labor Scheduling (Level Your Schedule)
D. Brown Management
September 14, 2018
The biggest risk for a specialty contractor is the performance of on-site labor. One of the biggest impacts to labor productivity is having a schedule that requires large variations in labor.
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Impacted Productivity - Dilution of Management
D. Brown Management
September 11, 2018
Dilution of management will compound an already impacted construction project. It is important for teams to realize the full costs of impacts as they start to occur.
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Lean Principle - 5S Habits for Building a Productive Work Environment
D. Brown Management
September 10, 2018
5S is a foundational concept for creating a productive work environment and continuous improvement. The 5S process is to productivity what eating a healthy breakfast and exercising is to your health - daily consistency will change your life.
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Lean Principle - Observation (Gemba Walks and Learning to See)
D. Brown Management
September 7, 2018
One of the most important tools for improving productivity is going to the jobsite or work area and observing for an extended period of time with the intent to understand but not to immediately interact. Observation progresses through about 7 stages.
field productivity lean construction
Problem-Resolution Cost Pyramid - Earlier is Always Better
D. Brown Management
August 29, 2018
An easy way to visualize the cost of problem resolution at different stages of construction is with this pyramid. The cost of the problem is the cost of the problem (1X). Finding it ahead of time minimizes the costs and maximizes customer satisfaction.
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Lean Principle - Kaizen (Every Detail Matters)
D. Brown Management
August 27, 2018
As contractors build their businesses, it is important to look at every detail from the first meeting with a potential customer through winning and building the project. This same attention to detail also applies to supporting operations and talent.
field productivity lean construction
Lean Principle - 8 Categories of Waste
D. Brown Management
August 22, 2018
The first step in improving labor productivity in construction is improving everyone’s ability to see the waste. Waste can then be broken down into 8 major categories. Like colors these are often interrelated.
field productivity lean construction
Lean Principle - Value Add vs. Non Value Add
D. Brown Management
August 18, 2018
For specialty contractors the field workforce represents most of their competitive advantage as well as their biggest source of variability. Making improvements to field productivity requires deeply understanding what truly adds value to the customer.
field productivity lean construction