L25/26: Lean & Productivity Flashcards
Main concerns of site management?
- environmental concern
- health and safety
- construction plan and methodology
Current state of affairs:
- physical characteristics of production ignored
- production largely uncontrolled
- no systematic process for learning from experience
- central control fantasy/ push system
What is lean?
- production philosophy to increase productivity and to eliminate waste
What does lean focus on?
-the difference between value and waste
Differences in traditional and lean:
Traditional: decisions are made sequentially by specialists
Lean: Downstream players are involved in upstream decisions, and vice-versa
Differences in traditional and lean:
Traditional: activities are performed as soon as possible
Lean: activities are performed at the last responsible moment
Differences in traditional and lean:
Traditional: not all product life cycle stages are considered in the design
Lean: all product life cycle stages are considered in the design.
Differences in traditional and lean:
Traditional: Participants build up large inventories to protect their own interests
Lean: Buffers are sized and located to perform their function of absorbing system variability
Differences in traditional and lean:
Traditional: Organisations link together through the market, and take what the market offers
Lean: Systematic efforts are made to optimise supply chains
Differences in traditional and lean:
Traditional: learning occurs sporadically
Lean: Learning is incorporated into project, firm and supply chain management.
What are the principles of lean?
VWFPP
- identify the Value stream
- remove the Waste
- create Flow
- let the customer Pull
- pursue Perfection
Where is most value added?
- During Manufacturing rather than Construction
What environmental considerations do classic value streams tend to overlook?
- raw materials used vs needed in products and processes
- pollution & other env. wastes in the value stream
- flows of information to env. regulatory agencies
What can simple adjustments to your value stream map do?
- Help explicitly address pollution and natural resource wastes
- improve cost reduction opportunities
- save additional time
- improve the health and safety of the workplace
A “materials line” can be added to the value stream to examine:
- amount of raw materials used by each process
- amount of materials that end up in the product and add value from the customer’s perspective
What are some simple adjustments of value stream mapping?
- use icons or red dots to identify processes with key environmental, health, and safety (EHS) opportunities
- use icons to highlight where EHS experties needed
- add key env. data to process boxes
What does the timeline on a value stream map look at?
- value added and non value added time in the value stream
How to create flow?
- coordination
- basic lean tools and techniques
(e. g. 5 S’s, spaghetti chart, visual controls)
What are the 5 S’s?
- Sorting
- Simplifying
- Sweeping
- Standardising
- Self discipline
What does sorting include?
sort out the necessary from the unnecessary, discard the unnecessary
What does simplifying include?
create and identify a place for everything based on how often it is used
What does sweeping include?
physical and visual control of the work area
What does standardising include?
creating standard ways to keep the work areas organised, clean and orderly, documenting agreements made during the SS’s
What does self discipline include?
Follow through
What does process mapping categorise all steps into?
- Value added
- Non value added but necessary
- Non value added & not necessary
What does process mapping include?
- mapping all steps & ‘wait’ times of activities
- measure distance travelled & cycle time
- categorise all steps
- eliminate all #3s + improve #2’s
- reduce setup time & do 5S’s
What is the purpose of visual controls?
To put in plain view all tools, parts, plans, schedules and performance indicators so everyone can see at a glance what is happening.
(e.g. hard hats, daily/weekly schedules)
What are ways to pursue perfection?
- stress the production system to identify needed improvements
- experiment but buffer the production not to violate commercial agreements
- manipulate constraints to drive innovation and improvement
What are 3 different types of productivity?
- Labour
- Capital
- Time
What is productivity
output/ input
What is the measure for labour productivity?
work/ workers
What is the measure for capital productivity?
value added / capital employed
What is the measure for time productivity?
progress / working hours
What are common factors that affect productivity?
- skills and experiences of workforce
- management
- material availability
- job planning
- worker motivation
Factors to improving the efficiency of the work:
- develop a network
- more effective planning
- pre-work
- develop manuals
- use IT systems, communication and planning software
- use downtime and idle time better
- have a backup plan
- better communications
- quality
- pricing strategy
Factors to improve the competency of people:
- improve the level of technical skills
- diversity
- workforce stability
- support and supervision
- team building
- influences of peer workers
- working stress
- equality and pride
Key factors in training in project management:
- communication
- organisational skills
- adopt common procedures and practices
- contingency and uncertainty planning
- improve analytical skills
- develop and promote learning skills
Factors to strengthen middle management skills for key staff:
- ability to communicate and coordinate
- how to motivate people
- develop a clear business vision
- train in quality techniques and how to write procedures and policies
- number of employees managed
- delegation of responsibility
- continuous improvement techniques
- sustainability
A holistic, multi faceted industry level approach is required to:
- ease the mobility
- provide a clear career pathway
- improve qualifications or certificates incentives
- online learning to attract young IT literate workers
- integrated supply chain approach
- better relationships with clients
- value for money approach in procurement strategies.
Role of site managers
- prepare sites
- plan products
- supervise
