Lean in the Field – Our Panel of Superintendents Tell Their Stories

Moderator:

Andrew McLaughlin is a Project Executive with over 20 years construction experience. He began his career in the field working for a grading company in South Carolina. He had the unique opportunity to work in manufacturing for 3 years and was exposed to lean manufacturing during that time. Later he move to Memphis, where he gained experience in the drywall trade as an estimator and project manager, before moving back home to South Carolina to be an estimator with a civil company. Andrew was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to move to Houston, Texas, where he currently resides, to work as a lean manager and Superintendent for Turner Construction, before taking on his current role at DIRTT Environmental Solutions as a PX. Andrew is an advocate for lean construction, believing in the difference it can make in the future of the industry for workers, construction managers, designers and owners. He has the unique background of manufacturing, trade work, and general contacting, where he has seen the benefits and opportunities lean brings. He has been involved with LCI for over 10 years, in both the Memphis CoP and Houston CoP. 

Panelists: 

Hailee Browning is a graduate of Texas A&M University and a Superintendent at Linbeck Group, LLC, where she has built her entire professional career. She has primarily worked with clients in the healthcare and education sectors, such as MD Anderson, Houston Methodist, and YES Prep Public Schools, helping them achieve their goals and creating a lasting impact within their communities. As a Superintendent, a couple of Hailee’s key responsibilities include overseeing critical aspects of construction operations, such as scheduling and productivity management, site logistics, and jobsite safety programs. She is a dedicated practitioner of Lean principles, incorporating tools like daily huddles, two-week lookahead schedules, and specialized boards for tracking deliveries, constraints, and percent plan complete (PPC).

Jeremy Neisen has been with McCarthy for over 16 years, contributing his expertise to a diverse range of projects of varying scales across multiple markets. Most recently, he served as the Sr. Superintendent on the Texas Children’s Hospital North Austin Campus project where he was part of the team that delivered this project on an accelerated timeline. 

Zach Jacobs has worked for 16 years with Bellows Construction as a Superintendent in the Houston Medical Center. He has applied Lean principles to enhance efficiency, eliminate waste, and improve scheduling for projects at Texas Children’s Hospital. Given the high project volume, we prioritize Lean scheduling to maintain timelines, budgets, and quality. Utilizing tools like the Last Planner System and Just-in-Time delivery, we ensure reliability and continuous improvement.

Tom Arrigo has been in the construction industry for 30+ years; working as a laborer, carpenter, project engineer, project manager, and superintendent.  Currently he is a Senior Superintendent for DPR Construction working to deliver challenging healthcare and life science projects.  In his role over the past 16 years, he has worked to implement Lean concepts in the field with his project teams.  The principles of Sequence and Flow, Respect for People, and elimination of waste have resulted in consistent results.  He has utilized these same principles to “turn-around” failing projects and repair relationships with owners, architects, engineers, and trade partners.  Tom is a certified instructor for LCI and has twice presented at LCI Congress utilizing simulations to demonstrate Lean concepts.

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