Thank You Sustaining Sponsors!
Make Your Plans for San Diego (and Congress)!
We are thrilled to bring the 2024 LCI Congress to San Diego, October 22-25. To help you plan for this fantastic destination, we asked for recommendations from a local Lean leader. Enjoy these top tips for enjoying sunset, surfing, strolling, sunning (with sunscreen of course), and more in beautiful San Diego! Reminder: You can lock in the lowest registration rates through July 31.
Explore more about San Diego attractions and the iconic San Diego Town and Country Resort, our Congress venue.
Quick Tip: Register for the Core Program (Wednesday/Thursday), then you’ll have the option to add on the Golf Tournament (Monday), Learning Day (Tuesday), and Gemba Day (Friday).
Contact Joan Piccariello with questions on the Congress program.
Contact Ilene Goldberg with questions on sponsor or exhibitor packages.
LCI Welcomes Houston Community of Practice
LCI is thrilled to welcome the Houston Community of Practice to our organization! A formational effort has been ongoing over the last 18 months led by Alex Young, Salas O’Brien. Taking on the CoP’s Leader role, Alex has assembled a strong core group to continue to grow the Houston CoP:
- Vice Leader: John Compton, WS Bellows
- Events Leader – Rhona Vogt, Page Southerland Page, Inc.
- Events Vice Leader – Jose Garcia, WS Bellows
- Communications – Margarita Monterrosa, Page Southerland Page, Inc.
- Communications – London Ueal, Texas Children’s Hospital
- Communications – Emily Ledbetter, Page Southerland Page, Inc.
- Members – Kurt Neubek, Glenda Franco, Ronda Wang, Page Southerland Page, Inc.; and Tom Arrigo, DPR Construction.
This group has been diligently working throughout 2023 and 2024 to offer Lean content and engage local curiosity in the Houston area. Their efforts have proven successful and they are excited to support Lean growth in the Houston region! Join us in welcoming this newest joiner to our LCI CoP network!
Pictured above: Leadership from the Houston CoP Core Group
Pictured above: Houston Lean Interest Group Lean Simulation event sponsored by Tarkett in January 2024
Participate in the 2024 Lean Design & Construction Benchmarking Survey!
The Lean Construction Institute, in partnership with Dodge Data & Analytics, is conducting a bi-annual survey to study the national utilization of Lean practices in design and construction. Your participation in this 12-15 minute survey is crucial for us to generate new initiatives and expand Lean usage across the industry.
By contributing, you will help us understand the extent of Lean deployment and its impact on project outcomes. We invite owners, architects, interior designers, engineers, and contractors familiar with project outcomes and processes to take part in this important research.
Member Connections: 5 Questions With...
Jeremy Spooner, General Superintendent
Hansel Phelps
This week, Jeremy Spooner, a General Superintendent and Lean practitioner at Hensel Phelps, currently overseeing the strategic direction of a datacenter project, shares his insights on successful Lean project implementation. Read on to see why Jeremy believes in Lean.
We’d love to hear your Lean story. Reach out to Maryann if you’re willing to share.
What hurdles did you encounter when implementing Lean on a project (in your company), and how did you tackle them?
The biggest hurdle encountered was achieving a baseline understanding of what was to be implemented and at what level. With varying levels of Lean sophistication among our internal team and our trade partners, the first step to implementation was to perform Lean training with the entire team so that discussions and dialogue such as Last Planner System®, Percent Planned Complete, etc. were understood.
What stories can you share about a successful Lean project (Lean implementation effort) you were involved in and what do you think made it work?
The biggest success achieved is complete accountability once all of the processes are working together. To have trade partner foremen be an integral part of the pull plan, make commitments through their weekly work plans, and then validate their performance utilizing planned percent complete fosters an environment of accountability to one’s own work, but also accountability to their fellow team members (adjacent trades). I have seen incredible growth in individuals that have committed to the process, and the comradery achieved on a successful Lean project is second to none.
In your opinion, what are the biggest benefits of applying Lean and how have they impacted your projects, your teams, or your organization?
On our current project, we have used Lean to help galvanize and align the trade partners and the GC team. By learning together and implementing the methods as an entire team, it has really provided a unifying experience for us to work as a team toward. Additionally, our administrative staff saw the value in the field implementation of Lean so much so that they sought out and engaged in similar training to help streamline meetings, document to achieve accountability, and ultimately achieve resolution.
How do you assess if your Lean game is strong; are there metrics or techniques you rely on and can share?
We are inundated in an evolving world of endless data, metrics, power BI platforms, and the like. While all of these things are tools to measure and refine your Lean game, I still think the best way to assess the effectiveness of Lean on your job is through the communication of those trade partners and foremen directly implementing it. If your daily huddle is collaborative, succinct, and on point with minimal GC overriding, then you know your trades are performing in the manner you expect and in alignment with your CPM.
If someone’s just dipping their toes into Lean, what advice would you offer from lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t give up! No plan survives first contact. There will be obstacles, challenges, conflicts, that can discourage you from implementing Lean. Know that it is an iterative process, re-boot, baseline, and keep striving. Your teams will see the benefits even before they realize it!
Lean Certification Step 3: The Knowledge Assessment
As part of the LCI-CPC and LCI-CPD certification process, candidates must complete a knowledge assessment. This 150-question multiple-choice assessment spans three critical domains: Principles, People-Related, and Practices.
- Principles: Contains 26 questions concerning the key components of Lean thinking and Integrated Project Delivery.
- People-Related: Contains 26 questions concerning the culture of Lean and how to successfully manage and work alongside people throughout a project’s development.
- Practices: Contains 98 questions concerning specific key Lean concepts and tools and their uses in Lean project delivery.
Developed using nationally recognized industry standards, the LCI-CPC and LCI-CPD knowledge assessment aligns with a content outline derived from a comprehensive job task analysis of Lean construction professionals.
For a glimpse of what to expect, review sample test questions available in the LCI-CPC and LCI-CPD candidate handbooks!
Upcoming Webinars
July 11, 2024
11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET
How to Build a Culture of Planning and Purpose
July 25, 2024
11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET
Introduction to Choosing By Advantages
August 22, 2024
11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET
Gemba Walks for Construction
Curated Content: What is the Last Planner System®?
The Last Planner System (LPS®) is an innovative approach to project production designed to foster a predictable workflow among all involved parties, ensuring reliable results. By identifying and addressing potential hurdles before they disrupt the flow, LPS® enhances coordination and efficiency in project management. This proactive system not only improves the planning process but also increases the likelihood of on-time and on-budget project completion.
Dive deeper into LPS® on our website here!
Lean Assessments
How strong is your Lean knowledge? Take a Lean assessment to determine your current state so you have a baseline for improvement. Lean assessments are available for individuals, teams, and organizations alike. Whether you’re new to Lean or are an experienced Lean practitioner, Lean assessments are a great way to get started at LCI!
TAKE ASSESSMENT