July 11, 2024

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July 11, 2024

Welcome New Members!

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.

Take The Survey!

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!

LCI-CPC Info

LCI-CPD Info

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!

Get Lean Topics at Your Jobsite

You can enhance your job site with a Lean Construction Institute poster! These helpful visuals explain and guide your team through important Lean concepts. The posters are printer ready and can be scaled to your desired dimensions. Print downloads are available as a member benefit to LCI Corporate Members, otherwise are available for purchase.

Jobsite Posters

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

2024 Congress Sponsors

Upcoming CoP Events

18
Tue
Feb

VIRTUAL EVENT: Study Action Team Book Review: 2 Second Lean (Second Session)

Greater Des Moines Community of Practice
18
Tue
Feb

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

Houston Community of Practice
19
Wed
Feb

Build Smarter: Trade Partner's Role in Lean Construction using Robotic Layout

Mid-Atlantic Community of Practice
20
Thu
Feb

A Lean Coffee in RALEIGH

Carolinas Community of Practice
20
Thu
Feb

5S from the Trade Partner Perspective

Colorado Community of Practice

Upcoming National Events

27
Thu
Feb

NEW: LCI Blueprint for Efficiency: Exploring the 8 Wastes

Webinar
28
Fri
Feb

Lean Practitioners Lean Coffee

LCI National
06
Thu
Mar

NEW: Aligning Project Success with Conditions of Satisfaction

Webinar
07
Fri
Mar

Exclusive Guided Tour of the LCI Member Hub!

LCI National
12
Wed
Mar

Lean Construction Institute Virtual Town Hall

LCI National
27
Thu
Mar

LCI Integrating Gemba Walks for Continuous Improvement

Webinar
04
Fri
Apr

LCI Owners Forum Lean Coffee

LCI National
04
Fri
Apr

Lean in the Design Phase

Webinar
18
Fri
Apr

Introduction to the Last Planner System® in Design

Webinar
24
Thu
Apr

LCI Introduction to Lean Project Delivery

Webinar
field crew huddle youtube channel cover image
Field Crew Huddle

Explore the Field Crew Huddle website to see how community of practice members are contributing to a platform for sharing methods, improvements and lessons learned on project sites or shops. Want to be featured? Now accepting submissions.

Learn More