What is your background?

I was then hired by Franki in 2013, also to handle that area. Over the years, I was given the opportunity to work on other topics as well: fleet, facility management, communication, implementation of the Integrated Management System (IMS), and now coordination of Lean and BIM development.

The IMS was launched as part of the ISO certification process in 2016, and we used that opportunity to thoroughly review our processes and organization.

On the other hand, Lean and BIM were initially introduced into the company by the Willemen Group, of which we are a part. These approaches are complementary and allow us to step back and think more broadly about our activities. For example, with Lean, we now take a broader view than simply focusing on the Last Planner System (LPS)®.

My role is to implement these different approaches while getting as many people as possible on board. Knowing both the teams and management allows me to remain fairly neutral in the process and focus on the more transversal aspects within the company.

What does Lean mean to you?

Companies often start with the Last Planner System® because it can quickly demonstrate results. Planning is a key issue on a construction site.

Beyond this method, Lean is a philosophy, a mindset to be established within the company, focused on continuous improvement through waste reduction (waiting time, rework, double handling, etc.).

A Lean approach that goes further than LPS® requires effort from management to change the current way of thinking. It is therefore essential to invest in change management so that everyone, starting with leadership, commits to the approach.

From there, things truly become simpler. Lean also affects leadership and management practices.

To find the right solutions, we need to move away from the pyramid structure in which top management decides everything for everyone, and move toward an approach where everyone decides and improves at their own level.

It is necessary to involve the right people to identify the root causes of problems and work on them as a team, in small working groups, to find solutions without judgment and without pointing fingers. There is enough work for centuries when you start hunting for waste.

When people are involved, we can start the approach in any area. We tackle improvement topics by proposing that teams reach a situation in which they no longer have to wear themselves out doing the task. No one can say no to that proposal.

Examples of continuous improvement

One example is non-conformities. We want to go further in our analyses and identify structural problems by measuring them. This way, we will have monitoring and natural feedback loops that truly allow us to introduce structural changes and improvements so that these non-conformities do not recur.

In addition, we are working on our organization so that we can focus on anticipation and process-based work. For example, we place special emphasis on site preparation.

There is still a great deal of waste to reduce as a team, such as waiting times related to transport. Our goal is to go further in our continuous improvement journey by systematically moving beyond observation in order to identify root causes, find the right solutions, and sustain them as a team.

Lean: what are the benefits?

From a human perspective, Lean creates buy-in from everyone and cohesion around a shared project. Lean methods also help improve the way we manage our construction sites. From a performance standpoint, we seek to make work more interesting and easier for everyone by reducing non-value-added activities (waste). This waste reduces margins in the construction sector. It is therefore essential to tackle it.

When you hear that 70% of time in the sector is non-value-added time, there is significant room to find gains, even quick wins, that can have a considerable impact on the company.

Lean, BIM and management systems: what are the links? What are the differences?

For our part, we launched our IMS and Lean initiatives almost at the same time. This quickly helped us connect these different approaches under the common umbrella of continuous improvement.

We identified that Lean means involving stakeholders, an approach we were already using in the rollout of our IMS. The philosophy established by Lean is therefore embedded in our IMS.

This philosophy can be summarized as follows:

1.     Ask the right questions about how we operate.

2.     Continuously reflect on how to improve our activities.

3.     Implement these improvements collaboratively.

The IMS is based on ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and VCA certifications, which it integrates into a common approach. Environmental aspects will also be added.

The IMS is therefore more factual and document-based (documents to complete, tracking sheets, etc.).

Beyond documentation, it is therefore necessary to put in place a real positive Lean culture focused, among other things, on participative management and ongoing monitoring of improvement actions.

As for BIM, for us it is a shared framework and a digital support for collaborative work. It is a tool to be integrated into the continuous improvement framework.

BIM is difficult to implement in the sector because it must be used as early as possible in order to be effective, following a common protocol.

This shared approach still needs to be developed further across the whole chain, starting with the client and the architects. When that happens, we will be able to go beyond 3D models in the study phase and upstream part of a project by managing information collaboratively, as we already do during execution with the Last Planner System®.

Your keys to a successful Lean implementation?

Lean must help the wheel of improvement keep turning on its own, rather than only once or twice a year.

The key is therefore to ensure recurring involvement and support from management. This is truly the essential starting point, because management must in any case be involved in a series of decisions related to the approach.

It is also essential to be factual, to come with figures and observations (for example waste measurements) in order to make the right decisions.

More generally, management must fully embrace collaboration and participative management. It must therefore adapt its leadership approach and be ready to enter into a process of change and questioning existing ways of working.

Another key to success is surrounding yourself with ambassadors of the approach internally. They will have a multiplying effect by getting involved and supporting it 100%.

So it is essential to integrate good change management practices in order to make the continuous improvement approach successful.

John Kotter’s book on the subject was also a major source of inspiration for me. It is a read I would recommend to anyone who wants to get involved in a Lean approach.