I’ve been employing, facilitating, teaching, and championing Lean Construction philosophies and Last Planner® tools for the past twelve years. From the moment that I began leading my first Lean project, I knew that this was the best way to manage construction. Our simple use of Last Planner® tools, such as Pull Planning, Weekly Work Plans, and Six-week Look-ahead Plans, created an atmosphere of teamwork and planning that I had never experienced on a project before. Since that first project, I’ve learned more about Lean, brought it’s concepts to multiple organizations, and, ultimately, made supporting these organizations in their Lean journeys the focal point of my own company.
I’ve been asked a lot of questions about Lean Construction in the last twelve years – some out of genuine curiosity and a desire to learn – others in an attempt to undermine the Lean effort. Both are fine with me. I appreciate the discussion, and it’s kind of fun when a nay-sayer suddenly sees the light!
Of course, I’ve had years of practice, and I know there are people out there working to build support for a Lean transformation within their companies that haven’t yet formulated their answers to these questions, that are sure to come. So, today, I thought I would share some Frequently Asked Questions about Lean Construction, along with my answers. I hope they help, and I would love to hear your suggestions for different answers, as well as other questions that you often hear.