Lean Design Management
NB: Rough Draft
Lean design management provides a set of specific management tools for the design phase, mainly focused on construction projects. The philosophy behind Lean Design management is derived from Lean Construction, that focuses on two main values: Minimizing waste, and creating work flow. Lean Design however has a broader focus, with the emphasis on translating values and visions to a concrete project, securing maximum value for clients and providing a realistic and constructable solution for contractors.
This is done through six different types of workshops:
• Cooperation
• Vision
• Realism
• Critics
• Design phase
• Constructability
• Execution.
For the workshops, Lean design management provides different tools and recommendations as: Target costing, Photo Safari, dialogue recommendations for contracters in the early phase and how to implement the Last Planner system in the Design Phase.
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Background
Lean Design utilizes some the ideas from Lean Construction in the design process. Lean construction originates from the Toyota production line, where Toyota developed the Toyota Production System (TPS), a production system to optimize the car-production line at Toyota. The main values of Lean Production are to minimize waste and create an maintain a constant workflow. The developer of Lean production, Shingo S. defined waste as anything that did not create value for the customer/client, thus optimizing the production by making it Lean.The minimization of waste and maximization of value are also the underlying values for Lean Construction, where the tools from Toyota are used to optimize the processes that make up the “production” in construction. In Lean design these values are also present, with the addition of the value definition. The value definition is established thorugh a series of workshops gathering different sets of stakeholders in workshops, where they collaborate to establish a common set of project values, and with collaboration through with all stakeholders, transform these values into a concrete buildable project, that will provide most value for the client within the budget.
Theory
The term Lean in relation to production(and later construction) originates from from the book: “The machine that changed the world” by Womack, Jonés and Roos. This book presented the Japanese way of producing cars, and how it differed from the American and European way. This book started a Lean wave through production, and soon thereafter “Application of the New Production Plilosophy to Construction” by Lauri Koskela introduced Lean to Construction.
The core values of Lean are
• Determine the value chain that creates value for the client • Optimize this Value Chain • Keep the product moving – Storage is waste. • Use Pull-logistics • Aim for continuous improvement.
These values were implemented into the Toyota Production system (TPS). The focus of TPS is not only to have the know-how to produce products, but also have the know-why. The production is oriented toward creating value, and this is the goal of the production. All that does not work for this goal is then defined as waste, as described by Shigeo Schingo. In Lean Construction this perspective on waste is also present. Lean Construction takes some of the philosophy from the TPS to the construction industry, and implies a production perspective. In this perspective, Lean Construction provides a range of different tools to minimize waste and create value with a focus on flow in the processes. These tools include the successful Last Planner system. With the successful implementation of Lean in construction, Lean was also applied to the design phase, creating the Lean Project Delivery system, as seen on figure X. Lean Design as described in this article also holds the project definition phase.
Where Lean Construction in the construction phase creates value from a set of predefined constraints (drawings, models, material etc.), Lean design focuses on the definition of value and how to improve the client value. To create the best possible end value for the users, the client value must be optimized, regardless of the construction phase. To optimize the client value in a project, firstly the client must identify what values are in the end product, the product purpose. This is not easy to define, as the value changes with perspective, time and a range of other parameters. Different definitions of value exist, as described in (Thyssen et al, 2008), with the simple definion as given by FIGUR VALUE
G. Ballard states an example: If you go to a realtor and ask for an apartment in a popular part of town, you have set up a constraint that the realtor can follow, and easily provide an answer to. But what if the price is too costly? – If the client instead engages in a discussion with the realtor, the client can explain the purpose(ends) that needs be fulfilled – 2 bedrooms, near water etc. This enables the realtor, as an expert, to find the best suited apartment for the client, that maximizes the value for the client purpose.
The same implies for a construction project. For the AEC (Architects, Engineers and Contractors) to develop the best project to suit the clients purpose(ends), the AEC needs to first understand the purpose. This will enable the AEC to construct a project suited with the expertise of the three fields to maximize the value. G. Ballard describes this as the project definition process, which consists of three parts, which are seen in figure XX
The Ends: why is the project being constructed, and what is the purpose. The Means: How is this project constructed. From the Ends, the AEC outlines how to deliver a project to maximize client value The Constraints: Funds, times location. The frame that the given project must fall under, and the frame in which to optimize value.
To optimize the Ends, the AEC and client needs to evaluate the means and constrains against the Ends throughout the project definition a design phase. This can ideally be done through a workshopmodel, with several project, value and partnering workshops in the early phase of a project. These workshops, and a suggested implementation method is described in the Implementation chapter
Implementation of Lean Design Management
The different workshops run from the very beginning of the project, to the end of the design process, with varying stakeholders present. The workshops provided here are just examples of a Lean Design process, as the complexity and size of different projects might require different worhshop setups. In the very early phase of a project, the client has to step forward and define a set of demands and values, that has to be put into the finished project As the client might not always have a strong organization with building experience, it is important to invite engineers and contractors in, in an early phase, and develop the project together. Vital to all workshops is, that the people collaborating will be the people later directly involved in the project. If the contractor participates in the early workshops with a manager, and this manager is not assigned to the project later, the assigned manager will not have the same insight in the client and engineer values, and the workshop gains will be lost.
Workshop zero: Cooperation \
The goal of this workshop is to establish a collaboration contract between the client, the engineers and the contractor. This workshop is not project oriented, but serves to create a foundation for the collaboration in the project. The cooperation contract is typically a partnering contract.
Who: Client, Engineers, Contractors, (end users).
When: As early as possible
Workshop 1: Vision
Workshop one focuses on product values. In this workshop, the end users and client defines and conveys their desired values, visions, needs and dreams to the architect, engineers and contractors. This gives an understanding of exactly which vision the whole project is working towards for all stakeholders in the process. In this process the budget is not yet discussed, and the emphasis is on the needs and values, and not what the client can afford.
'Who: Client, End users, Engineers, contractors. '
When: Early in the process. Before any project sketches/propositions.
Workshop 2: Realism
In this workshop, the vision from the previous workshop in concretized. The vision and dream is evaluated against the budget and framework. The goal of this workshop is to maintain the values from the vision, and create the best realistic project within budget. As the dreams and wishes are not always realistic, it is important in this stage to prioritize wishes, and establish how the budget is distributed. It is important to continuously discuss and provide alternative solutions, in order to secure the best project. After the second workshop a project proposal is devoped by the engineers
Who: Client, engineers and end users, but the contractor can also provide important criticism on the buildability.
When: Before the engineering design begins.
Workshop 3: Criticism
In this workshop the project proposal is evaluated, and the necessary decisions to narrow the project down to a workable project for the engineers are taken. It is vital that the decisions taken by the client are done as a discussion with the engineers, in order to secure the best solutions. In the end of the workshop, the project proposal and all decisions are weighted against the vision from workshop 1, and it is evaluated if the priorities of the project are aligned with the vision, if this have not changed in the mean time.
Who: Client and engineers
When: Before the design phase enters a high detail phase
Workshop 4: Design Phase
This workshop the focus changes from defining and prioritizing, to planning the design phase. Planning the design phase involves mapping interfaces, and process planning the different phases and tasks. In this workshop it is also determined how to “pull” the contractor experience for the design phase, to secure a buildable project.
Who: Engineers, Client and contractor.
When: In the beginning of the detailed design phase
Workshop 5: buildability
This workshop focuses on discussing the design solutions. The contractor has gone through the design solutions, and evaluated if the solutions are buildable. The contractor has brought alternative solutions, and through a discussion with the engineers, the best solution for the project is chosen.
Who: The engineers and the contractor.
When: During the detailed design phase, before the final project.
Workshop 6: Execution
Just before the beginning of construction, the engineers go through the designed project with the contractor. This can be combined with the contractors process planning, to step by step go through the phases of the project.
Who: The contractors and the engineers.
When: Just before construction begins.
Industry implementation and results
TBA
