10StepGuideto LeanConstruction

Applying Lean Sigmaprocess

improvement meansgettingthings

right andreducingcostandtime.In
this paperweexplainhow,by

adopting LeanSigmasrigorous
approach toimprovingbusiness

processes,yourorganisationcan
significantly improveitsperformance

byaddressingtheunderlyingcauses of variationandwaste.
WeexplainhowLeanConstructioncanhelpyou improveyourorganisationsperformance enablingyoutoreducecosts,improvequality andreducewaste.

TheearlyexponentswereMotorola andGEinthe1980s.Sincethen,many manufacturingandservice organisationsinallsectorshave successfullydeployedLeanSigmato delivermeasurablecost,qualityand timebasedimprovements.

02 CustomerFocus
Understandingwhatcustomersreallycareaboutis fundamentaltoLeanSigma,becauseour processeshavetoperformatameasurablelevel thatconsistentlymeetstheirneeds.Customer expectationsandrequirementsareoften unspokenandvaguesoweneedtotranslatethese intoameasurableoutput.Thecustomerofa processistheperson(orgroup)whoreceivesthe output.Thiscouldbethebusinesscustomer,a

Asaquickintroduction,hereisyour
stepguidetothefundamentalareas: 10

user,orthenextprocessinthesupplychain.

03 TeamBased

01 ProcessFocus
Mostthingswedoinbusiness,andinlife,are processes.Goodprocessesdeliverconsistent,quality outputsinatimely,efficientandeffectivemanner. Theoutputsareonlyaresultoftheactivitiesinthe process(whatwedo)andtheinputs(the information,materialsandservicesweuse).Failure intheoutput(measuredascost,qualityandtime)is directlyrelatedtothecumulativevariationand wasteoftheelementsoftheprocess.LeanSigma concentratesonunderstandingtherelationships betweentheinputs,theactivitiesintheprocessand theoutputs,sothatwecanchangetheimportant

Processknowledgeoftenresideswiththepeople whoareinvolvedintheprocessandwhowillbe directlyaffectedbyanychanges.Consequently, LeanSigmateamsaimtoestablishmany perspectivesontheproblemunderreviewby involvingdifferentdisciplines,suppliers,customers andprocessowners.Typically,therewillbea coreteamofaroundfivetoseveninnumberwith contributionfromotherstakeholdersasrequired. Allteammembersshouldbefamiliarwiththe languageofLeanSigmaandteamleaders(often calledbelts)willhavebeentrainedinthetools andtechniquesofthemethodology.

variablestodeliverthebestresulttothecustomer.
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04RigorousProjectMethodology
LeanSigmaProcessImprovementprojectsusea rigorous,phasegatedmethodology: Definetoscope,establishtheprocessand itsinputsandoutputs,setuptheteamand plantheproject. Measuretogatherdatatobaselinethe currentasisstateandidentifythepossible causesofvariationandwaste. Analysetounderstandtherelationship betweentheinputsandtheoutputsofthe processunderreviewsothatthevitalfew causesofvariationandwastecanbe identified. Improvetoidentifypotentialsolutions, selectthebestoneanddesignthenew processincorporatingtheimprovements. Controltoputinplacethecontrolsand monitorsthatwillsustaintheimprovements overtime. Transfertoapplythelearninggainedon thisprojecttootherareasinthebusiness, multiplyingthebenefitsmanytimesover

unblockingorganisationalissuesandproviding coachingandencouragementtotheteams.

05 ProjectBased
MuchConstructionandInfrastructureworkis undertakeninprojectsthathaveatimeandcost boundary.InLeanSigmawealsoundertake processimprovementprojectsasawayof interveningtoresolveproblems. Whenourprocesseseitheronaschemeorinan enablingareafailtogivecustomerswhatthey expectinaconsistentandefficientmannerwe havedefectsorerrorsandwaste.LeanSigma improvementprojectsaregeneratedtoresolve theseproblems,oftenbyreducingvariation, eliminatingdefects,reducingwasteand compressingcycletimeintheprocesses.ALean Sigmaprojectseekstoimprovetheprocess performancebygettingtotherootcauseand fixingitpermanently,ratherthanapplyingquick fixesthatoftenonlyaddressthesymptoms. SometimesRapidImprovementEventscanbe undertakentogenerateearlybenefitshowever, ImprovementProjectstypicallylastthreetosix monthsanddeliverrealcustomerandbottom lineimprovements.

Thismethodologyensuresadeepunderstandingof theprocessandevidenceofthefactorsthataffectit canbegainedbeforeanyimprovementactionis taken.ProjectChampions(seniormanagers)oversee projectprogressthroughphasegatereviews,

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06 DataDriven
Experienceandjudgementarehelpfulinpointingthe waytopotentialcausesofproblemsandtosolutions. However,LeanSigmarequiresdatabasedevidenceto underpintheanalysisanddecisions.Onlybymeasuring andquantifyingtherelationshipsbetweeninput variablesandoutputs,canwebesurewhicharethe importantinputstochangeandalsobeabletopredict theeffectthatachangewillhaveontheoutputs.Often LeanSigmawillresultinamindsetchangefrom measuringandcontrollingoutputs(calledy)to focusingoninputs(calledx)intheknowledgethatif cancontrolthesignificantinputswecanguarantee we outputs withhighlevelsofconfidence.

08 ToolsandTechniques
TheLeanSigmatoolkithasawiderangeoftools andtechniquesthathelpteamsworkthroughthe methodology.Toolsrangefromverysimplebut effectivescopingdocumentsthroughtoquite complexstatisticalanalysisthatwillusuallybe undertakenbytrainedBlackBelts.Broadly speaking,theyfallintofourclasses: Processmanagementtoolse.g.Process mapping,wasteidentification,flow improvementandbottleneckreduction. Projectmanagementtoolse.g.Gantt charts,projectplans,resourceplans. Datamanagementtoolse.g.Pareto charts,regression,correlation,control charts,hypothesistesting,designof experiments,Minitabsoftware. Changemanagementtoolse.g. Stakeholdermanagement,communication planning.

07 VariationandWasteReduction
processeshavevariationandwaste;itisanatural All outcome ofmechanicalandhumanbehaviour. Customer dissatisfactioniscreatedwhenvariationina process causesthespreadofoutputs(thevoiceofthe process) toexceedswhatthecustomerexpectedandis prepared totolerate(thevoiceofthecustomer).The Lean Sigmaprojectaimstoreducevariationandwaste thattheprobabilityofanoutputfallingoutsidethe so customer requirementissignificantlyreduced.The more consistentandontargettheprocess,themore satisfiedcustomerswillbe.

Onceyouunderstandthesimplemaxim variationisevil,youre60%oftheway tobecomingaSixSigmaexpert yourself.Theother40%isgettingthe evilout. JackWelch,GE

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09Roles
InamatureLeanSigmaorganisationmostpeople willplayapartinthedeliveryofcontinuous improvementthroughtheapplicationofLeanSigma principles.Itwillhavebecomethewaywedothings aroundhere.Manysectorsalsoincludesupplychain relationshipsaroundimprovementactivitiesanditis notunusualfortheserolestocrossnormal organisationalboundaries.Intheconstruction sector,whereschemesarerunwiththe involvementandpartneringofseveralorganisations theinvolvementofpeoplefromeachwilloftenbe requiredtodeliverbenefitsthatallcanshare. Therearesomeformallyrecognisedrolesinany LeanSigmadeployment: Championaseniormanagerwhooversees anumberofprojectsandisthecustodianof therigourinthemethodology. MasterBlackBeltahighlyexperienced andtrainedBlackBeltwhocoachesand mentorsotherbeltsoncomplexand technicalissues,assistsChampionswiththe deployment,andprovidestrainingtoGreen BeltandBlackBeltlevel. BlackBeltafulltimeprojectleaderwho hasundertakenfulltraining. GreenBeltaparttimeprojectleaderwho hasundertakenGreenBelttraining.
TheSixSigmaGroup,BourtonHall,Rugby,WarwickshireCV239SD t+44(0)1926632888|einfo@sixsigmagroup.co.uk

TeamMemberorYellowBeltsomeone whoworksonprojectsaspartoftheirline role.

DeploymentChampionapersonwho managesandcoordinatestheLeanSigma programmewithinanorganisation.This willinvolvemanagingbeltresourceand training,projectselectionandmanaging theprojecthopper,programme communication,benefitstrackingetc.

10ProgrammeInfrastructure
InordertocreatetherightenvironmentforLean Sigmaprojectstosucceedanddeliverbenefits withinascheme,organisationorsector,therehas tobeamanagedinfrastructure.Thiswillinvolve issuessuchascareerplanningforbelts,senior managementcommitmentthroughmonitoring progressandrewardingsuccess,ensuringthat resourcesarefreedtoworkonthehighpriority projects,puttinginplaceappropriateknowledge managementsystems,providingconsistentdata managementprocesses,trackingandsharing projectbenefits.Asoundlydesignedsupporting infrastructurewillmaximisethesuccessofLean SigmaProcessImprovement.

Howgoodisgood?

99%Good (3.8Sigma)
20,000lostarticlesof mailperhour Unsafedrinkingwater foralmost15minutes eachday 5,000incorrectsurgical operationsperweek shortorlong Two landingsatmostmajor airportseachday 200,000wrongdrug prescriptionseachyear

99.99966%Good (6Sigma)
Sevenarticleslostper hour Oneunsafeminuteevery sevenmonths 1.7incorrectoperations perweek Oneshortorlonglanding every

Someofthe organisationswehave workedwith

WeatBourtonGrouphaveworkedwithmany leadingorganisations,suchas: HighwaysAgency Carillion Nuttall NetworkRail eon Vodafone VTNuclear

5years68wrong prescriptionsperyear

ContactUs
TofindoutmoreabouthowBourtonGroupcan helpyourbusiness: E:info@sigxsigmagroup.co.uk T:+44(0)1926632888 W:www.sixsigmagroup.co.uk BourtonGroup BourtonHall Rugby Warwicks CV239SD

Noelectricityforalmost

Onehourwithout

sevenhourseachmonth electricityevery34years

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