Tuesday, July 7, 2009

What Is Lean?

You probably remember the story about the blind men and the elephant. One man touches the beast’s leg and proclaims that an elephant is like a tree. Another grabs the tail and declares that an elephant is more like a snake. The one who touches the elephant’s side is convinced that the animal is like a wall. And so on.

“Lean” can be a little like the blind men and the elephant. Like “green,” lean means different things to different people—and it manifests itself in different ways for different projects. To some, lean is a formal system. To us, it’s a mindset that embodies certain principles. Key among these principles are:

• Continuous improvement. The principle of kaizen assumes any process or project can be improved, even if just a little at a time, when the people doing the work are empowered to recommend changes.
• Waste reduction. Muda refers to anything that does not add value. It could mean time wasted while work crews wait for equipment to arrive at a site, effort wasted on rework, money spent on redundant staffing or wasted materials. Information is wasted when a facility is designed without input from the people who will use it. Often the greatest waste is associated with the way a project is managed. Mura, or unevenness, refers to having more work than resources at some times and idle resources at others. Muri means pushing a resource—human or otherwise—beyond its limits.
• Value creation. The essence of lean is delivering a project that meets the owners’ needs and supports the organization’s goals at a fair price. The most effective way to create long-term value is to apply lean throughout the entire project lifecycle.

Reams have been written about lean—and it often sounds abstract and out of reach. In reality, however, the concepts are simple and pragmatic. Many practical tools can and are being used today to deliver successful capital projects with outstanding long-term value.