Description
Lean Construction Education Program Unit 1: Variation in Production Systems, Participant's Manual
WELCOME TO UNIT 1: VARIATION IN
PRODUCTION SYSTEMS
Lean Construction is driven to minimize costs and maximize value
on each project completed, challenging all stakeholders to develop
and apply better ways to manage the overall construction process.
Everyone related to the construction process has incentive to get the
project done faster and at a lower cost — from the project owners
who want to see tangible results for their investment to designers and
contractors who want to do their job well and move on to the next
project.
Throughout the construction process — planning, design,
construction, activation, operations, maintenance, salvaging, and
recycling — the holistic pursuit of continuous improvement drives
more efficient, effective, and economic projects.
On a corporate level, lean is most effective when embraced by all
areas of the company. To do so, senior management must understand
the need for and advantages of lean implementation. But lean is also
an individual journey. All project team members must work together
on a daily basis, incorporating lean principles into their most basic
work, to see the true benefits of lean. This course is just one part of
the foundation that is available to help you reach these goals.
Unit 1: Variation in Production Systems is an introductory course in
the Lean Construction Education Program. This half-day, instructorled
course introduces you to the concept of variation. The course is
divided into three sessions:
Session 1 introduces you to variation and variability and the concepts
of cycle time, throughput, and work in progress.
Session 2 examines variation’s effect on operations, helps to define
and describe the impact of variation on workflow, and explains the
relevance of variation in construction operations.
Session 3 teaches you how to apply the concepts learned in Sessions
1 and 2 to mitigate variation in a construction setting. Planning and
execution failures and lean strategy for mitigating variation will be
introduced.