Lean Design: Flow

“This Is Lean” - Niklas Modig, Pär Åhlström

 5 Lean Design Behaviors
• Define value from your client’s perspective, and in their language.
– Understand why + what your client needs: Conditions of Satisfaction

• Organize your work as a value stream.

– Deliver increasing value, from perspective of the flow unit, step-by-step.

• Make the work flow, from perspective of the ‘flow unit’.

– Integrated disciplines, better iterations, smaller recursions.

• Do the work at the client’s “pull”.

– Make and keep reliable promises.

• Pursue Perfection.
– Today, we will be a little bit better than yesterday.
 Realize Lean Design

“A creative process that

prevents error and
invents value.”
– Sam Spata, AIA
Unique in Degree
High Volume
High Throughput
Low Variation

Manufacturing Design
Material Medium Volume Ideas
Medium Throughput
Ideas Medium Variation People
People Material
Construction
People Low Volume
Low Throughput
Material High Variation
Ideas
 These are “Flow Units”
High Volume
High Throughput
Low Variation

Manufacturing Design
Material Medium Volume Ideas
Medium Throughput
Ideas Medium Variation People
People Material
Construction
People Low Volume
Low Throughput
Material High Variation
Ideas
Lean is an operational
strategy to deliver
increased utilization via
flow efficiency. Material
Ideas
People
High Organizational “Types” - Niklas Modig, Pär Åhlström
Ef f i c i e n t I s l a n d s The Perfect State

• “silos” • variation inevitable

• each maximizes utilization, • aim for perfection, achieve…
lowering cost, but… • competitive advantage
• at expense of efficient flow

Diagnostics Lexus
Wa s t e l a n d Ef f i c i e n t O c e a n

• can’t use resources efficiently • relentless client focus

Resource Efficiency

• can’t create efficient flow • excess capacity held in

• low customer value anticipation
• sees big picture

TSA Ritz-Carlton
Flow Efficiency High
High

Ef f i c i e n t I s l a n d s The Perfect State

Wa s t e l a n d Ef f i c i e n t O c e a n
Resource Efficiency

Flow Efficiency
Flow Efficiency High
Waste (Muda) Transforming Design and Construction by LCI
Transportation unnecessary movement, process-to-process
Inventory quantities beyond immediate need
Motion movement that adds no value
Waiting work-in-progress, stalled
Over Processing finishing beyond need
Over Production creating before need
Defects rework
Talent underutilized people
Over Burdening (Mura) pushing system beyond limits
Unevenness (Muri) demand fluctuation
Disrespect consuming resources
 “Seeing” Waste

Manufacturing Design
1. Defects 1. Errors + Omissions
2. Overproduction 2. Over-Burdening
3. Inventory 3. Over-Designing
4. Transportation 4. “UnFlow”
5. Waiting 5. Approvals
6. Motion 6. Workflows
7. Over-Processing 7. BIM Level Of Detail
8. Under-Utilized Talent
Independent Study
Recommended Reading
 Recommended Reading
1. Lean Construction Institute: www.leanconstruction.org

2. The Commercial Real Estate Revolution: Nine Transforming Keys to Lowering

Costs, Cutting Waste, and Driving Change in a Broken Industry
by Rex Miller, Dean Strombom, Mark Iammarino, Bill Black.

3. This is Lean: Resolving the Efficiency Paradox by Niklas Modig, Par Ahlstrom.

4. Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies are Poised to

Transform Building Construction by Stephen Kieran, James Timberlake.

5. Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar

Construction Industry by Barry B. LePatner.

6. The High-Velocity Edge: How Market Leaders Leverage Operational

Excellence to Beat the Competition by Steven J. Spear.
 From “The High Velocity Edge”
by Steven J. Spear

Lead

Share
Knowledge
Swarm +
Solve Problems
Capture Knowledge
+ Reveal Problems
 Capturing Knowledge

Lone Ranger Swarm

Low-Velocity Team High-Velocity Team

Spata© 2012 15
 Confronting Problems

Marshall Posse

Low-Velocity Team High-Velocity Team

Spata© 2012 16
 Sharing Knowledge

Hub + Spoke Network

Low-Velocity Team High-Velocity Team
Spata© 2012 17
Deja Vu Leading
Improvement

Low-Velocity Team High-Velocity Team

Spata© 2012 18
 Leadership – Steven J. Spear

“…there are two categories of

organizations—those for which
everything feels like a crisis and those
for which everything feels regular.”
 Continuous Improvement

What was What would

helpful so far you add or
and should subtract, to
continue to be make this
included? more helpful?
Thank You