2. A
s theorised in his groundbreaking book on the
theory of constraints, Israeli physicist, Dr. Eli
Goldratt notes that the performance of any
organization is limited by its system constraints or
‘weakest links,’ and to concentrate on anything other
than the weakest link at that point in time is a waste of
effort and the most precious resource of all – time.
The push, then, to identify and strengthen this ‘weakest
link’ is the most direct path to strengthening the entire
organization’s ‘chain.’
This insight gained from identifying impediments to flow
provides the required focusing tools for all levels of
management within the organization. There will
certainly be many areas that may need improvement,
but more important, though, are the few aspects that
must be improved upon – and which, once addressed,
will push the organization to achieve its goals.
The first port of call in the process of improvement is
detecting where these improvements need to be made.
The process is a never-ending one, as system
improvements in one area will most often highlight
other areas for improvement. This complete process of
ongoing improvement is known as whole system
performance enhancement that applies not only to the
present situation, but also to the future.
HOLISTIC IMPROVEMENT
At LCP Roofing, a holistic approach to the process of
ongoing improvement was and is not negotiable. The
organization subscribes to an ethos of complete
ownership of all processes, be it in business automation,
information technology, quality systems, factory flow, or
fleet management. This ownership takes place on an
individual level and within the team as an organic unit.
MANUFACTURE &
MANAGEMENT
At LCP Roofing, there are two critical questions that
customers ask: ‘How is it made?’ and ‘How is it managed?’
HOW IS IT MADE?
The conferring of the Institute for Timber Construction
(ITC-SA) certificate of competence for truss fabricators
is set to instill a consistent professional approach to the
prefabricated timber roof truss industry through a set of
standards. These govern the following:
• Design procedures
• Presentation of quotations
• Competence of key personnel
• Quality of manufacture
• Erection instructions provided to site
It is important for the customer to note that there is a
formalised process set down by our industry professional
body so that all fabricators quote according to the same
terms of reference. It is even more critical that
customers know that they are being provided with
design procedures and quotations that are tested against
acceptable industry norms.
In a previous article published in SA Roofing,
the characteristics and experience of ‘flow’ was
discussed with specific relevance to the experience
of the roofing erector on site. Similarly, all
fabricators should identify any impediments to
this flow and by doing this, Remarkable Due Date
Performance (RDDP) can and will be achieved,
resulting in a sustained competitive edge.
COVERSTORY
JULY 2015 15
3. COVERSTORY
The customer should also request that the truss fabricator not
only proves adherence to these minimum standards but also
shows an ongoing process of system improvement.
The fabricator has, to a large extent, total control over the
processes of design, quotations, personnel competence and
erection instructions to site as listed above. Of joint control is
the manufacture in as much as the fabricator uses licensed
software to assist in his design and uses only nail plates and
hangers supplied by his software system supplier. These two
go hand in hand as the software bases the design on metalwork
supplied. This means that a fabricator may not purchase
metalwork either ‘off the shelf’ or from another software
system supplier.
In addition, the National Home Builders Registration Council
(NHBRC) regulations state that the nail plates and hangers
should not only be of the required 0.9mm thickness and
galvanized to 275 grams/m2
or an equivalent corrosion
resistance, but that the plates shall bear a mark that readily
identifies the manufacturer or supplier. Should there be no
mark to identify the software system supplier, the fabricated
trusses should be rejected immediately.
Just as the roofing customer will insist on engineers’ foundation
and suspended slab inspections, so should there be the
requirement for inspection of the design and manufacturing
process. The regulation A19 inspection required by all
municipalities only proves erection according to the design
intent and not that the design or manufacture are within
acceptable norms and standards.
HOW IS IT MANAGED?
It is not only the manufacturing process that needs to be
managed, but the entire process from quote request to final
delivery of the project. Of the approximately 215 fabricators
nationally there are only eight fabricators that can claim that
their fabrication process is regularly tested according to the
requirements of SANS 1900 – The Manufacture of Monoplaner
Prefabricated Nail-plated Timber Roof Trusses. It should not
end there though, and for LCP Roofing, being one of these
eight mark holders nationally, the manufacturing process was
only part of its efforts to achieve whole system performance
enhancement.
MORE ON RDDP
The concept of RDDP is further explained by Dr. Alan Barnard,
CEO of Goldratt Research Labs, who states that once this
concept is implemented and a leading competitive edge is
achieved, the next phases are to build, capitalize and sustain.
For LCP Roofing, the process of ‘building’ in order to attain
and maintain RDDP was identified some five years ago as a key
driver to the company’s sustainability.
LCP Roofing comprises a collection of various informal and
formal business processes that were introduced at various
times in the company’s growth phase and the implementation
of these processes helped to determine the type and extent of
its interaction with its customers.
Lyndsay Cotton, General Manager of LCP Roofing, comments,
“We know that our customers will be happy if these processes
are easy, efficient and benefit their objectives. However,
should we not achieve these, customers will go somewhere
else next time around. Our customer interaction is and should
be an exceptional one from beginning to end.”
The 11-page document on prefabricated timber roof
truss standards is easy for the layman and building
professional alike to read and assimilate and provides a
solid foundation upon which to base their specifications
and requirements. Visit www.lcproofing.co.za to
download the requirements for the Certificate of
Competence.
JULY 201516
4. Leaders in Roof Truss Technology
Fabricators
Sheeters
Erectors
Tilers
5. COVERSTORY
OVERCOMING FLOW CHALLENGES
With the company’s growth, management realized that flow
could become a challenge. Impediments to flow could include,
for example, taking longer than normal to complete a project,
or for potential human error to become a reality. With this in
mind, more stringent compliance requirements and procedures
could also make it tedious and time-consuming to train new
employees, and system requirements could slip through the
business processes.
In facing these potential challenges, LCP Roofing made a
strategic business decision in 2013 to implement Business
Process Management (BPM). The individual processes of
accounting, payroll, process flow, offsite mobile management,
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and dashboard
management were identified, software vendors were
investigated and the existing processes were either modified,
expanded or replaced with new processes.
BPM turns Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) into a holistic
system which is then designed to fit into how the company
works and not to dictate how it is run. No store-bought
solution can achieve this.
LCP Roofing’s requirements of transparency and traceability
are paramount and all these processes are currently being
integrated into one solution that includes accounting, human
resources, mobile devices, reports, customers, and process flow.
“We’re getting there,”
says Cotton, “And I am
happy to announce that
the process flow, called
‘Our LCP’, is starting to
produce effective results.
Ensuring effective BPM is
not easy and we have
worked hard to combine these various individual ERP offerings
into one holistic solution.”
“Never allow constraints of your building project to be that of
your fabricator and never allow inferior processes or standards
to compromise your project,” notes Cotton, concluding,
“Always ask, ‘Is it worth it?’”
ABOUT LCP ROOFING
LCP Roofing’s mandate is to become the preferred roofing
company in Gauteng and to grow a sustainable business whilst
using industry-leading software and equipment to achieve its
aims of providing clients and shareholders with added value
and its staff with safe and secure employment.
For more information, visit www.lcproofing.co.za.
JULY 201518
