Summary results from the Lean Construction Institute - Ireland CoP Launch, Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, April 16th

1. Lean Construction Ireland Cop for Lean in the Irish Construction Industry Survey April 2014
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Lean Construction
Institute - Ireland
Community of Practice
(CoP)
Launch Survey Summary Notes April 16th
2014
Survey, Report & Analysis carried out by:
Lynn Tolan, Dr Arlene Egan & Paul Ebbs
(PhathomHQ)
paul@phathomhq.com
+353 87 9209969

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Table of Contents
Introduction .....................................................................................................................................1
Job Title/position within organisation?.............................................................................................2
Which sector(s) does your organisation fit(s) into? ..........................................................................2
Indicate your current level of understanding of Lean? .....................................................................2
Indicate your current level of experience using Lean?.....................................................................3
Which Lean tools have you/ organisation used?..............................................................................4
Comments on which lean tools have you and your organisation used?...........................................5
In relation to the last CoP event; what was GOOD about this event? ..............................................6
In relation to the last CoP event; what would you CHANGE? ..........................................................6
Would you be willing to share your experience of Lean with this CoP? ...........................................7
In which contexts would you be willing to share your experiences, learnings or insights on Lean?..7
Can you offer ideas for speakers, examples, stories etc., that could be used in future CoP events?
........................................................................................................................................................8
What topics should be addressed in CoP events over the next 12 months?....................................8
Other comments or ideas: ...............................................................................................................9

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Introduction
This survey was carried out at the launch of Lean Construction Ireland’s Community of Practice
(CoP). All responses are anonymous although 99 out of 116 people supplied their name (85%) and
76 out of 116 people supplied email addresses (66%). Approximately 48 organisations were
represented in this survey and their sizes are represented in Figure 1. Respondents’ professions are
illustrated in Figure 2 and industry sector in Figure 3. The average years’ experience of the
respondents was circa 21 years with 109 out of 116 people completing this box.
This survey outlines some thoughts and comments from a wide range of construction industry
stakeholders on their understanding and experience of Lean Principles & Tools. The results are very
subjective and only high level analysis was carried for this report and suggests people have a better
understanding of Lean over experience with it. Last Planner; Just-in-Time; Daily Huddle; and BIM
were the most popular Lean Tools. Respondents indicated that the introduction, overview,
presentations and format of the event were good points (plus) from the event while comments
regarding the format and practical implementation of Lean were suggested changes (delta). Ideas
and suggestions for future events and over the next 12 months included more real life examples of
Lean implementation; training requirements & how to change behaviours; and collaboration.
Finally, any other comments or ideas gathered from the survey are included at the end of this report.
Figure 1: Size of Respondents Organisation
12, 12% 4, 4%
5, 5%
82, 79%
01 - 10
11 - 51
51-200
200+

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Job Title/position within organisation?
Figure 2: Respondents Professions
Which sector(s) does your organisation fit(s) into?
Figure 3: Sectors of Respondents
Indicate your current level of understanding of Lean?
23
15%
43
28%
45
29%
12
8%
3
2%
7
4%
21
14%
Owner
Designer
Contractor
Trade
Supplier
Consultancy/Training
Other
35 (30%)
39 (34%)
8 (7%)
4 (3%)
6 (5%)
24 (21%)
Directors (Managing;
Project; Operations; Regional)
Managers (Commercial;
Contract; Construction; ESHQ)
Engineers (Lead;
Construction; Design, Electrical)
QS
Education (Academic;
Student)
Other (Consultants; Trainers)

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Figure 4: Current level of understanding of Lean
Indicate your current level of experience using Lean?
Figure 5: Current level of understanding of Lean
3%
6%
15%
9%
13%
16%
21%
12%
4%
1%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
16%
12% 12%
15%
14%
16%
6%
5%
3%
1%
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The results from this question are very subjective. The respondents were asked to indicate their
own level of understanding of Lean with no real foundations to scale from other than 1 being no
understanding and 10 being a high level of understanding
No of
Respondents
No experience Very experienced
It is interesting and worth noting when comparing Figures 4 & 5 that the respondents understanding
of Lean is greater than their experience. Those with no experience for example (16%) was in
contrast to those with little understanding (3%). Additionally, the attendees on the night cannot be
considered as a true sample of the Irish AEC industry and some of the results may be skewed due
to the subjective nature of the questions and also to the fact that many of the respondents were
from large companies employing 200+ people and are using some Lean Tools themselves or within
their organisations.
No of
Respondents
No understanding High level of understanding

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Which Lean tools have you/ organisation used?
You Org
Choosing by advantages 9 2% 9 2%
The Last Planner System® 43 8% 57 10%
Stretch and Flex meetings 35 6% 35 6%
Value Stream Mapping 40 7% 36 7%
Just in Time 50 9% 42 8%
Corporate Performance Management 15 3% 19 3%
Multi-Party Contracts 24 4% 27 5%
Target Value Design 16 3% 24 4%
Daily Huddle 59 11% 51 9%
A3 Report 18 3% 18 3%
Pull Planning 38 7% 37 7%
Toyota Way 16 3% 10 2%
Building Information Modelling 67 12% 62 11%
5S 23 4% 24 4%
Six Sigma 27 5% 31 6%
Big Room 19 3% 22 4%
Enterprise Resource Planning System 15 3% 13 2%
None of the above 13 2% 21 4%
Other 16 3% 6 1%

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Comments on which lean tools have you and your organisation used?
The list above was not exhaustive and some of the respondents indicated use of more tools. Others
argued if some of the options should not be listed as tools and that lack of
communication/understanding attitudes was a barrier to successfully implementing these tools.
This section of the survey also highlighted how different parts of some companies apply some Lean
tools while other parts use other tools. The amount of tools being used does suggest that there are a
lot of lessons learnt to be shared with the CoP.

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In relation to the last CoP event; what was GOOD about this event?
There were 111 comments regarding the good points of the CoP Launch. A high level coding
framework was developed to analyse the comments and were broken down and summarised broadly
as follows;
1. Introduction & Overview (12 comments, or 11%) - relating to the introduction; overview;
kick-off; and objectives.
2. Quality of speakers & presentations (71 or 64%) – knowledge of subject matter; their
enthusiasm for Lean & mindset change; topics covered; diversity of speakers; Intel video;
explanations of Lean and respect for people and mindset change; concise and to the point
3. Format (28 or 25%) - Cross industry representation & mix of people; number of attendees;
time-keeping & organisation; Q&A session
In relation to the last CoP event; what would you CHANGE?
There were 48 comments on what changes should be considered. Again a high level coding
framework was developed to analyse the comments and were broken down and summarised broadly
as follows;
1. Format (34 comments or 66%) – volume & screen issues; engage with more stakeholders
(Owners, Contractors, Trades etc); define strategic ideas/objectives next meeting; timing;
promotion of future events; outline structure for engagement, sharing & audience interaction
2. Practical Implementation (17 or 33%) – specific examples including photos, real data,
tangible results and how to start; demonstrate the benefits of Lean more; more case studies;
more access to practitioners; perhaps too aspirational

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Would you be willing to share your experience of Lean with this CoP?
Figure 6: Respondents willingness to share with the CoP
In which contexts would you be willing to share your experiences,
learnings or insights on Lean?
Figure 7: Contexts for sharing at future CoP meetings
77, 85%
7, 8%
6, 7%
Yes
No
Other
39, 42%
4, 4%
44, 48%
5, 6%
Small Group (1-10)
Large Group
Both
Neither

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Can you offer ideas for speakers, examples, stories etc., that could be
used in future CoP events?
There were 76 ideas for speakers, examples etc. A high level coding framework was developed to
analyse the comments and were broken down and summarised broadly as follows;
 Real life examples (43 comments or 57%) – practical examples & case studies and lessons
learnt from other regions/practitioners’ including big wins; what went wrong?;address real
concerns for participation; technology in construction; stories from the worker’s on the ground;
Last Planner, IPD; offsite construction & TIM WOOD examples
 Training & Behavioural Change (17 or 22%) – structured training modules & links to 3rd
level courses; applying Lean to construction; employee development – top down & bottom up
strategies
 Collaboration (16 or21%) – Rules & MoU for engagement and discussions; linkages to other
groups and organisations including CITA; brainstorming collectively to see where we need to
go
What topics should be addressed in CoP events over the next 12
months?
There were 67comments regarding what topics should be addressed over the next 12 months. Again
a high level coding framework was developed to analyse the comments and were broken down and
summarised broadly as follows;
 Real life examples (35 comments or 52%) – showing real US and Irish data with real
examples of success showing real wins; workforce buy-in; how construction can learn from
manufacturing & aviation; explain quality philosophies’ and tools; how to embed lessons
learnt, build trust & develop suitable contracts
 Training & Behavioural Change (23 or 34%) – how to change behaviours, communicate &
measure lean; Last Planner training & philosophy/psychology of lean; motivation & education
of the workforce at the coalface
 Collaboration (9 or 14%) – protocols for engagement and establishment of working task
groups

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Other comments or ideas:
 Very useful 'Spirit of continuous improvement' - Nick Masci
 Please keep me in mind I will like to get involved
 Lean is undoubtedly the way to go... But it needs to be driven by legislation/statutory
requirements & by owner stipulation, otherwise spread will be stifled.
 Stronger link between Lean & BIM movements in Ireland. Ralph Montague Coordinator of
CITA BIM Group
 Create/ set up Pilot Programmes in 'Joint Teams' across Owners, Designers, Contractors,
Trades, Engineers - with defined brief of timelines - all groups come back & present their
approach & successes/learning
 Map out a lean journey with clear goals & objectives (that can be measured) of where Lean in
Ireland needs to go! Issue a list of improvements for people to take away from the introduction
sessions
 There are Lean 'programme' architectures available to show what steps might be taken by an
organisation
 Need to educate at different levels of maturity!
 Please contact me I can help
 Lean is at an early stage so continue to focus on mindset and commitment and PAC or (PAL)
 Leverage work being done by organisations like CITA, DIT etc
 Well done on this initiative (John & Co) I believe that it is necessary to develop a common
language for lean construction.
 There are many options; and assumptions about what lean is. Often this is based upon very
little beyond hearing a buzz phrase. This is the reason behind the suggestion above.
 In future show a real example of a Lean Project and clearly explain how each party benefited
(money, time, quality)
 Is there a plan to provide accreditation for ongoing commitment to Lean Construction
 Great Job!!
 In a company there are some IP issues with sharing too much in the way of tools
 CoP needs supplier involvement company's like Kingspan
 Post some tools on LinkedIn. Share brights
 Need some hands on trades i.e plumber; electricians etc
 Great event/ great potential
 Inspiring
 Need to indicate how to get this on the road
 What’s the roadmap
 Well done

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Conclusion
The summary of the survey results herein suggest that there is a strong interest from an industry
wide perspective in adopting Lean Principles into the Irish Architectural, Engineering & Construction
(AEC) Industry. While is report does not maintain this is a clear picture of the current state of the Irish
AEC sector it does suggest that the demand for change is real - demonstrated by the range of
comments.
Eighty two percent of respondents were from large organisations which would account for the
number of Lean tools being used by the respondents or their organisations. Directors made up 30%
of the respondents, while Managers made up another 30% and Engineers 8% with the remaining
mixed between profession (QS, Consultants, Education etc). The attendance on the night was very
balanced (as reflected by some comments) with owners (15%), contractors (28%) and designers
(29%) making up the majority.
The respondents level of understanding was higher than their experience of using Lean, however;
the large number of Lean Tools that the respondents or their organisations used is encouraging.
Building Information Modelling was the most popular tool followed by Last Planner System®; Daily
Huddle; Just-in-Time; and Value Stream Mapping; Stretch & Flex meetings and Six Sigma. The
introduction/overview of Lean Construction, quality of the presentations and format of the event were
noted as good points (plus) from the event (111 comments) while the format and more practical
examples made up the comments regarding future changes (48 comments).
It is interesting that approximately 90% of the survey respondents indicated a willingness to share
their experiences applying Lean with some preferring small groups to large and vice versa. It appears
there is a lot of goodwill to improve the Irish AEC sector collectively and this is something welcomed
by the Core Group of this CoP. Going forward the Respondents suggested future event content
should include real life examples of Lean implementation (57%), training and behavioural change
(22%) and ways to collaborate and make teams work better (21%) – there was 76 comments in this
section. Sixty seven comments were received suggesting what should be addressed over the next 12
months. These were the same as above, however; the percentages’ differed – real life examples
(52%); training and behavioural change (34%); and Collaboration (14%).
Finally, we would welcome any further suggestions/comments/opinions on how we as an industry
and collective group can embed Lean into the Irish AEC sector and we encourage people and
organisations to attend and participate in future event.