Avanulo’s concept for building new plants and installations with Lean pre-loaded

1. Avanulo Blue Paper #323
115-117 S. Main St. Suite A
Celina, Ohio, 45922 USA
567-510-5200
www.avanulo.com
Or OEC,
Operator Engaged Construction
By David I. Cahill
January 2013

2. Summary of Contents
To the reader:
Enigi
The last frontier
Shout out the purpose
Declare the real function of the new
installation loud and clear
We hope you find this Avanulo Blue Paper
valuable. We know that your time is precious,
so we have structured the format of this
document to accommodate your needs.
For a quick read, refer to the “in a Nutshell
column” on the left.
For more detail, read the right hand column
Set the non-negotiables
Separate wants from needs with absolute
clarity
Synergize the Flow
Determine and define the natural streams in
the plant and design in a natural harmony,
flexibility, and efficiency
Build it
Follow your plan with frequent reference to
its purpose
Go Vertical
Start it up on time, on budget, and w/o
surprises
Summary
About Avanulo
Avanulo means progress, and our passion lies in
helping our clients progress their goals.
Our partners all have at least 20 years of
experience in their fields of expertise.
Our Motto is “Enjoy the Business Result” or
ETBR. We believe every improvement action
should have a tangible result, and we structure
our solutions to achieve measurable results
within a specific timeframe.
Our chief focus is to help our clients increase
their Safe, Ethical, Profit or SEP. To us, that
means to make as much money as possible
without occupational injury, and without moral,
environmental, or economic harm to the
community.

3. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
In a Nutshell . . .
What is it?
Enigi or Operator Engaged Construction.
• Avanulo’s concept for building
new plants and installations
with Lean pre-loaded.
Why is it important?
Fuzzy purpose = fuzzy results.
• Enigi enables new plants to
experience vertical start-ups
and achieve and maintain the
cultural benefits of a
continuous improvement
culture from day one.
How do you apply it?
Understand the real purpose.
• The purpose of the plant is to
help operators make product.
• Deeply engage operators in
design, construction, and
start-up
Supporting Concepts
• Purpose-centered Mgt.
• Needs vs. Wants
• Natural Flow & HMI
• Employee Engagement
• Ergonomics
• Vertical Start-up
• Avanulo’s OEC Checklist
Operator Engaged
Construction
– the undiscovered country
Some years ago, we had the accidental benefit
of having the future operators, mechanics, and
quality techs of a manufacturing plant participate
in its construction. The plant received a large
amount of government funding and tax credit
based on how many employees it would employ
and when it would employ them. The project ran
late, and the employees were brought on board,
prior to the completion of construction, to meet
the requirements of the
incentives received. The
operators were integrated
into the construction team
with surprising benefits.
We developed Enigi from
that experience.
When writing this paper we conducted our usual
research to benchmark our experiences against
that of others, and against the literature.
Surprisingly, we found that this was a virtually
untapped area in the literature of continuous
improvement and employee engagement.
Because there is so little (really none) academic
review of this concept, we can refer to only
indirect sources, and therefore, this is a blue
paper, and not a white paper. Nevertheless, we
have applied this approach several times, and
its benefit has proven to be reliable and
repeatable.
The simple truth is clear to us. If you involve
your current or future operations employees in
the design and construction of your new plant or
installation, you will practically ensure a vertical
start-up, and you will jump start your continuous
improvement culture in a way that brings you
years ahead of the normal development curve.
This blue paper provides 5 simple steps to help
you get the most out of your new construction
project through OEC and makes a compelling
argument that hiring your new operations
employees, or at least one shift of them, prior to
breaking ground is a value-added concept.

4. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
Shout out the purpose
In a Nutshell . . .
What is it?
Shout out the purpose.
• To enable operators to make
product to specification.
Why is it important?
This establishes the customer
for the project.
• Too often engineers see the
VP, the budget, or time as the
customer. This inaccurate
focus dramatically limits the
plant’s ability to fulfill its
purpose over the long run.
How do you apply it?
Declare it, support it, and make
the customer (the operator)
visible, present, and integral.
Supporting Concepts/literature
•
Achieving Cost Savings and
Employee Satisfaction by Involving
Employees in Plan Design; presented
by Connie L. Rank-Smith, SPHR, CBMS,
CMS; April 11, 2010
•
Measuring The Total Economic
Impact Of Customer Engagement - A
Multi-Company ROI Analysis; Project
Director - Jon Erickson; Forrester Consulting;
September 2008
•
Putting your client to work – a good
way to achieve great service at low
cost? – European Business Review 2012;
by Phillip G. Moscoso, Alejandro Lago, and
Marlene Amorim;
Often, when we do things repeatedly, we
become unconsciously competent - so adept at
performing a function that we don’t think about
the function itself. Instead we focus on the work
at hand. Sometimes this is effective, but
increasingly in the more dynamic world of
manufacturing today, meta-cognition, or thinking
about thinking, is proving invaluable.
We need to consider the reasons why we are
doing something, and how we think about our
work more often, for better results
So, what is the purpose of building a new plant?
• To meet increased demand?
• To reduce cost?
• To get closer to the market?
• To launch a new product?
All these reasons come to mind, but to get the
most out of our construction project, we must
remember, and focus, on one simple purpose.
We are building this plant to enable the operator
to make the product to specification. The
operator will then reduce cost, or meet
increased demand, or launch the new product.
Our purpose in construction is clear – to enable
the operator to meet her production goal. The
operator is therefore the customer.
How odd that, in this era of customer satisfaction
and employee engagement, we often build
plants for people whom we have never met, and
whose needs and wants we have only heard
about through others.
In the absence of the voice of the customer (the
operator), other voices fill our minds; the voice of
the budget, the voice of the executive, the voice
of the calendar. They then replace the
customer. Our purpose shifts to one of meeting
the budget, or finishing on time, and these are
not purposes, they are requirements.
To be really successful in a plant
construction project, we must declare
the operator the customer, and we
must respect him and involve him
heavily in the design and construction
phases. We must declare the real
purpose and keep it clear in our minds.

5. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
Set the Non-negotiables
In a Nutshell . . .
What is it?
Set the Non-negotiables.
• Distinguishing between wants
and needs, and then keeping
them visibly animated
maintains focus on the project
purpose.
Why is it important?
Over the life of the project, the
purpose can become lost or
diffused significantly reducing
results.
How do you apply it?
Use a classic decision-making
process, and animate it
rigorously.
Supporting Concepts/literature
•
•
•
•
The Rational Manager: A Systematic
Approach to Problem Solving and
Decision-Making (Hardcover) by
Charles H. Kepner (Author), Benjamin
B. Tregoe (Author) – 1965
Benchmarking
Avanulo’s Decision-Making
Worksheet
Avanulo’s Consensus Matrix
Construction Projects for manufacturing
installations are among the most complex
projects undertaken in business. The myriad
issues can be daunting. The administrative and
bureaucratic demands can overwhelm even the
most experienced project manager.
The dynamic nature of this type of project can
also be a challenge. Initial plans can change
rapidly. The late-breaking and fluid realities of
location suitability, funding, materials availability
and technological feasibility all play their part in
occupying the project leaders, limiting their
ability to keep the purpose clearly in mind.
The complexity and dynamic nature of these
projects combine to blur the line between need
and want, which can increase costs and reduce
results.
The negative effect caused by the natural twists
and turns in construction projects can be
minimized dramatically when we clearly define
needs and wants, keep them highly visible, and
distinguish between them in our treatment of the
project.
Formally applying a classic decision-making
process is the key to keeping the project
focused, on track, and true to its
purpose. Rigorously applying such
a process can ensure that
needs and wants are
clearly defined, well
distinguished, and
highly visible.
Once this state is achieved, project decisions
can be continually metered against the priorities
of needs and wants. The result is a highly
effective, and nimble, process for keeping the
project true to its purpose.
Involving current or future operations people
enables them to leverage this approach to their
advantage, thereby assuring that the purpose is
fulfilled – a plant able to produce to specification.
This keeps cost and timing in their proper
places, as requirements, and not as purposes
driving the project.

6. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
In a Nutshell . . .
Synergize the Flow
Deming, and the other great leaders in the field
of continuous improvement, long ago convinced
us that everything we see is the result of a
process, and that all processes conform to
universal principles of behavior.
What is it?
Synergize the flow.
• Having operations people
identify, define, harmonize,
and optimize the various
processes, or flows, while
designing a plant.
Why is it important?
• Done well, the result is a
vertical start-up and a
harmonized plant.
How do you apply it?
• Have operations people
study the processes and
how they fit together and
then optimize them using
their experience and
common sense.
Supporting Concepts
• Avanulo’s Flow Charter
• Value Stream Mapping
• PSM
• HACCP
• ISO
• SIPOC
• Zoning/5S
• Kaizen
• Avanulo’s OEC Checklist
• Avanulo’s Plan Guard
Every manufacturing plant has a series of
processes, or flows that follow these universal
principles. A new plant can be designed in a
way that acknowledges these flows, supports
their natural behavior, and promotes harmony
between them, or it can ignore or even thwart
these flows, and create permanent barriers to
continuous improvement and optimization.
To ensure that
the plant design
supports natural
flow and
harmony, its
various
processes must
be reviewed
from many
angles, and by people who have the appropriate
experience, willingness, and ability, to give
thorough attention to this detailed and
demanding work.
Who better to do this work than carefully
selected representatives of the groups who will
eventually operate the plant?
Using proven techniques, normally employed by
project engineers or managers, the natural
abilities, experience, and common sense of
operations people can be magnified to ensure
extraordinary results.
Tools like Value Stream Mapping, PSM,
HACCP, FMEA, SIPOC and 5S, in the hands of
employees motivated to ensure their plant is the
best it can be, will yield results far superior to
those obtained by the traditional approach
driven solely by engineers and managers.
Involving operations employees in the
identification, definition, and optimization of plant
flows prior to start-up is a tremendously
effective, and affordable, method for ensuring
project success.

7. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
Build in the Wisdom
In a Nutshell . . .
What is it?
Build in the Wisdom.
• Involving operating people in
the construction and
commissioning of the plant.
Why is it important?
• Their involvement ensures
the quality of these phases,
builds a pride of ownership,
and set the stage for a
continuous improvement
culture.
How do you apply them?
• Have them deeply involved
in building and
commissioning through the
use of proven continuous
improvement tools.
Supporting Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
OEC Checklist
SOPs
Cause Analysis
Brainstorming
Avanulo’s 1440 Mgt. System
Now that you have a plan, the entire project
team can support it. Instead of just working to
put up walls or install equipment, everyone will
be focused on their part in the harmonization
and optimization of the plant, so it can fulfill its
purpose, which is to enable operators to make
product to specification.
As the plant is constructed, modifications will
occur, dry and wet tests will be conducted,
systems will be labeled, drawings will be
updated, and preparations for start-up will be
made.
The knowledge of
plant systems,
equipment
configuration, and
control schemes
gained by
operations people
during this phase of
the project will
knock years off of
their learning
curves. In addition
to their ability to promote success through the
application of their knowledge and experience,
operations people involved in this phase will
develop a pride of ownership in the plant that is
almost impossible to acquire any other way.
They will see themselves, and rightfully so, as
designers and builders. This will set the tone for
the culture of the plant, which will enable the
organization to sustain a healthy respect for
operating people and their abilities, thereby
promoting employee engagement.
Respected continuous improvement tools like
SOPs, Cause Analysis, Brainstorming, the 1440
Management System, and Red-Green Analysis,
will be invaluable templates for formalizing
employee involvement.
Having operations employees, who help with
and oversee the construction of the plant, will
set the stage for a vertical start-up, and lock in a
culture of engagement and continuous
improvement.

8. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
Go Vertical
In a Nutshell . . .
The plant is nearly built and some systems are
commissioned. Soon it will be time to start-up.
What will the start-up be like? Will the plant startup flawlessly, ramp up, and slide into an easy
predictable groove of efficiency and predictability,
or will it begin its life in fits and starts, revealing a
lack of forethought and poor planning? The dream
of every plant manager is to have a vertical startup, which is a start-up that goes as smoothly as a
rocket taking off - just countdown and blast-off.
What is it?
Go Vertical.
• Planning for and achieving a
flawless, or vertical, start-up.
Why is it important?
It defines a successful project
like no other indicator, and it
guarantees the benefits of
Enigi – pride, ownership, and a
continuous improvement
culture.
How do you apply it?
Use proven vertical start-up
and continuous improvement
techniques to build and
execute a flawless plan.
Supporting Concepts
• Avanulo’s Vertical Checklist
• WMS
• Wet Runs
• Loop Checks
• Stress Tests
Although no amount of planning and pre-work can
absolutely guarantee a vertical start-up, the fact is
that a vertical start-up is possible, and the odds go
up dramatically when operations employees are
involved in the design, construction,
commissioning, and start-up of a new plant.
When you establish vertical start-up as a goal at
the beginning of the project, and when you involve
operations people in that goal, everyone on the
project will keep this goal in mind as they do their
work. Because
the operations
people truly
understand the
value of this
objective, they
will keep it alive
during the
formative phases
of the project.
Using their
leverage and
influence as the
customer, and
proven tools like
the Vertical Startup Checklist,
WMS, Wet Runs,
Loop Checks,
and Stress Tests,
operating people
will ensure that
the plant is
designed to run
and ready to
start-up.

9. Helping you to think your way through instead of buying your way out
Summary
Enigi, or Operator Engaged Constriction (OEC),
is a proven approach for ensuring the success of
a construction project, such as a new plant or a
major installation, for a manufacturing
organization.
Enigi was discovered accidentally by the
founders of Avanulo, and has evolved over the
years into an employee engagement approach
that stresses the assignment of at least one shift
of operations people (even if you must hire them
ahead of schedule) as early in the design and
construction phases as possible. Enigi then
leverages the abilities of these people through
proven continuous improvement tools to ensure
successful, design, construction and start-up by
deeply engaging operations people in the
process.
We want to hear from you
Avanulo
115-117 South Main St.
Suite A
Celina, OH 45833
USA
Tel: 567-510-5200
Skype: 567-510-0714
E-mail: info@avanulo.com
Web site: www.avanulo.com
About the Author
Dave Cahill is the Managing Partner and Founder
of Avanulo, a unique embedded consulting firm
that has a presence on three continents. Dave is
a senior manufacturing professional who has his
roots in cost control and continuous improvement.
He has worked for world-class organizations like
Tenneco and Groupe Danone. He has served in
general, line, and staff positions and has led large
teams to excellence. Dave is the inventor of
several effective business tools, like Kuplo, the
1440 Management System, and the Opportunity
Tree. He has taught continuous improvement and
revenue enhancement to thousands of people in
10 countries. Dave has also overseen the
successful resolution of several large-scale,
business crises. Prior to his work in the private
sector, Dave taught college level Spanish,
Russian, and German, and served in the US
military as both an enlisted person and a
commissioned officer. Dave and his wife Andrea
have 8 children. You can often see them strolling
along the shore of Grand Lake St. Marys in Celina,
Ohio with children, grandchildren, and dogs in tow.
Shouting out the purpose builds a foundation
of success for the project by reminding every
one of the one true purpose – to ensure that
operators can make the product to specification.
Setting the Non-negotiables creates a
powerful and visual set of the needs and wants
in the project. Having this set of well-defined
needs and wants enables the project team to
remain true to the purpose at the tactical level.
Synergizing the Flow ensures that the plant
design addresses the natural flows that exist in
all plant processes and harmonizes each in a
way that promotes efficiency across the
operation.
Building in the Wisdom is a simple process for
ensuring the deep involvement of operations
people in the actual construction and
commissioning of the plant. This involvement
prevents flaws that will hinder start-up, instills
pride and ownership, and plants the seeds of a
continuous improvement culture.
Going Vertical is a mindset that enables the
entire project team to focus on the eventual goal
of a flawless start-up. It is the prize jewel in the
crown of Enigi.