Sneak peek na15 agl01 leading construction industry to lean-agile (leagile) project management

Sneak Peek into Session
Leading Construction Industry to
Lean-Agile (LeAgile) Project
Management
Session Code: NA15AGL01
Suhail Iqbal, PE, PfMP, PgMP, PMP, PMI-PBA, PMI-SP, PMI-RMP, PMI-ACP, CAPM
SysComp International Private Limited, Pakistan.

“PMI” is a registered trade and service mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
©2012 Permission is granted to PMI for PMI® Marketplace use only.
Objective
To introduce a new concept of Lean-Agile
(LeAgile) Project Management for Construction
Industry.
Not only to highlight the positive need for adoption
of agility in construction but also an attempt to
marry it up with the lean construction.

Questions Addressed
1. What is LeAgile? Does this term exist already or we just
invented it?
2. What is the biggest challenge in introducing agile in
construction industry?
3. How do we propose lean and agile approaches can be used in
construction industry?
4. Is there any existing methodology or approach which closely
resembles the idea of LeAgile in Construction?
5. Will the existence of Lean Construction facilitate the
acceptance of LeAgile Construction?

Question #1
What is LeAgile? Does this term exist
already or we just invented it?

Answer #1: What is LeAgile? Does this
term exist already or we just invented it?
• LeAgile – A combination of Lean and Agile
Methodologies
• Leagile – A term exists since 1999
– Lean and Agile links back to JIT (1960)
– Term LeAgile first used for SCM (1999)
• For Construction
– LeAgile - Never used for construction
– Agile and Lean – first used by ENNOVA (2011)

History of Lean and Agile
Exhibit 1 – History of Lean and Agile
(Copyright Ennova 2011, Friday, 23 September 2011)
1960 - JIT by Taiichi Ohno 1982 - Lean as a formal approach
1990 - Lean in quality and supply-chain 1993 - Effective scheduling for construction
1998 - Repetitive scheduling method
/ LBMS
1999 – LeAgile for Supply Chain Management
1950 - Line of Balance (LoB), a visual method of construction planning
2000 - Last Planner System
2011 – Agile and Lean for Construction (ENNOVA)

Definitions – Lean is Value
• “Lean is an approach that identifies the value
inherent in specific products, identifies the
value stream for each product, supports the
flow of value, lets the customer pull value from
the producer, and pursues perfection.”
(Karkukly, 2013)

Definitions – Lean
Doing more with less
• “Lean is doing more with less. Use the least
amount of effort, energy, equipment, time, facility
space, materials, and capital – while giving
customers exactly what they want.”
(Womack & Jones, 2008)

Definitions - Agile
• Agility is the ability to both create and respond
to change in order to profit in a turbulent
business environment.
• Agility is the ability to balance flexibility and
stability.
(Highsmith, 2002)

Definitions – LeAgile (Lacher View)
• Lacher and Bodamer (2009)
– Agility in Project Management.
– Agile in the perspective of lean.
• Lacher and Varisco (2008)
– Agile is the implementation of Lean Thinking.
– Lean-Agile is a combination of Lean Thinking and
Agile disciplines.
– Lean is the ‘What’ and Agile is the ‘How’.

LeAgile Supply Chain Management

Question #2
What is the biggest challenge in introducing
agile in construction industry?

Answer #2: What is the biggest challenge in
introducing agile in construction industry?
Resistant to change
• Processes and tools are valued more and status quo
maintained.
• Trend for gold-plating and exceeding the basic
specification.
• Contract is the binding force in any construction
projects, not customer.
• Longer phase durations and fixed scope.

Agile Manifesto (2001)
Software Industry
• Individuals and interactions over processes and
tools
• Working software over comprehensive
documentation
• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
• Responding to change over following a plan

Agile Manifesto (2001)
• Created for software industry
• Adopted by several other industries
• Possibility for Construction industry
– Change ‘software’ to ‘product’ in 2nd point

Agile Manifesto – How Can It Apply?
Construction Industry
Individuals and interactions over processes and
tools
• Processes and tools are valued more and status quo
maintained.
• Still Construction industry evolves, innovates and adapt.
• What if we consciously promote creativity
• Give initiatives to team and stakeholders to innovate.
• LBMS where a conventional schedule may not be workable for
all locations, plan separately for each location.
• Start prioritizing individuals and interactions over processes and
tools.

Working product over comprehensive
documentation.
• Needs a workable product but perfection sought.
• Results in gold-plating and exceeding the basic specification.
• If not for customer’s changing requirement, we are causing
waste and are not even meeting the target of being lean.
• In LP system, the schedule is divided into five layers, only first
being mandatory, and are not detailed or restrictive.
• LPS has already taught us to reduce documentation and take to
the last planner level.

Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
• Contract is the binding force in any construction project.
• Engineers will never agree to give priority to customer
collaboration over the contract.
• Contract revisions and changes, anyways, still occur.
• Why can’t we remove this barrier and work as partners?
• In LP system, last planner improves his bottom-level plan due to
feedback of the customer.

Responding to change over following a plan.
• We must be ready to respond to change as and when it is
needed.
• Make our construction phases smaller in size and iterative in
nature.
• In LP system, Weekly Plans are prepared and collaboration with
customer is promoted.

Question #3
How do we propose lean and agile
approaches can be used in construction
industry?

Answer #3: How do we propose lean and agile
approaches can be used in construction industry?
• Difficult to draw a parallel or clear distinction.
• Most organized and well managed industry
– still causes a lot of waste
– already realised the need to be lean,
• Concept of lean construction is already accepted.
• Clearer objectives and static scope
• Assumed “agile is not for construction”

‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’
• ‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ - two separate approaches
• Some identified relationship
• Parallel development paths
• Some common features and intrusions
• Sometimes mistaken to be the same.
• Both approaches - distinct and unique in purpose

‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ – What to do?
• Find a way how to best utilize them together.
• Find the similarities and differences
• Try to have the best of the both worlds.

‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ - LeAgile
• If lean and agile can work together in software
and other industries, then why not construction?
• Construction projects may be few but command
larger budgets.
• Greatest benefits to reap if agile and lean can
work for them together.

‘Lean’ and ‘Agile’ – Diverse Views
• Many researchers and diverse views
– Agile - as a way to do things within the overall
perspective of lean
– Some debate they cannot work together at all. We
will try to establish
• Reinforce the commonalities of both and
• Smoothen out the jagged edges
• Present a fit for construction industry.
• Marriage of convenience - LeAgile

Question #4
Is there any existing methodology or
approach which closely resembles the idea
of LeAgile in Construction?

Answer #4: Is there any existing methodology
or approach which closely resembles the idea of
LeAgile in Construction?
• Difficult to draw a parallel or clear distinction.
• Most organized and well managed industry
– still causes a lot of waste
– already realised the need to be lean,
• Concept of lean construction is already accepted.
• Clearer objectives and static scope
• Assumed “agile is not for construction”

‘LPS’ and ‘LBMS’
Common Characteristics
• Both systems are lean by nature
• Both focus on decreasing waste and increasing
productivity.

‘LPS’ and ‘Agile’
Similarities
• LPS uses approach similar to agile
• Last Planner is the person actually doing the
work or the lowest level supervisor.
• The planning is not centric and involvement of
this last planner is essential.
• This makes the planning a collaborative effort
and better commitments are achieved.

‘LBMS’ and ‘Agile’
Similarities
• LBMS is more of a technical system in which
work flow lines are created for different locations
• Overall plan may be governed by traditional CPM
and PERT methods.
• LBMS makes the buffers of critical chain explicit
• LBMS forecasts future performance based on
statistical projections.

Last Planner System - Phases
Exhibit 3 – Scheduling Levels in Last Planner

Last Planner in Construction
Exhibit 4 – Last Planner in Construction Management

Question #5
Will the existence of Lean Construction
facilitate the acceptance of LeAgile
Construction?

Answer #5: Will the existence of Lean
Construction facilitate the acceptance of LeAgile
Construction?
• No proposed application exists so far
• Discussion to stir up minds to the possibility of
LeAgile
• Some research and white papers exist but none
for construction.
• Lean Construction does exist.
• LeAgility in Construction is not a far-fetched idea.
• LPS and LBMS already hold the key to LeAgility.

Expected Benefits of LeAgility
• Opposition expected from construction industry
• Opening the floodgates of new possibilities
• Reduce waste in construction projects
• Make them much more efficient and profitable
• Can be fast and flexile
• Saving enormously on time and cost
• Satisfy our stakeholders and
• Be able to sell more
• Making even more profits

Leagile Construction System (LCS)

37
• Name: Suhail Iqbal
• Web: http://www.syscompk.com
• Email: suhail@syscompk.com
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/shewal786
• LinkedIn: http://pk.linkedin.com/in/suhail
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/suhail.iqbal.54
• Google+: http://plus.google.com/u/0/10456095253363094682
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