What is the Underlying Question of Lean?
Lean is about how to produce value. People make it go. That's it.
The time has come to get this straight. No matter who you are or your level of experience with Lean thinking, please indulge me to present what I believe is critical to advancing Lean thinking and practice in the Design and Construction industry.
We need a solid foundation to advance Lean thinking and practice. I have met so many who have been involved with Lean for years but who still do not understand the underlying principles. How is that possible? I have worked with organizations that seriously tried to make Lean the way they work but have been unsuccessful. When I talk with their people, one of the root causes is immediately clear: They never really understood Lean thinking. It is not guiding them. They sincerely sought to implement Lean methods or tools, but without the foundation, they made many poor decisions. But at the same time, they know they should not give up on Lean. They know there is opportunity. They don't know how to close the gap between where they are now and where they could be. The solution begins with the underlying question of Lean.
LEAN IS ABOUT HOW TO PRODUCE VALUE
What is Lean? You have probably heard many answers. And, to a degree, they are all correct. Lean is about respect for people. Lean is about eliminating waste and continuous improvement. Lean is about working collaboratively as a team. Lean is about… So, is Lean simply a buffet of good ideas and methods that we call "Lean"? No. And this is where we get tripped up and will continue to get tripped up. What makes all of those good ideas "Lean" is that they are all related to an underlying purpose: How we produce value.
That's it. And I will explain why, but it all comes down to that. Lean is built on the answer to a question about how we produce value. And that question is… How can we best produce value?
"How" means simply: in what way, or by what methods.
"Best" implies that there is more than one way or method to do something.
What about the words "produce" and "value"?
Please stay with me on this. This is the entire reason that anyone is even interested in the question. It is what we do. Our organizations exist to produce value. Think about that and you will always come back to the same answer. The obvious part of the answer is delivering value to the customer. But if you say something like "it is to make a profit" or "it is to provide good jobs" or "contribute to healthy communities" or something like that, is that not producing value? If I build my own house, my effort results in value to me. If I build a house for someone else, my effort results in value to my customer in the form of a house, and value to me, in the form of profit, and maybe value to my neighbors, in the form of good jobs. So, no matter how you slice it, we always come back to the same thing. We have a fundamental expectation of results for our labors.
Now, let's clarify something else. Lean Construction is not in a special category from everything else that is Lean. The principles of Lean are universal. The methods and tools developed to meet the specific needs of an industry is what differentiates Lean Construction from Lean Manufacturing, Healthcare, etc. For example, the Last Planner System is unique to our industry. Manufacturing and Service industries have never heard of it. But LPS is based on the same fundamental principles.
So, back to the underlying question. There are five basic principles of Lean: Value (and the value stream), Waste, Flow, Pull, Perfection. They are all related to the same thing: Production.
Production is the process of making something.
It can be pretty much anything. A piece of furniture, a million televisions, a movie, a bridge or building.
Are there ways of producing that are better than others? If the answer is no, then our discussion is over. If the answer is yes, then what is the best known way how to produce? That is the underlying question of Lean.
To answer that question begins with understanding the absolute fundamentals of production. That is the first insight of Lean. It is so fundamental that it has been often overlooked. Strange but true. And the absolute first principle is Specify Value.
Value is the importance or worth of something for someone. Value is subjective. I am sure you can think of hundreds of examples for this one. A simple building related illustration: I need a house. For me that may mean a way to stay warm and dry. For another person it may mean a place to raise a family. Production begins with being specific as to the intended outcome. Specify value.
Virtually any endeavor to make something involves more than a single action. It is a process, a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result. It is also called a Value Stream because the intended result is the specified value.
Coming from this point of view leads to the next great, but incredibly simple, insight: Anything that does not add value is waste. So what? Because processes come at a cost. To produce value expends time, energy, and resources. And these are limited.
At this point we can begin to clearly see the reasons behind methods such as Integrated Project Delivery and the Last Planner System. They are designed to help complex groupings of people better specify and produce value with the least possible waste. We are answering the question: How can we best produce value?
Because the production of value involves a series of steps, we need to look at value and waste in terms of the production itself, not just the outcome. And that is flow. The word means to move in one direction, especially continuously and easily. This relates to value, time and effort, all fundamental to any endeavor. How can we best achieve flow in production? That is part of the core question of Lean.
What does "Pull" have to do with all this? It is a principle of production based in value. It involves providing the customer or the next process with what is needed, when it is needed, and in the right quantity. The goal of a pull system is to reduce waste by producing based on actual demand and only starting work when it's needed.
Finally, perfection and the idea of continuous improvement. It is related to… production and value. How we best produce value can only be assured by continually asking the question: Is there a better way to produce and a better outcome to produce?
PEOPLE MAKE IT GO
If you have stayed with me this far, you may be still wondering, what about Respect for People? When we are talking about Lean, we are discussing it in the context of producing value. Don't freak out. Let me explain. Respect for people is fundamental to human interaction. The idea of respect transcends making things. It transcends business. It is a human thing. It is like love. So, why don't we make "Love" a core principle of Lean? If respect, why not love? Because, we are talking about respect in the context of people working together to produce something. So, you can see, it in no way lessens the importance of respect to say we are discussing it in the context of people working together to produce.
So where does respect belong? The same place as trust and several other interpersonal attributes. Go back to the second sentence at the beginning of this article: People make it go.
Production systems are designed and executed by people and for people. (Though, I shouldn't say that entirely. People are not the only producers on this planet. When birds build a nest they are going through a production process). Respect for people relates to the role that each person plays in the process. Each person brings value to the process. Every other person, especially those in positions which manage other people, need to recognize that fact. And each person needs to accept their personal responsibility to add value. This is fundamental to a continuously improving organization.
The study and application of knowledge about how people interact to collaborate in the delivery of value, behaviors, is vital achieving the best possible outcome.
THAT'S IT
Yes, that's it. Make sure the people in your organization or on your project understands why and how Lean is the best way to produce value. Then design systems based on those principles. In turn, the processes guide behaviors. People make it go. Always build on this foundation. We should always be able to answer "why" for any method, tool, or expected behavior.
Does that mean there is nothing else to talk about or to research? Far from it. First, it is always ok to question the fundamentals. But, until we have a better understanding, this is the standard. Second, we are always looking for more effective methods and tools to put the principles to work. Third, we are always seeking better ways to learn and put those methods in to practice. And as we do, we are all speaking from a common "language" which accelerates improvement in our industry.
For those just starting, they benefit from a straightforward and universal understanding. Teaching tools are built on common platforms of knowledge. This allows for more rapid and productive learning. Confusion is waste and frustrating. Nobody should come away from Lean Construction Institute Congress or similar Lean industry events without a basic understanding of value, waste, flow, pull, continuous improvement and the role of respect for people, trust, and other attributes in driving Lean production.
With a stronger base of Lean thinkers, organizations will have more success with Lean practices. We will greatly expand our capacity in the industry to spread and support the Lean. And, this will lead to greater acceptance in the industry. The result? Much closer to all those things we hope for: Our own organization better achieving our mission, happier and more satisfied staff, and a stronger design and construction industry.
What is the call to action?
Embrace this thinking. If lacking, strengthen your personal understanding of these fundamental principles. This is especially vital if you are a leader in your organization.
Build training and coaching around these fundamentals
Industry organizations encourage presentations and papers that move this approach forward.
Advanced practitioners and researchers, always connect the fundamental "why" with the method or tool application.
Lean is simple, not simplistic. We have so much more to learn as an industry. But the door to real success lies is never forgetting the foundation: Lean is about how to produce value. People make it go. That's it.