GETTING

STARTED WITH
LEAN CONSTRUCTION
A guide for project teams
 HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

Outlined in this guide are foundational steps for helping project teams improve the predictability and profitability
Factors that lead to waste
of commercial construction projects by leveraging lean construction practices. Throughout this document, look for
on construction projects
the Action Exercise! callouts, which include questions to help you assess where your project team stands with the
production planning process.
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work

The production planning process

Step 1: Pull/phase plan

Step 2: Look-ahead plan

Step 3: Weekly work

plan coordination

Step 4: Daily check-ins

Step 5: Review & improvement

Roles and responsibilities

for production planning

Putting Lean into Action

Ready to get even leaner?

2
 WHAT IS LEAN CONSTRUCTION?

There’s a big problem in commercial construction:

Significant resources— from time to material to
labor—are invested in activities that don’t deliver
value to the customer.

37 % of contractors in the construction

industry are not familiar with
any lean practices.

McGraw Hill Construction SmartMarket Report: Lean Construction – Leveraging Collaboration and Advance Practices to Increase Project Efficiency
 WHAT IS LEAN CONSTRUCTION?
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

Currently, 70% of projects are over budget and delivered late.* Schedule bottlenecks, material movement,
Factors that lead to waste
on construction projects
lack of schedule commitment, and rework of errors are just some of the roadblocks that lead to unproductive
time on projects.

Why traditional project

planning doesn’t work Lean construction is a way to eliminate waste of resources on construction projects. Teams take a “leaner”
approach to the processes and mechanisms used to deliver projects to owners.
The production planning process
For contractors, deploying lean construction practices in a production planning process is a major undertaking.
Step 1: Pull/phase plan It requires movement away from the traditional command-and control planning process, and gaining buy-in
from stakeholders at the highest levels of the organization.
Step 2: Look-ahead plan

Step 3: Weekly work

plan coordination

Step 4: Daily check-ins

57 %
70 %
Step 5: Review & improvement of construction of construction projects
project spending are over budget and
Roles and responsibilities equate to waste.* delivered late.*
for production planning

Putting Lean into Action

Ready to get even leaner?

*Lean Construction Institute: What is Lean Construction. https://www.leanconstruction org/about-us/what-is-lean-design-construction/ 4

 FACTORS THAT LEAD TO WASTE
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Factors that lead to waste
on construction projects
Perhaps the only constant for construction projects is variability. Unexpected changes and other disruptions can
occur many times—daily—on a typical commercial construction project. Two inherent qualities of construction
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work projects contribute to variability, and make it challenging for teams to identify issues or quickly adapt to change:

The production planning process

Step 1: Pull/phase plan

Step 2: Look-ahead plan

1. EVOLVING WORK ENVIRONMENT 2. DIFFERENT “TEAMS OF TEAMS”
Step 3: Weekly work
plan coordination Whether it’s a renovation, or a brand new structure, Commercial construction projects bring together a
every construction project starts out as a custom number of different specialists—from architects to
Step 4: Daily check-ins
project. Unlike traditional manufacturing, where general contractors to mechanical, electrical, and
Step 5: Review & improvement workers come to a factory to work in an orderly, plumbing (MEP) contractors—who may or may not have
assembly-line fashion, the work environment for worked together on projects before. The combination
Roles and responsibilities
construction projects is usually evolving right along of competing interests and priorities and different
for production planning with the project. personalities and processes can make planning
difficult. These factors can erode the predictability and
profitability of any construction project.
Putting Lean into Action

Ready to get even leaner?

5
 WHY TRADITIONAL PROJECT PLANNING DOESN’T WORK

The traditional process for managing

construction projects has long been centralized,
with the superintendent taking a command-and-
control approach to setting the schedule for how
and when work is to be completed.

84 % of lean practitioners found that

adopting lean has led to higher
quality projects.*

McGraw Hill Construction SmartMarket Report: Lean Construction – Leveraging Collaboration and Advance Practices to Increase Project Efficiency
 WHY TRADITIONAL PROJECT
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

PLANNING DOESN’T WORK
Factors that lead to waste
on construction projects
Traditional project planning does not encourage participation by stakeholders, or invite the idea sharing
necessary to complete milestones on time and without incurring waste. In addition, traditional project planning
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work
is not organized to deal with problems that inevitably occur between milestones, and can delay progress and
completion of tasks progressing towards those milestones. The further ahead you try to plan, the more likely
forecasts will be wrong.
The production planning process

Step 1: Pull/phase plan

Step 2: Look-ahead plan

Step 3: Weekly work

plan coordination

Step 4: Daily check-ins

Step 5: Review & improvement

Roles and responsibilities

for production planning

Putting Lean into Action

Ready to get even leaner?

7
 WHY TRADITIONAL PROJECT
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

PLANNING DOESN’T WORK (cont.)
Factors that lead to waste
on construction projects
A better approach is PRODUCTION PLANNING. Work is broken down into small tasks that can be
planned and executed reliably.
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work

The production planning process

Step 1: Pull/phase plan

A CONTINUOUS FLOW OF WORK LAST PLANNER® METHODOLOGY
Step 2: Look-ahead plan
Effective production planning is foundational Think of production planning like manufacturing
Step 3: Weekly work to lean construction. production—a continuous flow of work.
plan coordination
Construction projects are networks of commitments.
Step 4: Daily check-ins It helps project teams to: They involve hundreds and thousands of handoffs
Improve planning accuracy and reliability between trades or workgroups. So, for project success,
Step 5: Review & improvement
it is essential to understand how those commitments
Eliminate waste will be fulfilled. That means engaging the experts:
Roles and responsibilities Build a culture of commitment and accountability the “last planners.” Last planners are typically the
for production planning
foremen of subcontractors or trade partners on a
Establish an environment of open (transparent)
and honest communication construction project. They are the last people who
Putting Lean into Action have an opportunity to plan the work before it
Identify and manage roadblocks actually gets done.
Ready to get even leaner? Learn from the experience and improve
as a team The Last Planner® methodology is central to
production planning. The last planners are invited into
the planning process so they bring their knowledge
and expertise to the discussion and help create a
detailed breakdown of the pull/phase plan, described
later in the guide.

8
 5 STEPS TO IMPLEMENTING
PRODUCTION PLANNING

How the majority of lean practitioners increase efficiency:

90 %
78 %
undertake just-in-time
offsite material
prefabrication delivery

McGraw Hill Construction SmartMarket Report: Lean Construcztion – Leveraging Collaboration and Advance Practices to Increase Project Efficiency
 INTRODUCTION:
How to use this document

PRODUCTION PLANNING &

What is lean construction?

Factors that lead to waste

on construction projects THE MASTER SCHEDULE
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work Before adopting production planning, it is important
for project teams to understand that the work plan ACTION EXERCISE!
developed through the process is not meant to replace
The production planning process
the master schedule. Production planning is intended Assemble your team & answer these questions:
Step 1: Pull/phase plan to help the project team to be the most productive,
with the least amount of waste, within the master 1. Do all team members have access to a
Step 2: Look-ahead plan
schedule parameters. current copy of the master schedule and are
they aware of major project milestones?
Step 3: Weekly work
plan coordination Major project milestones are identified from the master 2. Is the master schedule defined at a high
schedule pull/phase planning (Step 1 of production level with less detail and longer duration
Step 4: Daily check-ins
planning, described on the next page). These activities than the weekly work plan?
Step 5: Review & improvement milestones are brought into the production plan. Any 3. Are you adding current master schedule
updates to key milestones are reflected back into the milestones to your production plan?
Roles and responsibilities
master schedule.
for production planning
4. Do you update the master schedule
milestones based on changes to the
The end result of this process is a master schedule
production plans?
that summarizes the construction project at a high
Putting Lean into Action
level. The project team therefore should not try to
incorporate all of the production planning details into
Ready to get even leaner? the master schedule.

Next are are five key steps to the

PRODUCTION PLANNING PROCESS

10
 STEP 1:
How to use this document

PULL/PHASE PLAN
What is lean construction?

Factors that lead to waste

on construction projects
This first step of the production planning process
involves determining the sequence of work that ACTION EXERCISE!
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work must occur to achieve the milestones in the
master schedule: Assemble your team & answer these questions:
The production planning process
1. Begin by identifying a single milestone. 1. Do you schedule periodic pull/phase plan
Step 1: Pull/phase plan sessions to develop the work sequencing
2. Work backwards to develop the most and clarify handoffs for upcoming
Step 2: Look-ahead plan efficient sequence of work. milestones?
3. Document each step.
Step 3: Weekly work 2. Do you invite trade partners to participate in
plan coordination 4. Arrange each step in the correct sequence. pull/phase plan sessions?
Step 4: Daily check-ins The pull/phase plan process should focus on 3. Do you have a process for breaking the
critical handoffs between trades. This approach will pull/phase plan into rightsized activities
Step 5: Review & improvement
(<5 days) for the overall production plan?
help project teams proactively identify and resolve
potential roadblocks that could interfere with 4. Do you expect to upload the results from
Roles and responsibilities
for production planning
completion of the planned work sequence. The idea your pull/phase plan sessions into the plan?
is not to plan too far in advance— just far enough
out that potential roadblocks can be identified and
Putting Lean into Action removed before they lead to time delays and
other waste.
Ready to get even leaner?

NOTE: Be sure that each documented step clearly defines the list of
direct suppliers required for the particular step outlined.

Steps can be documented using sticky notes that are placed in

sequence on a wall, or using a digital format using software (cloud
or desktop based).

11
 STEP 2:
How to use this document

LOOK-AHEAD PLAN
What is lean construction?

Factors that lead to waste

on construction projects
Step 2 addresses the resolution of known
constraints or roadblocks that must be resolved ACTION EXERCISE!
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work – like outstanding RFIs, submittals and change
orders – to keep work sequences on track. Assemble your team & answer these questions:
The production planning process
Often, these roadblocks involve stakeholders outside 1. Do you look ahead 4-6 weeks and identify,
Step 1: Pull/phase plan of the on-site team, such as project owners, architects, on a weekly basis, constraints/roadblocks
engineers, and permitting organizations. That means that must be resolved in order to implement
Step 2: Look-ahead plan the plan?
project teams can’t always directly control resolution
Step 3: Weekly work of critical roadblocks. They need time to get others to 2. Do you assign responsibility for removal of
plan coordination help. The look-ahead plan—which looks forward six roadblocks to specific individuals?
weeks into the project–provides that time.
Step 4: Daily check-ins 3. Will you be tracking resolution of those
roadblocks in the plan?
Step 5: Review & improvement More than just a snapshot of the baseline master
schedule, the look-ahead plan is a detailed breakdown
Roles and responsibilities of the pull/phase plan that was developed by the last
for production planning planners in Step 1. It clearly defines work that can
be performed, and by when, and identifies handoffs
between trades and workgroups. Clear ownership
Putting Lean into Action
for roadblock removal is determined and a specific
timetable for resolution is set.
Ready to get even leaner?

The look-ahead plan is part of the overall production

planning horizon. In an extended coordination meeting
each week, the project team reviews performance
from the previous week and then finalizes the weekly
work plan for the week to come (Step 3, described on
next page). During this meeting, they may also review
the four- to six-week look-ahead horizon to identify
potential roadblocks and discuss how to resolve them.

12
 STEP 3:
How to use this document

WEEKLY WORK PLAN COORDINATION

What is lean construction?

Factors that lead to waste

on construction projects
The weekly work plan, created by the last planners each week, is the most reliable commitment of what
will be done during the next week. Only work that can be accomplished in the designated time frame is
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work put into this plan. Following are the three phases of weekly work plan coordination:

The production planning process PHASE 1: MEETING PREPARATION be devoted to the topic of safety, and then about
10 minutes should be spent reviewing results from
Step 1: Pull/phase plan Thursdays are ideal for the meeting because it gives
the previous week. As part of the results review, all
the project team time to resolve any open questions
Step 2: Look-ahead plan committed activities should be updated, if they have
and finalize the plan by Friday. The meeting should
not been updated in daily check-in meetings (see
Step 3: Weekly work
work last about 45-60 minutes. All key members of the
Step 4, next page). In addition, Plan Percent Complete
coordination
plan coordination project team, including the last planners who will make
(PPC), a simple calculation used to determine what
commitments for the crews in the field, should be
Step 4: Daily check-ins percentage of planned commitments were actually
required to attend.
delivered in a given week, and root causes (factors
Step 5: Review & improvement
creating roadblocks) should be reviewed. Use the
Before the team meeting, the superintendent should
remaining meeting time to finalize the production plan
set clear expectations for coordinating the weekly
Roles and responsibilities for the coming week. Each trade presents their plan,
for production planning work plan:
and every stakeholder agrees to explicit commitments.
Trade partners should come prepared with planned Anything that requires extended discussion should be
Putting Lean into Action activities for the upcoming week. tabled for appropriate follow-up at a later time.
If new activities are planned, they must be added to
Ready to get even leaner? the weekly work plan prior to the meeting. PHASE 3: POST MEETING
All activities planned should take no longer than five The production plan should be updated by the project/
days to complete. field engineers and/or trade partners within four hours
after the meeting and distributed to all participants
PHASE 2: MEETING MANAGEMENT immediately.
The superintendent should facilitate discussion during
the weekly work plan meeting. Five minutes should

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 STEP 4:
How to use this document

DAILY CHECK-INS
What is lean construction?

Factors that lead to waste

on construction projects
Regular check-ins are essential to the Last
Planner® methodology and the “accountability ACTION EXERCISE!
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work workflow” that ultimately drive lean construction
practices. Assemble your team & answer these questions:
The production planning process
The project team should meet daily in the field 1. Do you hold brief daily update meetings to
Step 1: Pull/phase plan for about 15 minutes to manage weekly work plan review the previous day’s results and update
commitments. During the daily check-in, the project the weekly work plan?
Step 2: Look-ahead plan team should discuss logistics and roadblocks, and 2. Are trade foremen included in the meeting?
Step 3: Weekly work
update the status on commitments (completions or
plan coordination incompletions). Incomplete work is rescheduled. 3. Do you update commitment status
These team “huddles” can occur at the beginning or (complete/incomplete) during this meeting?
Step 4: Daily check-ins
end of shifts. 4. Do you share the production plan (hard copy
Step 5: Review & improvement or live) during the meeting?

Roles and responsibilities

for production planning

Putting Lean into Action

Ready to get even leaner?

14
 STEP 5:
How to use this document

REVIEW & IMPROVEMENT

What is lean construction?

Factors that lead to waste

on construction projects
In this final phase of production planning, project
teams learn from their failures to complete ACTION EXERCISE!
Why traditional project
planning doesn’t work promised work by tracking whether deliverables/
actions have been executed by the date promised. Assemble your team & answer these questions:
The production planning process They then chart the results, which are discussed during 1. Do you present the look-ahead plan to the
the weekly work plan meeting. Using metrics such as project stakeholders on a regular basis?
Step 1: Pull/phase plan
PPC and root causes, the team creates an action plan
for improvement, and best practices are communicated 2. Do you present performance reports (PPC,
Step 2: Look-ahead plan
to the project stakeholders. root causes) to the owner(s) on a regular
Step 3: Weekly work basis?
plan coordination
ACCOUNTABILITY WORKFLOW 3. Do you review roadblocks with the project
Step 4: Daily check-ins stakeholders on a regular basis?

Step 5: Review & improvement

improvement Step 1: Pull/phase plan 4. Are you applying what you’ve learned to
OPEN Step 2: Look-ahead plan
continually improve?

Roles and responsibilities COMMITTED Step 3: Weekly work plan

for production planning

Step 4: Daily check-ins

COMPLETE INCOMPLETE
Putting Lean into Action

REVIEW Step 5: Review &

Ready to get even leaner? Improvement

RESCHEDULE

15
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
FOR PRODUCTION PLANNING

3 % of warranty or rework claims are due to

misguided construction planning and scheduling
and/or leadership and communication.

McGraw Hill Construction SmartMarket Report: Lean Construction – Leveraging Collaboration and Advance Practices to Increase Project Efficiency
 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

FOR PRODUCTION PLANNING
Factors that lead to waste
on construction projects
Before moving ahead with the production planning process, ownership of core responsibilities related
Why traditional project
to each of the five steps must be assigned. Following are the four main roles in production planning,
planning doesn’t work and their typical responsibilities:

The production planning process

Step 1: Pull/phase plan

Step 2: Look-ahead plan

GENERAL CONTRACTOR SUPERINTENDENT(S) PROJECT/FIELD ENGINEERS
Step 3: Weekly work
plan coordination Lead the production planning process. Ensure documentation and thoroughness of
the production planning process.
Step 4: Daily check-ins Reinforce and use the process to manage production
in the field against the completion dates referenced Capturing updates and changes in the weekly
Step 5: Review & improvement
in the master schedule. coordination meeting.

Facilitate the pull/phase planning sessions. Helping trade partners to provide input to and track
Roles and responsibilities
for production planning
the status of weekly work plans.
Review the look-ahead plan submitted by
trade partners.
Putting Lean into Action
Participate in daily check-ins.

Ready to get even leaner?

Use the agreed-upon work plan and process to
drive production.

Roles continue on the next page:

17
 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

FOR PRODUCTION PLANNING (cont.)
Factors that lead to waste
on construction projects

Why traditional project

planning doesn’t work

LAST PLANNERS PROJECT MANAGERS

The production planning process
Provide input for the production plan, manage Facilitate the removal of roadblocks
Step 1: Pull/phase plan the crews who execute the plan encounteredon the project

Step 2: Look-ahead plan Take part in pull/phase planning meetings Manage communication with the project owner(s).
as required.
Step 3: Weekly work
Provide resources needed by last planners to
plan coordination Submit the look-ahead plan each week. execute the plan.

Step 4: Daily check-ins Participate in weekly coordination meetings and

make clear commitments for weekly tasks.
Step 5: Review & improvement
Attend daily check-ins in the field and provide
accurate status on completion of commitments.
Roles and responsibilities
for production planning Use the production planning process to bring detail
into the internal planning process and drive
production from trade foremen on critical areas
Putting Lean into Action
and systems.

Ready to get even leaner?

18
 PUTTING LEAN INTO ACTION
How to use this document

What is lean construction?

You learned the importance of lean, the reasons why traditional project planning doesn’t work, and how to get
Factors that lead to waste started. Now, it’s time to put your lean practices into action. Use the following guidelines as well as steps listed in
on construction projects the Action Exercises found throughout the document.

Why traditional project 1. Assemble your team and collectively answer key questions around scheduling, planning, and accessibility.
planning doesn’t work
2. Determine the sequence of work that must occur during your production planning process to achieve the
milestones in the master schedule.
The production planning process
3. Develop your look-ahead plan to clearly define work that can be performed, and by when.
Step 1: Pull/phase plan 4. Task last planners to create a weekly work plan coordination schedule that outlines the commitment of what will
be done during the next week.
Step 2: Look-ahead plan
5. Ensure regular check-ins are scheduled. These are essential to the Last Plannerw methodology and the
Step 3: Weekly work “accountability workflow” that ultimately drives lean construction practices.
plan coordination
6. Evaluate project performance often - create an action plan for improvement and communicate best practices
Step 4: Daily check-ins to project stakeholders.

Step 5: Review & improvement

Roles and responsibilities

for production planning

Putting Lean into Action

Ready to get even leaner?

19
READY TO GET
EVEN LEANER?
Getting started with production planning is a great way to
reduce waste on your projects. But that’s just the beginning.

There’s opportunity to reduce waste throughout your construction

project, but you need to understand the root cause. We call these the “16
Dominoes of Construction Waste”. Do any of these sound familiar?

• Delivery of plans without finishing coordination. Best case, this

creates lots of costly RFIs. Worst case, you have to ask the owner for
more information.
• Changes to scope mid-construction. Always disruptive, and oftentimes
the cause of costs going up and productivity and safety going down.
• Finger pointing and blame. When waste extends beyond the
completion of the project, profits are eroded.

We can help you identify these – and 13 more – areas of waste. And
more importantly, show you how you can avoid them. Read our blog post
to learn more about the 16 Dominoes of Construction Waste, and how
Autodesk BIM 360 can help to avoid the “domino effect”.

GET LEANER

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