Once upon a time there were three little pigs that wanted to build new homes. The first little pig decided to build with a traditional straw process and found that his budget got blown to little pieces. The second little pig decided to build with a more integrated design approach and was able to deliver a fine sustainable wood project but got burned on schedule, it was 4 months late. The smart little pig decided to go to school at Shift2Lean where he learned that he could build a NetZero brick house, delivered early at the same cost as a traditional build.
The moral of the story is that we don't want a blown budget or to be burned on schedule, so why not a Lean Project Delivery process that will get us to the finish line early at less less cost.
The First Step ... "It is all about the is TEAM"
When we break it down to the basic principles of value, flow and efficiency we soon come to realize that It's all about the TEAM. We need all of the team on board including the key sub-trades for lean design to work. By bringing the whole team on board early for we can avoid the embarrassment of “Broken Budgets” that is often experienced as we can have more confidence in the number when we have the people going to be doing the work helping with the design and providing dynamic costing.
Next we Lean up the Design Process
The lean design component of the LPD is called Target Value Design (TVD). It is a disciplined design management system that turns the traditional design process upside down. Unlike traditional design processes where teams often design in silos and the final cost is not known until after the tender, TVD is a dynamic collaborative process that includes concurrent estimating by the contractors that are going to be doing the work.
It involves establishing a clear target, developing fully integrated design solutions to the target cost. It results in tighter simpler better designs, smaller factors of safety, less redundancy, significantly less change notices and minimal delays due to poor or incomplete information.
Target Value Design is a process that enables teams to design it right the first time. TVD is based upon having the budget influence the design as opposed to the budget becoming a result of the design process. In the end successful collaboration on TVD results in designs that meet project requirements at or below the target cost.
Finally we Reap the Rewards
In an assessment of current benchmarks and “Target Value Design” best practices by Glenn Ballard, we learn that TVD projects can be delivered with capital cost saving as much as 19%. These case study projects were able to deliver exceptional value using this process.
Okanagan College and Mosaic Centre projects demonstrate that Lean pays for Green and the value associated with delivering beautiful NetZero energy projects for the same budgets as a traditional build.
The University of Winnipeg RCFE project demonstrates that TVD can be used to rescue and deliver an exceptional project that exceeds client expectations.
When you are ready to get started with Lean Design we can help by providing your team with the same workshop that is offered at the LCI-Canada annual conference. Optimizing
Murray Guy, @Lean_tobe_Green