The whole world is striving for a more sustainable, greener future.
Eliminating waste, streamlining operations, and lowering costs to result in greater efficiency are the fundamental commercial benefits of lean management that are already widely established. In today’s eco-aware world, it is beneficial to look at ways in which lean principles and practices help companies become sustainable.
Lean management, in its simplest definition, focuses on a continuous improvement culture through systematic methods to cut out waste from all aspects of the organisation’s operations. By its nature, taking these steps can yield substantial environmental benefits.
As operational business consultants, we have helped companies big and small work to become more sustainable through implementing lean processes. Where lean and green intersect, there can be remarkable synergy between efficiency and sustainability goals.
This ‘lean-to-green’ movement integrates the two strategies for maximum environmental impact by reducing waste across all levels of business operations.
Lean, Green, and Construction
Infrastructure and construction are among the top industries that can see the most impact for a greener future by implementing lean, green processes.
In lean management, waste is viewed as any use of resources that does not lead directly to creating the product or service. In our experience, these non-value-added activities make up a very high percentage of total activity when we start working with new clients.
Here are a few ways we have helped infrastructure clients reduce waste through lean principles.
People First
Lean thinking requires organization-wide culture shifts. Programmes should be designed to emphasise human elements rather than just lean tools and techniques to change how people believe, think, feel and act, rather than teach them new tools they may not be interested in using. Each employee is taken through a mix of fully interactive training and follow-up coaching in the programme. They deliver an improvement project based on a business problem to reinforce learning.
Internal lean champions can be identified to receive additional training and coaching so organisations can have their own internal lean capability.
Consistency is key
Consistency is a key feature in lean methodology, especially in lean construction.
‘Pull planning’ promotes consistency by creating the most efficient project schedule by working backwards from the project’s goal. This planning process involves all parties, improving the predictability of a project’s timeline, increasing the reliability of materials and significantly reducing workers’ waste over time.
Continuously using pull planning will result in streamlined, efficient processes with less risk of bottlenecks or setbacks.
Improving Machinery Efficiency
Preparation is a core principle of lean construction.
Consistent machinery maintenance, including regular inspections, cleanings, oil changes, and safe storage, reduce the risk of machinery breaking – reducing overall repair costs and delayed projects.
Sourcing reliable machinery can improve the efficiency and accuracy of building projects by increasing equipment reliability and decreasing the amount of time allocated to fixing damage and general maintenance.
Companies use lean principles like these at every level of business to lower energy consumption, cut water use, and reduce the amount of waste going to landfills, ultimately reducing their carbon footprint.
Are you ready for lean-to-green?
You are ready to adopt lean construction principles if you want to improve your processes, reduce waste, and promote sustainability in the construction industry.
Identifying waste and non-value-added activities can be difficult when you are involved in day-to-day management. Having a fresh perspective and knowledge of lean methods is crucial in spotting opportunities.
Adastra consultants have extensive experience in large infrastructure and transportation organisations. We help organisations develop, deploy, and deliver robust strategic lean programmes, create an environment and capability that supports continuous improvement, and go on to meet challenging business targets and deliver excellent value for their customers.
Want to know more?
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch, we’d love to speak with you.
