LEAN CONSTRUCTION PROCEDURES (LCP®)

Planning LEAN

There are problems with all programmes, and it starts with the duration, extends to the start and finish times, and ends in flawed logic. Lets consider a duration for a task? Generally it is a figure "plucked" out of thin air! How many planners do you see with 10 days, one week, one day, for activity duration?

Why are they rounded convenient numbers - because they are a guess and subjective. They start on Monday and finish on Friday, but what about Tuesday or Thursday etc? At the planning stage the site team will be less sure of task duration than at any other time in the project. Yet, it is at this time that the programme is created and cast in stone. The same is true of the logic, deciding work flow, criticality and priority is decided at the time when the project team has least knowledge of the project.

The reluctance to change a flawed contract programme is key to this failure cycle. Are durations important? yes - they are and they will dictate the completion date of the whole programme - but do they need to be fixed at the start? Would it not be better to modify a duration when you have the best information, and to start the next activity as quickly as possible?

Planners like order and two dimensional models and they are responsible for causing the greatest constraint on most projects - the programme. Having set the programme durations in place - let's consider a task in isolation. Take for example task 2034. Yes, it is a huge complex programme - done by a professional planner, who is important. The duration was set one and one half years ago under revision one tender issue.

The programme confirms it is a 10 week task that starts on Monday 1st April and finishes on a Friday - 10 weeks later. OK, the chances of this happening are remote. Don't worry. we have an armoury of excuses! What are the effects approaching this start date? Well we know the planner has built in lots of slack - so there is no need to panic and actually start on time - the student syndrome - leaving work till last minute. Also, half way through the task the resource doesn't see the next task - so they wait to "make it finish" as programmed - time expands into the time made available. But wait, who is that we see as the duration approaches the end date? That is Mr Murphy and he is about to strike and cause havoc. Is this unique to activity number 2034? No it has happened at least 2033 times on the preceding programme tasks! So ask the question "why do programmes fail? Should it be phrased " It is more luck than judgement that they ever are seen to help"!

S - specific, significant, stretching, simple
M - measurable, meaningful, movable
A - agreed, attainable, achievable, accountable
R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, review
T - time-based, timely, tangible, talked about

But - if not the subject of Plan Do Check Act it will quickly loose relevance.