A. Parmar, MilliporeSigma, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; and G. SHAHANI, Shure-Line Construction, Kenton, Delaware
Lean project management leans towards a business philosophy that brings value to the customer as opposed to conventional project management, which is focused on a product or project. In the conventional approach, the focus is on balancing cost, schedule and quality without compromising safety. By contrast, the key elements of lean project management are identifying and eliminating waste, improving quality, and minimizing defects and inventory. At its core, lean project management is directed at utilizing human resources to the fullest, optimize scheduling and focusing on the technical aspects such as avoiding the over-specification of equipment, instrumentation and piping.
This article will describe the principles of lean project management, which is becoming increasingly critical in today’s business environment. Project development is becoming more challenging due to a very dynamic external environment. In the last 2 yr, COVID, inflation and supply chain issues have only exacerbated these trends—a recent article1 published in the June 2022 issue of Hydrocarbon Processing described the impact of inflation on construction and outlined some steps that can be taken to address this issue.
Various tools and methodologies, including value engineering, value stream mapping and workflow management, will be discussed in this article.
Quality in manufacturing and service. To refresh, Total Quality Management, Six Sigma and Lean were widely adopted in the 1980s to improve the quality of manufactured goods and services in the U.S.2 This approach was based on gearing the entire organization’s focus on the product or service that is important to the customer, eliminating defects in the product or service by using statistics (Six Sigma) and applying quality control to minimize inventory. These techniques, work processes and tools have been widely adopted in the manufacturing and service industries to improve quality, reduce costs and drive customer satisfaction.
In project development and execution, these concepts are equally important to deliver success. Projects are custom engineered, site specific and do not present opportunities for standardization on a large scale: typically common individual components like valves, instruments, heat exchangers and pumps can be standardized; however, the overall project cannot easily be standardized due to variations in customer needs, site conditions and local codes. Each project is unique in its scope. There is a large unmet need to deliver consistent results in accordance with the customer needs in a timely fashion. Typically, customers value one or more of the following attributes: high quality, low lifecycle cost, fast schedule, low environmental impact, project flexibility, quality communication and/or documentation. Safety is usually required by almost all customers. It is important to understand what is important to the customer and then design the project—including work processes, timing, cost sensitivity, engineering, design, equipment and construction—in a way that exceeds customer expectations.
Lean and agile project management. The principles of lean production are clearly described in literature.3 These key principles include:
There are countless other examples of waste in a large complex project. Once the mindset of lean is established and culture set with the entire team and stakeholders, the internal work processes will minimize waste.
KEY ELEMENTS
The following are key elements for a successful project.
Value from a customer’s point of view. Depending on its complexity, a project’s magnitude of scope and the intended value creation for the company over time undergoes an initial financial modeling and review to ensure it delivers a return on investment (ROI). This is one of the most important factors that generates value for the company. However, once a project is financially approved, various indicators such as actual vs. committed spend, and cost and time tracking, among others, come into play. They should be monitored and controlled throughout the full course of the project. The controlling function should include time, cost, risk and change management. Usually, some contingencies are factored in to allow for unknowns and uncertainties. Unjustified overspending is always undesirable. Overspending exponentially increases the time it takes in for a project to reach an ROI. It is essential to proactively ensure a project is executed in a cost-conscious manner, including internal resources and the resulting spending. Cost consciousness is a mindset. The following are key considerations throughout any project’s lifecycle:
Pull system. The concept of pull vs. push comes from lean manufacturing, where each process step is broken down into discreet steps and then a pull or push is applied to get the best efficiency gains. Push is a traditional way where all the activities and communication are pushed to the next stage. An efficient push without friction depends on how seamless the processes are.
In pull assignments, the reverse happens. It may not be possible or difficult to deploy a pull assignment in a project’s lifecycle, but it may be possible within intermediate steps at various stages of a project, depending on the project’s complexity. Pull assignments are a communication concept. The pull workflow system enables a project team member to pull in a task when they are ready and when old tasks are completed. This prevents the team from feeling overloaded with a tasks list when pushed. For example, during the construction phase of a complex piping system, a pipefitter pulls information (e.g., isometric drawings) from a pull scheduler or a project coordinator for the job and the required materials from a material coordinator that are needed ahead of accomplishing the current task. A series of such activities reduces stress/friction in the workflow and the overall project lifecycle.
Communication and teamwork. An effective communication channel is required for successful project management. Periodic meetings and decisions made during those meetings should be recorded for future reference. A common platform or infrastructure related to document management should be deployed where all such information is easily accessible. This could be transmittals to different parties, and requests for proposals and drawings, among others.
Continuous improvement and lessons learned. There is always something new to learn from each project. Many companies conduct an end-of-project evaluation to understand what could have been done differently to achieve better results. The project manager should conduct a critique exercise, which includes brainstorming on issues faced during the project’s execution and documenting learnings. For example, could leaner project management during a phase in the project save time and money? These learnings should be recorded for future projects. A mindset of continuous improvement should be instilled in every project team member. This will ultimately lead to documenting best practices in project management. In addition, it would be wise to include other parties such as contractors, vendors and suppliers involved in the project. The key elements of continuous improvement include:
Tools for lean project management. Several tools have been developed for Lean and Six Sigma. Many of these tools and techniques were conceived and developed for manufacturing and business processes, and can be applied to project management and construction (FIG. 2). The two primary ones are the Deming Cycle and Lean Six Sigma.
Deming Cycle. The Deming Cycle is a model of continuous quality improvement that consists of a logical sequence of four key phases: plan, do, check and act (PDCA). This is a cyclical process that can be applied for several different projects. However, this approach takes time to implement and may be unsuitable for emergency situations.
Lean Six Sigma. Lean Six Sigma is a lean management tool to identify problems in workflow. This tool comprises steps like the Deming Cycle, but it also has useful methods of analysis, including the following:
These techniques have a similar logical framework; the success of these techniques is predicated by the fact that you get what you measure. Additional tools include flowcharts, run charts, Pareto charts, check sheets, cause-and-effect diagrams, opportunity flow diagrams and process control charts. Keep a critical balance here, and not overdo visuals that bring uncertain value.
Takeaways. Lean project management has become increasingly critical in today’s business environment. The COVID pandemic, inflation and supply chain issues require project management to adapt to the current business environment. Lean project management can be used to make project managers more dynamic, efficient and flexible. The key is to bring value to the customer by eliminating waste, improving quality, and minimizing defects and inventory. As projects progress, from initiation, planning, planning, procurement, construction and so on, making avoidable changes adds to the time and cost; hence, the initial phase of a project is supercritical. At its core, lean project management is a mindset, and the culture should be cultivated and maintained whether it is in the initial design phase or during construction. It is also directed at utilizing human resources to the fullest and avoiding over-specification of equipment and construction materials. Various tools and methodologies (e.g., value engineering, value stream mapping, workflow management) have been developed to implement lean project management. Lean project management adds value to the customer and helps engineering and construction companies become successful. HP
LITERATURE CITED
ASHIM PARMAR is the Head of Project Engineering at MilliporeSigma, an affiliate of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. He has 28 yr of experience in project management, operations and maintenance, reliability and greenfield startups. His primary responsibility is leading projects from the conceptual phase to successful completion. Parmar is focused on continuous improvement and passionate about the Internet of Things, machine-learning and automation with a value-added approach. He previously worked for Eastman Chemicals, International Flavors and Fragrances, Symrise Asia Pacific, Novartis and Pfizer Pharmaceuticals.
GOUTAM SHAHANI is a Sales and Marketing Consultant at Shure-Line Construction. He also teaches business and mathematics at area colleges. Shahani has 40 yr of experience in industrial marketing, business development and asset management at companies such as Air Products, Linde and Shure-Line Construction. Shahani earned BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering, as well as an MBA.