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It's that time of year again. I'm attending the Lean Construction Congress in San Francisco. This is the 9th annual event. As usual, the focus is on companies who have adopted lean approaches for delivering AEC projects. The morning presentations have been great. Company presenters are doing a fine job speaking about the benefits they are getting and how the lean approaches and principles cause that to happen.

Becoming lean and being evermore lean is fundamentally about learning, not about lean.

It's a little early in the two days to be saying this, but what the heck… Herrero Contractors, not yet three years into their lean transformation, is the most advanced lean contractor in the US.¹ Herrero understands that becoming lean and being evermore lean is fundamentally about learning, not about lean. They seem to be learning everywhere and everyday.

How is Herrero doing it? First, they are using the Last Planner System®² on all their projects.

Second, they are taking the time to train their staff. Every staff member has been trained by the company president to make and secure reliable promises. They are systematically taking all their staff through study action teams using The Toyota Way, by Jeffrey Liker. And they are coaching every team everyday for the first six weeks of their project.

How is this paying off? Herrero is getting their projects done on-time or early AND at or below budget. And their safety record is the best it's been. These are the same results every firm gets from a lean construction approach. Herrero is just pursuing lean more aggressively.

1. Full disclosure, they used to be our client. A year ago they hired away one of our staff members to be their Director of Learning…not Director of Lean. [ ⇑ back ]
2. The Last Planner System is a registered trademark of the Lean Construction Institute. It is a project planning and execution approach that brings high reliability to the completion of work without the usual waste. [ ⇑ back ]