Page 17 - REI Corporate Newsletter_Q1 2018

The project team is consistently vigilant on expended (for material and craft man-hours); and the
material and system waste due to oversizing, over proper sizing of systems in context to the lifespan
specifying, or incorrect design. This is viewed as and use of the building. We are going to set the
the low-hanging fruit. Some may cynically say that system sizing for another day and focus on the COW.
contractors optimize solely for their cost benefit,
which is not true. LEAN is one of our most effective We undertook a new process for fully integrating
ways to combat a lack of construction resources. constructibility into design on a recent project
LEAN such as UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in San ah-ha moment was our teams use of earliest
at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The
Outside of an alternate form of delivery projects,
responsible time where we had the ability to make
Francisco where the design and the construction
team share risk and reward, broaching that design
a durable decision. Clients will often speak about
the last responsible moment for a decision to take
and construction barrier is tough.
AND THE The contracting tradition places the project designers place. While useful for deliberations or to counter
disorganization, this can lead to compression of
trailing tasks or Un-LEAN default decision making.
and the constructors in opposition. We are missing a
great opportunity to “Ultimate-LEAN” the work (LEAN
DESIGN+BUILD The Designers and Builders are not placed in a the construction targets are not complete as of yet.
that crosses ancient prejudices and boundaries).
We recently finished the design at LAX, so some of
position to LEAN the cost-of-work (COW) in most
But, by flipping the script and integrating the field at
projects. What is traditionally missed is the overlay
the beginning of design, here’s what happened:
and synchronization of the installation to the design
CONSTRUCT in the design model. If you have been around for • Design cost for the work was reduced by 32%.
• Branch circuit wiring was reduced by 8%.
longer than a cup of coffee on any job, you will hear,
“That’s the contractor’s responsibility,” or, “That’s the
• Prefabrication increased substantially over
field or engineer’s problem.” What everyone fails
minimum targets (this is still playing out but
to realize is that the overall cost of the project and
the schedule to deliver the project is everyone’s we have found dozens of other opportunities
that we may not have seen if examined post
problem. permit).
By Bill Mazzetti, Senior VP of Engineering • Design essentially equals the expected
As LEAN processes seek to eliminate waste, installation (providing a very sharp cost
Ultimate-LEAN should have the focus of lowering the estimate from the permit submittal).
LEAN is a lifestyle. It means total cost of installation and speeding the delivery • Coordination between trades and specialty
different things to the various of the work. To that end, we need to be bold rather equipment was nearly perfect, eliminating
rework and errors.
than tactical. Most forget that a shorter schedule
parties and phases in the design offers substantial savings in general condition costs • Design schedule for permit submittal was
and construction effort. The core in the context of similar scopes of work. Assuming beaten by 10 days.
of LEAN is the elimination of that project acceleration will prudently use craft
waste and the optimization of the labor overtime, we are now faced with providing the The moral here is do not be afraid to get your builder
involved in the earlier stages with the designers. The
most efficient installation that will lower the COW.
work. Pre-Construction (PreCon) In reference, craft labor is one of the highest risks builders are not there to change the design, they are
is the time of the project where any project team faces on a project. While fees, there to make your design as efficient as possible.
scope is not completely defined; contingency or FFE, might be the sizzle; the steak in Applying LEAN principals at the PreCon stage allows
we are still conceiving, a project’s delivery is the COW. for preloading of efficiencies into the project that will
designing, and setting the There are two basic ways to positively affect not have to be wrought out during the installation
modeling and construction phase of the work.
job up. That does not the COW: coordination and optimization of the
mean that PreCon installation resulting in the lowest installed cost
lacks opportunity for
LEAN gains.

16 The Feeder | Q1 2018 Q1 2018 | The Feeder 17