Earlier this year, I was honored to be asked by AGC to share my Lean Construction journey with the readers of Constructor Magazine. They asked me to share how we can work together to improve our industry. In keeping that discussion alive, I’m sharing those insights with our The Lean Builder community in this blog post, The Lean Revolution.
The Lean Revolution
I began my Lean Construction journey almost 20 years ago. I was working on a multiphase project, and we fell behind schedule in the first phase. Our team worked 70 days straight to meet the schedule and bring the project across the CO finish line. I got praise from my project manager, an “attaboy” from the client executive, and acknowledgment at a company picnic.
But I vividly remember thinking: I am not cut out for the construction business.
As we entered the project’s second phase, I pored over anything I could find about Lean and the Last Planner System® and started implementing what I learned. The second phase went much smoother. We completed on time with little overtime and much higher team morale.
With this success, it was interesting to see the lack of attention or praise I received—no phone calls, no executive reach outs. I wondered: Why do we praise firefighting in our industry? Why do we wear our long hours as a badge of honor, bragging about missed ball games or recitals, skipped birthday parties or anniversaries, and how little vacation we take?
After that second phase, I remember thinking that I AM cut out for this business—but it needed to change, and I was going to do everything in my power to help bring that change to how we work and think.
Years later, on a flight to Lean Construction Institute’s Annual Congress, I was seated beside my good friend and former colleague, Joe Donarumo. Our conversation turned to the challenges of implementing Lean culture and practices in the field and our frustration with the absence of practical publications written for field leaders by actual practitioners.
That’s when we resolved to fill the gap. Thus, our book, The Lean Builder—A Builder’s Guide to Applying Lean Tools in the Field, was conceived. The book has been well received, has sold over 20,000 copies, and won a Shingo Publication Award. More importantly, it has helped many in our industry who are burnt out from working 60+ hours a week, empowering them to create more value in their work.
In the last ten years, online education has become increasingly popular, especially microlearning (an approach to learning that involves delivering bite-sized, focused content to learners for quick absorption and application). The COVID-19 pandemic made it even more common, especially for people looking to advance their careers who don’t have the time or resources for in-person training or degree programs.
The Lean Builder Master Class
For this reason, Joe and I created The Lean Builder Master Class, which contains 4.5 hours of content across 47 videos, drawing from the insights of our book. The series offers a flexible, self-paced learning experience, allowing field leaders to delve deep into Lean Construction principles at their own pace. Each video lesson is crafted to provide practical insights and actionable strategies that can immediately be applied.
Field leaders will find an easy blueprint to improve project delivery through modules on daily huddles, visual communication, The Last Planner System®, pull planning, look-ahead planning, percent plan complete, and the Eight Wastes. We hope that those who take the Master Class will learn:
- Cultural Transformation: How to instill a Lean culture on the jobsite, fostering a mindset of trust, accountability, and mutual respect.
- Lean Principles in Construction: How Lean can streamline operations and reduce project waste.
- Visual Communication Tools: How visual project management tools can enhance communication, decision-making, and problem-solving on the jobsite.
- Pull Planning and Last Planner System: How Lean scheduling techniques enhance coordination, maximize collaboration, increase predictability, and reduce delays.
In an industry that leads with rates of cardiovascular disease, substance abuse, divorce, and—worse—mental health issues, including disproportionately high rates of suicide, we must do better for our people.
Through Lean, we must give our field leaders a system for aligning everybody so they can add the most value to the jobsite and in their personal lives.
To learn more and watch a few lessons, visit: www.theleanbuilder.com/masterclass. discount.
Keyan Zandy, Skiles Group
Keyan is a longtime Lean enthusiast and advocate with a curiosity for how Lean processes and tools can improve teambuilding and teamwork in construction. As Skiles Group’s CEO, Keyan is responsible for driving corporate growth and guiding the company’s strategic direction while maintaining a dual focus on client service and nurturing a progressive company culture. With an emphasis on technological advancement, continuous improvement, and innovation in construction, Keyan shepherds the firm’s commitment to improving project delivery processes via Lean Construction and Lean project planning initiatives. He is the co-author of The Lean Builder: A Builder’s Guide to Applying Lean Tools in the Field, which simplifies and clearly articulates the benefits of seven primary Lean concepts, and delivers them in a highly-relatable, immediately-applicable, and field-friendly manner. Keyan also serves as Chairman for Smart Safety, an award-winning crisis management communication and emergency response tool.
