Lean Construction
If you walk onto the floor of almost any factory, you’re likely to see lean practices in place that improve efficiency and productivity in operations. These practices have spread to many other industries beyond just manufacturing, and they’ve had a significant effect on many organizations. Unfortunately, the construction industry had been mostly untouched by these practices and has even become less productive each year since as early as the 1970s. More complicated building systems and a workforce that is losing more experienced professionals each year to retirement exacerbates the issue, combined with several other factors. The industry needs systems to encourage face-to-face collaboration and knowledge-sharing. It’s time to bring joy back to our job sites.
Construction Production 2.0
Our approach to lean construction is called Construction Production 2.0. CP 2.0 is a low-tech, highly visual system that utilizes a large gridded planning board and Post-It® notes in conjunction with purposeful meetings and culture-building tools. This system has been used on every Story Construction project since 2014, and is used in some form throughout the company, from design and preconstruction to marketing and accounting. Each Story job site has a trailer used specifically for this system.
For Owners
Ultimately this system impacts an owner’s bottom line by providing a predictable and reliable environment for subcontractors and suppliers, positively impacting the planning and performance of the work being done.
For Employees
Elements of Construction Production 2.0 include important pieces of professional development for Story employees.
We utilize Construction Kata and continuous improvement methods to maximize learning opportunities for employees at all levels of the company.
For Partners
Joyful job sites mean project partners can do their work without sifting through bad or missing information.
Construction Production 2.0’s rhythm of team meetings, information status sessions and MakeCertain! tasks make this a reality on Story’s projects.
The Story Way
While the systems and tools continue to evolve, we’ve expanded our focus to the culture and behaviors that enable success on our projects: respect, trust, collaboration, and teamwork. We believe that in order to continue to move forward as a company and an industry, we need to foster a culture of scientific thinking created from fearless participation that is guided by facilitative leadership. This collection of routines, processes, and guiding principles is what we refer to as The Story Way.
