Elevate takeoffs for faster bids and increased project success for FREE. See Details Here.

PlanHub’s Q2 Research Reveals Many Opportunities. Register for the Webinar and Learn More

What Is Lean Construction?

Construction Helmets

Lean construction methods were born out of processes used in the Toyota manufacturing facilities after World War II. The principles and techniques have been modified to meet the needs of construction project teams with great success. Projects using lean construction principles show improved quality, lower costs, and shorter schedules.

What is lean construction?

Lean construction is a team-oriented, collaborative approach to completing a construction project. It can be used successfully on projects of any type and size.
While not considered a construction business model, lean construction is a production management system that helps teams eliminate waste and deliver greater value to their clients. It started in manufacturing, with its birth in the Toyota Production System used in Toyota automotive manufacturing facilities after World War II. Only in the past few years has its success in construction been publicized.

Principals of lean construction

Not sure all the principles of lean manufacturing translate into the construction industry. In construction, every project is different and there are a number of environmental factors that can affect the outcome of a project. Manufacturing is a more controlled environment where the output is usually the same over time.
Some of the principles that do work in construction projects include identifying the owner’s values, eliminating waste, continuous planning, and improved communication.

Identifying owner’s value

Early in the project, the design team and contractors meet with the project owner to learn about the owner’s overall values and their needs and wants for the current project. These values, needs, and wants become the guiding principles for the project. All decisions are viewed through the owner’s eyes.
Contractors are brought on as early as possible so they can understand the owner’s perspective before design begins. The design team and the general contractor team collaborate to provide a quality design for the owner’s project.

Eliminating waste

On a construction project, waste can take many forms. It can include overproduction, unused inventory, construction defects, and the underutilizing or misusing of labor. Waste can lead to longer production times, lower profits, and lower quality projects. Any construction or design activities that don’t directly serve the owner’s values are seen as waste and are eliminated as much as possible.

Continuous planning

The construction team works together collaboratively to develop a project schedule that works for everyone. Team members are encouraged to think of new ways to perform their work to reduce waste and improve quality. The schedule is updated weekly with the input from all team members, and they work together to overcome obstacles to completion.

Improved communication

Communication can be difficult on large projects. The use of construction technology can help bridge the gap between meetings and between contractors. Project management software from PlanHub can be used to effectively communicate with team members and provide instant access to documents, drawings, and other information teams need to complete their work. Communication flows freely between team members, making the flow of information smoother and more efficient.

Benefits of lean construction

Achieve customer’s values

When all project team members are involved in the project from design to completion, all decisions are filtered through the lens of the customer’s values. Team members work together to ensure that the owner’s needs are met throughout the process.

Improved quality

With a focus on waste prevention, including construction defects, the result is improved quality of work. Subcontractors can focus on providing quality work when they are less worried about other issues, like schedule and costs.

Lower costs

Project teams can save money through less wasted work, defects, last-minute design changes, and construction delays. Using tools like BIM software and collaborative design can also help reduce costs.

Shorter schedule

Working together from the beginning allows teams to find new ways to work together and expedite production. Contractors can use pull planning, just-in-time deliveries, and thorough task planning and scheduling to reduce the time the project will take.

How to implement lean construction

There are a variety of tools teams can use to help implement lean construction principles to elevate construction business management.

Pull planning

Pull planning takes a traditional project scheduling process and makes it collaborative. It’s based on five key processes: collaborative programming, making ready, production planning, production management, and continuous improvement. Pull planning can be used to optimize the project schedule and save everyone time and money.

Just-in-time deliveries

Once the project schedule has been optimized, contractors can order materials on a just-in-time basis. This prevents stockpiling, saving time moving materials around the jobsite and making production more efficient.

BIM

Building information modeling (BIM) software allows the project team to build the project virtually before a shovel hits dirt. The software highlights problem areas and inconsistencies in the design, so the project team can address them proactively in the virtual world, where changes are much less expensive.

Prefabrication

This lean construction practice can significantly reduce the time required on-site to complete a project. Multiple scopes of work can be completed at the same time and be brought to the site for final assembly and connection. This method can be extremely beneficial on tight sites where there isn’t a lot of extra space for production and material storage.

Conclusion

Project teams that focus on the principles of lean construction will find their projects run smoother, have less conflicts, take less time, and that their customers are happy with the results. While implementing lean construction process principles isn’t complicated, it does take a mind shift to make the process work. Having the right contractors and subcontractors on your team, along with stellar general contractor software,  is the key to a great project. If you are a GC having trouble finding good subcontractors, PlanHub can help.

Be the first to know

PlanHub insights, resources, and news, sent directly to your inbox.

    planhub
    planhub icon

    Data and Deep Insights

    We make construction smarter by connecting with the right people, at the right time, for the right project.

    With our technology and data intelligence, we empower construction professionals to easily build the right business relationships, streamline pre construction processes, and make efficient decisions.

    From competitive intelligence in each project allowing you to know how many other contractors are downloading or bidding to insights as to contractors’ performance, we provide the data you need to lead your business to success.

    By providing faster, simpler, and unmatched data insights in each step of the pre construction process, PlanHub helps your business lay a strong foundation for the success of the rest of the construction process.

    planhub icon

    Bid Leveler & Proposal builder

    Comparing bids to one another has never been easier. Users can now see bids side by side, compare bid amounts, and review subcontractors’ certifications and qualifications all in one place.

    Bid Leveler’s apples-to-apples approach allows you to easily drill down and see detailed, easy-to-scan cost breakdowns. Indicate bid preference, hide bids that don’t meet your needs, and request needed information from subs.

    planhub icon

    Full Bid Management

    From the initial decision to pursue a project to the final bid submission and follow up, bid management plays a central role in pre construction.

    Effectively managed bids during the preconstruction phase set the stage for a successful project execution and satisfied clients.

    Streamline bid management from project posting to estimating, bidding, and awarding in one place with easy project posting, project-contractor automatic matching based on trades, location, and qualification with PlanHub.

    Use bid planner, bid builder, bid leveler, and award tools to always know what’s going on with each project and bid.

    planhub icon

    Estimation and TakeOff

    Let’s face it—time is money. And the more time it takes to perform takeoffs and submit bids, the more you risk losing out on valuable revenue opportunities. Manual methods and locally installed desktop software slow your takeoff process, and many digital solutions currently on the market can be overly complex and not user-friendly. 

    Build faster takeoffs, get more bids out the door, and win more projects. Forget pen and paper, outdated desktop software, and overly complicated digital takeoff solutions. PlanHub’s easy-to-use Takeoff tool helps you and your team build accurate takeoffs faster, minimize errors and material waste, and win more projects that boost your business growth. Performing your takeoffs with PlanHub allows you to:

    • Streamline and integrate your process: Perform your takeoffs in the same platform you use to manage your network and bids.
    • Avoid costly estimating errors: Get better accuracy with digital tools instead of traditional, mistake-prone pen and paper.
    • Collaborate easily: Share and work with your team, no matter where you—or they—are located.
    • Submit more bids and win more projects: Get quality bids in front of general contractors faster and get ahead of your competition.
    planhub
    planhub icon

    Document Management

    Organize, store, and manage various documents, blueprints, drawings and other information related to projects before the actual construction phase begins.

    This phase is crucial for setting the foundation of a successful construction project, and effective document management plays a significant role in ensuring that all necessary information is accessible, accurate, and up-to-date to all interested parties.

    Access, review, work on, and share large complex documents in one platform with amazing speed. From project definition, drawing management, takeoff, estimation, bid management, and contracts, everything happens in PlanHub.

    planhub crm
    planhub icon

    CRM

    Be part of a construction professionals’ ecosystem that enhances collaboration, streamlines project management, and fosters smart relationships between companies, construction professionals, and projects.

    Enjoy seamless communication, build strong relationships, and streamlines project management. By leveraging the power of connections and collaboration, we enhance efficiency, save time and resources, and drive collective growth in the industry.

    planhub network
    planhub icon

    1M+ pre-qualified network

    PlanHub is the leading platform that connects companies, construction professionals, and projects in the pre-construction industry, focusing on building and developing meaningful relationships to enhance efficiency and productivity.

    We have integrated general contractors, subcontractors, and material suppliers’ workflows in one platform to simplify the complex back and forth usually present in preconstruction. By allowing all interactions to be done through PlanHub, tracking projects and relationships is much easier, saving contractors and material suppliers time and money. Interactions in the platform are tagged and measured to provide insights to users.

    General contractors create bid packages that are shared in PlanHub as projects. They can include templatized lists of all CSI cost items as part of the new Baseline feature. Baseline allows for faster and more accurate bid requests, facilitates homogenization of subcontractors’ bids, and simplifies the comparison of incoming bids.

    Subcontractors are automatically matched with relevant projects based on their profile, preferences, and pre-qualification information saving hours of research to both sides. They can review project details, documentation, and blueprints.

    planhub icon

    High-quality projects

    Your one-stop job for qualified hard-to-find private project leads in varying stages like pre-planning, bidding, etc., and across different geographies, zip codes, or distance to your office.

    Projects include plans, specifications, bid dates, and other relevant project information.

    You can segment project leads by type of project, status, project building use, trades and sub trades, or create your own list of keywords — and be notified when one of them is found in a posted project’s documentation or plans.

    We make it simple to find projects that match your business — and make sure you are notified right away.

    				
    					<script src='https://planhub.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js' id='jquery-core-js'></script>
    <script charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript" src="//js.hsforms.net/forms/embed/v2.js"></script>
    <script>
      hbspt.forms.create({
        region: "na1",
        portalId: "7063061",
        formId: "ced7254f-5c61-49b9-9ce0-6f870b79a958"
      });
    </script>
    				
    			

    Get the report!

    From the very beginning, PlanHub has been a place where people can do meaningful work and build strong relationships.

    Come grow with us! We’re building innovative technologies that simplify preconstruction for everyone.

    Expand your network and connect with general contractors, subcontractors, owners, architects, and suppliers – not to mention thousands of relevant projects at your fingertips.

    Generate relevant leads, faster and with precision. With access to private, hard-to-find projects, you can connect with architects and owners on projects still in the pre-design and design stages.

    PlanHub’s advanced suite of bid management tools allows you to increase productivity, identify relevant projects using data, build bids with Takeoff, and manage bids through the entire process.

    Create quicker, improved takeoffs effortlessly. PlanHub’s Takeoff Core aids your team in accurate, faster estimates, minimizing errors, and driving business growth.

    Expand your network and connect with general contractors, subcontractors, owners, architects, and suppliers – not to mention thousands of relevant projects at your fingertips.

    Generate relevant leads, faster and with precision. With access to private, hard-to-find projects, you can connect with architects and owners on projects still in the pre-design and design stages.

    PlanHub’s advanced suite of bid management tools allows you to increase productivity, identify relevant projects using data, build bids with Takeoff, and manage bids through the entire process.