 Reforming Project Management |
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Thursday, September 09, 2004
Let's Hear a Big "Woo Hoo" for OSHA
Here's the draft Notice of VPPC program. Go here to leave a comment for OSHA. I need to spend more time reading through the proposal before I offer my comments. I'll share those here at the same time I send them to OSHA. In the meantime, I urge you to read the draft document and send your comments to OSHA. The VPPC is perhaps the most important initiative OSHA has taken for the construction industry in the last 10 years. OSHA put it this way in the draft document: "In calendar year 2002, construction companies accounted for an estimated six percent of total private sector employment, but almost nine percent of total work-related recordable injuries and illnesses. There were 1,121 work-related fatalities involving construction work, more than 20 percent of the private sector's 5,524 fatalities reported during that year." I will comment on the program proposal in more detail over the next weeks. Please join me in getting behind this important initiative. Based on the success of VPP in other industries the VPPC is sure to make a significant contribution to the safety of our friends and colleagues. Read Safety Everyday's construction safety in the news sideblog. Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Project e-Tip: Take the Time to Plan Outcomes before Activity
I've been attending many project meetings lately. They all had one thing in common. People spoke about what they would be doing without talking about what that would accomplish. Planning starts with the promises you make. Once you get clear about what you will accomplish, then what you do becomes clear.
Let's hear from you. Send me your tips on project management. Monday, September 06, 2004
Learn from the LPS® Innovators
The Last Planner System® is routinely delivering projects on time and on budget. Want to know how? That will have to wait for another posting. But for today, I'll introduce you to Glenn Ballard and Greg Howell, the creators of the Last Planner System. They authored a 13-page paper for IGLC-11 sharing the current state of the approach and the open issues, An Update on the Last Planner.
Emphasize learning (changes in PPC) rather than absolute values of PPC. Throughout the years the authors and innovators have made numerous distinctions about projects that orient us to a new paradigm of project management. One important set of distinctions is how they view work structuring and project schedules. "(S)chedules are products of work structuring that specify goals and the handoffs between specialists required to achieve those goals. Production control has the job of achieving those handoffs or initiating replanning should that prove infeasible." Glenn and Greg are not speaking about structuring projects through the contracting process. They are pointing to answering the question, "How will we do this work with each other?" The authors made five recommendations:
And they posed five questions:
I am someone who helps teams adopt the LPS on their projects. So often people want to just use the six-week look-ahead plan and the weekly work plan. They think they are just using a different set of planning forms. The authors use this paper to show how the whole of the project planning and control approach changes. They also do something more important. They invite each of us to join them in research from the field as you use the last planner system on your projects. Want to learn from those who are already using the LPS? Join Glenn, Greg, and a group of practitioners in Park City, UT, September 14- 17, for the Sixth Annual Lean Construction Congress. The Last Planner System™ (LPS) is a trademark of the Lean Construction Institute. The LPS is free for use. Join other users of the LPS at Planner2Planner. Visit the Archives for more postings |
 Reference Papers
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