Energy management and automation company Schneider Electric plans to extend its use of "lean thinking" and methodologies to construction practices, projects and business relationships; the company has joined the US Lean Construction Institute (LCI) as a corporate member and will work with other like-minded companies to improve the efficiency and productivity of the built environment. Lean thinking has already helped Schneider Electric eliminate waste and streamline operations at its manufacturing plants, the company says.
In joining LCI, Schneider Electric hopes to bring further value to customer projects. For example, the lean approach to construction is critical to Schneider Electric’s work with Penn Medicine on designing and building a new state-of-the-art pavilion featuring smart building technology for power and building management systems for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. As part of the far-reaching project, Schneider Electric is helping to supply much of the electrical infrastructure and equipment needs on an ongoing basis.
Because much of the building technology required by Penn Medicine spans disciplines and departments, the project requires a lean approach, including collaboration across the silos within organizations, specifications and technologies. This is one of the largest projects on the East Coast to design and build through a "Lean Integrated Project Delivery" (IPD) approach. In a traditional design and construction approach, each firm works on their respective project role and scope separately and linearly. With IPD, the team works side by side from the beginning of the design process. With incentive through a shared profit model, the resulting collaboration saves time and money through innovation and solves challenges in real time, Schneider Electric says.
Founded in 1997, LCI seeks to improve the Construction and Design industries through promoting lean approaches to project design and delivery, focused on improving efficiency across the entire construction industry.
Lean methods seek to develop and manage a project through relationships, shared knowledge and common goals. Traditional silos of knowledge, work and effort are broken down and reorganized for the betterment of the project rather than of individual participants. Through these approaches, construction companies can improve their ability to deliver projects on time and on budget, as well as ensuring worker safety, LCI says.
