An EPCM contractor once convinced me to use Lean principles as a core strategy for a capital project
The project started in 2016 when LEAN was the latest management tool being pushed by consultants
The goal of LEAN is to eliminate waste (the non-value-added components in a process). In this case the engineering, procurement and construction of a new process plant
It started off well with a workshop explaining lean principles to the team and brainstorming ways to use them
However during the heat of implementation it was very rarely demonstrated and eventually dropped by the EPCM contractor
If anything it drove the design team to take shortcuts and provide an incomplete design which then had to be reactively and inefficiently sorted out on site (more hassle for site managers)
