27-28 April 2009 | Vught, the Netherlands

The ENCORD Lean Construction Management Workshop was held on 27-28 April 2009 in Vught, The Netherlands and was organised by Richard Bufferfield of Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Services and Ger Maas of Royal BAM Group. 34 participants from Balfour Beatty, Ballast Nedam Infra, CCC, Ferrovial, Hochtief, Royal BAM Group, Vinci/Vinci Construction, YIT Corporation and Züblin/ENCORD as well as from Arpa Bouw and University of Technology of Eindhoven attended the workshop.
The first ENCORD workshop on Lean Construction Management in 2007 (Copenhagen) offered an introduction. The second ENCORD workshop on Lean Construction Management in 2008 (London) focussed on the value creation. This third ENCORD workshop on Lean Construction Management provided a guide to an approach of Lean Construction Management by sharing examples from implemented construction projects, putting a focus on the operational side of the topic. This also seemed even more essential with the backdrop of the current European (and global) economic crisis, in which “Lean Construction Management” as a toolbox of various approaches and methods is a possible way of improving efficiency to meet constrained budgets – ‘getting the same for less’.

Hosted by: Balfour Beatty, 17-18 March 2008, in London

Organised by Balfour Beatty, the 2nd workshop focussed on the implementation of lean principles. The main topics were policy deployment and process mapping and modelling. The members had the chance to hear invited speakers and discuss their own Lean Construction experience with them. Existing tools were discussed and demonstrated in a working session using a hands-on example.

Hosted by: NCC, 5-6 March 2007, in Copenhagen

Lean techniques provide the one feasible way to cut costs while also shortening production lead times and time-to-market, improving quality and providing customers with exactly what they want precisely when they want it. They also make it possible to design, order, produce and deliver goods at smaller production scales by means of dedicated product teams, without paying a scale or investment-cost penalty. The aim of this ENCORD workshop was to present different approaches to Lean Construction and to enable ENCORD members to share their experiences and to form a common base for further development within this field. Interest levels were very high, and the approx. 30 participants agreed that this workshop will be continued in the near future.