The Power of People and Culture

Last week, we explored the challenges plaguing the offsite construction industry. While the specific triggers for company failures can vary, my experience reveals a consistent pattern. Many problems stem from a critical disconnect: The inability to translate manufacturing concepts into practical workflows and actions.

This disconnect fosters a reactive environment, leading to firefighting and “sticking plaster" solutions, which tigger rework and delays, increasing costs and throttling cashflow. This series of reactive solutions creates a phenomenon I call "process debt." Just like any debt, process debt accumulates over time as companies prioritise pushing projects through over establishing efficient workflows. The more companies rely on "sticking plaster" solutions, the greater the process debt becomes. This cycle of rework, delays, and ineffective solutions perpetuates, eroding trust and creating a reputation for unreliability. The offsite construction industry, battered by a series of bad news, is suffering from a lack of confidence – both internally and among potential customers.

I went on to speak about the need for a clear and well-defined plan and finished on the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady progress often trumps a hasty approach. We need to shift gears from the "hare" mentality to the "tortoise" approach. By creating actionable plans rooted in Lean principles and efficient workflows, we can demonstrate expertise, build trust, and deliver to our customers. However, there is one step that needs to be considered and understood first.

The importance of culture

A diagram of the three pillar Toyota house of Lean management. [1]

The Lean house visual is often used to demonstrate Lean principles and the hierarchy of importance, like with any building that starts with its foundations. In Lean implementation, culture is the foundation. The most meticulous planning won't succeed if people don't believe in the plan and understand its purpose. Core ideas like pull flows and pausing production to solve problems won't be effective if workers react to difficulties by reverting to bad habits under pressure to keep things moving. Therefore, addressing this foundation is crucial, long-term planning must be prioritise over short-term shortcuts, and the company leadership must be involved, willing to adapt and learn, and lead by example through their actions and decisions.

Once a company chooses to adopt this approach the first step to consider is training, I’ve often joked that I’d value £100,000 training budget more than a £100 million investment in automation and plant. Empowered and skilled people can achieve more than idle machines waiting for materials and information, or worse, overproducing parts that then sit unused until downstream processes are ready. Therefore, even as a company develops its plan, it can begin the coaching and learning process.

At Lighthouse, we trained all our production supervisors and manufacturing engineers as Lean practitioners, alongside members of our design, procurement, and project management teams, with attendees ranging from directors to apprentices. It will always be a source of pride of to see the buy-in and enthusiasm from those on the training after a year advocating for the implementation. The icing on the cake? While our senior team worked on the value steam mapping project and business processes, the Lean teams delivered immediate improvements that exceeded the training’s cost.

However, fostering a culture of continuous improvement requires more than just training. We need to address specific aspects of company culture that might hinder progress. Hierarchies that discourage information flow and employee participation, or a fear of failure that stifles innovation, can all impede Lean implementation. Crucially, Leadership must actively foster a culture of trust. Empowered employees who feel valued are more likely to contribute ideas, take ownership, and strive for continuous improvement.

Planning for Success: Tools for a Culture of Continuous Improvement

Lean also provides powerful planning tools to ensure your team is working towards shared goals. Such as Hoshin Kanri, a strategic planning process that helps companies translate their vision into actionable steps at every level. This approach, combined with a strong foundation of trust and continuous improvement, empowers teams and unites the company towards achieving its strategic goals. I’ll talk through Hoshin Planning in a later blog after discussing a couple more of the key portions of the Lean House next week, including the value stream and waste.

[1] FEKETE, M. and HULVEJ, J. (2014) Lean management as a house from the past to the present. Comenius Management Review. (8) 2. p.5-16.