Contractors that embrace lean construction principles in the name of reducing waste and enhancing value often discover other facets of their operations that are ripe for improvement. By using lean’s emphasis on a company’s cultural mind-set to gain insights into not only the “hows” but also the “whys” of a process, contractors can uncover better ideas for doing things that might otherwise never have been considered.
Vogel Bros. Building Co., Madison, Wis., is among the firms that believe safety is one of those improvements. If lean is about increasing value for customers, then internal customers—employees—merit the same level of attention as those the company serves, suggests Mark Rounds, Vogel’s vice president of corporate development.