The Lean Builder: A Builder's Guide to Applying Lean Tools in the Field

by Joe Donarumo, Keyan Zandy

Sam Brooks, a young superintendent with ProCon Builders, has been given responsibility for the largest and most complicated project of his career. He struggles with all of the common difficulties in construction — lack of communication, coordination issues, and other kinds of wasteful occurrences that rob his project of time and money, while leaving him and his team frustrated and overworked. Luckily, his friend, mentor, and co-worker, Alan Phillips, brings the benefit of his experience and his knowledge of Lean Construction tools and processes to help Sam learn valuable skills for improving the operation of his project. Together, Sam and Alan discuss the merits and explore the practical applications Daily Huddles Visual Communication The “Eight Wastes” Managing Constraints Pull Planning The Last Planner System™ Percent Plan Complete

Genres: Nonfiction

248 pages, Paperback

Published August 16, 2019

Reviews

[Sindre Dyngen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I changed my job from Lean in the office to Lean in construction and this was a great pick up for me, as I did not have any experience from before and could only rely on what other people told me.

During my firsts months in construction I was placed in charge of implementing a planning board and I could more and more relate to what was written in the text.
I could also learn what was "normal" in the construction world and how it could be

The book is also an easy read, written in a story telling mode which I personally find refreshing

The only critique I would raise is that I would have liked more templates/photos/examples of the boards they used to study them in detail

[Hunter Radecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Audiobook]
Great parable on Lean construction management practices.

Though I found it a little corny at times, this style was a refreshing change up to what is typically a list of rules to live by. Some takeaways here include ‘sharpening your axe’ - taking pause to review your processes, refreshing your energy, and recalibrating that effort - and to selflessly communicate. Even for the conniving businessman, it is usually in their best interest to do what’s best for the collective (in the long run), and we see that to be true especially in large scale, cross-functional, collaborative projects.

Systems work best when the flow of information is unobstructed

[Shasta Langenbacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique way to introduce construction concepts to people who live a daily grind to meet schedule requirements.

[jaime]

a little cheesy but pretty informative and easy to read!

[Sam Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This believe this book achieves exactly what it set out to do. It gives a fantastic intro to common Lean practices and principles in an extremely simple way. It is written in a way so that even those without great reading comprehension can understand the message- a necessity for many in the industry. I want to lend my copy to everyone at my job site.

By no means will you become an expert at Lean Construction after reading this book. However, it is a great intro and its genius is its simplicity. It is oversimplified in the best way. There are many other ways to study and practice lean construction methods. However, if job sites all over the world would follow the book’s blueprint, construction would be a much more productive, safe, and friendly place to work.

[Steve Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our construction company is on our lean journey to a more effective way of leading our construction projects. I am a heavily involved in helping our company understand and learn the best practices of lean construction, and I often struggle with putting the lean concepts in graspable terms. This book is the first time someone has successfully aligned the concepts with the real world of construction in the field. It really speaks to our world.