Skanska’s civil engineering business has begun delivery of a bespoke Lean Development Training Programme designed and delivered in conjunction with Rubicon Wigzell.
The ‘Focused Lean Improvement Techniques’ (FLITe) programme is mapped to Skanska’s operational efficiency strategy and aims to promote innovation and efficiency across the full range of operations. The programme is currently being rolled out to 180 engineering and management staff internally, as well as to clients, suppliers and joint venture partners across Skanska’s Civil Engineering Projects.
With early results designed-in to the eight day programme, it is already proving highly effective, not only in transferring knowledge and skills but also delivering improvement and cash savings along the way, as RW director Andrew Moore explains:
“We understand that when you are asking people to change the way they see and approach their work it can be important to win ‘hearts and minds’ and learning in the context of a live improvement project and seeing the results unfold helps to make the case for a sustained commitment to Lean.”
On the FLITe training programme, five days are spent introducing Lean tools and techniques in a hands-on way on a live site and the other three days are dedicated to the candidates delivering their own improvement projects over a three month period. Over the eight days of the programme, FLITe provides a solid introduction and case for Lean which aims to set participants and teams on their own improvement journeys with sustained, long term results. On the final day of the course the candidates commit to their next improvement project which is followed up by the Skanska improvement team.
Jonathan Morris, Business Strategy and Improvement Director for Skanska has welcomed the programme, commenting:
“The course is providing immediate benefits by generating savings from the improvement projects delivered within the training programme which far exceed the cost of providing the training itself. The training programme is an essential part of our operational efficiency strategy and directly supports our continuous improvement culture.”