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What is Visual Management in terms of Lean Construction?
Visual Management is a core principle of the Lean methodology, designed to enhance communication and efficiency in construction projects. It uses visual tools to simplify complex processes, making critical information accessible at a glance.
‘Good Visual Management, needs no interpretation and always provokes the correct reaction’
In Lean Construction, Visual Management helps teams to track progress, identify bottlenecks, and improve workflows. By implementing visual cues such as control boards and dashboards, with a structured problem solving approach, teams can quickly assess the project or business status, ensuring alignment with goals, budgets and timelines.
Why Visual Management is Critical for a Lean and more Efficient Project
Enhancing Safety and Quality
Safety and quality are non-negotiable in construction. Visual Management tools, such as safety boards and quality control charts, provide immediate visibility of potential hazards and quality concerns.
For example, in road and rail construction, colour-coded signage and real-time tracking dashboards alert teams to safety risks before they escalate. Implementing Lean Visual Management improves compliance and reduces accidents by reinforcing safety protocols.
Improving Delivery and Cost Efficiency
Lean Visual Management ensures projects stay within budget by minimising waste and optimising resource allocation. Tools like cell boards and control rooms provide real-time cost tracking, allowing project managers to make data-driven decisions and avoid financial overruns.
If we combine Collaborative Planning and Visual Management, then this integrated approach will help construction firms deliver faster, safer and more cost effective projects.
Key Tools in Lean Visual Management
Lean Visual Management Systems
A well-structured Lean Visual Management system converts raw data into actionable insights. Control boards, digital dashboards, and real-time monitoring tools help project teams streamline operations and enhance productivity.
Using structured systems, decision-makers can track project milestones, resource allocation, and workflow bottlenecks in real time, reducing downtime and improving efficiency.
Lean Visual Management Tools
Customised tools such as milestone trackers, process flow diagrams, and performance heat-maps are essential in Lean projects. These tools enable teams to align their efforts with project objectives while maintaining transparency with stakeholders.
At Rubicon Wigzell, we specialise in developing bespoke Visual Management rooms (in conjunction with our digital partner Ascentai) tailored to our clients project and business needs. Our solutions, using the latest technology and improvement thinking, drive productivity, collaboration and performance improvement.
Industry Sectors
Buildings
Water
Energy
Road
Rail
Communications
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Lean Visual Management in Action
Successful Applications in Construction
Our Lean Visual Management rooms have been successfully implemented across various sectors, including energy, roads, commercial buildings, and nuclear projects and even the 2012 Olympics.
For example, in the roads sector, visual tracking dashboards have improved coordination between teams, reducing downtime and maximising efficiency. In commercial buildings, colour-coded control boards have enhanced project oversight, ensuring streamlined execution at project level but also on a floor-by-floor basis, on the olympics, we installed Visual Management to enhance on-site logistics, allowing different sub-contract teams to work safely and efficiently in close proximity to each other.
These applications showcase the power of Lean Visual Management in improving collaboration and project efficiency.
Frequently Asked Questions
What our recent customers have asked.
Visual Management simplifies complex data, it allows a user to understand the status of a process, project or business in a matter of seconds (think of a car dashboard or a flight departures board or indeed a McDonalds drive-thru menu), Visual Management transforms data into actionable insights and allows for rapid decision making. It enhances workflow transparency and ensures teams stay aligned with project and business goals.
It improves collaboration, ensures real-time tracking of key project metrics, and enhances safety, quality, and cost efficiency.
Common tools include control and display boards, cell boards, and digital dashboards, specific colours that trigger auto-responses, maps, displays, each tailored to specific project needs.
Yes, Lean Visual Management is highly adaptable. We can offer bespoke project-business solutions and also sector-specific solutions for industries such as road, energy, rail, and commercial building projects and businesses.
Call us for a consultation, and we’ll design a system that aligns with your project and business requirements, ensuring seamless implementation and long-term success.