The foundation of Lean Construction and Lean thinking is the elimination of everything that does not add value to products and processes. This seems at face value to be a "truism." I define a truism as something that is so obvious in practicality that it cannot be disputed. An example of a truism that we can all relate to is " A crew cannot complete an installation 100 percent unless they have 100 percent of the materials necessary to complete:" This statement is impossible to refute with any sincerity; however, the same cannot be said of the first statement concerning the elimination of everything that does not add value.

In fact there are numerous arguments that may spring to mind immediately to this proposition and many arguments can be found in the worldwide, ongoing discussion concerning lean thinking. I believe the root of these arguments is the understanding of the word "value." This is word that is used often in daily life and yet , as with many words we use, we find the exact definition to be somewhat elusive. We can look it up in the dictionary and find a clear cut definition such as this one from Webster's Dictionary:

1: a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged

2: the monetary worth of something

3: relative worth, utility, or importance <a good value at the price> <the value of base stealing in baseball> <had nothing of value to say>

4: a numerical quantity that is assigned or is determined by calculation or measurement <let x take on positive values> <a value for the age of the earth>

5: the relative duration of a musical note

6 a : relative lightness or darkness of a color : luminosity b : the relation of one part in a picture to another with respect to lightness and darkness

7: something (as a principle or quality) intrinsically valuable or desirable  

Of course that can be a little misleading also because here are listed seven possible definitions and many of them differ greatly and these do not include the verb and other uses of the term.

One of the great difficulties in the English language is our propensity to use the same word for many different meanings. The problem with this is that only the person using the word truly understands what the word is intended to mean. The person that is hearing or reading the word may place a completely different interpretation on it and therefore change completely the message.

In the next few segments of the blog we are going to explore the word value as it relates to lean thinking and hopefully when we are done we can come to an agreement on what it means to eliminate everything that does not add value to products and processes.

I encourage your help with this exploration by adding your comments and thoughts concerning value.

Thank you,

Ted "Smitty" Smith

Director of Education and Loss Prevention

E Light Electric Services

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The underlying principal of lean thought is to eliminate anything that does not add value to your product. A colleague recently asked me “What does lean mean?” He had been asking this question to several employees in order to determine their perceptions of lean. He summed up their answers as having to do with eliminating waste. Eliminating waste is certainly a goal of lean but it is not the underlying thought. Simply eliminating waste is something far to subjective to be beneficial from a practical stand point. A process may be viewed as waste by one department but essential by another. The primary difference between the viewpoints being the value placed on the process by each department.

What is value becomes the important question. In the next few installments we will explore the concept of value and how to apply the concepts to analyzing process and products.

Value can only be defined by the ultimate customer. And it is only meaningful when expressed in terms of a specific product which meets the customer’s needs at a specific price at a specific time.

Value is created by the contractor. From the customer’s point of view, this is why contractors exist. Yet for a host of reasons value is very hard for contractors to accurately define. We often spend enormous resources and time attempting to defining value based on our perception as a contractor. In fact this is something that is common in all aspects of business. Manufacturing often spends more money on convincing the purchasing public that their product is what they need than they do on trying to determine what the purchasing public really values.

As a contractor we need to determine what our customer values and then develop our products and our processes in a way that provides that value. From this starting point we can then evaluate everything we do and eliminate anything that does add to this value.

We can apply this thought to our processes internally also. We all have more than one “customer.” Everyone for whom we provide information or product within our organization is our “customer.” Prefab produces products for the field superintendents. In this case the field superintendent is the “customer” of the prefab shop. The prefab shop will create a value for the product and no doubt they will consider the product very valuable. The field superintendent will determine if the product is valuable based on if it met their needs, fulfilled their expectations and added value to their overall product. If it did not provide value in these areas, then no matter how valuable prefab believed the product to be, it will hold little true value as defined by the customer.

We will continue to explore the concept of value in future installments. In the mean time you can start by identifying who are your customers and what do you supply for them? Then ask yourself if what you are supplying is valuable because you think it is or because they find it valuable?

Thank you,

Ted “Smitty” Smith

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Here is a summary of the CALOSHA new requirements for employees working outdoors in high temperatures. This can also be used by Federal OSHA as a guideline, so implementation outside of California is a good idea also.

OSHA REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK OUTDOORS IN HIGH HEAT ENVIRONMENTS

2012

(A) Definitions:

“Acclimatization” means temporary adaption of the body to work in the heat that occurs gradually when a person is exposed to it. Acclimatization peaks in most people within four to fourteen days of regular work for at least two hours per day in the heat.

“Heat Illness” means a serious medical condition resulting from the body’s inability to cope with a particular hear load, and includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope and heat stroke.

“Environmental risk factors for heat illness” means working conditions that create the possibility that heat illness could occur, including air temperature, relative humidity, radiant heat from the run and other sources, conductive hear sources such as the ground, air movement, workload and severity and duration, protective clothing and personal protective equipment worm by employees.

“Landscaping” means providing landscape care and maintenance services and/or installing trees, shrubs, plants, lawns, or gardens, or providing these services in conjunction with the design of landscape plans and/or the construction (i.e., installation) of walkways, retaining walls, decks, fences, ponds, and similar structures, except for employment by an employer who operates a fixed establishment where the work is to be performed and where drinking water is plumbed.

“Oil and gas extraction” means operations and/or developing oil and gas field properties, exploring for crude petroleum or natural gas, mining or extracting of oil or gas or recovering liquid hydrocarbons from oil or gas field gasses.

“Personal risk factors for heat illness” means factors such as an individual’s age, degree of acclimatization, health, water consumptions, alcohol consumption, caffeine consumption, and use or prescription medications that affect the body’s water retention or other physiological responses to heat.

“Shade” means blockage of direct sunlight. One indicator that blockage is sufficient is when objects do not cast a shadow in the area of blocked sunlight. Shade is not adequate when heat in the area of shade defeats the purpose of shade, which is to allow the body to cool. For example, a car sitting in the sun does not provide acceptable shade to a person inside it, unless the car is running with air conditioning. Shade may be provided by any natural or artificial means that does not expose employees to unsafe or unhealthy conditions.  

“Temperature” means the dry bulb temperature in degrees Fahrenheit obtainable by using a thermometer to measure the outdoor temperature in an area where there is no shade. While the temperature measurement must be taken in an area with full sunlight, the bulb or sensor of the thermometer should be shielded while taking the measurement, e.g., with the hand or some other object, from direct contact by sunlight.

(B) Provisions of water. Employees shall have access to potable drinking water meeting the requirements of Section 1524, 3363, and 3457, as applicable. Where drinking water is not plumbed or otherwise continuously supplied it shall be provided in sufficient quantity at the beginning of the work shift to provide one quart per employee per hour for drinking for the entire shift. Employers may begin the shift with smaller quantities of water if they have effective procedures for replenishment during the shift as needed to allow employees to drink one quart or more per hour. The frequent drinking of water, as described in subsection (f) (1) (C), shall be encouraged.

(C) Access to Shade.

            (1) Shade is required to be present when the temperature exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When the outdoor temperature in the work area exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit, the employer shall have and maintain one or more areas with shade at all times while employees are present that are either open to the air or provided with ventilation or cooling. The amount of shade present shall be at least enough to accommodate 25% of the employees on the shift at any time, so that they can sit in a normal posture fully in the shade without having to be in physical contact with each other. The shaded area shall be located as close as practicable to the area where employees are working.

            (2) Shade is required to be available when the temperature does not exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When the outdoor temperature in the work area does not exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit employers shall either provide shade as per subsection (c) (1) or provide timely access to shade upon an employee’s request.

            (3) Employees shall be allowed and encouraged to take a cool-down rest in the shade for a period of no less than five minutes at a time when they feel the need to do so to protect themselves from overheating. Such access to shade shall be permitted at all times.

Exceptions to subsection (C):

(1)   Where the employer can demonstrate that it is infeasible or unsafe to have a shade structure, or otherwise to have shade present on a continuous basis, the employer may utilize alternative procedures for providing access to shade if the alternative procedures provide equivalent protection.

(2)   Except for employers in the agricultural industry, cooling measures other than shade (e.g., use of misting machines) may be provided in lieu of shade if the employer can demonstrate that these measures are at least as effective as shade in allowing employees to cool.

(D) High heat procedures. The employer shall implement high-heat procedures when the temperature equals or exceeds 95 degrees Fahrenheit. These procedures shall include the following to the extent practicable:

            (1) Ensuing that effective communication by voice, observation, or electronic means is maintained so that employees at the work sire can contact a supervisor when necessary. An electronic device, such as a cell phone or text messaging device, may be used for this purpose only if reception in the area is reliable.

            (2) Observing employees for alertness and signs or symptoms of heat illness.

            (3) Reminding employees throughout the work shift to drink plenty of water.

            (4) Close supervision of a new employee by a supervisor or designee for the first 14 days of the employee’s employment by the employer, unless the employee indicates at the time of hire that he or she has been doing similar outdoor work for at least 10 of the past 30 days for 4 or more hours per day.

(E) Training.

            (1) Employee training. Effective training in the following topics shall be provided to each supervisory and non-supervisory employee before the employee begins work that should reasonably be anticipated to result in exposure to the risk of heat illness:

                        (a) The environmental and personal risk factors for heat illness, as well as the added burden of heat load on the body cause by exertion, clothing, and personal protective equipment.

                        (b) The employer’s procedures for complying with all the requirements of this standard.

                        (c) The importance of frequent consumption of small quantities of water, up to 4 cups per hour, when the work environment is hot and employees are likely to be sweating more than usual in the performance of their duties.

                        (d) The importance of acclimatization.

                        (e) The different types of heat illness and the common signs and symptoms of heat illness.

                        (f) The importance to employees of immediately reporting to the employer, directly or through the employee’s supervisor, symptoms or signs of heat illness in themselves, or in co-workers.

                        (g) The employer’s procedure s for responding to symptoms of possible heat illness, including how emergency medical services will be provided should they become necessary.

                        (h) The employer’s procedures for contacting emergency medical services, and if necessary, for transporting employees to a point where they can be reached by an emergency medical service provider.

                        (i) The employer’s procedure for ensuring that, in the event of an emergency, clear and precise directions to the work site can and will provided as needed to emergency responders. These procedures shall include designating a person to be available to ensure that emergency procedures are invoked when appropriate.

(2) Supervisor training. Prior to supervising employees performing work that should reasonably be anticipated to result in exposure to the risk of heat illness effective training on the following topics shall be provided to the supervisor:

                        (a) The information required to be provided by section (e) (1) above.

                        (b) The procedures the supervisor is to follow to implement the applicable provisions in this section.

                        (c) The procedures the supervisor is to follow when an employee exhibits symptoms consistent with possible heat illness, including emergency response procedures.

                        (d) How to monitor weather reports and how to respond to hot weather advisories.

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