Applying Lean Thinking to Improve Safety Performance in Construction

The construction industry remains one of the most hazardous industries in the United States in terms of the number of occupational fatal and non-fatal injuries. In 2014, 874 fatal work-related injuries were reported in the U.S. construction industry1. Even though construction workers historically account for only about 5% of the overall U.S. workforce, the construction industry accounts for approximately 20% of the total occupational fatal and non-fatal injuries2.

Numerous studies have indicated that the high incident rate in construction can be influenced by the design of projects. For example, 42% of 224 fatalities in the U.S. construction industry between 1990 and 2003 were linked to decisions made during design, before the start of construction3.

To curb the high number of fatal and non-fatal injuries, safety management strategies are emphasized by construction stakeholders. Firstly, safety management involves preparing a plan to ensure that all safety hazards and risks are identified, assessed, analyzed, and then mitigated. This step is aligned with lean thinking where design and construction processes are streamlined to eliminate waste and maximize value.

Workplace accidents can have negative impacts on cost, schedule, and quality. Therefore, it can be argued that improving workplace safety is a form of waste reduction and value generation. According to the “hierarchy of controls” (HoC), eliminating construction hazards at the source is the most effective means of improving occupational safety4, as shown in Figure 1. HoC, in this regard, is defined as a means of determining how to implement the most practicable and effective safety controls on the jobsite to control safety hazards4.

By examining the graphical pyramid (Figure 1), consistency between lean thinking and safety management principles appears evident. However, eliminating safety hazards at the source, a.k.a., Prevention through Design (PtD), requires modifying the facility design prior to construction operations. It is worth noting that PtD encompasses the concept of protecting construction workers by addressing their safety during the design process5. In that aspect, lean design practices appear on the surface to touch on this critical subject because they promote the early involvement of specialty contractors and frequent team communications between project teams, particularly between design and building professionals.

The post Performance in Construction first appeared on ARSI RENTALS.

In its latest announcement, the Victorian Government says restrictions in the sector will ease from midnight on Monday.

Under the plan:

All workers will need to carry an authorised worker permit and have had at least one vaccination dose
All construction sites state-wide must have at least one fully trained COVID marshal whose job it will be to ensure compliance with Chief Health Officer directions
Prior to reopening, operators will be required to attest that they have implemented the CHO directions and every site will need to have an up-to-date vaccination register available for compliance checks at all times. In order to make this process as easy as possible, an online portal will soon be available on the Service Victoria website so these documents are accessible for both the operator and compliance teams.
Crib facilities may be used for the consumption of food and drink with strict density requirements and additional ventilation.
Small construction sites will be able to have up to five workers plus a supervisor
Large construction sites may have up to 25 percent of workers on site. This will be able to increase to 50 percent where crib rooms meet best practice and the entire workforce is vaccinated.
Projects on the State Critical Infrastructure list will operate at 100 per cent as long as crib rooms follow best practice guidelines.
Subject to continued high levels of compliance by the industry, workforce caps will progressively increase. At our 70 per cent double dose milestone, large scale construction can return to 100 per cent of its workforce.
Caps will be removed when Victoria reaches its 80 per cent target, and in addition, all onsite workers must be fully vaccinated by 13 November.
Fully vaccinated workers can travel between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria in order to work onsite.
Workers on state critical projects or large-scale construction can also travel between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria if they have had a single dose, take an initial test before their first travel, then test twice per week until fully vaccinated.
To allow all sites to remobilise, workers who have had at least one vaccination dose will be able to enter a site prior to 5 October in order to undertake crib facility improvements, participate in a reinduction or receive deliveries.

The government has provided further information on a frequently asked questions page.

In a statement, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the industry was expected to comply with the directions in full.

Teams of Authorised Workers will conduct checks to enforce directions whilst penalties will apply for builders and site operators that do not comply.

These penalties will include site shutdowns for significant or repeated breaches.

Building and property industry lobby groups welcomed the announcement.

Master Builders Victoria CEO Rebecca Casson said the past two-week shutdown had been extremely challenging for many of MBV’s members unable to work but most can now look forward to getting back on the tools next week.

Casson said the Master Builders had worked with other industry associations and unions over the long weekend on the plan’s development.

“It was a very positive meeting with excellent engagement from the Victorian Government and it appears that, despite yesterday’s high COVID-19 case numbers, our sector is on track to re-open on 5 October which is a win for our industry,” Casson said.

“Over the last week or so, we have had excellent engagement with the Victorian Government, including Treasurer Tim Pallas, Minister Jacinta Allan, and Minister Martin Pakula.

“They, like us, have had a sharp focus on re-opening our industry and getting our members back to work.”

Others agree.

“It’s a huge relief that the residential building industry will be back to work on 5 October as planned,” said HIA’s Victorian Executive Director, Fiona Nield.

“HIA has continued to work closely with the Victorian Government to prepare for the reopening of home building sites in metropolitan Melbourne and the other locked down regional areas such as Mitchell Shire and the City of Latrobe.

Property Council of Australia Victoria Executive Director Danni Hunter said the decision to reopen would enable 320,000 Victorians to return to work.

Hunter said it was now up to the entire industry to work to embed the best possible standards on site.

The post Reopen Construction Sector first appeared on ARSI RENTALS.

4 Steps to submitting a professional Drywall Bid

Over the years, we have been speaking with 1000’s of contractors in the Drywall, Gyprock and Plastering trades, and we have learnt what has worked for them when submitting award winning bids.

We have also heard some nasty stories about contractors getting burnt because they have missed a small aspect of the job and have to honour the bid. While you are never going to be able to completely mitigate against missing something, the following 4 steps will allow you to consistently bid on and win Drywall jobs and take home a nice profit at the end of the day.

1. Respond to the contractor

It’s such an easy thing to do but when you get sent a job to price, respond to the contractor and say “thanks for the email, under the pump will have a price to you by Thursday afternoon. Whether it’s a contractor you have worked with for 10 years or a new lead, this establishes a line of communication and if there are any adjustments or clarifications you will be front of mind. And when you do submit your quote on time, subconsciously it reinforces in the contractors mind that you are professional and dependable.

2. Understand the job – Checklists 

Familiarise yourself with the plans and if necessary get clarifications. Seems obvious but we have heard of Drywall veterans submitting a price having had a quick once over of the plans but missing a key part in the finishing schedule which impacts the cost of materials. Avoid getting burnt by having a checklist that you go through meticulously. It’s so easy to go into autopilot and miss something obvious, if you have your checklist and you have to consciously run down through it to check off these key items then you will catch most small things from the start.

Here is a list we like to run through.

• What am I being asked to quote on?
• Installing track? What size etc
• Installing Insulation? What type?
• What type of board and for where?
• What is the finish between wall and ceiling?
• What is the finish at skirting / baseboard?
• What finish is expected on walls and ceilings?
• Are there any areas with finish over brick / block?

3. List inclusions, exclusions and assumptions.‍

The construction industry is tight and we want you to be able to maximise your margin and make the most profit for your company. With this in mind it is vital that you list your inclusions and exclusions on any quote you send out. Or if you have to make some assumptions to send out the quote they should be clearly listed as one of the first things in your quote. A lot of the time plans are not complete or else the engineering and architect drawings can contradict each other and so you can make reasonable assumptions based on your experience, but it is vital you list these out so you are not stuck with the bill if those assumptions turn out to be wrong. There are a few good reasons for this but mainly it is to avoid getting burnt when you arrive on site. If there is any disagreement you can go back to your original quote and point that you have accounted for, any alterations or additions will have to be done at a cost.  An example of what that might look like is as follows:

“Included in this quote is the following:

10mm Plasterboard to all New Walls as marked on Plans

10mm Span600 Plasterboard to Ceilings as per plan

Back Blocked Ceilings

3 Coat System

Ready for Paint”

It may not always be as simple as that but if you have the inclusions and exclusions clearly defined you will be less likely to have to wear the cost if any disputes arise, and you will have a good leg to stand on when working with the contractor versus the guy who just sent in a dollar figure. If you want to include marked up plans with your quote, we think that’s a great option as well and it makes you stand out from the pack.

4. Send your Bids on Company Letterhead 

It’s simple to get set up on and it makes you look professional. Send out your quotes on company letterhead with as much information as possible, its great branding and it instills a certain confidence in people receiving your quote. You can get set up on ConX with your logo, input your licences and business numbers and all of this information will auto populate on any quote you generate.

consted makes life easy when it comes to following these steps and submitting a winning quote. Get started with a 14 day free trial today here.

Find out how consted can help digitise your takeoffs,
estimating, quoting & ordering process.

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The 4 Best Construction Estimating Software on the Market

First things first it completely depends on the size of your company. A multinational company will have entirely different needs and budget than your small residential builder. Licenses for complex solutions can cost thousands of dollars per year per user but there are some really great, simple to use & affordable solutions also.

Another major factor to consider is, who will be using the software? Will it be a professional estimator who has completed a degree in estimating or a will it be a builder or sub-contractor looking to price a job after doing a days work?

Why would you need takeoff/estimating software?

“I spend too much time measuring plans and calculating labour and materials costs”

“I make mistakes when estimating labor & materials costs and quantities”

“I’m not great at creating professional looking quotes”

“My plans, quotes and material estimates are all over the place, and I need to store it in one place”

Estimating (large companies vs small)

In Australia 97% of construction companies are classed as small or medium (19 or less people). Up until recently there was no real software available for these smaller builders and subcontractors. The process of estimating/quoting manually from plans is time consuming and inefficient.

On the other hand estimating for large construction companies is entirely different. Companies like Lend Lease, Brookfield Multiplex and John Holland will have completely separate divisions for their estimating, and will strive to make the process as efficient as possible.

Let’s have a look at the various options out there, and see what is the best for you.

The post Construction Estimating Software first appeared on ARSI RENTALS.