The Robins & Morton team had a large presence — and made an even bigger impression — at the Lean Construction Institute (LCI) Lean Congress in San Diego, California, this October.
Robins & Morton became heavily involved with LCI in 2015, around the time that it launched its Building Forward® approach. Since then, many team members have engaged with LCI in various roles and areas across the nation through LCI’s regional Communities of Practice (COPs).
Each year, Robins & Morton participates in the annual Lean Congress, which brings together industry professionals from all over the world to share best practices on Lean principles, network, and learn more about Lean construction.
More than 1,600 people attended this year’s Congress, benefiting from 28 learning day sessions, a keynote presentation, a plenary panel, and 63 breakout sessions. The Robins & Morton team headlined three of the presentations, one of which won an award. Here’s a look at what team members shared.
Value of Conditions of Satisfaction
First, Building Forward® Lean Practice Leader Jennifer Lacy, Senior Mechanical Preconstruction Manager Kyle Davis, and Senior Superintendent Josh Young joined AdventHealth’s Victoria Navarro to host a session on the Value of Conditions of Satisfaction (CoS).
During the session, the presenters role-played characters on a construction project, demonstrating how establishing CoS aligns clients, architects, and contractors and provides a way to navigate and resolve disagreements throughout the stages of a project. The attendees enjoyed the creative, interactive approach our team took to demonstrate the value of CoS.
Live Lab 6: MEP Verification, Optimal Project Flow
Next, Innovation Lab Manager Steve Moore and Superintendent Jared Wilson led “Live Lab 6: MEP Verification, Optimal Project Flow,” which won the Top Live Lab award at the conference.
They discussed the benefits of Takt planning, using our recently completed Cone Health MedCenter Asheboro project in North Carolina as an example. With Takt planning, teams establish work zones for specific trades and sequence work in a flow pattern. This reduces interference among trades and streamlines work, resulting in time and costs being saved.
Moore opened the presentation with an explanation of what Takt planning is, and Wilson discussed how our team implemented it on the Cone Health MedCenter Asheboro project. He shared various facets of implementation, from creating a positive work environment and reducing total workforce to overcoming challenges such as procurement and speed-to-market pressures.
Leading Organizational Transformation
Lastly, just before the closing keynote, Lacy, Davis, Operations Manager Marshall Scott, and Preconstruction Manager Christena Smith joined O’Shea Builders for a panel discussion on Leading Organizational Transformation.
This panel, focused on recruitment and retention, was especially relevant in the face of workforce shortages and high turnover in the construction industry. The speakers candidly recognized the staggering challenges but presented hopeful solutions.
To demonstrate the power of Lean principles in recruitment and retention, they discussed their companies’ Lean journeys. O’Shea Builders presented a localized firm’s approach to adopting Lean, while Robins & Morton provided a national firm’s perspective. Scott segmented Robins & Morton’s Lean journey into three periods: discovery (2011-2014), expansion (2015-2019), and celebration, reflection, and maintenance (2020-present). Team members discussed groups and practices Robins & Morton has established along the way, such as Community Networks, monthly Building Forward® Spotlight calls, Training for Excellence program, and more.
They encouraged attendees to set manageable goals on their Lean journeys, dedicate a leader to the process, and take measurements along the way to understand progress and accomplishments.
Wrapping Up the Congress
Robins & Morton team members came away from the 2024 LCI Lean Congress with new perspectives and fresh motivation, and they were also proud to have made such a sizeable impact at the conference.
To top it all off, during the final remarks, Lacy was recognized as the 2025 Congress co-chair alongside Skiles Group CEO Keyan Zandy.