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Following the publication of Rethinking Construction in 1998, the building industry has been under pressure to reduce construction time and cost by incorporating 'lean' principles. ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ services specialists have responded by introducing innovative methods and materials. But the industry maintains a dependency upon 'craftspeople' and acknowledges that it has difficulty in recruiting and retaining sufficient suitable recruits.

Sir John Egan (a former Jaguar executive) recommended that we seek improvement by re-engineering construction. We should, he says, learn from those who have done it elsewhere. The industry has begun to change by adopting, for example, supply chain management, just in time delivery and partnering.

These management tools have been developed from those used in the modern automobile industry and prompt the question: What is the example within the automobile industry that may be applied to the installation of building services to satisfy both the need to accommodate innovation and to overcome the people shortage?

The automobile industry was craft based originally – every car a prototype, with individual parts cut and filed to fit. It has since re-engineered itself several times, embracing mass production and the microprocessor revolution. It dealt with labour relations before adopting the 'lean production system' which proved so successful, in particular for Toyota, that it has been adopted not only by the major automobile manufactures but by many other industries.

Lean production relies upon small lot production and flexibility. It is based upon eliminating waste by challenging the need for every action, every second that is not used and every item of stock. It enables companies to improve productivity while providing quality and achieving prompt delivery.

The Toyota workforce is represented by a single union agreement (Amicus-AEEU) and has a common salary system. Members act responsibly; there are no time clocks and no money docked if they are a few minutes late. Training is carried out on the job and is specific to the job, designed to produce multi-function workers. The multi-function aspect prevents workers from becoming trapped in one role and facilitate job rotation. Flexibility provides effective resource management. Workers may be removed from the line to increase its pace or introduced to overcome problems. The lean process uses automation to assist workers, rather than eliminate them; to reduce strain; raise work or materials to a comfortable level; or to do the heavy lifting.

Smarter not harder
The lean process is one of great simplicity based upon working smarter not harder and should quickly produce major improvements. The Toyota production system rests on reduction of cost through improvement of productivity, achieved by quantity control, quality assurance and respect for humanity.

The way to achieve this is through kaikaku – the radical improvement of an activity to eliminate muda (the name the Japanese give to waste of all types).

Traditional building services installation is a batch and queue process. Each trade carries out its work then waits for following trades. The wait may involve relocating operatives or even leaving site. Moving from 'batch and queue' to 'lean' involves moving beyond convention, focusing upon the objective, ignoring traditional boundaries and rethinking specific work practices. The objective is to achieve perfection.

Cleaning up operations
Major building services installations, are increasingly carried out by teams of specialist sub-contractors. Contractors recognise that labour is the biggest risk area. Works are sub-let not only to take advantage of specialist knowledge but to spread the financial risk. This leads to a longer financial chain and consequently distances the managers from the installers. Work on site is carried out under working rules governing hours of work, grading of operatives, pay, welfare and training which are different for mechanical (HVCA) and electrical (JIB) trades.

The process has muda in abundance, particular problems highlighted (by BSRIA research) include:

• foremen and supervisors engaged in too much administration;
  
• too much cutting and drilling assembly and elevation;
  
• poor site storage and material handling;
  
• poor housekeeping;
  
• repeated visits to work areas by numerous different trades;
  
• use of labour intensive materials.

To those may be added:

• use of access equipment, mobile towers and stepladders;
  
• unnatural working positions, for example above the head or in a hole in a wall;
  
• making tools and materials secure whenever a break is taken;
  
• obtaining and signing off work permits on a daily basis.

Changes are taking place. Prefabrication and preassembly, while not new, are becoming a major strategy. Research carried out by BSRIA has established that it may achieve overall productivity values two and a half times greater, on average, than those achieved using traditional methods. This is primarily because of reduction in time lost by workers and improved sequence of operations. Prefabrication is not limited to mechanical services and electrical containment.

There are now many instances of successful installation of prefabricated wiring systems and rigid busbars. There are claims that installation times may be reduced by 60%. During the last ten years the industry has moved from producing drawings using pen on paper to the exclusive use of cad. Now it is possible to produce 3D models that may be used to:

• carry out design reviews;
  
• optimise service runs;
  
• co-ordinate elements to avoid clashes;
  
• link to machinery for manufacture;
  
• visualise engineering challenges;
  
• calculate material take-off and create dimensioned cutting schedules.

Automobile assembly is a smoothly organised sequence of operations. It can accept varying models – none of the cars is exactly the same. The workers know exactly what is required of them, they have the required materials to hand and they work in comfortable positions with machines to assist with heavy work. Workers may change their task; the person fitting windscreens today may fit wiring looms tomorrow.

As they work, illuminated signs tell them the amount of progress made during the shift and the target they have to achieve. ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ services installation could be seen as a series of assemblies and sub-assemblies. The installation could be divided into modules, room sized perhaps.

Offsite manufacturing facilities would be used to prepare components: pipe cut to length, prepared brackets, support frame and coils of prepared cables. These could then be transported to site flat-packed complete with a work sheet containing installation instructions. On site the materials would be taken to the point of installation, and assembled on a lifting frame at a comfortable working height before being lifted into position as an entity and fixed. The work would be distributed amongst teams. Walls would be built complete with services, and the operatives installing the suspended ceiling would be responsible for incorporating lights and grilles for example.

Multi-skilled operatives could be utilised across the site to cater for programme demands.

Relieved of the responsibility for administrative tasks, the foremen would train and work with their team on the job as their equivalents in the motor industry do. The need for fully qualified craftsmen would remain, however their role would become primarily technical with involvement in testing and commissioning, in addition to supervision.

Bringing together workers into one organisation with consistent policies on health, safety and training could improve teamwork and add value. In a one-unit environment it would be possible to develop feedback systems and quality circles – important features of continuous improvement. It would enable performance statistics to be collected and displayed. Workers could identify with the total building, no longer performing cameo roles. Improvement in working conditions would open the industry to older workers with transferable skills who may be unemployed because of a decline in their industry.

Division of the work on a modular basis would facilitate improvements in planning and scheduling. Installation time could be more accurately calculated, and foremen would become pivotal to the planning function.

A move to this kind of building services approach could mean a more modern multi-skilled workforce which is more appealing to potential new recruits.

The combination of National Training Organisations to form Sector Skills Councils will produce a building services approach to training. Already a multi service NVQ at level 2 has been prepared and is to be discussed with the union

The building services industry has a major contractors group of 12 plus m&e contractors, members of both the mechanical (HVCA) and electrical (ECA) many more of the members of those organisations are involved in the management of m&e projects. A Joint National Working Rule Agreement has been proposed.

The formation of AMICUS has brought the unions, which represented mechanical and electrical operatives into one organisation. Everything appears to be in place to revolutionise building services installation, the question now is will the industry be willing to change or will new players take the initiative?