The acclaimed Highway Maintenance Efficiency Programme’s (HMEP) LEAN Toolkit was launched last year and has already been recognised as a “game changer” and a key priority to help deliver efficiencies. So why is LEAN make such a difference?  Matthew Lugg explains.

It is interesting to note that LEAN first immerged from the car industry and was originally pioneered by Toyota. However it was soon recognised that the principles and benefits were not just transferable to other manufacturing industries but also to the construction industry.

The Highways Agency is to be applauded in how it has led and embraced LEAN across its business to the extent where it is has become embedded in the way that their work is undertaken. HAving been aware of the Agencys initiative we first recognised the benefits of LEAN in highway maintenance services in the West Midlands.

The toolkit is written specifically as a self help guide which does not necessarily require any LEAN expertise however if help is needed then are numerous case studies to refer to in the accompanying Appendices of the toolkit.

The West Midland Highway Alliance supported a number of LEAN initiatives across their region including Walsall, Sandwell, Stoke, Shropshire and Worcestershire. The evidence from this initiative was extremely encouraging in that LEAN had provided significant savings ranging from £150,000 a year to £1M.

So on that basis and as always trying not to reinvent the wheel, the same consultancy team - Habanero Business Consulting - that had been successful in the West Midlands was commissioned to develop the HMEP LEAN toolkit.

So what is it about LEAN that makes all the difference?

Well unlike other business processes LEAN isn’t a “one off” initiative but is about creating a culture of continuous improvement.

Key to its success is getting buy in from everyone involved in delivering the service as often these initiatives tend to be top down driven and then not supported by the people that are delivering the ultimate outcome.

LEAN allows everyone’s’ voice to be heard in delivering the optimum solution. The other crucial aspect is that it is customer focused so if you read our definition of LEAN from the toolkit you can see customer is mentioned three times !

Another important factor in ensuring the toolkit was fit for purpose was that it had been piloted during its development and hence modified following feedback from the pilots. The toolkit is written specifically as a self help guide which does not necessarily require any LEAN expertise however if help is needed then are numerous case studies to refer to in the accompanying Appendices of the toolkit. 

The HMEP LEAN toolkit is freely available at www.highwaysefficiency.gov.uk it will help you improve your service at reduced cost. 

Matthew Lugg OBE is a Director of the LEAN Construction Institute UK, Mouchel’s Director of Public Services and a HMEP advocate 

He will be running a session featuring local authority HMEP case studies at the Lean Construction Institute UK Summit on 30th October. www.leanconstruction.org.uk/events/lci-uk-summit-2014