How successful is your JOC Program? Unfortunately many, if not most, practitioners of Job Order Contracting, especially in the State/County/Local Sector, can’t answer this basic question. The reason, unfortunately is the lack of understanding of basic LEAN construction delivery principles, and their potential relative to performance.
In short, how do you know how well you are doing, if you don’t have something to measure against?
Rather than discuss key performance indicators (KPIs) for LEAN Job Order Contracting, it’s likely more beneficial to simply discuss the five (5) core attributes and characteristics associated with any LEAN construction process:
- Leadership: The purpose of LEAN is to build owner capabilities to the level that they benefit and motivate both the internal teams and their external service providers (architects, engineers, contraction firms, etc.) Clearly all service providers must act in the same manner.\
- Customer and Outcome Focus: Understand the needs of the client (building user, owner, etc.) and meeting those needs… no more and no less… is the defintion of value.
- Collaborative Culture & Behavior: Collaboration and transparency is a REQUIREMENT among all participants and stakeholders. This include financial transparent to the level of a locally researched detailed line item unit price book. Furthermore, mutual trust and respect, and shared risk/reward, with all working towards optimal outcomes are REQUIRED behaviors.
- Competencies: Requisite levels of technical and management competencies are required of all participants and stakeholders. It is the integration of disparate competencies that is the hallmark of LEAN construction delivery methods. LEAN also provides a foundation for team members to continuously improve competencies and processes.
- Processes & Tools: Integrated Project Delivery, IPD, (for major new construction) and Job Order Contracting, JOC, (for repair, renovation, maintenance, sustainability, and minor new construction) are well-defined, robust, and proven LEAN construction delivery processes. Each has there own set of tools, including documentation, workflows, training programs, information/data sets, and enabling technology. Processes and tools are key to enabling consistent, yet lower cost deployment of LEAN construction. They also drive ultimate value when combined with the integration of disparate competencies.
