Some of those things directly add value to the customer who is the end-user of the project. Improving productivity comes down to three major levers:
- Improving the speed at which the crafts people actually do the work - how fast the wrenches are turned.
- Lowering the average cost per hour while maintaining productivity.
- Improving the ratio of time spent per day on installation versus non-installation activities.
When you analyze your A-Players you will see that they primarily attack 1 & 3 by studying every detail and improving with each cycle.
In the lean body of knowledge they describe the “Value Stream” as:
- Every step required to take raw materials and deliver them into the waiting arms of the customer.
Steps include those that are directly value-add (VA) which is primarily the actual installation work done by crafts people in the field and non value-add (NVA).
NVA can be broken down into both necessary (inspections, submittals, etc.) and waste (additional handling). The heart of lean is identifying and then eliminating waste.
