A Study of Lean Construction Practices in Gaza Strip

� The more wastes inherent in the production process, the more profitable is
flow improvement in comparison to conversion improvement.
However, in a situation where flows have been neglected for decades, the potential
for flow improvement is usually higher than conversion improvement. On the
other hand, flow improvement can be started with smaller investments, but usually
requires a longer time than a conversion improvement.
The crucial issue is that flow improvement and conversion improvement are
intimately interconnected:
� Better flows require less conversion capacity and thus less equipment
investment
� More controlled flows make implementation of new conversion technology
easier
� New conversion technology may provide smaller variability, and thus flow
benefits.
Therefore, one is tempted to agree with Ohno, who argues that “improvement
adheres to a certain order” (Ohno, 1988). It is often worthwhile to aggressively
pursue flow process Improvement before major investments in new conversion
technology: “Perfect existing processes to their full potential before designing new
ones” (Blaxill et al., 1991). Later, technology investments may be aimed at flow
improvement or redesign.
2.5.11 Benchmark
Unlike technology for conversions, the best flow processes are not marketed to us; we
have to find the world class processes ourselves.
Often benchmarking is a useful stimulus to achieve breakthrough improvement through
radical reconfiguration of processes.
The basic steps of benchmarking include the following (Camp et al., 1989)
� Knowing the process; assessing the strengths and weaknesses of sub
processes.
� Knowing the industry leaders or competitors; finding, understanding and
comparing the best practices.
� Incorporating the best; copying, modifying or incorporating the best
practices in your own sub processes.
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