Lean Construction Ireland (LCi) will host its inaugural national conference in Dublin on the 20th of November 2018 in Croke Park, the theme of which will be ‘Lean Innovation – Inspiring our Future in Construction’. Here we see what the agenda will be for the conference.

The aim of the conference is to bring together leading experts in the field of Lean Construction from Ireland and internationally to both inspire and challenge the industry to implement Lean thinking and practices on their projects. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about Lean from practitioners and understand how they can leverage the benefits of Lean concepts to deliver quality projects that are safer, faster and more profitable – leading to increased stakeholder satisfaction and value for money.

Promising to be one of Europe’s largest Lean Construction conferences, attendees will have the option of partaking in 8 separate streams including:

• Public Projects • Private Projects • Home Building • Lean in Contracts

• International Best Practice • Benchmarking • Digital and Lean Technology

Lean Construction Ireland is an all-island, independent, not-for-profit association whose members passionately believe that Lean thinking and practices can enable and sustain enhanced effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, and profitability for the Irish construction sector, client organisations, and the supply chain.

Its vision is to create the environment where projects are delivered better, faster and together embracing the principle of collaboration underpinned through the adoption of Lean thinking and practices.

The Mission – Opportunities for Sustainable Growth

LCi National Conference 2018 will attract individuals from all areas of the Irish construction sector, public and private, in particular senior-level executives and decision-makers, and create an environment in which to network, do business and access knowledge on the latest developments, trends, strategies relating to the principles of Lean in Ireland and internationally.

Jason Casey (Director – Lean Construction Ireland) said: “Our goal is to spread the understanding about Lean Construction, encourage debate, create a knowledge sharing platform for the industry by the industry, gather a network of like-minded individuals, and inspire others to improve the way they manage the delivery of their projects within Ireland.”

Jason continues: “Lean is a concept that all processes contain waste. Lean Construction is the opportunity to improve processes within construction and design sectors by adopting Lean thinking and practices thereby creating a collaborative and successful delivery project framework through better relationships, shared knowledge and common goals.”

From Far & Wide

Keynote speakers at this inaugural conference include international and national experts in the area of Lean Construction such as: Felipe Engineer-Manriquez (McCarthy Holdings Inc), Aidan Clancy (Clancy Homes), Denis Leonard (Graham Group), Jeanette Mair (CIF), John Dyson (GSK), Niall Sommers (Flour Corp.), Rhona Henry (Matheson), Roar Fosse (Skanska), Clare Penny (CitA), Valerie Alvarado (BMS), plus many more.

There will also be a number of discussion panel sessions with senior executive representatives from across the Irish construction sector debating the challenges and opportunities facing the Irish construction sector and how Lean thinking and practices can act as an enabler for addressing these.

The Lean Solution

In addition to the main conference, an exhibition area will be available where approximately 35 Lean Construction service providers, educational institutions and engineering companies will demonstrate the practical application of Lean as well as being able to answer questions.

Delegate profile

With over 1,600 members and an ambitious 3-year development plan, Lean Construction Ireland (LCi) will host this unique event and bring together the Irish construction sector to openly discuss the challenges and benefits of implementing Lean.

This event is relevant to all individuals working within the Irish construction industry and with a speaker programme of over 32 presentations the conference will showcase how Lean Construction can transform the Irish construction sector.

The delegate profile will include:

– Architects – Engineering Consultants and other professional services – Construction Companies

– Developers – Facility Managers – R&D – Energy, Power & National Grid – Utility Companies and Infrastructure Providers

– Technology Suppliers – Legal Consultants – Financial Advisors – Government Departments, Local Authorities and other Government Agencies

– Planners – Business Advisory Consultants – Academia – Engineering Companies – Solution Suppliers

– Civil Engineering – Health & Safety – M&E/Building Services

For further information visit:

www.lciconference.com where details of the programme and registration can be found.

The LCi Conference organisers have a high-profile list of speakers focusing on what Lean can bring to Irish construction. Speakers at the inaugural Lean Construction Ireland National Conference will include the following experts.

Felipe Engineer-Manriquez – Corporate Lean Manager – McCarthy Holdings, Inc.

International Lean speaker, a serial intrapreneur, McCarthy Building Companies’ first Corporate Lean Manager responsible for overseeing a comprehensive Lean programme for the family of McCarthy Building Companies. Felipe Engineer-Manriquez is a committed Lean Practitioner with over eight years of direct experience implementing Lean on a variety of construction projects and is an active contributing member of the Lean Construction Institute.

A Jeff Sutherland Certified ScrumMaster® with years of weekly sprints moved to “Done” and user of Scrum to teach Scrum to fellow construction professionals via guided interactive learning – over 500 industry partners in under two years. A Project Management Professional (PMP®) continuously updating project management knowledge, experience, and the skills to bring projects to successful completion. A LEED AP BD+C United States Green Building Council professional, Engineer-Manriquez earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is a disciplined learner.

Denis Leonard – Integrated Management Systems – Graham Group

Denis Leonard is GRAHAM’s Manager of Integrated Management Systems. His role involves managing ISO9001, ISO14001, OHSAS18001 and ISO44001 in addition to driving EFQM Criteria implementation and supporting Lean.

He has a degree in Building Engineering and an MBA and PhD in Business & Management with a focus on Quality Management. He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Quality Institute and the American Society for Quality and is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Building. Denis is a Certified Lean Practitioner and Six Sigma Black Belt and is a trained Lead Auditor for ISO9001, ISO14001 and OHSAS18001. His experience includes Quality Management, construction management, training, and auditing in Ireland, the UK and the USA. Denis has won the ASQ Feigenbaum Medal and Leader Excellence Award while also leading teams to earn national Quality, Safety and Environmental Awards.

Jeanette Mair – Economic Research Executive – Construction Industry Federation

The CIF’s Economic and Policy Research Executive, Jeanette works with Federation policy committees and Directors, helping guide policy across a spectrum of economic/industry/fiscal/regulatory/development issues. Jeanette is also responsible for carrying out and commissioning new research, expanding the CIF’s information databases, preparation of submissions and strategy papers and advocating on various industry matters to support the CIF’s dialogue with key policy stakeholders.

Jeanette joined the CIF in 2007 as Housing, Planning and Development Executive, a role she held until June 2017. She was Project Manager of CIRI (Construction Industry Register Ireland) from 2013 to 2017 during which time oversaw the establishment and operation of the new register. Jeanette has been Manager of the CIF’s Register of Heritage Contractors since 2011.

Rhona Henry – Partner & Head of Construction – Matheson

Rhona is a Partner and Head of Matheson’s Construction and Engineering Group. Rhona specialises in the build out of capital projects in the energy, pharmaceutical and ICT markets, construction project finance and PPP construction. She typically advises clients on a full suite of project/construction related agreements spanning from project agreements and building contracts to professional appointment contracts, collateral warranties, direct agreements, interface agreements, bonds, project supervisor appointments and a wide range of sub-contracts.

In addition to the main conference streams, Lean Construction Ireland have developed a number of key networking initiatives for the event which delegates can take advantage of, including: The Huddle Zone; where delegates can speak 1 on 1 with speakers, Chatroll; where delegates can ask questions of the stage using their mobile devices, etc. For a full speaker & workshop programme please visit www.lciconference.com.

Readers can find out more about Lean Construction in Ireland and the work of LCi by reading our interviews with Lean Construction practitioners in past issues of Irish building magazine.