Recap: LCI Congress 2019

The Touchplan team had a great time at the 21st Annual Lean Construction Congress in Fort Worth, Texas. We were thrilled to see so many of our friends there again this year, and it was gratifying to be mentioned in many of our customers’ presentations, as well as in the keynote.

Our booth was packed, and our happy hour (the largest yet!) spurred insightful conversations around best practices. We especially enjoyed seeing people meeting their colleagues in different divisions for the first time after connecting via Touchplan.

The Customer Success team was in high demand, with project teams visiting the booth to review their project plans and get expert input. In addition to interacting with attendees, our team had time to visit a few sessions. Here are some of the insights we came away with.

The Future of the Last Planner® System

One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s Congress was Glenn Ballard’s presentation on the Last Planner® System 2.0. In the spirit of continuous improvement, LPS itself is adapting, with five new areas and three new metrics to be published in early 2020.

These adaptations are the result of constant research and efforts across the industry that will benefit the AEC field as a whole. This tangible connection to practical implementation is part of what makes LPS such an effective process. We’re eager to see how LPS 2.0 evolves and to incorporate these advancements into Touchplan.

Focus on Collaboration

The session on onboarding teams on IPD projects highlighted how critical collaboration is to success on Lean projects. Presenters Steve Carr, Jamie Staton, Karen Pierce and Ken Bailey shared experiences gained on the Children’s Hospital Colorado North Campus Expansion Project and how they overcame challenges to generate buy-in and create a Lean culture across the entire project team.

Critical to this effort is viewing onboarding as a continuous process, rather than something only done at the outset of the project. Similarly important is selecting the right trade partners in order to maximize collaboration, and a willingness to change approaches when things aren’t working.

Looking Ahead

Following this year’s Congress, we’re looking forward to taking Touchplan’s development even further to serve the LCI community and the industry at large. Each of the interactions we had there deepens our understanding of what’s needed in the field and sharpens our focus on helping users continuously improve.

With new features in the works, expansions to our team in Boston and our own industry event coming up in December, this year is guaranteed to be full of important milestones. We can’t wait!

Did we miss you at LCI? Register for our upcoming webinar here to get all the info we shared at our booth during Congress.