Introduction
SSOE Group is a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management with the mission to make their clients successful by saving them time, trouble, and money. To live up to that promise, SSOE was looking for ways to integrate Lean practices and drive performance by enhancing collaboration and optimizing department and project management workflows.
Backstory
One of the main challenges identified by SSOE on the path to global Lean Project Delivery was a lack of visibility across locations and team members. The physical distance and time zones between locations can make it more complicated for team members to have an overview of what their colleagues are currently working on, whether they need assistance, or how they can help. This lack of visibility can create gaps in communication, which can result in duplication of efforts and rework. Before discovering Businessmap and implementing their software platform as a company-wide tool, some individuals and groups in SSOE were using free online alternatives like Trello or a physical Kanban board to manage their work. Having different people spread across various tools made it difficult to have an overview of the entire workload, project status, or free capacity in a team or division.
Key Results
Implementing the software across the company and training employees on the Kanban Method has brought several key results for SSOE.
Increased operational transparency
The Businessmap Software Platform has helped SSOE visualize the flow of work within teams throughout the company. Using digital Kanban boards to structure work processes and manage work items has improved the coordination and scheduling between the different work stages of a task and within those teams.
“Kanban affords us a visual base to connect the workflow and workload of the entire design and project team in Mexico. Both PMs, project leads, supporting engineers and designers and management roles are present in the huddles and on the board. The daily connect through the huddles allows the sticky points of project work to rise to the surface quickly, now identified for immediate attention. We are developing a more refined consciousness; a consciousness of peer workload, the pace and flow of multiple projects, the need for internal reviews and the interaction with PMs for overall scope reviews of quality across project teams.”
- Jourdan Schermerhorn, AIA, PMP
Senior Project Manager and
Mexico Design Manager
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Better Resource Allocation and Utilization
The visualization of tasks, priorities, projects, and deadlines allowed for greater staff liquidity. Having a real-time overview of task status and workload also enabled decision-making on how to best allocate resources to meet deadlines.
Increased Team Collaboration
Visualizing the work has also opened the door for more collaboration between team members. Seeing what colleagues are working on has made it easier for others to offer help and share their experience from similar situations.
“Having all our work listed in one place allowed people to jump in to help each other out. We found that we could divide work with newer team members to get them valuable experience. Everything is documented and recorded, so nothing slips through the cracks…after three months, our team is more collaborative and performing better than before. One of the best results of using the Kanban Method is better collaboration, which is paramount to SSOE’s culture and future growth.”
Josh Zimmerman
Department Manager
Business Development – BIM2Fab® Steel
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