Metrics of Public Owner Success in Lean Design, Construction, and Facilities Operations and Maintenance

The design and construction industry is hungry for metrics and proof of concept for Lean in the public sector. San Diego (California) Community College District has completed two-thirds of a US$1.6 Billion capital improvement program (2002-2019) during which – at the one quarter complete stage in 2008 – Lean design and construction principles and practices were introduced, thus offering a pre- and post- Lean comparative opportunity. Contemporaneously, the Facilities Management department also launched a Lean initiative. This paper identifies some key owner metrics to measure the value of identified Lean principles and tools, examines the comparison of various pre- and post-Lean metrics, analyzes these in relation to value- creation and waste-reduction, and analyzes how these metrics are associated with core Lean principles as identified in prior literature. These design, construction, and operations/maintenance functions influenced each other during the study period (2008-2013) and this paper offers some insights into the value of Lean to the design, construction and maintenance process for public agencies.