Ep.132: LEAN Process Improvement in the Real World with Spencer Jacobson

We have discussed the concepts of LEAN process improvement in several past episodes.

In episode 47 we had our own Director of Consulting, Doug Howard, join us to introduce the LEAN System and we have referred to the various concepts of LEAN in others.

Over the past few years, Doug has worked with remodelers and builders on implementing LEAN into their production systems.

We wanted to look a little further into LEAN and how it is actually used in the “real world” of production and we brought in Spencer Jacobsen to talk about how his firm, R.J. Doerr Company, has implemented LEAN.

Spencer is a Site Foreman for R.J. Doerr Co., a general contractor in Easton, PA and solely focused on historical restoration. After almost four years with the company, Spencer has begun to integrate LEAN process improvement concepts on the job site and within the company.

Tim, Steve and Spencer talk more about:

• Background on R.J. Doerr Co. (size, type of work, # of jobs, etc.)
• Background on LEAN (concepts, vocabulary, etc.)
• LEAN Concepts that Spencer has implemented in the field.
• How using LEAN reduces stress within the production team
• Training your team on LEAN
• And more…

Books and Additional Resources:
Spencer’s Website
2 Second Lean by Paul Akers
Getting Things Done by David Allen
The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker
The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership by Jeffrey Liker and Gary Convis