After this identification stage, a series of Lean tools will be defined collectively, then implemented, to resolve each of the problems encountered. This scenario is not specific to Habitat Social: after numerous experiments initiated by work site teams since 2011, today, lean management is finally becoming widespread. “We wish to implement Lean on all Bouygues Construction work sites, as it is the key to maintaining our development and staying competitive in our core sector, construction,” explains Pierre Barrelet, Lean coordinator for the Group under the supervision of Marie-Luce Godinot, herself appointed by Philippe Bonnave in 2016. “This means that all work site teams need to put in place this approach and be able to adapt its deployment to their needs,” he adds.

Lean Management representatives also agree on the “field” aspect of the approach: problems on a work site cannot be detected in an office! It is best to be on site and to spend time with the teams. “Lean Management is practised in the field, with the teams: it’s about solving problems on the work site, step by step, lastingly. Bouygues Construction is already a breeding ground for the implementation of Lean, because people, their skills, and the culture of progress at the service of clients and of the company are already anchored in our values,” explains Cécile Gomez, Lean Management Director at Perform TP (Bouygues Travaux Publics).

Houcine Hanachi, Lean Management Director at Bouygues Bâtiment Nord-Est (Bouygues Entreprises France-Europe), adds as a precision, “There is no magic formula applicable to all work sites. Lean is first and foremost a culture based on principles; then, tools are made available, which should be combined in order to create the Lean approach. We use the same identification workshops in the beginning, but then, each Lean approach suggested is specific to the work site where it is created and applied.” The results of these approaches are quickly seen: learning to work together, anticipating roadblocks several weeks ahead of time, and holding group briefings every morning to talk about the schedule and the task to be accomplished...

Hanane Lemsyeh, CEA Works Supervisor, who uses the Last Planner System (LPS) on her work site at Faubourgs d’Anfa (BYMARO, Bouygues Bâtiment International), states, “This Lean tool allowed us to locate each task to be accomplished in time and space, and highlighted the chain of sub-contractor tasks and the consequences of delays on the entire project.” In this way, scheduling has been optimised, and everyone is held accountable: tasks are carried out one after the other more quickly and fluidly. “This is a major asset for this project, as our main challenge was the short time frame,” concludes Stéphane Schaeffer, Lean BYMARO representative and project assistant.

Is Lean Management a source of stress? Some people sometimes describe Lean Management in rather unflattering terms, as a source of stress and suffering at work. Cécile Gomez’s view is that if such situations exist, it means that the implementation of the approach has deviated from its main purpose. “It’s not about making the teams pedal faster, but better. In other words, we’re not trying to reduce the 24 seconds it takes to drive in a nail, but rather the 60 minutes spent looking for the hammer!”

“Construction is a highly competitive sector, and many companies are on the same level technologically. Tomorrow, a collaborative culture and continuous improvement will make the difference,” emphasizes Pierre Barrelet. At Travaux Publics, it has been well established for several years that Lean Management is a matter of company sustainability. “As is already the case in the industrial sector, tomorrow, there will probably no longer be any construction companies without lean management,” explains Olivier Miret, Director of Industrial Optimisation at Travaux Publics.

Unstoppable Lean!​ Thanks to this large-scale deployment, our work sites are adopting Lean more and more. The proof is that the testimonials presented in this article are but a small sample of numerous examples of the implementation of Lean Construction within the Group. To further accelerate the deployment of this approach on its work sites, as early as 2011, Bouygues Travaux Publics progressively implemented the Perform TP initiative. Within the Industrial Optimisation Department led by Olivier Miret, Cécile Gomez and her team are fully dedicated to the subject, and the team members that worked on the sites will go back there and pass on best practices for Lean Management. Perform TP also involves Lean employees from other entities to exchange best practices.

Finally, a group of Lean representatives was created so that the various entities and subsidiaries could discuss best practices, and more generally, deployment on work sites. This is mostly to structure the main tools, inform and support people on work sites, integrate feedback, measure benefits, follow up on deployment, and accompany the change. Similarly, a group called Yammer Lean Management was created to discuss the subject. Lean is now operational at Bouygues Construction!