A Caution to Lean Influencers
When I think about flow in construction, I am not thinking about abstract diagrams or academic definitions. I am thinking about the people on our jobsites who show up every day and make the work happen. Recently, I came across a post that defined flow in a way that felt completely detached from the realities of construction. It focused on zones and processes, but left out the most important element, the people.
I could not just scroll past it. Too many of these definitions and models sound good on paper but create dangerous practices in the field. When you treat zones as the flow unit and focus only on keeping work fronts busy, you end up overloading people. That leads to batching, congestion, stress, and eventually burnout. We know what happens next. Safety incidents rise, productivity spirals down, and the people we should be protecting are pushed beyond their limits.
As a career superintendent, I have lived these challenges. I know what it feels like to run a job that is overburdened with materials, overcrowded with trades, and strained by impossible schedules. That is not lean, it is harmful. Lean should never be about squeezing more work out of people. It must be about respecting people, balancing flow, and protecting workers first.
If we truly want flow in construction, we must see it through the movement of trades and people, not just empty zones on a chart. The train of trades is the real flow unit. Projects only move forward as quickly as trades can move safely and steadily through the building. Anything else creates false efficiency at the expense of those doing the work.
This is why I caution lean influencers to take greater responsibility. If you are going to speak into construction, dig deeper. Do not drop shallow definitions or leave workers to pay the price for oversimplified theories. Lean is about people. Always.
Key Takeaway
True flow in construction is not about keeping every zone busy. It is about protecting people, balancing resources, and letting trades move safely through the project. Lean must put people first if it is to truly work.
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