Sustaining the Culture: What It Really Takes on a Lean Project
In this blog, I want to share how we kept our Lean culture alive once the initial excitement faded. After setting up incentives, refining our systems, and winning over the workforce, the hardest part began: sustaining the behaviors every single day. What I learned is simple culture does not maintain itself. It has to be reinforced, measured, and lived.
Using Accountability to Keep Standards High
One of the strongest tools we had was the trade partner grading system. Every trade partner received a weekly grade based on real data: huddle attendance, cleanliness, shutdowns, rolling completion items, safety walks, and other measurable behaviors. These grades went to project leaders and owners, which made people extremely invested in improving them. I watched trade partners drive hours to discuss a bad grade because they cared that much. Making expectations visible created accountability, competition, and instant behavior change.
Building Ownership Through Open Dialogue
We also met weekly with foremen and superintendents to let the workforce help shape the rules. They reinforced zero-tolerance policies, suggested improvements, and helped control site operations. When they helped build the system, they protected it. Even after we stopped the formal meetings, we kept an open-ended follow-up process asking the workforce what was working and what wasn’t. As their voices were heard, participation grew and the culture strengthened.
Staying Consistent With Daily Communication and Training
The daily huddle became the backbone of communication. No matter how the site evolved, everyone gathered, heard the same information, and aligned for the day. This consistency earned trust from both workers and the owner. To keep Lean concepts alive, I sent daily training topics and made sure every foreman received Two Second Lean. Many of them also completed the Lean core training, and for the first time they really understood the “why” behind our systems. Once they understood the purpose, they committed fully.
Key Takeaway
A Lean culture survives only when we reinforce it daily. Clear expectations, visible accountability, open communication, and continuous education turn Lean from a set of tools into a way of working that people believe in and protect.
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