In late October, members of McGough’s Operational Excellence had the privilege of presenting at the Lean Construction Institute’s 25th Annual Congress, marking over eight years of dedicated support and sponsorship towards this important event. Over the past two years, McGough has gone above and beyond by sponsoring the “learning day,” providing an extra day for attendees to delve into in-depth topics through half day or full day sessions.
The Presentation: Tiered Huddles – Ensuring Standard Communication Up and Down the Organization
During the conference, McGough’s team shared insights on our innovative approach to communication within the organization through Tiered Huddles (also known as Tiered Management). Presenters included Virginia Cosgriff, Operation Excellence Leader, Ryan Goodsen, Senior Vice President of Operations, and Josh Christensen, Project Executive.
Challenges Faced and Solutions Implemented
McGough identified a pressing challenge: the need to address and resolve project-related issues in real-time. Too often, vital information was disseminated informally, leading to delayed or ineffective solutions. To tackle this, McGough introduced Tiered Huddles, a structured communication framework that facilitates transparent and reliable interaction between frontline teams and leadership. This approach allows for the rapid escalation and resolution of issues, shared learning experiences, safety updates, and a more real-time understanding of ongoing projects.
The Core Focus Areas
These huddles prioritize six key areas:
- Celebrations
- Safety
- Quality
- Cost
- Delivery
- Key Operational Updates
These key topics help focus our teams on the right things to run our projects. Each tier is talking about the same information, or set of questions, to ensure they get the right help when they need it. This facilitates collecting information in a systematic way from all projects, rolling up to leadership.
Transformative Outcomes
The implementation of Tiered Huddles has yielded transformative results for McGough including:
- Early identification of safety near misses has driven the establishment of industry-leading safety protocols and practices.
- Transparent discussions around supply chain constraints prompted the formation of a dedicated procurement team, minimizing potential project disruptions.
- Proactive conversations about cost, schedule, and quality have mitigated millions of dollars of risk for the company.
McGough’s Commitment to Lean Transformation
McGough is deeply invested in Lean and Operational Excellence methodologies, having spent over a decade on our lean transformation journey and currently participating in the Enterprise-Wide Lean Transformation Immersion Track at the intermediate level. Our journey with Tiered Huddles spans 2.5 years, originating in Minnesota and now expanding across all offices nationally.
McGough’s presentation at the Lean Construction Institute’s 25th Annual Congress stands as a testament to our unwavering commitment to innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Through Tiered Huddles, we have not only enhanced communication but also achieved remarkable strides in safety, quality, project management, and execution. This success story serves as an inspiration for organizations seeking to embrace methodologies outside of Lean Construction and foster a culture of excellence within their teams.
