Since 2013, McGough has been on a journey – specifically, a Lean journey, which has focused on applying Shingo Model Lean process management approaches to help the company run more efficiently, consistently and always with an eye towards improvement.
In a sign of how successful the company has been at implementing Lean, McGough will be featured as part of the Shingo Institutes’ Midwest study tour in May, 2025. McGough is one of three Twin Cities-area businesses participants will visit and learn from during the tour. McGough’s inclusion as a stop on the tour also reflects the company’s commitment to innovation in the construction industry – not just in techniques and technology, but in how construction projects are run.
“It’s exciting that we are far enough on our Lean journey that others are recognizing that and want to see what we are doing at McGough,” said Virginia Cosgriff, Director of Operational Excellence at McGough and the driving force behind Lean at the company. “We’ll get to introduce them to and help them understand, what does Lean mean in construction?”
The Shingo Method– a business philosophy that focuses on workflows and continuous improvement systems in every aspect of how an organization works, named for a Japanese industrial engineer who developed the core tenets while working for Toyota – has been applied across multiple sectors. The other featured organizations in the Minneapolis tour, for example, are in medical devices and life sciences.
Seeking Better Ways for Builders
Today, Lean is being adopted more broadly by the construction industry. An entire Lean Construction community has emerged to put into practice Lean principles and share best practices.
“It’s a methodology that’s flexible enough to allow you to build what’s right for your organization,” said Cosgriff. Although originally created for factories and manufacturing, the core principles can expand to encompass almost any endeavor.
Even within the construction industry, however, Cosgriff sees what McGough is doing is unique. Many practitioners of Lean Construction focus on the efficiency generated by using particular tools. Cosgriff’s goal is broader – to embed Lean in the company culture, touching every role at every level.
“Instead of taking a tool-based lean implementation approach, we are taking an organizational approach, a systems and culture approach,” she said. “It’s really building maturity of behaviors” – making certain Lean approaches second nature in everyday work.
As part of the Shingo Method, Cosgriff has been focusing on implementing particular Lean systems in a methodical way – things like creating standard work processes, Tiered Management (which is about how communications are intentionally escalated from projects to the executive team), idea generation, implementing a deliberate onboarding process, and using a Last Planner System® based production system.
“We’re trying to make sustainable change that gives us sustainable results,” Cosgriff said. “We’ve made that jump. And we’ve shown that our processes benefit the company. We’re doing better in risk mitigation, project performance, transparency and other measures since implementing more Lean systems.”
Benefits that Extend to Clients and Partners
McGough’s Lean journey isn’t just about internal processes. Just as Toyota worked with its suppliers to align their activities with what happened inside the factories, Cosgriff said, McGough’s Lean practices also flow outward to the benefit of others.
“It shows up to our clients in many ways,” she said. “They get consistent, effective communication. Our teams actively identify issues in their work and come up with ideas to solve them on a regular basis. No matter where clients work with us in the country, we want to show up the same way and deliver the same quality. We always want to be improving our processes and so we will work with clients to become better.”
Trade partners, too, find that the way McGough runs projects is effective and clear, and helps minimize downtime and rework. It has even become one of the hallmarks of McGough projects, Cosgriff said. “They’re so used to us doing certain things that if we end up changing a process, we actually hear from our trade partners.”
As a stop on the Shingo tour and with a regular presence at Lean Construction events, McGough is building a reputation for commitment to the betterment of both the construction industry and the Lean community – as well as the professional development of the people who practice it.
Over a decade into its journey, Lean has helped solidify the “McGough way,” which is seen in the down-to-earth professionalism and reputation for quality the company enjoys. But Cosgriff knows that doesn’t mean her work is done. “There is no end,” she said, “because the goal is continuous improvement.”
