The Architectural Technologist - the new construction manager

After graduating from the Architectural Technology and Construction Management programme, Søren Herdichek Jepsen was hired at the Rambøll Danmark consultancy. Here, he works within the specialisations of construction management and trimmed (LEAN) construction that he put on his agenda on the third semester of his study programme.

“When I started on the Architectural Technology and Construction Management programme, I wasn’t quite sure of the role of the architectural technologist. And it soon turned out that an architectural technologist can fill many different functions, and the first semesters were spent finding a direction that I found interesting" says Søren Herdichek Jepsen about his time at UCN - University College of Northern Denmark.

“After the third semester it was clear that I wanted to work in construction management. I have completed carpenter’s training and I know from experience how important confident management and planning are to a construction site. That is why it soon caught my interest when we were introduced to trimmed (LEAN) constructionin the school subject of Financial Planning and Management."

Scepticism

Trimmed (LEAN) construction is a fairly new way of thinking in terms of construction management. It was introduced to Denmark late in the last century and builds on principles of Lean Production which is a manufacturing approach developed in Toyota’s car manufacturing plants.

“Trimmed (LEAN) Construction is a different construction process which requires all parties to adapt. At the moment, a state of distrust exists between the parties working in a construction site. Everbody is thinking about their own benefit and that automatically takes focus away from co-operation and planning.

By focusing on the entire construction process and the finished product you can make substantial reductions in waste and time. But Søren Herdichek Jepsen has experienced huge challenges in changing the way things work in the construction sites.

“Many contractors are sceptical about this new approach to construction. Especially now in the midst of the crisis when everyone is under pressure, the necessary energy to be ready to try new methods is lacking. In bidding rounds everyone is against everyone else, which often leads to very tight schedules, where there is no room for mistakes and the unexpected things that arise when you are thinking in new ways.”

Trust is key

“Trimmed (LEAN) Construction relies very much on trust. It is especially trust and the responsibility that comes with it that generate much scepticism", says Søren Herdichek Jepsen and points out that traditionally, there has been too little agreement between advisors, engineers, architects and the contractors of a site.

Søren Herdichek Jepsen tells us how the parties involved are sceptical and conservative when it comes to construction. All parties to the process find it hard to accept this new approach and Søren Herdichek Jepsen also feels a great challenge in having to change many years of routines and work flows. 

“I think the contractors need to experience a success before they’ll adopt the new approach. They need to get the feeling that they are actually benefiting from setting time aside for planning and co-ordinating. But it should be implemented slowly to avoid stepping on anyone’s toes. It is all about taking small steps forward. It is a matter of motivating the craftsmen to take part in planning because at the end of the day they are the ones that need to have the overview as they are the ones doing the actual work.”

Same procedure…

But even though Søren Herdichek Jepsen has a clear idea of how he wants to plan his construction projects he still runs into many of the same problems. “The challenge here is to involve all the players of the construction site in the planning process and motivate them to give them greater responsibility of the entire construction process. It is one for all and all for one”, concludes Søren Herdichek Jepsen and finishes with a specific example of the issue.

“At the beginning of my last construction project, we had a talk about the different deliveries for which I wanted to make a joint delivery plan. But the contractors all said that they’d handle that themselves and I decided to trust them on that. But of course it turned out not to work out.

Deliveries are often the problem when it comes to delays in construction and now, having learnt from experience, I stand fast on my demand that meticulous plans for all deliveries are prepared in the early stages of the process.