Contractors can buy software and roll out lean tools while hanging safety banners. But if the team model underpinning these efforts is unclear, performance will still slip. Risk tolerance will creep upward, and leaders will wonder why productivity and safety feel like a tug-of-war.
During Women in Construction Week at CONEXPO-CON/AGG, the sessions Lean Principles: It’s About People, Process, & Change and Risk Tolerance Is Shaping Your Safety Culture, co-led by Katie Woodhall, Director of Safety at Beaver Excavating, and Ami Gignac, Vice President of Operations at GLC Minerals, returned to a common theme: clearly defined standards matter, but execution ultimately comes down to the people inside the system.
“The common thread is people,” Katie shares.
Risk tolerance is shaped long before an incident occurs. Safety should be structured around three areas: the worker, the work and the safety practices.
Traditional hierarchies can slow decision-making and hide problems. Empowered teams can identify issues quickly and move toward solutions.
WHEN EXPECTATIONS DRIFT, RISK EXPANDS
Field operations are often fluid. Crews rotate and scopes shift while supervisors move between projects. When leaders don’t clearly define expectations, people create their own preferred way of handling day-to-day goals, whether that’s how a Connex box is organized or how a task is executed.
The result is more stops, more questions and more opportunities for error. This creates eroding schedules, reduced margins and poor safety performance. The solution is straightforward: align expectations before the work begins.
More information on the front end reduces friction later. Standardized processes clarify what is required and what triggers escalation.
When expectations are clearly defined, risk tolerance naturally drops to the level the system permits.
LEAN REQUIRES STRUCTURE AND TRUST
Ami has seen the same dynamic play out in lean initiatives. The idea behind lean construction principles is to utilize tools and systems to minimize waste and maximize productivity, allowing everyone to work toward the same goal.
Early in her career, she viewed lean primarily as process documentation and efficiency tools. Over time, she saw that execution depends less on templates and more on how teams work together.
“If a team doesn’t work together, lean becomes the flavor of the month,” Ami explains. “Problem solving becomes mechanical. Communication reduces. Engagement drops.”
Traditional hierarchies can slow decision-making and hide problems. Empowered teams can identify issues quickly and move toward solutions. Faster problem-solving accelerates improvements and supports business results.
Safety, quality and production KPIs should be visible to operators in real time, clearly shown against monthly and annual targets. Discussion of performance gaps and adjustments is paramount, with cross-functional teams stepping in when issues persist.
Lean projects align directly with those targets.
LEADERSHIP SETS THE CEILING
Systems alone do not sustain performance. Leadership behavior can reinforce or undermine expectations.
“The foundation is actually at the top,” Katie notes. “It’s not at the bottom.”
When leaders model adherence to the process and engage in honest dialogue, teams follow suit. If leaders undercut the system, the system becomes optional, and the preferred mode of operation returns.
Katie shares a line that captures the operational value of clarity: “clear is kind and unclear is unkind.”
To help ensure clarity across all projects and team members, here are some takeaways you can use today to get started.
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS CONTRACTORS CAN USE NOW
1) Define how work is supposed to look
• Establish consistent setups, workflows and handoffs for repeatable tasks.
• Eliminate guesswork so crews are not relying on habits or memory.
2) Slow down the start
• Use pre-task conversations to surface complexity and clarify expectations.
• Agree on hazard levels and decision boundaries before the first tool is lifted.
3) Connect safety to performance
• Make production, quality and safety metrics visible to the people doing the work.
• Review gaps regularly and address root causes, not just symptoms.
4) Reduce hierarchy where it blocks problem-solving
• Encourage frontline employees to raise issues early.
• Create space for honest feedback without penalty.
5) Reinforce expectations through leadership behavior
• Model adherence to process at every level.
• Treat deviation as a signal to improve the system, not assign blame.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Tools can support the system, but people sustain it.
Ultimately, standardization, front-end planning and visible risk thresholds only gain traction when people feel safe raising problems in real time.
“Lean only works when people have solid relationships, trust and the ability to have tough conversations,” Ami notes.
In the end, your team model determines how lean performs, how risk is tolerated and whether safety and profit move in the same direction.
Fix the model, and the results will follow.
Photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK/ADRIATICFOTO
