Yates Construction wanted a Pull Planning System where they can track 4 major phases. Each of the major trades had to have their separate components, yet they need to control the system together, with all the components in sync.
Many construction companies use the post-it notes on a large wall system. This system has obvious flaws. The notes aren’t secure on the wall and the info is not repositionable.
Digital Designed Solutions has developed many Dry Erase Whiteboard Systems for the Pull Planning industry. Digital Designed Solutions uses large dry erase whiteboards. They are custom printed and installed together, but you can reposition the boards. As a certain time passes, the boards can be moved to keep the current board in order at the beginning of the job.
For this job, Yates Construction commissioned 4 systems to install in their main meeting room. Each system consists of 4 whiteboards. There are 20 lines that are exactly 3 inches deep (to fit Dry Erase Magnet Notes). All boards are 6 feet tall.
Four Sections in each of the Four Systems
The first section always stays anchored at the beginning. This is the Planning Phase. It lists the Discipline, Activities and Color for the job, so one can follow the color and easily track all their activities. Board 1 is 3 feet wide.
The next two sections are identical boards measuring at 44” wide. Each board shows a two-week schedule. Each day is a block that is 3” x 3”. This is a purposeful size so to fit our 3” square Magnetic Dry Erase Colored Notes. For this system, there are 20 different colors with 50 pieces for each color. 1,000 total pieces!
The last section, anchored at the end, to the most right, is called constraints. This block allows for dry erase writing of comments, key information and notes about that line, so important info will not be missed. This block is almost 12 inches wide.
The watermark background of the boards is the PDCA cycle image. This reminds the importance of the continuous loop of Planning, Doing, Checking and Acting. It provides a simple and effective approach for solving problems and managing change. This is a key component of LEAN Manufacturing.
A lot of thought and experience goes into the design and implementation of a pull planning system. From the 3”x3” squares to fit the magnetic notes to the LEAN cycle graphic to remind the continual improving of process, Digital Designed Solutions have customized many Pull Planning Systems for major Construction Companies. Another great advantage of this system is you can use it repeatedly.
