Flintco Talks

Lean, not to be confused with a lien, is a business practice designed to increase efficiency, eliminate wasteful applications, and utilize human effort to the best of its ability. Lean has been implemented across industries with great success...that is, until it encountered the construction industry.

Unperturbed by the challenges of bringing traditional efficient operations to the industry, Flintco soldiered on, implementing lean practices with great success. On this episode of Flintco Forward, we found out how the company did it and why it works with Melanie Gilbertson, lean manager, and Peter Kozicz, president & CEO of Flintco.

After speaking with other construction companies about lean, Kozicz noted that "they understand why it would work in the context of a manufacturing facility, but [they believed] there’s no way it will work on a construction site because there are too many things that are unpredictable.” The team at Flintco decided to challenge this notion.

Lean has never been more critical for the industry; labor shortages plague the construction industry, and labor productivity hindering its success.

“Labor productivity in the construction industry runs at about 40%," Kozicz said. “Why not address labor productivity issues first?”

Today, Flintco has designed a construction industry-specific version of Lean--Lean 2.0. Gilbertson dove into the five principles that make Lean 2.0 successful in this unique marketplace. At the heart of Lean 2.0 is an ethos for teamwork and team satisfaction, something missing in the heavy contractor world of construction.

What's more, Lean 2.0 acknowledges that each project is different, with different parameters and a different team on every site. This individualized approach with a dogmatic, can-do attitude is what sets Lean 2.0 apart from its predecessor.

“Complacency is not part of our culture," Gilberston said.

Hard hats have been a symbol of safety for construction workers for decades. While materials have improved and hard hats are now stronger and lighter, their actual mechanical structure hasn’t changed much.

Construction expert Adam Trautman, project manager for Flintco, joined us on the first episode of Flintco Forward to share his perspective on the evolution of hard hats in the industry.

“Really, the hard hat is a last line of defense on the job site. We try to design and develop plans to mitigate risk; however, there is always the potential for injury. Hard hats have, for the most part, been ‘good enough,’ and many construction workers feel it’s sufficient,” Trautman said.

Flintco has been investing in more safety measures for its workforce and recently introduced the new KASK hard hat to the field. KASK has a long history of developing hard hats for other users like rescue workers and climbers. In these situations, hats need to offer full mobility while also fitting snuggly to a person’s head.

“The hard hat is a critical piece of safety equipment. It could mean the difference in a slight discomfort or a major injury,” Trautman said. “When we introduced the new hard hats, there was resistance because many construction workers have used the same kind of hard hat for ages. So, we decided to approach it from a real-life, relatable strategy so that our workers understand how innovative these new hard hats are.”

What makes the KASK hard hat different? Trautman explained that the hard hats have a chin guard, but one that’s comfortable, not cumbersome. The design itself is unique as well in that it fits the head better and is less likely to come off in a fall or if hit by debris.

When bringing it to their team, Trautman knew that the best way to get them to buy in to the value of the new hard hat was to convince each individual. Though it's a longer, slower approach, it helped the Flintco team break down the cultural wall around replacing an iconic piece of construction gear.

“We’ve taken a real behavior-based approach to safety and have focused on how much safer the new hard hats are versus traditional ones. When workers understand that this hard hat could save their lives, it resonates,” Trautman said.