Showcasing MSU Lean Construction in India

At IPF, we’re all about supporting the Green and White; and when it comes to construction, we’re also about supporting the Green and Lean.

IPF’s Amr Abdel-Azim recently represented MSU at the Lean in the Public Sector (LIPS) conference in New Delhi, India, where he showcased the university’s innovative use of lean construction practices. He has also served as LIPS Chairperson for the last three years.

Lean design and construction practices, developed in the 1990’s, were designed to improve efficiency, promote collaboration among project partners, reduce waste and increase the timeliness of project delivery.

“You get consultants, stake holders, architects, construction managers and major contractors to all work together early in the design of the project,” Abdel-Azim said. “This allows them to collaborate on the design, instead of reviewing a design once it is complete which can result in undoing a lot of work.”

Abdel-Azim, a senior architect in Planning, Design and Construction, has spent most of his 30+ years in the profession working on projects for IPF. After earning degrees in both architecture and urban planning, he was hired as an architect in the spring of 1987. His work has taken him to many international locales.

It was through his travels, that Abdel-Azim was first exposed to lean construction practices. He saw firsthand how various organizations in the public sector were able to use lean construction successfully. “They looked at value from the customers’ point of view,” Abdel-Azim said. “They learned what value meant not from your side, but from the eyes of the customer.”

MSU was one of the first universities in the country to start using the lean construction Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) approach.

One of the many benefits of using IPD is price certainty. “We monitor the marketplace, so instead of someone estimating the project at the end of design, everyone is involved throughout the process of design to get a more accurate estimation,” said Abdel-Azim.

The construction of the Shaw Hall dining area, and the Business College Complex addition (both IPD projects) were two of the projects that Abdel-Azim highlighted during his presentation at the LIPS conference.

“Every time you go outside, especially internationally, it is a great opportunity to shine a bright light on MSU,” said Abdel-Azim.