construction industry - RNDV


In our previous blogpost, RNDV Chief Project Officer Giedrius Grėbliūnas explored the complexities of construction productivity and the persistent challenges that limit its progress. Now, it’s time to dig deeper into one of the biggest barriers: waste. 

Most of you are probably familiar with the term “waste” in production. These are the activities that occur during a project but do not add value. They can range from walking, searching for information, correcting defects, or even redoing work. In manufacturing, tremendous progress has been made to eliminate waste, driving efficiency gains up to eight times higher than in construction. How? By minimizing waste to just 12 percent of the production time! 

The Reality of Construction Wastes 

Unfortunately, in construction, the story is different, marks Giedrius Grėbliūnas: “Wastes typically consume 57 percent of a project’s time. To put this into perspective: in a standard 10-hour workday, almost 6 hours are spent on activities that don’t contribute to the final product.” 

These activities include: 

  • Searching for information due to unclear specifications. 
  • Time wasted fixing errors in drawings or waiting for answers. 
  • Frequent mobilization and demobilization, caused by having to move between different areas instead of completing work in one spot. 
  • Misalignment between different trades working on site, causing delays and confusion. 
  • Slow problem solving, leaving unfinished tasks that need to be revisited later. 

In short, construction teams are often forced to spend valuable time on tasks that don’t directly contribute to the build, severely affecting overall productivity.

What Can Be Done? 

It’s crucial to understand that the value added by each worker is generally fixed—there’s only so much a person can do in a day. Therefore, increasing efficiency isn’t about asking workers to move or install things faster. Instead, it’s about removing waste. 

“By eliminating waste, we can free up time and redirect that effort into value-adding activities such as installing more units, pulling more meters, or painting more square meters. This transformation is key to boosting productivity,” says RNDV Chief Project Officer. 

Visualizing the Impact of Waste Removal 

Below, we offer a visual representation that highlights just how impactful eliminating waste can be. In RNDV’s own projects, we’ve seen firsthand that reducing obstacles for workers can cut the time required to complete a task by half when compared to traditional construction flows, where waste is prevalent. 

RNDV’s Approach: Measuring and Improving Efficiency 

“At RNDV, we actively measure our efficiency through practices like Gemba walks, where we analyze real-time operations on site. From these observations, we’ve confirmed that removing waste—whether it’s unnecessary steps, delays, or miscommunication—dramatically speeds up project completion,” Giedrius Grėbliūnas shares his insights. 

But, and this is important: such improvements only happen when all parties involved in the project collaborate closely. Solving issues upfront, aligning work across trades, and keeping the site conditions optimal are critical to making sure every worker can perform their job without unnecessary interruptions. 

Conclusion 

The construction industry has long lagged behind in productivity gains compared to manufacturing, but it doesn’t have to remain this way. By focusing on eliminating waste, we can unlock the potential to significantly boost efficiency on every project. 

In the next post, Giedrius Grėbliūnas will explore how technologies and Lean methodologies can further help us improve processes and cut down on waste in construction. Stay tuned! 

The fundamental principle of making money in the construction industry is straightforward: create value for your customer and get compensated in return. But RNDV Chief Project Officer (CPO) Giedrius Grėbliunas points out, “If only it would be so easy!” 

“When it comes to building the right way, RNDV has the experience and knowledge to do so. In this post, I will share a few insights on where lies the source for a good construction process,“ asserts RNDV Chief Project Officer (CPO). 

The Pillars of Construction Success 

Let’s break down the construction process into two major phases: design and build. These can be visualized as two distinct “piles” of value. The first pile represents the value generated from an accurate and effective design. The second pile represents the value of executing that design flawlessly during construction. If both phases are executed correctly, the project is successful. Of course, additional steps could be included, but the premise remains consistent: success is a shared responsibility across all stages.

The Challenges of Traditional Construction Methods 

Unfortunately, in many cases, traditional project delivery methods fail to capture the full value potential. For example, even if the design phase goes smoothly, inefficiencies can arise during the build phase. Miscommunication, lack of collaboration, and suboptimal processes often result in significant waste. This is where the “pile of value” from construction begins to erode. 

Waste occurs when the build phase deviates from the plan—whether through delays, rework, or poor coordination between teams. These inefficiencies can lead to lost time, increased costs, and ultimately, a diminished final product. 

The Productivity Problem in Construction 

The issue of lost value in construction is not new. According to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, productivity in construction has remained stagnant for decades. This chart (referenced in the study) shows gross value added per hour worked at constant prices since 1947. In essence, it reflects how productivity has evolved – or rather, stagnated – over time. 

Giedrius Grėbliūnas notes that despite updated studies, the overall findings remain consistent. “Yes, in construction, we see various productivity levels across different project types. For example, multifamily buildings are more efficient than single-family homes, and industrial facilities outperform road construction. And you may wonder about the shipbuilding industry – I have an answer for you.” 

The Complexity of Shipbuilding 

An interesting comparison is the shipbuilding industry. In a related study, products were measured based on two parameters: complexity and time for development. Ships, much like planes and nuclear power plants, are at the top of the scale in terms of both factors.  

“Ships have a long development cycle. And the complexity does not fall behind planes and nuclear power plants. Combine the level of complexity with long development time and it is not hard to understand that you have a big challenge in front of you. In the time of the development, you have price erosion, change of personnel, pandemic, war, and other conditions that do not allow a project manager to sleep well each night,” highlights Giedrius Grėbliunas. 

The construction industry’s productivity issues are well-documented, and it’s clear that change is necessary. The challenge now is to identify the root causes of inefficiency and develop solutions to address them. Giedrius Grėbliunas will explore these strategies in the next blog post – stay tuned!