Lean/IPD in action – MSU business college pavilion case study

Abstract

Michigan State University (MSU) is an educational institution that owns one of the largest on-campus housing systems in the US. As part of its operation, MSU is interested in improving the performance of its capital projects. To do so, it has adopted the integrated project delivery (IDP) approach. This article describes some of the key features used by MSU to implement an IPD agreement for building its new MSU Business College Pavilion. As a result, MSU delivered a successful project, both on cost and on time, an outcome that involved the use of several tools, such as an IPD multi-party agreement, the Lean Execution Plan, Target Cost, and A3, among others. The use of IPD maximizes value, leadership, and innovation while using agreements for sharing risks and rewards. This case´s learned lessons for future projects involve the foster of aspects such as value alignment, collaboration, waste reduction, and periodic review of the effectiveness.