Construction
Flow Acceleration

Images courtesy of EDF Energy

The Problem
The Hinkley Point C project in Somerset is the first new nuclear power station built in the UK in over two decades, representing a cornerstone in the nation's transition to low-carbon energy.
This ambitious endeavour will provide reliable power to six million homes but comes with significant buildability, political, and performance challenges. The project's scale and complexity require an unprecedented level of coordination across a vast supply chain, massive workforce capability development, and careful balancing of production and productivity outputs against challenging environmental and regulatory requirements.

The programme faced significant challenges in day-to-day task reliability, with the buildings performing at c50%. The planning had become disconnected from those who do the work, and there was no transparency of performance or constraints at a workforce level.

To address these challenges, we implemented a pilot programme based on Make Ready Planning and Production Control, leveraging Last Planner System concepts to drive improvement.
I’ve enjoyed working with Tactical Edge enormously and know you had a tremendous impact on the project. I have very fond memories of our early starts with the teams and think the work you did with the frontline leadership is world leading.
Ben Ring
Project Director
An experienced consultancy with a great work ethic who built an immediate rapport with the client by demonstrating specialist knowledge, innovative ideas, and best practices, as well as a professional service delivering exceptional results.
Craig Wilkinson
Managing Director
The Solution
FROM CONSTRUCTION THINKING TO PRODUCTION THINKING

The Pilot Programme

Our approach shocked the cultural norms within the project. Therefore, a pilot programme was initiated, with a key focus on a critical project milestone.

Make Ready Planning & Daily Production Control

  • Through structured make-ready sessions, the teams proactively identified potential constraints and created plans to protect the value-creation process and actions. They resolved them before execution, ensuring deliverables were ready for execution by aligning resources, materials, and
  • Implemented daily Short Interval Control to engage those who do the work and held bookend daily accountability stand-ups to commit to ‘what a good day looks like’ and answering ‘have we had a good day’ to drive learning and

Visual Performance Management

  • Deployed Cell Level Visual Performance Management to Mini-milestone progress, constraints, and completion status in an accessible manner.
  • Tracked daily task reliability metrics to monitor production reliability and create real-time improvement

Site-Wide Deployment Following the pilot’s success, the system was refined and rolled out across the entire site.

  • Scalable Framework: Processes were adapted to suit the scale and complexity of different project areas.
  • Coaching and Support: Teams were coached on Make Ready Planning and Production Control principles, ensuring consistent
  • Continuous Improvement: Rapid feedback loops were established to refine the system further and address emerging challenges and trends.
Impact on Performance
RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE

Outcomes of the Pilot

  • Daily Task Reliability increased from 55% to 87%, and concrete pour volumes increased by 113%, significantly reducing delays and rework.
  • The pilot team successfully delivered a project-critical milestone, demonstrating the system’s effectiveness.
  • The daily accountability stand-ups and Make Ready sessions, along with the Visual Performance Management, fostered better teamwork and shared

Outcomes of Year 1 Full Deployment

The Make Ready Planning & Daily Production Control deployment contributed significantly to Main Civils Works’ record-breaking year on HPC. We addressed longstanding planning & production control issues by fostering a culture of proactive planning and teamwork; the project achieved 15 of 16 critical milestones

by stabilising site reliability to over 80% Planned Percentage Complete and significantly derisked programme execution through robust plans to protect and set new standards for productivity and efficiency across HPC.

 
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