This Fall marks the 4th year anniversary for the Lean Construction Blog. When we started the blog in 2015, we had one simple vision: “To take many of the wonderful lessons learned that we have experienced while being part of the LC community, attending conferences, reading research papers, etc. and make it more accessible to the rest of the world.” Our understanding is that most people do not have the luxury of attending an international conference. Most people want to understand LC in a simpler way than what is available at conferences and journals.
Our intention was to create a place where people can share case studies, best practices, and get new inspiration for how to apply Lean in their projects. Our goal is to spread knowledge about Lean Construction, encourage debate, create a knowledge sharing platform for the industry by the industry, develop a network of like-minded individuals, and inspire others to improve the way they manage their projects.
With this very simple vision, we engaged with industry and academic experts in the field of Lean Construction. In the last 4 years, we received more than 200 guest articles from 75 contributors. Over the course of this time, we received more than 502,000 page views from approximately 200,000 unique visitors worldwide.
As an international blog, we are pleased to see that while the United States takes 1st place with 76,000 unique visitors; interest in Lean Construction is a global phenomenon. More than 60% of the blog’s traffic comes from outside the United States. Although the Lean Construction Blog is not the only place where people can get information, we can safely say that the site’s traffic is a good correlation for interest in LC in these countries. The top 5 countries are: 1) United States, 2) United Kingdom, 3) India, 4) Canada, 5) Germany.
Below you will see a list of the top 20 most visited page on the Lean Construction Blog. By far the most popular post is “What is the Last Planner® System?”. This post has been viewed approximately 45,000 times and our readers have spent more than 213,750 minutes reading this page alone. Below are the top 20 most viewed pages on the blog.
1. What-is-the-Last-Planner-System.html
2. Keys-and-Tips-to-Implement-the-5S-Methodology.html
3. 10-Easy-Ways-to-Run-a-Lean-Meeting.html
4. The-Concept-of-Waste-as-Understood-in-Lean-Construction.html
5. applying-choosing-by-advantages-step-by-step.html
6. What-is-Integrated-Project-Delivery-Part-1.html
7. 5-Steps-To-Takt-Time-Planning.html
8. What-is-the-lean-project-delivery-system.html
9. 5-Levels-of-the-Last-Planner-System-Should-Can-Will-Did-and-Learn.html
10. How-to-Succeed-with-the-Lookahead-Process-of-The-Last-Planner-System.html
11. Single-Minute-Exchange-of-Dies-A-Neglected-Method-in-Lean-Construction.html
12. Applying-Lean-Thinking-to-the-Design-Process.html
13. The-History-of-The-Development-of-the-Last-Planner-System.html
14. 4-Tips-To-Improve-Your-Next-Pull-Planning-Session.html
15. Enhancing-A3-Problem-Solving-with-Technology.html
16. Introduction-to-Takt-time-planning.html
17. Teaching-Lean-Construction-Pull-And-Flow.html
18. Pull-Planning-in-Design-Best-Practices-and-Common-Pitfalls.html
19. 5-Key-Ideas-For-Successful-Lean-Implementation.html
20. How-to-Lead-a-Pull-Plan-Session.html
Since the inception of the blog, our readers have logged over 1,182,033 minutes on the site, a staggering number. Even if we live 10 lifetimes, we would not be able to personally impact this many people nor spend this much time educating the community. We are truly fortunate to live in a time where we can leverage technology to reach and grow our community.
One question that we ask ourselves is “How are people coming to the site?”. Are people coming passively by clicking on a link? Or are they actively looking? The data shows that more than half of the visitors come through an organic search. This means that the appetite and interest is out there for people to look into this topic. Approximately 25% of visitors come directly to the site by typing in the url. The remaining 25% comes from social media, our newsletter, and other sources.
By examining the data, we are pleasantly surprised with the impact that the blog has had thus far. When we launched the blog 4 years ago, we would never have guessed the traffic that we would get and the number of people we have been able to positively impact.
By carefully reflecting upon our past, we can now plot a new vision for the future. One question that we ask ourselves is: “In the next 5 years, how can we grow 10X?” This would mean 10X more readers to the blog, 10X more people being aware of Lean Construction as a viable approach for construction projects, 10X more people whose projects are delivered on time, 10X more satisfied clients, etc.
Our new vision for the Lean Construction Blog is simple: “How can we make Lean Construction the dominant approach for managing design and construction project?” Rather than having Lean as a niche area that is applied on a few large-scale hospital project, how can we make it mainstream? How can we make it so that everyone working in the construction industry knows that this is a viable option? How can we get more owners to be aware of and ask for Lean?
To accomplish our ambitious but achievable vision, we need YOUR help. We need the readers of the Lean Construction Blog to support us.The team behind the blog is very small and we cannot possibly accomplish this mission without your help.
We will continue doing what we have done to get us to this point. We will continue to publish high-quality articles that educates and brings forward a better understand of Lean Construction which are both theoretical and practical. We will continue to host regular webinars with Lean Construction experts. You can find our previous webinar recordings here.
For the next phase, we are launching 2 new initiatives: 1) Lean Construction Project Case Studies and 2) Master Class in Lean Construction.
In order to get more people to understand the profound impact that LC can have for projects and the people who work on them, we are asking for teams that have applied LC on their projects to share case studies of: 1) how you applied LC on your projects, 2) the impact that LC had, 3) what you learned from your application of LC, and 4) what problems you have yet to solve.
We believe that actual case studies will make it easier for the rest of the industry and the world to understand how LC can benefit them. This will lead to more interest and a growing number of Lean Construction advocates. If you have a case study that you want to get published, please submit in using this link.
In addition to our free content, we have found a need for highly quality instructor-lead training at an affordable price. The goal of the Master Class is to help you move from LC understanding to being able to implement it yourself and gain the benefits associated with LC. Each course will last approximately 5 weeks long. There will be live-learning sessions each week. More information about the MasterClass will be available soon.
We would not be able to get where we are today without continual support from the community. We would like to thank the over 75 contributors to the blog so far, the lean construction experts who have delivered high-quality webinars, and the organizations that have supported us through sponsorship. Our sponsors have helped us offset the cost of hosting the blog.
If the mission of the Lean Construction Blog is aligned with the values and vision of your organization, please join as a corporate sponsor. For a small annual rate, you can invest in high-quality content and accelerate our shared vision. It will show your company, employees, clients, and partners your commitment to Lean Construction and the Lean Construction Blog.
If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to info@leanconstructionblog.com. We are on a journey of continuous improvement and appreciate any feedback that you have.
