Lean Construction Certificate Program

Everyone related to the construction process has an incentive to get the project done faster and at a lower cost - from the project owners who want to see results for their investment to the contractors and designers who want to do their job well and move on to the next project. Lean Construction is driven to minimize costs and maximize value on each project completed, challenging all stakeholders to develop and apply better ways to manage the overall construction process.

To help contractors develop the knowledge needed to build Lean, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) developed the Lean Construction Education Program. Construction professionals at all experience levels will learn the building blocks necessary to transform their projects and companies into a Lean Operating System.

Complete all 5 units and you will be eligible to write the Certificate of Management: Lean Construction (CM-Lean) exam and earn your CM-Lean credential.

Unit 1: Introduction to Lean Construction

• Why Lean? and What is Lean?
• Generate Value, Remove Waste, & Optimize the Whole
• Continuous Improvement

Unit 2: Process and Production Basics

• Process, Efficiency & Variation
• Law of Variation
• Variation Mitigation
• 5S

Unit 3: Production Systems

• Lean Production Systems
• Batch-Pull-Balance-Takt Simulation
• Lean Production Systems – Pull
• Lean Production Systems - Law of Bottlenecks & Balance, Little’s Law & Batching

Unit 4: Lean Thinking Applied to Field Production, Last Planner System

• Last Planner System® (LPS)

Unit 5: Lean Thinking Outside of Field Production

• Lean Project Delivery
• Lean in the Supply Chain
• Lean in Design
• Process Improvement & Problem Solving

All members of a construction project team, including: Project Coordinators, Project Managers, Site Supervisors, Management, Owners and Support roles, for General Contractors and Trade Contractors.

James (Jim) Johnston

James Johnston, P. Eng., CM-Lean is an Industrial Engineer, Lean Construction coach, an Approved Trainer with the Associated General Contractors of America and one of the authors of the newest version of the Lean Construction Education Program. 

He is a construction, operations and quality specialist with over 30 years of experience focusing on business process analysis & improvement, Lean implementation, strategic planning and business development. Jim has worked extensively as a Management Consultant & Educator, leading organizations through lean transformations, quality system implementation and process optimization projects. He has coached & facilitated the implementation of Lean Construction tools and methodologies on projects of all sizes, has trained thousands of construction professionals internationally and continues to develop programs that improve project outcomes industry wide.

WCA Cancellation Policy

WCA will provide a full refund or education credit equal to the amount paid for the course if registration is cancelled five (5) full business days prior to the course start date. Payment is non-refundable for cancellations made within five (5) full business days of the course start date and there will be no transfers to future course dates.

Complimentary substitution of another member of your company/team is welcome right up until the course start time for no additional fee. Please email us at wcaeducation@winnipegconstruction.ca if you require a substitution.