Positives to Piping Prefabrication

Piping Prefabrication

Prefabrication has proven to be very beneficial in the HVAC and construction industry. At Grunau, we’ve also found many positives to piping prefabrication. For a current job with MCW, one of our mechanical coordinators developed the skids prefabrication idea. Our Sr engineer then developed the flow diagram for both glycol and chilled water pump skids. Two […]

Jobsite Trailer Transformation with Lean 5S

A construction jobsite trailer is often small and cramped so it’s critical to be clean and organized in order to get the job done efficiently. The Lean 5S tool of Lean Construction came in very handy for the transformation at MRMC. After one year on site at Milwaukee Regional Medical Center, the common areas in […]

Florida PlanGrid Breaks Gridlock

Florida PlanGrid

Grunau’s Orlando fire protection office began a new process for providing drawings, specifications, labor breakdown, test papers, stocklists, scope of work and any other documents that are normally provided in the “foreman’s packet”.  They are now using the construction app called “PlanGrid”. Also Grunau’s safety-related documents can be found on the Florida PlanGrid app including site specific […]

Metal Railings in Laser Focus

Metal Railings Laser Focus

Along with the install of the new Python robotic beamline in the Grunau Metals Shop during the autumn of 2016, the Metals team made a major change in the way one of their most popular products, metal railings, are made. During a 5S event years ago in the metal railings area, many discussions occurred on how to […]

Core Slugs Caught in 20-Story Wonder

Core Slugs

When our Grunau Metals project team was faced with finding a safe and efficient way to catch concrete core slugs from 20 floors above street-level, creative minds went to work.  This was a real-life situation where Lean problem solving skills were used.  A condominium along Milwaukee’s waterfront has an 8-foot cantilevered roof overhanging the entire […]

Ohio Contract Work is Made Efficient

Ohio's contract work VSM

Several months ago, an employee at the Grunau Youngstown fire protection office received a change order for some Ohio contract work. He spent a better part of the morning going from person to person.  He asked each person how to get this change order recognized by our accounting system.  Eventually it was revealed that he needed to make a […]

Lean Innovations Taken to New Heights

Lean Innovations at Grunau

Creative thinking and developing a better way to perform our tasks are basic principles of Lean construction. Grunau encourages employees daily to think of Lean innovations. When the HVAC team started talking about how to lift air handling units on to each of the over 30 floors of a new skyscraper being built, their minds went […]

Creative Thinking Sparks with Pipe Marks

Creative Thinking Pipe Marks

In August, we had some issues with extra pipe/weld shop material being sent to a large jobsite.  It was fabricated for installation, but was not ordered for delivery yet by the foreman.  This resulted in extra handling on the jobsite (WASTE) since it was needed for other floors that weren’t ready for deliveries.  Some creative thinking […]

Pipe Fabrication Shop is now Tops

Pipe fabrication shop Lean 5S

The Pipe Fabrication Shop Need In anticipation of the high demand for prefabricated, grooved, and partially assembled piping for our large downtown skyscraper project, Grunau’s Oak Creek pipe fabrication shop needed to be reconfigured. A new Plasma Cutter and Victaulic Groover were also on order to be installed in the current space. The Goal Create […]