GRA Data Centre Case Study

Facing severe logistical challenges, GRA deployed VisiLean to streamline the scheduling of a complex infrastructure retrofit project in a major US data centre. VisiLean helped ground a commitment to performance improvement, dramatically cutting installation cycles while allowing ease of collaboration between local city authorities, equipment manufacturers, and fulfilling the expectations of the client and key stakeholders.

• Four-week-long installation cycle through Excel-based traditional planning was too slow and error-prone
• Logistical challenges in removing large and heavy UPS units within tight operational constraints
• Installations had to continue while practicing safe-distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

VisiLean was deployed to transform the planning and scheduling process:

Improved Lean Planning — Replaced Excel-based traditional planning with VisiLean's lean planning process for more reliable scheduling.

Past Performance Reviews — Weekly planning meetings incorporated past performance reviews to continuously improve planning accuracy.

Daily Planning Accuracy — Planning measurements improved from a weekly to a daily basis, providing much finer granularity in tracking and control.

• $800K-$1.6M savings on additional direct labour costs
• More reliable prediction of critical path activities
• Improved stakeholder confidence in the project team and schedule across customers, supply chain, and other stakeholders

• Lean planning tools can dramatically reduce installation cycles in complex retrofit projects
• Daily-level planning granularity provides significantly better control than weekly-level planning
• Digital lean tools enable safe collaboration even under COVID-19 distancing constraints