Agile operating models improved YIT's work

YIT construction site with construction machines

In brief

Customer

YIT

Challenge YIT wanted to break down their old, silo-based operating models and create a more agile model of working together.

Results With Nitor's help, YIT managed to streamline everyday life and workflow already after half a year of the project's launch.

Benefits Transparency and workflow increased throughout the organisation, making it easier to prioritise projects. Also, employees' motivation and pride in their work increased.

YIT set out to create an agile approach to the construction business in 2017 after noticing how well it performed in the company's other unit. Although the change process proved to be more extensive than initially thought, with systematic work in just over six months, YIT is in a situation where everyday life is much easier. Things progress now more quickly, conflicts and bottlenecks have been significantly reduced, and work prioritisation has become easier.

Aiming to build a seamless cooperation model

For YIT, the agile approach's goal was to make the factors involved in the projects work seamlessly together from design to implementation. We sought a smooth flow of work through the various work phases – practical conflicts are significantly reduced when the progress of projects and needs are visible to all those involved in the work. One critical goal in the change was to create an overall picture of what is being done. Clear visibility of task queues would make it easier and faster to prioritise different projects.

Traditional silos as a starting point

The starting point was familiar to many organisations: different teams operated in their own silos without taking the time for discussions between them. Working days were hectic, and bottlenecks caused frustration. There was no shared vision in the work planning on what was needed at which stage of various projects. Therefore, the work done by different teams could slow down the whole project instead of all the measures seamlessly supporting the achievement of a common goal.

Transparency and the smoothness of work grew at a rapid pace

As a result, YIT managed to achieve a better and faster workflow throughout the entire organisation. Transparency improved significantly, making it easier to prioritise projects. When management and the operational level were made to solve problems together, the hierarchy also seemed to be lowered. The experience of equality strengthened commitment to the company and one's own work, but the face-to-face encounters also gave management a comprehensive picture of what had been achieved. The new approach also increased employee motivation.

The same operating model was eventually expanded to facilitate the merger with Lemminkäinen, making it easier to merge the working communities.

Results through concrete change

At YIT, the project started with the development of construction-related electronic tools, which related to the control of the whole construction process. A new, agile approach was launched around these tools, where teams work together to plan future projects. It was quickly realised that the company's HR, finance, and IT departments were also needed, making the change broader than initially anticipated. An entirely new way of planning future projects was introduced: Big Room Planning.

With the new planning process, the teams would gather and plan the upcoming work together. That way, the links between each team become visible, and any bottlenecks could be easily removed. When all possible obstacles are taken into account beforehand, it’s possible to avoid conflicts as the work progresses.

As another new way of planning the work, the teams calculated their own capacity and communicated what could be done with these resources. The task queue was made more transparent, making prioritisation easier. The bi-weekly inter-team meetings started to monitor the concrete progress of the work. This procedure allows for a quick response to situations that might otherwise cause bigger problems later. This way, obstacles can be removed from the path well in advance.

Keys to a successful project

YIT had a very clear picture of what the project wanted to achieve. From the outset, it was important to invest in employee engagement and motivation so that everyone had a clear picture of the reasons for change. During the project, all participants received extensive training to support the change process. It was also essential to create an accepting atmosphere and a culture where mistakes were allowed.

On the other hand, positive feedback was also part of the change process from the beginning. The aim was to empower each employee as much as possible, with the objective of creating a new way of working together, and not only with a top-down approach. Transparency was also consciously increased, and company-wide events were held during the project to present the progress of the work to all those interested.