HA Lean Benefits Realisation Guide

A guide to capturing Benefits accruing from

the use of Lean techniques and methods in
Lean Improvement Projects in the HA Supply
Chain

February 2013

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction

Chapter 2 What is a benefit?

Chapter 3 Benefits Realisation Process

Chapter 4 Types of Benefit

Chapter 5 Roles and Responsibilities

Chapter 6 Worked Examples

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Chapter 7 Reporting

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Chapter 8 Frequently Asked Questions

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Appendix A Benefits Realisation Capture Form Template

Appendix B Benefits Realisation Capture Form Examples

Glossary of Terms
Project This is the Lean Intervention and does not refer to the scheme as a whole
NAO National Audit Office
Lean Tracker The online tracker used to record and update the progress of benefit capture,
available on the HA Lean Portal
Planned Benefit The benefit that is anticipated at the start of the scheme
Realised Benefit The benefit that has been captured and measured
Lean Deployment Office The HA team responsible for the implementation of Lean Deployment

Chapter 1

Introduction

The purpose of the HA Lean Division is to lead, support and enable the implementation of Lean
techniques to achieve continuous performance improvement across the HA supply chain.
The over-riding objective is to reduce the cost of delivering HA projects and maintenance while at
the same time improving the quality of the product delivered and improving delivery performance.
Specifically this means:

Delivering increased value for money for the taxpayer:

Realising auditable and tangible benefits in terms of cost, time and quality:
Delivering quantifiable efficiency improvements:

Measuring benefits is central to the achievement of these objectives.

This guide sets out the approach and framework to capturing benefits accruing from the use of lean
techniques and methods across all areas of Highways Agency supply chain, and satisfies an
expectation and requirement of the HA Board that HA Lean Division have in place a structured
approach to capturing, measuring and benefits realised which complies with HM Treasury and NAO
guidelines. It is not intended to be seen as an HA wide policy document at this stage.
This guide will provide and demonstrate the foundation for the audit of all benefits accruing from the
adoption of Lean techniques and methods. Benefits arising from Lean projects will only be
registered by HA if the process set out in this guide is followed.
The anticipated readership of this guide is Lean Practitioners, Technical Managers, Project
Managers, Supplier Contract Managers and the Lean Deployment Office.
The process described in this guide will typically be used by a Lean Practitioner and provides a
framework to work within. It is not intended to be definitive, and the Practitioner should exercise their
judgement in identifying the type of benefits which will accrue from an intervention. In particular we
recognise that repetitive processes tend naturally to improve over time, and allowance should be
made for this. We are not wishing to inflate benefits a conservative approach should be the norm.
Benefits claimed must be supported by factual evidence therefore an evidence trail should be kept
by the Practitioner to substantiate the information presented in the Benefits Realisation Capture
Form (BRCF).
The process is supported by the BRCF. A BRCF template is included at Appendix A and should be
viewed in conjunction with this Guide. Completed examples are included at Appendix B.
The guide presumes that the reader is aware of the HA organisation and the role of the HA Lean
Division. If not the reader should refer to the Lean Deployment Office Handbook located on the
www.highways.gov.uk/specialist-information website.
This guide and the approach to benefits realisation demonstrated in this guide have been reviewed
with and are supported by HA Financial Services.

Chapter 2

What is a benefit?

A Benefit is:A measurable improvement resulting from change perceived as advantageous.

A Benefit can be typically described as:A Benefit is:

Financial

Cost for example; reduction from the benchmark estimate of an

activity or a project
Time for example; reduction in the time needed to complete an
activity or project when compared to the benchmark. This may also
result in a reduction in cost

Non Financial

Quality for example; a reduction in numbers of defects

Safety for example; a reduction in recordable accidents/incidents
Sustainability for example; a reduction in the number of lorry
movements and the associated reduction in carbon.
Cultural for example; spending more time working on the solution
and less time allocating blame if and when something has gone wrong
or someone has made a mistake.
Other

Chapter 3

Benefits Realisation Process

1. Plan
Benefits
(BRCF Part B)

2. Measure
Benefits

3. Realise
Benefits
(BRCF Part C)

Lean Tracker

4. Analyse &
Report
Benefits

Reporting

The Process consists of 4 Steps:

1. Planning the Benefits
2. Measuring the Benefits
3. Realising the Benefits
4. Analysing and Reporting the Benefits
The process is supported by the Benefits Realisation Capture Form (BRCF) and the lean projects
tracker. A BRCF template is included at Appendix A and a completed example is included at
Appendix B.
Step 1 Plan Benefits:
Identifying and sizing the benefit:
As soon as an opportunity to deploy a lean intervention is identified or a decision to deploy a lean
technique is made, the planned benefits should be identified. This can be achieved by commencing
a BRCF form. It is important to complete section B at this stage so that an initial estimate of realised
benefits can be made, which will help when assessing the level of success of a Lean Intervention
Project.
At this stage all planned benefits, e.g. Financial - cost, time, Non Financial - quality, safety,
sustainability and culture, should be considered and a realistic estimate of the benefits that can be
achieved should be made. The BRCF provides prompts (section A) as to the type of benefits that
can be achieved, and encourages benefits to be planned (section B). Appendix 1 of the form allows
for calculations to be recorded that support the estimate.
The completion of section B and Appendix 1 of the BRCF is the commencement of the evidence trail
that the Practitioner must complete to demonstrate the benefits claimed are realised. The
Practitioner should consider what other (if any) evidence may be needed to support the submission.

The anticipated date when the benefit will be realised is identified and recorded in section B of the
BRCF. This sets the initial aim for realising the benefit and the prompt for the completion of Section
C. Depending on the type of intervention this date may be:

The end of the lean intervention.

The end of the activity to which the intervention applies.

It is recommended that Lean Practitioners seek advice and guidance from an HA Technical Manager
when completing the BRCF.
It is important that these targets are real and that the key players accountable for delivery are
committed.
Step 2 Measure Benefits:
Measuring the Benefit the ongoing review of the planned benefit through the period of the lean
intervention.
During the life of the Lean Intervention the Lean Practitioner reviews and updates the status of the
project, which may include the planned benefits. The expectation is that this review will be
undertaken monthly through the Commentary section of the HA Lean Project Tracker .
Practitioners and secondees will also have the opportunity to discuss project developments with HA
Technical Managers via monthly telephone conferences, bi-annual seminars and Lean conferences.
The Lean Practitioners during Step 2 will continue to capture evidence to support the benefits
claimed.
Step 3 Realise Benefits:
Realisation of the Benefit
At completion of the intervention (i.e. at the date identified in section B of the BRCF) the actual
benefit realised can be assessed in each of the categories set out in section B of the BRCF.
The actual benefits achieved are recorded in Section C of the BRCF and signed off by the Lean
Practitioner and the Lean Champion/Sponsor.
Benefits claimed must be supported by factual evidence therefore an evidence trail should be kept
by the Practitioner to substantiate the information presented in the Benefits Realisation Capture
Form (BRCF). The quality of evidence required to support realised benefits in the BRCF should be
defined and communicated to Lean Practitioners. This may include, but is not limited to, the inclusion
of:

Cycle time measurements taken on site;

Number of before and after iterations of designs;

Typical scale of rates for a particular job or function; and

Typical preliminary cost documents.

The signed BRCF is submitted to the Lean Deployment Office. The evidence trail is finalised and
archived by the Lean Practitioner for future review and audit if necessary. This mechanism creates
agreement on how to finalise the measure of the benefits and the quantum.
Step 4 Analysing and Reporting Benefits:
The objective of Steps 1 to 3 is to capture real benefits in a structured and auditable way.
The objective of Step 4 is to report to the HA Board and if appropriate to DfT and Treasury the
benefits delivered through deploying lean interventions, techniques and methods. This will be a
combination of realised benefits captured using the BRCF, and planned benefits which could be
delivered in the future. Planned benefits will be identified by the Lean Deployment Office through
analysis of the real benefits reported as planned or realised.
A benefits report will be produced monthly for submission to the HA Board Sponsor, and six monthly
for submission to the HA Board. Submissions to DfT and Treasury will be as required by the HA
Board.
The Lean Deployment Office is accountable for ensuring that the benefits process has been properly
followed, will scrutinise the figures presented by Lean Practitioners and if necessary will undertake a
full review with the Technical Manager and Lean Practitioner to verify the benefits claimed. Each
year a sample of all BRCFs submitted to the Lean Deployment Office will be audited for compliance
with the guide. This will include a check on the evidence trail maintained by the Lean Practitioner.
The Lean Deployment Office will check and be responsible for double counting of benefits.

Chapter 4

Types of Benefit

For consistency of reporting, benefits are categorised under six main headings.

Cost

Time

Quality

Safety

Sustainability

Culture

Note - The Practitioner does not need to apply all 6 categories but should consider each of the
categories as a way to define and demonstrate the planned benefits as the BRCF is developed.
Below are examples of each.
1. Cost For example an activity which previously required a gang of 6 workers which now can be
done by a gang of 5 would be a cost reduction benefit.
2. Time For example an activity which previously required a gang of 6 workers over a 6 week
period now reduced to a gang of 6 over a 5 week period is a reduction in time benefit. This will
normally also result in an associated cost benefit.
It may be that a reduction of an activity duration may also lead to an overall reduction in scheme
duration i.e. a reduction of time on critical path activity, with a resulting reduction in scheme on cost.
This should also be identified as both a Time and a Cost benefit.
3. Quality This can be quantified and measured in a number of ways. An example is a reduction in
reported defects. Another Quality measure could be where a scheme has identified an improvement
opportunity such as a better method of drainage where the length of pipe is increased resulting in
fewer joints therefore reducing the risk of joints that could fail.
4. Safety Can typically be measured by reduction in lost time accidents and reduction in incidents
and near misses/ or reduction in exposure to risk such as reduced roadside working hours.
5. Sustainability - Can typically be measured where operations such as lorry movements can be
reduced with a corresponding reduction in carbon footprint.
6. Culture Creating a collaborative environment where all members of the team are committed to
delivering continuous improvement is a cultural benefit. Cultural benefits are typically measured by
employee and workforce satisfaction surveys.
Any other benefits that do not fit into one of the above should be categorised as Other.
There may be additional benefits that were not originally envisaged during the planning stage. These
should be recognised and recorded where applicable (E.g. A time benefit also realises a safety
benefit).

Chapter 5

Roles and Responsibility

The responsibilities of the key players involved in the Benefits Realisation process:
These roles and responsibilities are described in greater detail in the Lean Deployment Office
Handbook.
Role

Responsibilities

Lean Practitioner

Owns and is accountable for generating the

Benefits Realisation Capture Form the ongoing
reporting and signs Part C of the form.

Technical Manager

Supports the Lean Practitioner to complete the

Benefits Realisation Capture Form.

Lean Champion/Sponsor

HA Project Manager

Checks the BRCF form for correctness and agrees

and understands the benefits to be realised.
Signs off Part C of the form.
Agrees and understands the benefits to be
realised.

Lean Deployment Office

Provides objective challenge of benefits,

dependencies, measures, targets and the
programmes approach to benefit realisation
Supports the process owners in executing their
benefit realisation responsibilities
Monitors the progress of benefits realisation
against plan
Ensures the information gathered for the Benefit
Reviews and the assessment of benefits is
disseminated appropriately
Checks double counting of benefits

Chapter 6

Worked Examples

The following text demonstrates 3 worked examples which are based on 2 schemes and 3 specific
interventions;
Scheme 1
Viaduct Strengthening
Intervention 1 Collaborative Planning Construction (Example 1)
Scheme 2

Motorway Widening

Intervention 1 Productivity improvements in Blacktop Operations (Example 2)

Intervention 2 Standardisation of Smooth Faced Retaining Wall (Example 3)
The examples show how the BRCFs were developed and how the planned benefits were estimated
and how the realised benefits were confirmed;
Example 1 - Viaduct Strengthening, Collaborative Planning - Construction
1. General Details
The source of the benefit was the introduction of collaborative planning with the intent of improving
the quality of weekly and daily work planning at construction phase, improving collaboration between
trades, improving integration between trades at the workface, and improving the quality and reliability
of work assignments to each work gang. Overall, this leads to improved productivity, reduced labour
and plant hours, reduced costs and reduced activity duration. As most of this work is critical path this
also has a direct impact on overall project duration and a corresponding reduction in the time related
overheads of the whole project. This forms the basis of the planned benefits.
2. Planned Benefits
4 of the 6 categories in this section were impacted by the intervention; Time, Cost, Safety, and
Culture, leading to cashable benefits to both HA and Suppliers, and non cashable benefits.
By improving the quality of the daily production management and weekly planning meetings and
improving the collaboration and relationships between trades the following planned benefits were
identified;
Time - Improvements in efficiency of labour as a result of increased reliability of daily planning
leading to activity and overall programme reduction giving an overall reduction in the programme of
one week. Measured by comparison of original programme to revised programme using new outputs
Cost Productivity increased through improved utilisation of labour on site. Daily planning and
reliability improvements of 10% equate to a reduction in labour costs of 158k for the period
December 2009 to December 2010.
Safety Improved co-ordination between trades will reduce the likelihood of safety incidents,
reducing the number of reportable and non-reportable accidents and incidents.
Culture An overall improvement in the team culture and improved working relationships due to
greater collaboration between trades. This could be measured by 360 degree engagement feedback.
Other Benefits Improved communication and the collection of production management data as part
of the collaborative planning process will provide data to evaluate Compensation Events (CEs).
When CEs are raised the data generated by collaborative planning will enable robust evaluation.
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Example 2 - Motorway Widening, Productivity improvements in Blacktop Operations

1. General Details
The source of the benefit was the initiatives implemented to improve blacktop laying productivity.
Overall this has led to increased productivity, with reduced labour and plant hours. This forms the
basis of the planned benefits.
2. Planned Benefits
3 of the 6 categories in this section were impacted by the intervention; Time, Cost and Culture,
leading to cashable benefits to both HA and Suppliers, and non cashable benefits.
Time Increase production time from circa 4.5 hours per shift to 8.5 hours per shift, resulting in an
overall reduction of 113 blacktop shifts, and a reduction in the overall scheme duration of 10 days.
Cost 113 shifts at 6,007 per shift which equates to 679k, 10 days reduction in time based
preliminaries equates to 30k/day times 10 days equals 300k. Total cost benefit of 979k.
Culture A developed and improved integrated project delivery approach with the supply chain
giving a focus on maximising productivity and safety.
Other Benefits Improved co-ordination with planners and construction team leading to a more
robust programme of work.
Example 3 Motorway Widening, Standardisation of Smooth Faced Retaining Wall (SFRW)
1. General Details
The source of the benefit was the interrogation of the design to improve efficiencies. Overall the
objective of the design review of the SFRW was to standardise the height of retaining wall thereby
omitting mould changes, reduced material cost and subcontractor costs and gain environmental
benefits from reduced material usage.
2. Planned Benefits
5 of the 6 categories in this section were impacted by the intervention; Time, Cost, Safety,
Sustainability and Culture, leading to financial benefits to both HA and Suppliers, and non financial
benefits.
Time Programme saving estimated circa 3 hours per mould change at 15 hours or 1.5 shifts
Cost Reduced material cost and wastage, and reduced labour hours which equates to 270k.
Safety Reduced plant usage which equated to 15 hours less plant handling.
Sustainability A reduction in concrete and lower carbon usage with an estimated target reduction of
1500m3.
Culture/Other A better understanding of flow within the operation and a future standardisation of
design details for the next phase of work.

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Chapter 7

Reporting

Benefits will be reported on an end March financial year basis using data from the Benefits
Realisation Capture Form (BRCF). Reports will be structured around Planned Benefits, from section
B of the BRCF, and Realised Benefits from section C. The intent of the reporting is to encourage
and demonstrate continuous improvement, so comparison between this years performance to date
and prior years performance to date will be a feature of the report. As the use of the process matures
reporting will cover all categories of benefit, initially only cost savings will be reported.
Reports will be produced monthly and summary reports six monthly for submission to the HA Board.

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Chapter 8

Frequently asked questions

Q. How accurate does the estimate of benefit need to be?

A. The written description should include a rationale of the intervention then refer to detailed calculations
in Appendix 1. The description should explain how benefits have been determined, the assumptions
made, and what evidence will be collected to support the benefit. Estimating the scale of the benefit
is not an exact science. The intention is that the calculations provide a scale of the benefits realised,
an order of magnitude that will stand up to scrutiny and can be defended with evidence.
Q. Can we claim design related scope reduction savings?
A. Yes. These are captured as planned when they are identified. They are realised when there is a
commitment to construct. Section B of the BRCF is completed during the design stage, and Section
C at the commencement of the construction stage. The anticipated date of construction commencing
should be identified in section B.
Q. How do we deal with construction cost savings/commercial issues such as pain/gain share at
contract end/lump sum arrangements with second tier suppliers?
A. There are two elements to the answer to this question. Firstly the benefit should be captured in
absolute terms (i.e. the real reduction in cost, improvement in safety) so the issue of contractual and
commercial arrangements can be ignored. The second element regards allocation of the total benefit
between parties. Practitioners should use their own judgement on a case by case basis but our
guidance would be to keep the mechanics of the allocation simple, so if in principle pain/gain share is
50:50 we would recommend that allocation irrespective of any caps or other rules. This allocation
should be made explicit in section B and section C of the BRCF. The lean tracker will record only
total benefit (not allocation between parties).
Q. How do we deal with savings to supplier overhead costs?
A. This should be assessed on a case by case basis, but generally, if the change proposed has a
material effect on overhead costs then these should be claimed as a benefit.
Q. What is the time horizon for claiming benefits?
A. This question is relevant to contracts (such as MAC contracts) which extend over a period of years,
but may also apply to a scheme with multiple phases under the same contract. Generally benefits
should be claimed (i.e. planned) for the period of the contract duration. They should be reported as
realised on a year by year basis. For an internal HA Process it is proposed that the benefit is
claimed over the remaining period of the current Spending Review Period, and reported as realised
on a year by year basis.

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Appendix A Benefits Realisation Capture Form Template

Version 8

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Version 8

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Version 8

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Appendix A Benefits Realisation Capture Form Template - Notes

Introduction
The BRCF is divided into 3 sections - Sections A, B and C with 1 Appendix.
Sections A and B are completed during the Step 1- Plan stage, and Section C once the lean
intervention is complete, on the completion of Step 3 - Realise Benefits.
Section A General Details
This section captures general details including the name of the Lean Practitioner, and the suppliers
contract manager or director responsible for the scheme. Section A provides a list of helpful prompts
to support the identification of where benefits might be found. This list is not exhaustive, but should
provide a guide as to where waste, and therefore benefit, may reside. This section also provides the
lean project or intervention reference number (provided normally by the Lean Deployment Office),
and the title and description of the lean project or intervention. The description should make clear the
duration of the intervention, or the activities to which the lean technique is to be applied, as this will
determine the point at which the benefit is realised (or not), and is the point at which Section C of the
form is completed.
Section B Planned Benefits
This section is for capturing all of the benefits which may accrue from the intervention. This
potentially includes cost, time, quality, safety, sustainability and cultural benefits. Each benefit should
be described in writing (text description), and a value (planned benefit) which makes clear the
quantum of the benefit it is believed the intervention may deliver.
Finally in Section B is a box for capturing End User Benefits. An example benefit would be reduced
journey time delays during construction, as a result of a reduction in construction duration or method.
This in turn can be converted into an approximate financial saving.
Section C Realised Benefits
Section C follows the same form as Section B and is completed during Step 3 of the process.
Section C captures the benefits that were actually realised through the intervention. The realised
benefits are deemed to be verified once Section C has been signed by the Lean Practitioner and the
Lean Champion/Sponsor.
Appendix 1 Benefits Calculations
This appendix shall be completed with calculations used to build up the quantum of benefits. This
provides the record of how benefits were estimated at the commencement of the intervention.

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Appendix B Benefits Realisation Capture Form Example

Version 8

282k per annum target savings

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Version 8

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Version 8

Number of salting plant reduced by three 3 x 26k lease pa =

69k

78k

282k

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