CHICAGO, Illinois, June 8, 2023 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), an internationally ranked architecture and engineering firm, announced today that members of its Lean Operating Strategy Leadership Team alongside some of their SSOE colleagues will present at the Lean Construction Institute’s (LCI) Lean in Design Forum. The event will take place June 20 – 21, 2023 at the Loews Chicago Hotel. This year’s theme is “The Future of Design: Adaptability and Agility.”
At this year’s design forum, SSOE’s Mathew Bierschbach, Alyson Dinca, and David Semproch will present “Lean Practices in Industrial and Manufacturing Facility Design” to design forum attendees on Thursday, June 21st at 10:30 AM (CST). In this session, participants will hear how these Lean champions are leveraging various techniques, including leading a virtual Big Room collaboration using digital tools on complex projects (and with 11 global partners). In addition, the speakers will discuss employing pull planning on large battery / EV facilities projects, utilizing Kanban and daily huddles to manage progress and eliminate constraints, calibrating teams in daily status reports with an emphasis on gratitude, and developing small group competency in Choosing by Advantages to aid senior leadership in making sound decisions on complex project pursuits.
Later in the day, the group will also conduct a roundtable session, titled “Lean Agility in High Technology Industrial Design,” at 3:45 PM (CST). Participants will explore how a virtual Big Room can be created with only a few digital tools, while also understanding the impact it can make on the project’s progress and schedule. Attendees will witness how easy it is to bring different partners from across the globe to the same (virtual) table to collaborate and coordinate the design of a fast-paced and ever-changing project, where the end result continues to evolve through design. They will also learn how SSOE complemented its robust, multi-national BIM modeling and virtual design and construction teams by implementing a digital, cloud-based Kanban board and Lean mindset to keep team members aligned with areas of focus and priority.
Mathew Bierschbach is a Business Leader in SSOE’s Industrial Process division, focusing on chemical markets. In his role, he has proven success in developing and building new client relationships. When needed, he has served in a project management role to ensure the project’s success. Over the years, Bierschbach has also served as Department Manager for the Process Mechanical division, functioning as the primary contact for all management responsibilities including project planning, control procedures, and monitoring progress while maintaining overall knowledge of the project’s technical content.
Alyson Dinca, PMP, CSI, CDT, is a Senior Project Manager serving SSOE’s Advanced Technology business unit. A seasoned presenter, Dinca co-leads SSOE’s Digital Transformation Strategy Group and leads multidisciplinary programs across multiple locations and business sectors, including semiconductor, chemical, and battery / EV production. Passionate about the application of digital transformation and Lean principles, she is skilled in planning, financial management, contract management, change management, and project delivery methodologies. In her current role, Dinca works closely with high-tech clients while continually looking for ways to improve the services SSOE provides. She is the former president of the Huntsville Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute and founder of its award-winning Technology CEU Day.
David Semproch, AIA, NCARB, is the Architectural Department Manager for SSOE’s Automotive and Manufacturing Facilities Northern Operations. He is an agent for change in the practice of architecture and broader scope of delivering design and construction projects. His experience encompasses industrial facilities, including many with high hygiene or sterile requirements. Semproch challenges the norms of architecture by guiding the firm’s industrial architecture studio toward delivering value to clients and end-users, and not always by way of traditional instruments of service. He encourages out-of-the-box thinking toward the design and delivery of projects—emphasizing the art of architecture, the science of engineering, and appreciating the craft of construction.
Leaning In at All Levels
SSOE began its corporate partnership with LCI in 2015 to align with the firm’s efforts to advance Lean principles as the cornerstone of its culture and organizational strategy. Over the past few years, SSOE’s Board of Directors has been working to solidify the firm’s internal Lean Operating Strategy by identifying the focus areas of communication, defining value, and visual planning. Today, the firm continues to evolve its Lean Operating Strategy initiative, through its Lean Community of Practice (CoP), with the last year spent training and mentoring in a way that supports SSOE’s focus on the voice of the client while furthering employees’ knowledge base and understanding of Lean.
In addition to sponsoring the design forum as a silver-level sponsor this year, SSOE is also sending several attendees, including Catherine Myers, PE, President and Chief Operating Officer, who joined the LCI Board of Directors in 2022. Myers is the executive sponsor for SSOE’s Lean Operating Strategy and has participated in a Construction Industry Institute research team on the advancement of Lean 
strategies, the results of which were presented at both the Construction Industry Institute and Construction Management Association of America’s national conferences.
Lisa Hitchingham, PE, Chemical Process Engineer at SSOE, served on the design forum planning committee for the past two years and was instrumental in the development of LCI’s Engineering Design Award, which will be given out for the first time this year. Different from LCI’s Design Award, which exemplifies Lean projects with an emphasis on architectural design, the Engineering Design Award celebrates projects that provide “excellence in fit-for-purpose” designs with a focus on providing value to the owner, aiming to drive Lean processes into manufacturing facilities, and supporting exceptional engineering designs. Hitchingham shared, “The Design Award honors the idea that you don’t have to sacrifice aesthetics to conduct a project following lean tenets. The Engineering Design Award honors the fact that Lean is not synonymous with a beautiful building.”
For more information on the LCI’s Lean in Design Forum, click here.
About LCI
LCI is a member-based organization whose mission is to lead the building industry in transforming its practices and culture through Lean thinking, tools, and technology. They envision a healthy and thriving building industry delivering outstanding project outcomes every time for everyone. Their plans include developing research products to help companies implement Lean production more effectively, learning programs to help answer the “why” and “how” of Lean implementation, and unique national and regional activities to promote Lean learning and networking across the industry.
