The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) awarded its highest annual recognition, the Pioneer Award, to Professor Iris Tommelein.The award recognizes Tommelein as an individual who has moved the design and construction industry forward in embracing and implementing Lean tools and techniques on capital projects.
A founding board member of LCI, Tommelein has given significant time and energy to implementing lean construction and design principles in key projects for contractors, designers and owner organizations.
“Iris has played a pioneering and foundational role in supply chain and materials management, mistake-proofing and Choosing by Advantages, a groundbreaking decision-making system used by the Lean community,” said Will Lichtig, chairman of the board.
In her role as CEE Professor of Engineering and Project Management at Berkeley, Tommelein has demonstrated her commitment to educating and encouraging others to utilize Lean on projects. Much of her influence is through students who are now Lean champions in their respective academic and industry careers.
In addition to assisting more than 40 PhD students through dissertations on Lean Construction, Tommelein was the 2014 recipient of the University’s premiere academic honor for construction management faculty, the Peurifoy Award.
"Iris has long been one of our community's strongest advocates, and gives an incredible amount of time to educating the industry on Lean practices," said Dan Heinemeier, executive director.
Tommelein is a frequent presenter at LCI workshops and events and plays a leading role in the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC). In addition to maintaining a website dedicated to the Lean practice of mistake-proofing, she has developed a number of publications for the Lean community, including a comprehensive glossary of Lean Constructions terms and Last Planner® workbooks for LCI.