LEAN construction’s “just in time” method relies on a stable supply chain. With the supply chain bobbling since March 2020, is LEAN defunct?

So, is LEAN Still Relevant?

Greene’s analysis: Embrace the tenets that work; shed the ones that do not; constantly reevaluate.

We embrace the LEAN concepts of “sort” and “straighten”. Our job sites are tidy, clean, organized and efficient. Marie Kondo would be proud.

We shed the idea of keeping minimal materials on hand. We’re gluttonous with our materials, and for us that sparks joy. We purchased conduit in bulk, allowing our civil conduit crews to keep working on critical utility infrastructure projects. We’re expanding our yard at Hyde Park and are building new warehouses in Foxborough to house our growing equipment and material needs.

We embrace the idea of a pull plan..kind of. We espouse the idea of working backwards from the target completion date. A pull plan also contends that the schedule durations should be set by those performing the work (i.e. subcontractors). However, when the material lead time is greater than the duration of the project, we cannot afford to take this approach. This is particularly true in the case of HVAC equipment. The G. Greene pre-construction team will vet and pre-purchase long lead HVAC equipment, ensuring we can meet the target completion date.

We wholeheartedly embrace the idea of continuous improvement. We strive to be a builder for tomorrow by constantly reevaluating our processes and service to our clients to ensure it’s the best in the industry. With our eyes on the horizon and our feet firmly grounded in the indelible values of strong work ethic and integrity, we look forward to adapting to and meeting future industry challenges.

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Wentworth Student Spotlight:

Nautica Oteri

Nautica joined G. Greene in January of 2022 as a co-op from Wentworth Institute of Technology. As a project management co-op, she spent time with project managers learning the ins & outs of being a PM on multiple construction projects in Boston. In August 2022, Nautica’s second co-op took her into the field as an assistant superintendent
co-op.

Her interest in design-build construction began when she attended Essex Technical & Agricultural High School, where she started out in bio-med but quickly switched to the plumbing trade because it was more hands-on.

Now, Nautica is a part-time assistant superintendent for G. Greene Construction as she continues to pursue her degree in Construction Management with plans to start full-time after graduation.

Through Wentworth’s Career Center, WitWorks, Nautica found G. Greene and loved the smaller size of our construction company in Boston and the ability to be more than just a number in a co-op program. Her favorite part about this position is that she is “in the action” which makes it much easier to apply concepts to the textbook when she is back in the classroom.

Long Time Employees at G. Greene Construction in Boston:

John Keane

G. Greene has a long history of employees that remain part of our team for their entire careers. From the field to the office, many of our construction company employees have been with us for over 20 years.

John Keane, superintendent, joined our family 23 years ago. When John immigrated to the US in 1994, he started looking for work in the construction field as he had attended trade school in Ireland. While volunteering for the Union Hall on a charter school project managed by G. Greene, John was asked to spend a week on a Boston Children’s Hospital campus with GGC. “One week turned into twenty-three years”, John recalls.

John continues to support BCH from managing large-scale hospital BIM projects to supporting the institution with urgent events, in addition to successful projects at Dana Barger, Brigham & Women’s, and Beth Israel.

He mentioned that people are always shocked that he has been with one company for so long. When asked “Why GGC?”, his response was, “The people. I have made some good friends here, co-workers and clients alike.”

Our commercial construction company in Boston is always looking to add talented employees to our team. See all open job positions below!
View Job Listings

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BCH Waterfall Infill

In August 2021, G. Greene commenced the hospital renovations at the Main Entrance of Boston Children’s Hospital. The purpose of this hospital construction project was to infill a portion of the existing entrance to allow for new office space and a redesign of the main entrance facade. Logistically this was extremely challenging as the main entrance could never be shut down. Our established means and methods were all about providing safety to the thousands of pedestrians and the constant vehicular traffic that passed under this façade each and every day 24/7.

The hospital construction project consisted of removing an existing two-story steel and glass expanded lite tower that projected 12’ from the front of the building and was 40’ high all one level above grade. Structurally infilling the 1,200 sf opening in the building under and a temporary enclosure that left the building protected from the elements and all winter weather conditions. Dismantling, structural steel, hospital snow removal, concrete placement and precast panel installations were all accomplished with our planning, sequenced hours of operation, communication, and team meetings regarding safety.

The existing 5,000 sf façade was then covered with a radius Alucabond panel system and all new windows in the active radiology department. The panel system was carefully scanned by our 3D team and our partnered sub-contractor to ensure all existing conditions were accounted for and taken into consideration during the advanced pre-purchasing, shop drawing review and approval process. With months of off-site fabrication all our pre-planning provided a seamless installation event in this active environment. Our healthcare general contractor’s weekly team pre-planning meetings and team installation logistic methods allowed for a timely onsite process providing a quality trouble free installation in this active environment.

All these heavy hospital construction tasks were planned, thought out and implemented safely and efficiently providing a new modern façade for patients, families and visitors to Children’s Hospital.

View our Healthcare Projects

Harvard Quincy House Garage

The G. Greene team provided college construction services for the Harvard University Quincy House Garage Renovations. This project required extreme coordination with multiple subcontractors.

Located directly above the food storage room for one of Harvard University’s most frequented dining halls, we removed and replaced existing steel-embedded, elevated concrete slabs at three garage bays and a double slab loading dock. This required significant shoring of the existing columns, foundation walls and other structural elements. In order to achieve this removal and replacement, the existing MEP’s below had to be temporarily supported and rerouted. A new oil and gas separator was added for the garage exhaust system and ran eight stories to the roof. The entire college construction project was over $2.7 Million and had to be completed in just 11 weeks, in time for the students’ return to campus.

View our Education Projects

100 Cambridge Street, Multi-floor Renovations

GGC’s commercial design-build construction firm provided over 100,000 SF of multi-floor Interior Renovations throughout 100 Cambridge Street. The building is a fully operational commercial/office & state agency/condo building. New areas of construction included removal and replacement of most of the flooring throughout, new Community Spaces, Conference and Huddle Rooms, and Offices for various State of Massachusetts Agencies. New demountable DIRTT partitions were furnished and installed, and HVAC and Lighting upgrades were provided to assist in the energy management plans.

Our construction firm in Boston coordinated the use of the loading dock for demo, furniture removal and deliveries required and worked closely with the subcontractors, client vendors and the building engineers for uninterrupted daily operations. Due to unique design specifications, exceptional to State standards, our team worked hand in hand with the design team to clarify products and issued RFI’s with possible solutions to expedite results, when possible.

Collaborating with the same general subcontractor and design-build teams throughout all this site-improvement construction helped the overall project performance and quality. Through continual improvement, the submittal processes, coordination obstacles, and scheduling concerns were either expedited or able to set expectations early of timelines that were achievable. Our team was able to turn over spaces in a manner to meet the client’s deadlines.

View our Site Development & Improvement Projects

Building Relationships

G. Greene Construction is a full-service construction firm in Boston with an extensive portfolio throughout New England. Established in 1966, G. Greene focuses on the specialized construction needs of the Healthcare, Life Sciences, Education, Commercial, Site/Civil/Energy and Defense industries.

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