Business Case
A renewable energy company undertaking a large wind energy project needed to install more than 100 wind turbines across two sites. However, the project was running significantly behind schedule, resulting in rising project costs and pressure on the execution team.
The goal was to increase installation productivity, reduce project lead time, and improve coordination across multiple contractors and functions involved in wind turbine erection.
Current State Observations
To identify improvement opportunities, our team conducted detailed observations of on-site operations and analyzed the wind turbine erection process.
- Installation productivity was less than one turbine per day, while the planned installation cycle time per tower was 17–18 days.
- Crane operations emerged as the key bottleneck, with 4–5 days spent preparing for erection compared to only 6–8 hours of actual value-adding work.
- Multiple contractors and functional teams worked independently, resulting in poor synchronization of activities and operational waste.
Solution Synopsis
- The execution approach was redesigned by shifting the mindset from project management to a manufacturing-style workflow using Lean principles.
- Work planning was aligned to a takt target of two wind turbine installations per day using existing equipment and resources.
- Crane operations were optimized by minimizing repositioning, reducing unnecessary movements, and deploying appropriately sized lifting equipment.
- Material delivery and placement at site were synchronized to reduce waiting time for cranes, trailers, and erection teams.
- Standardized operating practices were introduced using 5S, SMED concepts, and visual management to improve site organization and work flow.
- Internal teams were trained to replicate the improved installation process across other wind farm sites.
Outcomes
Lean implementation significantly accelerated project execution while improving resource utilization.
Before
- Wind turbine installation required 17–18 days per tower, delaying overall project completion.
- Crane preparation and repositioning created long waiting periods and increased erection costs.
- Work coordination across contractors and teams was fragmented.
After
- Installation throughput time reduced from 17–18 days to less than 5 days per tower.
- Installation productivity doubled to two turbines per day using the same resources.
- Better synchronization across teams improved equipment utilization and reduced logistics costs.
