Corporate Lean Director, IPS-Integrated Project Services

George Hunt

Leslie Weaver and George Hunt, IPS, explore how design for disassembly and lean thinking are transforming the way pharmaceutical facilities are built and scaled.

Leslie Weaver and George Hunt on Scaling Lean and Sustainable Design

Access Part 1 of this interview on early sustainability and lean alignment in pharma construction.

, Leslie Weaver, sustainability project manager, IPS, and George Hunt, corporate lean director, IPS, discuss two interconnected ideas reshaping how pharmaceutical facilities are designed and built: design for disassembly and lean thinking applied to capital projects.

Weaver explains the concept of design for disassembly, an approach that builds flexibility and adaptability directly into a facility from the outset, rather than locking in rigid structures that must eventually be demolished and discarded. She draws on the familiar example of modular office cubicles that can be reconfigured rather than torn out and notes that this same logic is increasingly relevant in pharmaceutical construction.

"I'd love to see us get more innovative in how we can implement the design for disassembly and keep materials in their useful life for as long as possible," Weaver says.


She acknowledges the challenge lies in the technical complexity of pharma environments, where highly specialized equipment and tightly controlled processes make flexibility harder to achieve than in conventional commercial spaces.

Hunt pivots to the question of lean thinking and how to move it beyond a one-time project exercise into an enduring partnership mindset. He argues that the real value comes not from applying lean principles to a single build, but from carrying lessons learned forward across multiple projects.

As he puts it, "We can bring what we've learned on this last one, let's bring them here and let's try and do it better and kind of improve on that."

Hunt also points out that while lean thinking is already embedded in many pharma manufacturers' production operations, what's newer is bringing that same discipline to the capital project process itself: the planning, design, and construction of the facilities where manufacturing happens.

Together, Weaver and Hunt make the case that sustainability and lean principles aren't separate agendas but complementary frameworks for building smarter, more adaptable pharma facilities and for scaling those improvements across an entire organization.

Videos

Leslie Weaver and George Hunt, IPS, discuss early sustainability and lean alignment in pharma construction that reduce costs, absorb disruptions, and keep projects on schedule.

Leslie Weaver and George Hunt On Lean and Sustainability in Pharma Construction

George Hunt, corporate lean director at IPS, and Leslie Weaver, sustainability project manager at IPS, discuss the importance of early planning, strategic alignment, and lean methodology in Part 1 of a two-part interview with 

Both Hunt and Weaver emphasize that sustainability considerations must be introduced at the very start of a project. As Weaver explains, "The later you wait to bring sustainability into the mix, the more your window of opportunity closes." Early decisions, such as site location, building orientation, and long-lead equipment selection, are critical moments that, if missed, can lead to costly redesigns and delayed procurement down the line.

From a lean perspective, Hunt argues that early alignment goes beyond sustainability alone. It encompasses business goals, budget, schedule, and how the project team will function together. "Having that early alignment really does a great job and sets the groundwork to be able to operate efficiently together," Hunt notes. In lean terminology, these shared objectives are called conditions to satisfaction, serving as a North Star that keeps all stakeholders moving in the same direction throughout the project lifecycle.

The pair also address the unique challenges of working within pharmaceutical environments, where regulatory requirements can complicate sustainability goals. Their approach is to first understand the constraints and the reasoning behind them, then find solutions that honor both compliance and environmental objectives.

Hunt closes with a concrete example of a schedule-driven pharmaceutical project where lean principles were applied from design through commissioning and validation. While an equipment issue outside the team's control prevented an early finish, the lean approach allowed the team to absorb that disruption without pushing the overall schedule. As Hunt explains, "Lean helps us take a look at that, operate differently, and be able to absorb it."

George Hunt

Articles