Perry Thompson

Perry has worked in the construction industry most of his adult life, you might say it was in his blood with his father in the concrete industry and his older brother a carpenter. Perry worked in construction on and off throughout his early years. He didn't get serious about the industry until he left the service and technologies industry to work for Parsons Electric. He has spent the last twenty plus years working for Parsons Electric in various roles from estimator, to project  manager, to construction executive, to division manager, to prefabrication manager, and finally as their corporate Lean Executive Director.

Perry is a certified instructor for Lean Construction Institute (LCI), serves on the LCI education board, and is a certified instructor for George Trachilis Lean Leadership Institute (LLI). He has certified hundreds of lean students in the Parson's Black Belt program, developed by Perry and George for Parsons, to achieve the corporate goal of becoming a "Lean Ready" trade partner.

He has been fortunate to have received coaching from great lean leaders like Paul Akers, Mister Two Second Lean, Ritsuo Shingo, a former CEO for Toyota, Nigel Thurlow, Chief of Agile Training for Toyota, Dr. Jacob Abraham, former A3 problem solving coach for Toyota, and from his good friend George Trachilis, Co-founder of LLI. Perry humbly admits when surrounded by these giants he is still just Tom Thumb on his lean journey.

Perry and George have been collaborating for years to develop a trade partners system for understanding how lean works and applies to them. This culminated in the P4 Planning System that Parsons' uses for getting themselves ready for project Last Planner System® (LPS).

P4 Planning is the trade partner's simple four step system, the prep-work or homework for each trade to do prior the project team "Phase Pull Plan" and "Make Work Ready" of LPS. P4 Planning helps each individual trade partner break up their work into reliable weekly goals. It combines, simple process mapping, takt or pace planning, and conditions of satisfaction, and visual management to create a more reliable weekly plan.

Perry continues to develop lean leaders throughout the company from senior managers, middle managers, project managers, to field leaders.