Amr Abdel-Azim
Amr Abdel-Azim
Amr is a pioneer in the area facilities management in higher education campuses. He is currently a Senior Architect at Michigan State University with 15+ years at the East Lansing, Michigan, Campus. Amr is a key participant in MSU capital planning process of over 5,200 acres (21 km2) of MSU’s contiguous campus, there are 556 buildings: 100 for academics, 131 for agriculture, 166 for housing and food service, and 42 for athletics. Overall, the university has 22,763,025 square feet. Amr have had cutting-edge practice in Campus building technology, design-build project delivery, and construction quality.
His professional achievement includes building American University of Sharjah, a brand new campus from scratch at UAE. Founded in 1997, AUS is a private comprehensive university that has five colleges residing on a beautiful 330-acre located in the City of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Amr had a leading effort in building Michigan State University Campus in Dubai as part of Dubai Academic City, completed in Sep, 2008. MSU Dubai is integrally connected to the main MSU campus, giving students the opportunities to enrich their academic and student life experience.
Amr served as the Senior Executive for Capital Projects at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) leading a capital construction program at RPI. The major Campus development involved $300-million state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research Center and world-class performing art Center (EMPAC) and related infrastructure.
Amr was the Director of Physical Plant of the newly established the American University of Sharjah and the University of Sharjah, started the Campus from scratch. The campus physical plant, which reflects a distinctive Arabic architectural style, is comprised of 90 administrative, classroom, athletic/recreational, and residential buildings totaling over 2,300,000 square feet.
Amr holds a bachelor degree in Architecture and a master degree in Urban Planning. He is Certified Educational Facilities Professional CEFP by APPA. He is an active member of many American and International organizations in the area of facilities in higher education, Lean Construction, and facilities management.
Tel: +1 517 432 0323
Email: amabdelazim@ipf.msu.edu
Renée Smith
Renée Smith, MSOD LSSBB, Founder of A 
Human Workplace
As the Founder of A Human Workplace, Renée champions a more loving, humane, and safe workplace where everyone is welcome to bring their whole selves to work. This is an effective workplace where individuals and teams can be and do and bring their very best to their toughest challenges.
She does this through primary research, writing, and speaking on Making Work More Human, through hosting gatherings of A Human Workplace to discover and practice what it means to be human at work, and through consulting services to select leaders, teams and organizations. She actively collaborates with others around the world to grow the momentum to shift workplace cultures everywhere.
Renée simultaneously serves at as Director of Workplace Transformation at Results Washington, in the Office of the Governor, where she leads a statewide program to Make Government More Human, by applying human-centered principles and practices to state government workplace cultures.
Before joining Results Washington, Renée spent nearly seventeen years providing organization development services to public, private, and non-profit organizations, as both an internal and external consultant, always with creativity and keen attunement to people. At the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) Renée directed the Organization Development Services Division that provided Lean Transformation Services and Change Excellence Services to DES and Government to Government Consulting Services to other state and local governments.
She earned a Master of Science in Organization Development from Pepperdine University and a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Behavior from Seattle Pacific University. She also earned a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt. A mother of four and grandmother of three, she lives in Tacoma in a 105 year old Craftsman home and enjoys drawing for pleasure, cooking for friends and family, being on or near the water, and exploring cities around the world.
Reach her at 253-225-1001 or renee@makeworkmorehuman.com
Glenn Ballard
Glenn Ballard
Positions – Current:
- Research Director, Project Production Systems Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley
- Visiting Professor, Norwegian University of Science & Technology
Positions – Previous:
- Associate Adjunct Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of California Berkeley, 1989-2011
- Independent Management Consultant, 1986-present
- Consultant, Interaction Associates, 1985-86
- Internal Management Consultant, Bechtel Corporation, 1982-85
- Manager of Productivity Improvement, Brown & Root, 1980-82
- Project Engineer, Brown and Root, 1978-80
- Pipefitter, Brown and Root, 1976-78
Education:
- PhD, Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham, UK
- MBA, Production Management, Holy Names University, Oakland, CA
- MA, Philosophy, University of California, Davis
- BA, Liberal Arts, St. John’s College at Santa Fe, NM
Career Accomplishments:
- Developed the Last Planner System of Production Control, 1991
- Co-founded the International Group for Lean Construction, 1993
- Co-founded the Lean Construction Institute, 1997
- Adapted Target Costing for use in the Construction Industry, 2002
- Co-founded the Project Production Systems Laboratory, 2005
- Initiated Lean in Public Sector Construction, 2006
Email: gballard@berkeley.edu
Tariq Abdelhamid
Tariq Abdelhamid – Michigan State University
Tariq Abdelhamid is Chief Lean Performance Officer with the Residential and Hospitality (RHS) Division at Michigan State University (MSU), working with colleagues on a lean transformation journey. He also holds an Associate Professor of Lean Construction appointment at the School of Planning, Design and Construction, at MSU. His research focus at MSU is on the discovery, exploration, and application of new theories and methods to arrive at the most efficient and effective Workflow Management practices in Construction environments.
Trained by Greg Howell and Glenn Ballard (founders of the Lean Construction Institute (LCI), USA), Tariq co-founded and is co-Editor of the Lean Construction Journal since its inception in 2003. Tariq served as the Lean/IPD Coach for the recently completed (Jan 2013) Shaw Hall Dining Renovation project at MSU, the first Integrated Lean Project Delivery project at a public university in the United States.
Tariq was a member of the first AGC Lean Construction Steering Committee, and he was also involved (2009-2013) as a subject matter expert and content developer in the Associated General Contractors of America ongoing effort to develop a comprehensive Lean Construction Education Program (LCEP), and is a certified LCEP instructor. Tariq also works on Lean Construction and Integrated Lean Project Delivery engagements with design and construction teams on projects of any budget size, supporting client teams in Lean Construction transformation journeys, and coaching teams on using relational contracts. Tariq frequently works as a Lean Construction and Production Advisor to Enovio (www.enovio.com) and The ReAlignment Group (www.projectrealign.com).
Prior to joining MSU, he was trained and worked as a Lean Production subject matter expert for Ford Motor Company – Ford Product Development System (FPDS). He also provided project management and scheduling expertise and services to vehicle programs to guarantee successful project completion. He co-developed a training class on project management for the powertrain operations division at Ford. He also worked as a Scheduler/Planner for PAC Project Advisors, and an Engineer III for the University of Michigan Construction Engineering and Management Office.
Tariq earned a PhD in Civil Engineering and Construction Engineering and Management (’99), and two master’s degrees in Industrial and Operations Engineering (‘97) and Construction Engineering and Management (‘95) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering (‘93) from Alexandria University, Egypt.
Tel: 517-432-6188; 517-884-4557
Location: 552 West Circle Drive Rm 302C, East Lansing, MI 48824
Email: tariq@msu.edu
Luis F. Alarcón
Luis F. Alarcón – Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Luis F. Alarcon is Professor of Civil Engineering at the Catholic University of Chile. He has a Civil Engineering degree from the Catholic University of Chile, and a MS, MEng, and PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He has developed research and consultancy for public and private organizations in the areas of Project Risk Modeling, Strategic Planning in the Construction, Lean Construction, Production Management, Improvement of Quality and Productivity.
He is the Director of the Production Management Center (GEPUC) and the Interdisciplinary Center for Productivity and Sustainable Construction (CIPYCS) at the Catholic University of Chile. He has been Visiting Professor at The Ohio State University, Salford University (UK), Valencia Polytechnic (Spain) and Shimizu Visiting Professor at Stanford University. He is a founding member of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) and has been a member of the Board of International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB).
He has published several educational and research books: “Uncertainty Management in Repetitive Construction Projects using WIP Buffers”, “Identification and Reduction of Waste in Construction”, “Administration of Civil Engineering Projects”, “Planning and Control of Projects” and he is the editor and co-author of the book “Lean Construction,” published internationally by Balkema. He has numerous research papers in areas of project and production management, published with editors like the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Project Management Institute, societies of which he is member.
- Tel: (562)-686-4245
- Location: Chile
- Email: lalarcon@ing.puc.cl
- URL: http://www.ing.uc.cl/cuerpo-docente/alarcon-luis-fernando/
Victor Roig
Victor Roig
Victor Roig Segura is Civil Engineer (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 1985).
In 2012, he founded Bimetric Lab, a consultancy firm that aims to become a catalyst for the transformation of the construction sector, built on the introduction of the Lean construction and BIM principles. Currently, he is advising some organizations and companies, both public and privates.
Member of the coordination committee of “Lean Construction Barcelona by ITeC”, which has organized the LIPS 2015 Conference, the annual Lean Day since 2016 and the Lean Coffees, meetings of the Lean community to share experiences about Lean specific topics.
Since March 2015, he is a Member of the Commission “Building the Future”, initiative launched by ITeC, with the aim to introduce Lean thinking principles, BIM methodology and collaborative contracts on the construction Industry.
Since December 2015, he is Professor at the Department of Architectural Technology of Barcelona School of Building Construction (EPSEB-UPC).
Since September 2016, he is member of the organizing committee of the LIPS conference.
Spanish and Catalan Editor of the BIMDictionary, he is a Core member of BIMe Initiative (http://bimexcellence.org/) a not-for-profit effort based on the BIM Excellence approach and unique research-based approach to digital innovation in the construction industry.
Previously, from 1987 to 2011, he worked at GPO Ingeniería S.A, an engineering and architecture consultancy firm, as an Engineer, as a Project Manager on large investment works and as a General Manager of the Building division and Project Manager. He became an associate in 1996.
Location: Spain
Email: vroigs@bimetriclab.com
Shervin Haghshen
Shervin Haghsheno – Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Institute of Technology and Management in Construction
Am Fasanengarten, Building 50.31
76131 Karlsruhe – Germany
Jakob Lemming
Jakob Lemming
Email: jlch@dtu.dk
Brian G. Clare
Brian G. Clare MPM, CEng, BSc (Eng), Dip 
Eng, MIEI
Lecturer, School of Mechanical & Design Engineering, Dublin Campus, T U Dublin
Brian has over 28 years experience in the construction sector in Ireland, UK, Europe, Middle East and the US, working on Hotels, Hospitals, Food production facilities, ICT & Pharmaceutical projects before moving to the educational sector as a Lecturer in Building Engineering, Project Management & Construction in the Dublin Institute of Technology in 2002.In January 2019 the DIT became the TU Dublin
Brian is the co-Chair of the LIPS 2019 conference in Dublin. He has been involved with Lean since 2014 with roles in LCI / IGLC and LIPS and has been the co-author of papers for IGLC 2015 and LCI Congress 2018, he is also past President of the Ireland chapter of the PMI and past Chairperson of the Project Management Society of Engineers Ireland.
Tel: +353 86 3789135
Location: Ireland
Email: brian.clare@tudublin.ie
Paul Ebbs
Paul Ebbs – LIPS2019 Conference Host
Paul has 23 years’ industry experience in a range of healthcare, educational, residential, commercial, infrastructure and decommissioning projects. Roles included Mechanical Technician, General Operative, Finishing Foreman, Site/Project Manager, Low Energy Consultant. He is an advocate of innovation through research and inventing and implementing Lean Project Delivery methods. He is a Research Fellow for Professor Christine Pasquire at the Centre for Lean Projects in Nottingham Trent University (NTU), UK. Paul’s research interests include the integration of production risk with the Last Planner® System (LPS), collaborative risk management, the facilitator’s role in the LPS, the role of language and moods in teams, and how the invisible soft skills required to sustain lean implementations are developed and coached. The output from his applied research is being used by industry in Ireland and the UK and is regularly showcased at annual events at NTU and LCI UK’s Annual Training Day.
He co-founded the Construction Innovation Lab in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) in 2013 and Lean Construction Ireland (LCi) in 2014. Since 2015 he worked as a Lean Coach and trainer with Umstot Project and Facilities Solutions with organisations in Ireland and the US. Paul is an author of blogs, industry articles and IGLC papers and is a presenter of webinars’ for LCi. He is the conference chair of the IGLC’s 27th Annual Conference in Dublin, Ireland, July 2019 and co-chair of Lean in the Public Sector (LIPS) Dublin, Ireland, December 2019.
Paul holds a 1st Class Honours BSc in Construction Management from the DIT, Ireland. He received several awards from industry and academia since 2008 including the Ivan Webb Gold Medal Award in 2012 for overall top marks in his final year.
Prof. N.Raghavan
Prof. N.Raghavan, FNAE, FICE(UK), FIE(I)
- Professor of Practice-IIT Madras.
- Director, Institute for Lean Construction Excellence, India
- Chairman, Research Council, Central Building Research Institute, India.
- Conference Chair- Indian Lean Construction Conferences- 2015, 2017; IGLC-2018
- Fellow of:
– Indian National Academy of Engineering
–Institution of Civil Engineers (UK)
–Institution of Engineers (India)
- Earlier:
–Retd. Head- Hydel & Nuclear Sector- L&T – ECC Division, India
–Founder Chief Executive/ Director- L&T Ramboll Consulting Engrs Ltd, India
Christina Levinson
Christina Levinson - Managing Partner - 
Organisational Development and Change Consultant, Lean Specialist
Christina is a Managing Partner at the Lean Construction Advisory as well as the Director of iConnect Consulting and has over seventeen years’ experience as a successful Organisational Development and Lean consultant.
Her wide-ranging experience spans across various industry sectors in senior operations, strategy, business development, continuous improvement and innovation management roles.
Christina is a National Board Member of Lean Construction Australia and New Zealand and a guest lecturer on Lean Construction at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
She has a significant understanding and a demonstrated track record in the design and implementation of Lean and Organisational Change coupled with experience in culture and behaviour change. These skills are complemented by competencies in business management and development, innovation and creativity, as well as in TQM and process improvement methodologies.
Over the last seventeen years Christina has worked across a diverse range of industries including engineering, construction, mining, manufacturing, utilities, building, science and technologies as well as community services.
She has assisted over 85 different project teams and organisations, within the private and public sectors, to build the strength and effectiveness of their people and operations.
Areas of Specialisation
- High Performance & Collaborative Project/ Program Delivery
- Lean Construction/ Integrated Project Delivery
- Organisational Design, Development, Behaviour & Change
- Process Development & Training
- Innovation Management & Creativity Processes
- Strategic Planning and Implementation
- Continuous Improvement & Lessons Learned
- Collaborative Procurement Model Advice and Tender Facilitation
Vicente Gonzalez
Vicente Gonzalez - Senior Lecturer - The 
University of Auckland
Vicente is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The University of Auckland. He holds a BE from University of Valparaiso, Chile, and a ME and PhD from Catholic University of Chile. He has published over 120 publications (top journals and conferences) primarily at the interface of Lean Construction and Engineering Informatics. His long lasting involvement with the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) dates back to 2004 when he attended his first IGLC conference and PhD summer school in Elsinore, Denmark. He has been author, editor and scientific chair at the IGLC annual conference series and an active advocate of Lean Construction since then.
Vicente is founder and research lead of the Smart Digital Lab at The University of Auckland, where research around digital and smart technologies is undertaken to solve problems in human and engineering systems. He is member of the New Zealand BIM Acceleration committee, a nationwide alliance industry and government to accelerate uptake of Building Information Modelling in New Zealand, and chair of the National BIM Education Working Group, which coordinates BIM tertiary education curricula across New Zealand. He also sits in the board of directors of the Lean Construction Australia New Zealand, a Trans-Tasman not for profit organisation to promote Lean Construction in the AEC industry. He has been visiting professor at Technion of Israel and at another two Latin American Universities, and invited speaker at Tsinghua University (China), Catholic University of Valparaiso (Chile), University of Los Andes (Colombia), among others.
Dr. Farook Hamzeh
Dr. Farook Hamzeh - Associate Professor in 
Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Alberta
Dr. Hamzeh is a Lean Construction expert. His theoretical and applied research in the US, Canada, and the MENA region aim at improving the design and construction of projects. Working in the construction industry, conducting research on actual design and construction projects, developing models, and establishing new performance metrics all contribute to his mission of making design and construction Lean. Dr. Hamzeh is an active member of Production and Planning control area within the International Group of Lean Construction (IGLC) and has published heavily on Lean Construction and related topics. https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/hamzeh
Dr. Farook Hamzeh is an Associate Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta since 2019. He was full time faculty at Colorado State University between 2009 and 2011 and at the American University of Beirut between 2011 and 2019.
Dr. Hamzeh has worked for more than seven years in the construction industry in Lebanon, Qatar, Dubai, and the United States on several mega projects. These include the $1.7 Billion Cathedral Hill Hospital in San Francisco, the 333 m high Rose Rotana Hotel in Dubai, Losail motor-bike racetrack in Qatar, Olympic Tower in Qatar, Al-Amal Oncology Hospital in Qatar, Serail 1374 Building in downtown Beirut, and Sibline Cement factory 2nd production line in Lebanon. Throughout his career, Dr. Hamzeh has developed a passion for improving construction processes to increase productivity, raise customer value, and reduce process waste. This passion has fueled his research in the areas of lean construction, process improvement, design management, production planning, BIM, Simulation, and supply chain management.
Degrees
- Bachelor in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering - American University of Beirut.
- Master’s in Engineering Management- American University of Beirut.
- Master’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Engineering Project Management)- University of California, Berkeley.
- Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Engineering Project Management)-University of California, Berkeley.
Alessandro Orsi
Alessandro Orsi - Director - Green 
Building Factory
Multilingual project manager and building engineer with international experience in Europe,
USA and South America. Expertise in sustainability, engineering, architecture, project planning
and coordination, and the construction industry. Director of the Green Building Factory platform
for the development of integrated green-building projects at international level
(www.greenbuildingfactory.com).
Lauri Merikallio
Lauri Merikallio - Entrepreneur, 
Consultant and Researcher - Vison Ltd
Mr. Lauri Merikallio, Vison Ltd, is now an entrepreneur, consultant and researcher. He has earlier worked as a project engineer, project manager and in executive tasks for over 25 years. He has been working for both public and private sector.
During last 12 years his projects have been associated with productivity, Lean Construction and Integrated Project Delivery models such as Project Alliances.
Mr. Merikallio has been very active in Lean Construction society both in Finland and internationally. At the moment he is the project coordinator and Lean advisor for the LCI-Finland research project, joined by 12 organization. He is also responsible for the research project owned by 12 public owners. The objective of the project is to develop and standardize Integrated Project Delivery models for the Finnish construction market. Merikallio has tens of customers with whom he is implementing lean in practice. He was rewarded as the Civil Engineer of the year 2016 In Finland and Roadman of the decade in Finland.