Lead, Continuous Improvement

What is the Opportunity?

Faster. Smarter. Safer. This is how Aecon Utilities is committed to delivering projects. We simply do it better. We are Ontario’s premier utility contractor and are ready to become Canada’s #1 utility construction provider. Aecon is proud to build some of the most impactful infrastructure projects of this generation. From the roads and transit systems that connect our communities, to the communication networks that link us from coast-to-coast, and the water infrastructure that supplies our businesses and homes.

Our integral work includes constructing the pipelines that join provinces with the energy that fuels the nation, and the airports and ports that connect us all. Aecon is there, safely, and sustainably building the future.

The Continuous Improvement Lead will drive operational excellence across our Aecon Utilities team by implementing of Lean construction tools and best practices, with a primary focus on the Last Planner® System (LPS) and Waste Walks under our Building Smarter program. This role is critical to delivering predictable project outcomes and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Partnering with Project Managers, Superintendents, and subcontractors, you’ll improve schedule reliability, site productivity, and cost through disciplined planning, structured problem-solving, and waste elimination at the point of work.

This position offers the opportunity to grow into senior continuous improvement leadership roles and influence enterprise-wide lean initiatives.

What You’ll Do Here:

Facilitate Milestone and Phase Planning with project leadership; break down scopes into reliable, sequenced tasks aligned to field constraints

Lead Pull Planning sessions to develop collaborative work plans across trades/crews and external stakeholders

Operate the Weekly Work Planning (WWP) cycle: prepare constraint logs, confirm “make-ready” status, and secure commitments from last planners (superintendents/foremen)

Run Daily Huddles: verify planned percent complete, highlight blockers, assign countermeasures, and update production boards

Track Percent Plan Complete (PPC) and reasons for variance; drive PDCA to increase schedule reliability

Standardize LPS artifacts: look-ahead plans, commitment logs, constraint registers, variance tracking, visuals (Gantt boards, takt maps where applicable)

Coach field leaders and subcontractors on reliable promising, constraint removal, and learning from plan failures

Conduct regular Waste Walks (Gemba) to identify and quantify the 8 Wastes (Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing, Defects, Unused Talent)

Interface with Scheduling/PMO to align LPS outputs with baseline schedules and earned value reporting

Collaborate with Supply Chain to improve material availability (kitting, staging, replenishment triggers, supplier readiness)

Build simple dashboards for PPC, plan variance reasons, rework, crew productivity (units/hour), constraint cycle time, and waste walk actions

Capture lessons learned and update a Lean playbook for Utilities sector

Mentor “Lean Champions” within project teams to sustain improvements without constant CI presence

Prepares, maintains, and delivers presentations and training for CI deliverables and initiatives

What You Bring to the Team:

5–8+ years in Utilities construction (electric/gas/water/fiber) with field exposure to multi-crew operations and subcontractor management

Strong facilitation skills; comfortable leading crews, foremen, and subcontractors in dynamic field settings

Working knowledge of construction scheduling (Primavera/MS Project), look-ahead planning, and short-interval control

Excellent communication; able to influence without authority

Lean certification (Lean Construction, LCI training, Yellow/Green Belt, or equivalent) is an asset

Sound computer skills – MS Excel, MS Word, SAP, SharePoint, Power Apps and Power BI

Self-motivated with good organizational skills.

Ability to work independently, accurately and under pressure. Ability to see a task from conception to implementation.

Adaptable to flexible work schedule when required to meet deadlines.

Availability to travel between all Utilities yards