The Remaining Buffer Ratio

Posted on August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 by Jason Schroeder

Read 4 min

The Remaining Buffer Ratio

In this blog, I want to talk about something that I just realized was amazing about the remaining buffer ratio. I want to tell you a story about how this metric really struck me as powerful and how it can help us finish projects on time.

We are going to cover what the remaining buffer ratio is and why it is so crucial to your project.

First, a quick update. Lean build is going really well. We just went out to bid for electrical, and we are getting back most of our site work and structural bids soon. I am excited about those and about the project overall. We also have some new videos coming out showcasing what we are doing, and things are moving forward with new carpenter candidates as well.

Now let’s get into the main topic. The remaining buffer ratio is fantastic. Let me describe it.

The remaining buffer ratio compares how many buffers you should have used by now to how many you have actually used. The calculation is simple. You take the number of buffers used divided by the total, then compare that against how many you should have used divided by the total. Dividing those two gives you a single number.

For example, if a project has 10 buffers total and you should have used 5 but only used 4, the ratio is 0.5 divided by 0.4, which equals 1.25. That means you have more buffers remaining than expected. If the ratio ever falls below 1, that means you are burning through your buffers too quickly.

This is powerful because it shows whether you are ahead or behind in buffer usage. A number above 1 means you are safe. A number below 1 means you are slipping.

Kevin took this concept even further by turning it into a visual tool. On the top line, he showed how many buffers you should have used, and on the bottom line, he showed how many you actually used. This makes it instantly clear whether you are positive or negative.

I had an experience where I saw a negative percentage on Kevin’s tracker. My first reaction was panic. I thought, “We are out of buffers.” But the team corrected me. We actually still had 14 buffers left. The red indicator was not saying we were out of buffers, it was signaling us to take action early. That completely changed my perspective.

This is the genius of the remaining buffer ratio. It triggers the team to act before it is too late. Instead of panicking when buffers are gone, you get a warning when you are trending in the wrong direction while you still have room to adjust. That way, recovery is possible without desperation.

The remaining buffer ratio and Kevin’s visual buffer tracker keep the team ahead of problems, not chasing them. They provide a simple number and a clear visualization that protects the project schedule.

On we go.

Key Takeaway

I realized that the remaining buffer ratio is more than just a number. It is a safeguard that tells us when to act before it is too late, giving us confidence to stay focused and finish projects on time.

If you want to learn more we have:

-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
-Check out our YouTube channel for more info: (Click here)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Click here)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Click here)
-The Takt Book: (Click here)

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction IST. As the company’s owner and principal consultant, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.

On we go

The Inspired Thoughts

Posted on August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 by Jason Schroeder

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Three Bursts of Insight

Welcome everyone, I hope you are doing well and staying safe out there. In this blog, I want to share three insights that have been on my mind recently. None of them on their own may be big enough for a full post, but together they pack a punch.

Before we dive in, I want to share a quick note I received:

Dear Jason, I sincerely appreciate your valuable insights and educational content. I recently stepped into the role of MEP superintendent, but my experience in this position is somewhat limited. I’m eager to enhance my knowledge and perform at my best. If you could recommend materials or resources to help me get up to speed, I would be truly grateful.

Here’s my advice: there really isn’t a single book that will make you a great MEP superintendent. Instead, focus on leadership and relationships. Read Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Learn how to ask questions and partner with your MEP trades.

It’s not about being the technical expert, it’s about building the team, simplifying the mission, prioritizing work, and decentralizing command. When I was in that role, I focused on relationships with utilities, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinklers, concrete, and framing contractors. Together we visualized the work, planned the sequence, and stayed aligned. I wasn’t the smartest person in the room, I was the rhythm keeper. And that’s what makes an effective MEP superintendent.

Now, on to the three insights.

1. You must earn what you want

I’ve realized that what bothers me most about certain people is when they want things they haven’t earned. Over the years I’ve seen employees ask for promotions, perks, or recognition without putting in the effort. It always rubbed me the wrong way.

Contrast that with someone who is working hard, growing, and then asks for training. In that case, I’ll send them to two trainings, not just one. The difference is effort.

The universal law is this: you can only take what you are willing to give. You can only receive what you are willing to work for. Whether it’s a house, a marriage, a business, or a role on a team, everything requires effort.

2. You don’t work hard because it makes sense, you work hard because that’s how it works

Some people hesitate to put in effort because they can’t see the immediate payoff. They’ll say, “Why should I do this? It doesn’t make sense. The pay isn’t enough. There’s no guarantee.”

That’s the wrong mindset. You don’t work hard because the return is obvious. You work hard because that’s how life works. The universe rewards consistent effort.

This doesn’t mean working blindly or being foolish, it means humbly giving your best to whatever is in front of you. I’ve always worked hard, whether it was sweeping a jobsite, planning a project, recording a podcast, or writing a book. That consistent effort has created more opportunities than I can count.

3. Getting a job is like breaking into a building

Recently, I spoke with a military veteran struggling to get hired in construction. I told him: getting a job is like breaking into a building. If the front door doesn’t open, try the back. If that doesn’t work, try calling ahead, showing up as a delivery driver, or coming in as an intern. Keep trying different ways until you get in.

The truth is, construction doesn’t have a people shortage, it has a training shortage. Companies are too picky and only want experienced hires, but few are willing to train. If you’re hungry, persistent, and willing to put in the work, you will find your way in. Once you do, you can go as far as you want.

Key Takeaway

Earn what you want, work hard even when it doesn’t make sense, and keep pushing until you get in the door. That combination will take you further than any shortcut ever could.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

Responses to Joel Hamilton

Posted on August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 by Jason Schroeder

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Responding to Joel Hamilton

I recently got some fantastic feedback and questions from my buddy Joel Hamilton, and I want to share my responses here. Joel always brings deep, critical thinking to lean and construction conversations, and I respect him greatly.

Before I dive in, quick side note: I probably shouldn’t blog right after working out because I’m a little out of breath from push-ups, jumping jacks, and lat pull-downs. But hey, we push through.

How fast should we implement radical change?

Joel asked how fast we should roll out radical change. In his experience, coming in too hot backfired, but going too slow killed momentum. My take? It’s not about speed. It’s about culture.

If you are in a culture where change is expected, embraced, and rewarded, you can move fast. If you are in a complacent culture, every attempt at change will be resisted. It is not really about the pace of change, it is about the people who will go with you and the ones who will not.

In our company, Elevate, LeanTakt, and LeanBuilt, we embrace change. It typically takes about six months for the team to adopt, but we move fast, and anyone resisting change is eventually confronted. The result is that clients who come back after a year see a totally transformed company.

Breaking large projects into smaller projects

Joel pointed out that while breaking projects into smaller parts helps, it can create coordination issues. My answer: leadership and systems matter.

On major projects, you need a war room where executives live and breathe the program master schedule, interfaces, and balancing labor. Without that, coordination breaks down. I have seen it work beautifully when leadership tracks flow across all sections of a job. Poor leadership, however, causes the breakdown Joel described.

Bradley vs. Patton leadership styles

Joel suggested that a senior superintendent is more like General Omar Bradley than General Patton. Bradley managed the chessboard, while Patton was the fighter on the field.

I admit I have an egoic pain here because I am a huge Patton fan. But Bradley’s style, focused on preserving men and orchestrating big-picture strategy, is worth studying. I have bought his biography and plan to dive deep.

Aligning TAC plans with missing wagons

Joel asked about aligning TAC plans when not all subcontractors carry through every phase. My answer is that there is not one perfect solution.

Options include backlog work, remobilizing crews, buying out additional crews, or adjusting flow with the team. The brilliance of TAC is that it reveals the gaps. It does not solve them. The real value is that you and your trade partners can see the problem early and collaboratively choose the best solution.

Wrapping up

Joel, I appreciate your thoughtful questions. You have been a huge supporter of Elevate and have helped sharpen our thinking over the years. I hope my answers honor the depth of your comments. Thank you for continuing to push the conversation forward.

Key Takeaway

The speed of change is not the issue. The culture is. In a culture that expects and rewards change, you can move fast. In a complacent one, every step will be resisted.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

We Will NOT Save You, But We Will Help You Save Yourself

Posted on August 18, 2025August 18, 2025 by Jason Schroeder

Read 5 min

Saving People the Right Way: Helping Teams Save Themselves

In this blog, I am going to talk about saving people. Stay with us.

This is the Elevate Construction Blog delivering remarkable content for workers, leaders, and companies in construction who want to take their next step. Get ready to step out of your comfort zone with me as I encourage you to do better, live a remarkable life, and expect more.

Sorry, I am a little behind but I will get caught up here for just a bit and stay with you. I love doing these blogs with you. I love, love, love it.

I have news on the LeanTakt project that we have been keeping up to date with. Everything is intact and I will tell you what, it is easier than Excel for me now. It is so good. I absolutely love it. When you export you can see the whole schedule. It has a look ahead export, a weekly work plan export, all the things we need. We are switching to it completely as a company. I love where everything is headed.

Listener Feedback

I want to share some listener feedback.

Hi Jason, I wanted to reach out and express how much I appreciate all the training materials you provide through your videos, books, and website. I found them incredibly valuable and have used them to help develop my foremen and superintendents, supporting their growth and the success of our team.

Now that I am officially a field training facilitator, I am eager to incorporate more of what you teach into a professional setting. I frequently recommend your blogs and share your work with others, ensuring they know about Jason Schroeder and Elevate Construction. I also believe your content could add significant value to our field leadership, and I would love to present it to upper management for consideration. However, I want to be respectful of your intellectual property and avoid any issues down the line. What can I do to ensure I am giving you proper credit and not unintentionally misusing any of your material in my training? Thanks again for all the amazing content you create. The answer I gave him was simple. Use it. Keep our logo there and give us proper credit so that people know where to get the source information, and we are good to go. Use it. I love that.

Shoutout to the Wolf

Now let me get into today’s content. I want to give a shout out to Ana Luisa Perez Mayorkin, who we call the Wolf La Lova in Spanish. She has done some really amazing things. She took the time to actually learn every tool and the principle behind it, step by step. She would learn the tool, put it in her tool belt, and then repeat the process. Over time, she became one of the best. She knows takt planning, Last Planner, Scrum, the Jocko Willink Extreme Ownership framework, and the IPCS. She is now a director at Elevate. Her role is to make sure we are on brand, that we are sharing, and that we are delivering. If a client project starts to show warning signs, we host wolf meetings. She steps in to help, but here is the key. She will not save them. She helps them save themselves. The worst thing you can do is swoop in and solve problems for a team. That creates dependency and destroys ownership. Instead, we open a red card, track it, and the team agrees on next steps. They execute their own recovery plan. She facilitates, but they do the work. We have to avoid the savior mentality. Real leadership is about empowerment. The team must recover in a way that leaves them stronger, more confident, and more capable next time. That is how culture shifts and how growth happens.

Remember this: we will not save you, but we will help you save yourself.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog. On we go. Please join us next time as we continue elevating the entire construction experience for workers, leaders, and companies coast to coast. If you are enjoying the show, share it with your colleagues, and help us spread the word by rating, subscribing, and leaving a review on your favorite blog platform.

Key Takeaway:

Leaders should never fall into the trap of saving their teams. The real win is helping people take ownership, recover on their own, and grow stronger for the next challenge.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

Failure to Start, Check-in, and Win!

Posted on August 18, 2025August 18, 2025 by Jason Schroeder

Read 3 min

Failure to Launch: Why Fear of Starting and Checking In Holds Us Back

In this blog, I am going to talk about failure to launch.

Feedback That Fuels the Mission

I recently received feedback from a listener who shared how Elevating Construction Superintendents has impacted not just his work, but also his life. He mentioned how projects he’s worked on, apartment complexes, tilt-ups, hotels, were messy, disorganized, and behind schedule. Yet, he could see how the principles from the book and podcast might have changed the outcomes. Even when morale was low, he wanted to stay and be part of the solution.

This type of feedback is powerful. It highlights how much people crave projects that succeed and leaders who help them succeed.

A Lesson from the Field

I want to give a shoutout to two organizations:

Hensel Phelps: where field engineers are trained to create lift drawings in Revit, Tekla, and AutoCAD. It takes them months to build confidence, but the training develops them deeply.
SunTech Concrete in Arizona: where detailers can produce the same lift drawings in a single day. The expectation there is speed and precision, it’s just the culture.

The point? Different environments have different paces. But regardless of culture, one thing can drag performance down everywhere: failure to launch.

What Is “Failure to Launch”?

It’s the fear of starting and the fear of checking in.

Fear of starting: The individual avoids action because they don’t want to look unprepared. Instead of asking for help, they stall.
Fear of checking in: Work begins, but progress isn’t shared because the person wants it to be “perfect.” Weeks go by before feedback arrives—by then, the work usually needs heavy rework.

This creates a vicious cycle: delay → fear → rework → more fear → more delay.

The Antidote

The cure is simple: ask, check in, and iterate.

Get a mentor.
Ask questions early.
Share progress before it’s “done.”
Accept feedback as fuel, not criticism.

Even after 26+ years in construction, I still ask experts constantly. Lawyers, insurance brokers, trade partners, you name it. If I still check in and ask questions, why wouldn’t someone just start out?

The truth is this: confidence and speed don’t come from waiting until you “know it all.” They come from launching, checking in, and learning along the way.