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Month: November 2025

Popcorn & Variation

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 5 min

Popcorn and Variation, A Real Life Lesson in Lean

Today I want to talk about popcorn and variation, and trust me, this one is worth sticking around for. It ties directly into how we work, how we plan, and how we run projects in construction.

The Importance of Taking Notes

With AI tools and automatic note takers everywhere, people are losing the habit of taking notes. The purpose of taking notes is not just to store information, it is to retain it.

When you hear something valuable, your brain processes it, signals your arm and hand, and you physically write it down. That act reinforces memory. Without it, we forget. We lose reliability. We look unprepared. Always take notes. It helps your brain do its job.

A Message From a Listener

A listener recently wrote me:

“I moved from residential to commercial construction and felt lost. Your blogs help give me daily direction. You are making an impact.”

Messages like this mean a lot to me. If you have questions, send them. I will answer them. None of us are smarter than all of us. We learn together.

Now let me tell you a story that perfectly illustrates how variation destroys flow.

The Popcorn Disaster

The kids and I love going to movies. We usually go to two places. One is fancy with layback seats. The other is our neighborhood spot beside a park. It is not fancy, but those are our people, so that is where we go.

Normally, Kate orders everything in advance in a really lean way. Tickets ready. Popcorn ready. Drinks ready. Zero waste. No chaos. We go in, enjoy the movie, clean up every crumb, and leave the theater spotless. It is a point of pride for me.

But this time, I told Kate not to pre order anything. I figured we would just order when we got there.

That was mistake number one.

We got to the counter and I asked for six medium popcorns. The lady said, “If you do two large popcorns and get the little baskets, it will be cheaper.” I thanked her, but told her I just wanted six mediums.

She insisted. She went through upsell after upsell. Extra-large. Combinations. Free refills. Add ons. I was confused. Trying to be nice. Not wanting to argue. Eventually I caved and ordered three extra-large popcorns.

She only gave me two.

Now everything was already off standard. The popcorn was overflowing. The kids could not carry them. The sizes were wrong. The system was unfamiliar. Habits were broken.

We walked into the theater and instantly everything fell apart.

I tried to pour the giant popcorn into little boxes. I spilled it on the seats, the floor, my kids, even in someone’s hair. The kids dropped their containers. Someone stepped on one. Popcorn went everywhere.

If you looked at us, you would say Jason Schroeder has zero lean cells in his body.

I spent the first 40 minutes hunched over, cleaning, managing spills, and feeling frustrated. I was not even watching the movie. It was chaos.

All because of one thing.

Variation.

Variation Destroys Flow

Here is what happened the moment variation entered our system:

  • I changed our ticket and food ordering method.
  • We changed serving sizes.
  • We moved away from our standard habits.
  • I stopped speaking up for what we actually needed.
  • We entered the theater in a batch and waste condition.
  • My brain no longer saw “clean theater” as achievable.
  • I got frustrated.
  • We broke every standard we normally follow.

That is what variation does. It cascades.

Nicholas Modig teaches this clearly. Even small changes in the system create unintended consequences. Everything takes longer. Teams lose reliability. Flow falls apart.

Variation is not just an annoying concept in lean books. It is real. It impacts your outcomes. It impacts your behavior. It impacts your mind.

My popcorn meltdown proved the entire principle in one afternoon.

Why This Matters in Construction

This is exactly what happens on projects:

  • A trade shows up with different crew sizes.
  • A shipment arrives late.
  • A superintendent changes the plan without telling anyone.
  • Materials show up in different quantities.
  • Someone tries to “improve” something on the fly.

Suddenly the whole system breaks down, and everyone wonders why flow collapses.

Variation is the killer of consistency, stability, and predictability.

Final Thought

I wanted to share this before I lost the lesson. The popcorn disaster reminded me how fragile our habits are and how quickly variation disrupts everything.

I hope you enjoyed this blog.

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

Posted in All

Keeping Commitments

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 6 min

Keeping Commitments, A Lean Mindset We Need in Construction

In this blog, I want to talk about a concept that sits at the heart of our success in construction, keeping commitments. If that interests you, stay with me because this one matters more than most people realize.

This blog supports the book I am writing with an incredible group of people, Elevating Construction the Lean Way. The book focuses on simple, individual concepts that train the mind away from push, rush, panic, and disrespect for people. My goal is not for you to finish the book and perfectly implement every tool. My goal is that your thinking changes. If people read it with an open mind and update their mental programming, I believe it will make a big difference.

This blog is about the Japanese mindset of keeping commitments. It is called yakusoku, and it changed the way I look at reliability and trust.

Understanding the Sensitivity Around Japanese Examples

Before I go deeper, let me address something that comes up often. Sometimes people say, Jason will not stop talking about Japan. We are not Japanese. We are not in Japan.

I fully understand that reaction.

Recently, during a training, I mentioned how Kevin and I learned that in Japan they build people before they build things. Someone muttered under their breath, we are not Japanese. I get where that frustration comes from.

But here is the truth. Sharing Japanese concepts is no different than a parent bragging about a child’s accomplishments. It does not mean the parent is offended or intimidated. It is pride. And it is an acknowledgment that someone else is doing something well.

Much of what Japan excels at today came from a blend of their historical culture and teachings introduced after World War II. This is not Japan versus the United States. This is learning from a global partner. So when I reference Japan, treat it like learning from a close friend.

Now let me explain their mindset around commitments, yakusoku.

A Commitment Is a Moral Bond

In Japanese culture, a commitment is not just a task. It is a moral promise. A personal bond of honor.

If you break it, you do not simply inconvenience someone. You create mewaku. You burden them. You place your weight onto their back.

And this is where we need to pause.

Imagine you are a trade partner. Your crew is ready. The energy is high. You are about to start your zone and two workers do not show up. They did not call. They vanished. Now you cannot fulfill what you promised.

How do you feel?

Now flip it. You are a general contractor. You completed your pre con meeting. You built a pull plan with every trade. You have a stable weekly work plan. You have flow. And one trade does not show up. Forty other trade partners are disrupted instantly.

Our culture does not treat commitments seriously enough, and construction pays the price for it every day.

The Four Western Yeses

Chris Voss from the Black Swan Group teaches that in the West we have several versions of yes.

There is a yes that means absolutely not.

There is a yes that means maybe.

There is a yes yes.

And there is a yes under duress that practically means no.

You never really know where you stand.

In Japan, unless you hear a clear yes, the answer is no. They will not make a promise they cannot keep. They avoid burdening somebody else. Their yes is sacred.

Imagine if we adopted that level of clarity.

Breaking Commitments Creates Waste

When we break commitments in construction, we do not just cause inconvenience. We create waste:

  • Extra work
  • Overburden
  • Disruption of flow
  • Breakdown of trust
  • Increased litigation
  • Lost respect

When commitments do not mean anything, handshakes lose value, promises lose power, and relationships weaken.

We can fix this. We can make our commitments mean something again.

A Real Look at Cultural Behavior

Let me share something personal. When I worked on federal projects with Hensel Phelps, I noticed we built a cycle of schools, courthouses, and prisons. I used to joke that we were constructing the hand baskets America was going to hell in. Schools lead to courthouses, courthouses lead to prisons, and prisons eventually lead right back to schools.

Here is the truth. If you want to fix a nation, fix its schools. If you want to improve construction, start with how we teach people. What we model. What we expect.

If kids grow up not cleaning up after themselves, throwing trash for someone else to deal with, showing up late, interrupting class, and never learning responsibility, why would we expect them to become adults who honor commitments on job sites?

We must teach responsibility early. We must model commitment as leaders.

Precision in Time and Honor

In some countries, people show up 45 minutes late and that is considered polite. I once went to a region where I was told, you are lucky they only arrived 45 minutes late.

Japan is the opposite. Their trains depart down to the second. Meetings start exactly on time. Tours and lectures flow in perfect sequence. One minute late is considered a breach of respect.

Commitment is not casual. It is precise.

And if you cannot commit, you say so immediately.

Applying Yakusoku in Construction

Now imagine this.

Every trade partner on your job honors every commitment.

If they say they will show up, they show up.

If they say they will follow a rule, they follow it.

If they say they will complete a zone, they complete it.

If they say they will meet a handoff, they meet it.

And if they run into problems, they communicate early, transparently, and respectfully.

What would that do to flow? To production? To teamwork? To the takt plan?

Let me tell you. It would change everything.

Most interruptions to flow happen because someone broke a commitment. If we fix this one behavior, we fix enormous amounts of waste.

Final Thought

Keeping commitments is not about perfection. It is about respect, clarity, transparency, and teamwork. It is about carrying your own weight and not placing unnecessary burden on others.

If we could adopt even a fraction of the mindset I saw in Japan, our industry would transform.

Thank you for staying with me through this blog.

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

Posted in All

Hansei: Reflection Before Improvement

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 5 min

Hansei, Reflection before Improvement

Hansei is one of the most powerful concepts I learned in Japan, and I love sharing it because it applies to every single aspect of our work. What I saw firsthand changed how I look at mistakes, systems, and improvement. If you stay with me through this blog, you are going to learn something that can transform your team and your culture.

A Lesson From Japanese Schools

When we visited Japanese schools, I was blown away. The kids were incredibly polite. I remember a moment that still sticks with me. I was standing at the back of the classroom and a small boy quietly stepped in front of me. He just looked up at me politely. He did not know English and I did not know what he needed. Then I realized I was standing in his way. I moved, he put his lunch pail away, and he quietly said thank you.

Their manners, habits, and routines are remarkable.

The students serve each other lunch. They wear little hats and masks, fill each other’s plates, and wait until everyone is served. Anyone with leftover untouched food returns it so none is wasted. After eating, they 5S their desks and clean the school together. There is no complaining. The parents join in too. It is joyful. It is disciplined. It is beautiful.

One of the first things Japanese kids learn early on is Hansei. Reflection.

Understanding Hansei

On our tour, Mommy san explained it this way. She said, “It is not simply reflection. It is acknowledging, this was wrong. I did this wrong.” But they do not judge the person. They judge the action.

In the United States, our first instinct is to get defensive. We think any criticism means something is wrong with us as humans. We feel attacked. We avoid accountability.

The Japanese separate the action from the human being. They say the behavior was wrong, the process was wrong, the system was wrong, the environment prompted the wrong decision. They never say the person is wrong.

I even heard a child explain how going back to get his hat during cleaning was a process problem. He said next time he would adjust the process and go straight to his chores. That is hansei in action.

Westerners often claim Japanese culture is a shame culture. I did not experience that at all. What I saw was support. Togetherness. Accountability without blame.

Where Hansei Shows Up in Lean and Construction

Paul Ackers, who is one of the top lean practitioners on the planet, practices hansei constantly. He will say forty-five times a day, “I did that wrong. That behavior was not accurate. I apologize. Here is what I will do now.”

It is not self-shaming. It is extreme ownership. He loves it because he knows that each reflection lifts a burden off the people around him.

In construction, we desperately need this. In Western cultures we throw people away. We blame the individual instead of the environment, the system, the circumstance, or the wiring of the human brain.

We say things like, “They brought it on themselves,” or “That person is just bad.” And when we do this, we miss the root cause. We miss the solution. We lose the chance to grow.

Seeing People As Good and Systems As the Problem

Here is what I believe. Human beings are inherently good. Even the worst actions have root causes in systems, environments, trauma, culture, or genetics. If we could stop blaming the person and start examining the system, we would see the truth.

When we do that, two things happen.

We stop throwing people away.

We finally get to solve the real problem.

If we want a better society, a better company, a better project team, we must stop attacking people and start improving systems.

Hansei in Daily Work

When I look at how this fits into construction, it becomes clear.

In companies, we identify, discuss, and solve problems. That is hansei.

In departments, we surface issues instead of hiding them.

On projects, we encourage trade partners to speak up instead of shutting down the most vocal ones.

With crews, after they finish a zone, we reflect. I will ask, “What could we do better? Was the generator in the wrong spot? Do we need a different ladder?”

This simple practice changes everything.

A Daily Challenge for Leaders

Paul gave me a challenge that I now pass on to you. As part of your daily leader standard work, can you say three things consistently?

Your idea is better than mine.

That behavior was wrong. I am sorry. Here is what I will do next time.

Let us bring all problems to the surface.

Hansei builds a culture of transparency, safety, accountability, and improvement. It is how we move forward. It is how we get traction. It is how we grow.

Key Concept

We do not blame people. We improve the process. We examine the system. We adjust the behavior. That is how societies evolve. That is how companies improve. That is how humans become better together.

I truly believe the Japanese have figured out Humanity 2.0. And we can learn so much from them.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog.

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

Posted in All

Nemawashi: Building Consensus Before Taking Action

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 5 min

Nemawashi: Building Consensus before Taking Action

Nemawashi is one of my absolute favorite concepts to teach because it directly impacts everything we do in construction today. When I learned how to apply it, it completely changed the way I led teams, planned projects, and built environments. My goal in this blog is to show you exactly how to use it so you can experience the same transformation.

Why I Look to Japanese Construction

Whenever I bring up Japanese concepts people sometimes worry about the words. I am not doing that to make things complicated. I am doing it to flip a switch in our brains. Japan consistently delivers construction projects with fewer incidents and faster timelines, even though they have just as much bureaucracy as we do.

They are a free market, just like us. They simply work together better.

I want to rise to that level. I want to play with the big dogs. I refuse to say they are better and I am out. I say I am in. Let me learn. Let me grow. Let me lead better.

That is why I embrace concepts like Nemawashi.

Why Lean Systems Need People

Last Planner, Takt, and Kanban all depend on human interaction. They are fragile systems, meaning they only work when people participate. That is exactly why they produce remarkable results.

CPM on the other hand is anti-fragile. Anyone can pick it up, throw it into a contract, do it poorly, get no results, and everyone shrugs because no one ever expected it to work. No human involvement needed.

If you want easy you choose CPM. If you want results you choose systems that require people. You choose engagement. You choose consensus.

That is where Nemawashi comes in.

What We Must Stop Doing

I have to say this straight. Command and control leadership is dead. Telling trades what to do and shoving schedules down their throat is gone. Superintendents who build plans alone and force them on teams with no collaboration are not leading. They are guessing. They are creating chaos.

Another mindset that needs to go is the idea that the superintendent can run the job however he or she wants. No. The superintendent must run the job according to the company’s operating system. That is leadership.

We have been too cowboy in the United States. Too proud to be ignorant. Too quick to dismiss collaboration. Too quick to say I do not need Japan I do not need pull plans I do not need Takt.

If we want to compete with the best in the world we have to rise above that.

Learning vs Staying Stuck

I have worked with old dog learners and old dog fixed mindsets.

Old dog learners are amazing. They have decades of experience and still stay curious.

Old dog fixed mindsets say I do not need look ahead I do not need pull plans I do not need input from trades. They cling to command and control because it is what they know.

But here is the science. When you tell someone to do something hard without including them, their brain releases cortisol. Disconnection. Stress. Resistance.

When people weigh in and buy in, even if the task is difficult, their brain releases cortisol and oxytocin together. Oxytocin is the connection hormone. It builds trust and motivation. Stress turns into eustress. The team rises instead of resists.

That is what Nemawashi unlocks.

Why Buy In Is Everything

I say this all the time. When trades help you make the plan, they will fiercely defend and execute the plan.

I see this in every successful project. I see it in every high performing superintendent. Consensus creates ownership. Ownership creates results.

Even if you are skeptical, even if you are used to running the show alone, at least understand this one truth. You cannot lead without buy in.

How I Practice Nemawashi

In companies I use catchball. Leaders send ideas back and forth. Strategy becomes shared instead of imposed.

In departments I pull teams into direction setting.

On projects I involve stakeholders in defining goals.

With trade partners I build milestones, pull plans, and look ahead, weekly work plans, and daily plans together.

With workers I ask what they want improved.

I do not run a democracy. I lead. But I lead after listening. People weigh in so they can buy in. Then I make decisions with alignment and clarity.

That is Nemawashi.

The Analogy I Love Most

Nemawashi literally means preparing the roots of the tree before planting. When superintendents build schedules in a silo they try to grow trees with no roots. One storm and everything collapses.

When I do Nemawashi, I prepare the roots. I build a foundation. The team stabilizes. The work flows. The results show up.

Consensus is planting deep roots before the tree grows.

The One Question I Leave You With

What planning, direction, or decision can you start creating with your team in consensus instead of doing it alone in a silo?

If you shift even one process toward Nemawashi, everything begins to change.

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

Posted in All

Aizuchi: The Japanese Art of Listening and Presence

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 4 min

Aizuchi, The Japanese Art of Listening and Presence in Construction

In this blog, I want to share a game-changing concept that can transform the way superintendents and project managers communicate with trade partners. The technique is called Aizuchi, and it comes straight from the heart of Japanese culture. I absolutely love this concept, and I’m excited to explain why it matters so deeply for construction teams.

What Japan Taught Me About Presence

One of the most fascinating things I observed in Japan was how people interact. Their presence is unbelievable. I’ll never forget how our co-host, Mommy-san, would keep waving until the bus was completely out of sight. That wasn’t politeness. That was presence. Full attention, full energy.

And honestly, it showed me two big gaps we have in construction.

Two Habits We Must Stop in Construction:

  1. Executives who don’t listen.
    You’ve seen it. They rush the conversation. They cut people off. They dismiss information. This destroys communication.
  2. Supers and PMs talking over trade partners.
    We often aren’t truly hearing what trades are trying to say. We’re filtering information through hurry, ego, or distraction.

In Japan, even when someone wasn’t making direct eye contact, they were fully focused, nodding, responding, and anchoring their attention to the speaker. In the U.S., we’re distracted, multitasking, batching, and scattered.

What Aizuchi Really Means

Aizuchi literally means listening with a hammer, listening with a beat, keeping the mind anchored, responding rhythmically, making small sounds of acknowledgment.

It is the practice of:

  • Being fully present.
  • Actively listening.
  • Responding in real-time.
  • Staying in one-piece flow.

When we adopt this, we stop filtering, stop rushing, and start understanding what people actually mean, not just what they say through ego or stress.

Presence Is Lean

Any leader who says, “I’m too busy to be present,” is actually overcommitted and working in a non-lean way.

True lean leadership requires:

  • Showing respect.
  • Being fully attentive.
  • Understanding before responding.
  • Operating in one-piece flow.

Paul Akers exemplifies this. He gets hundreds of messages a day, runs multiple companies, but when he’s with you, he’s with you. Fully present.

How to Practice Aizuchi as a Leader

Here are practical steps you can apply on your jobsites immediately.

  1. Prepare yourself before talking to someone:

Remember their name. Say it three times within a minute. Show respect. Be intentional.

  1. Give full presence:

No phones. No distractions. One activity frame at a time.

  1. Actively listen:

Use simple acknowledgments. Nod. Repeat back key points. Anchor your mind to what they’re saying.

  1. Respond with intelligence, not pressure

Instead of forcing, pushing, or shortening durations in a pull plan, pause and offer solutions.

For example, instead of “You have to do this,” try,
“Okay, I hear you. Can we rezone? Add a second crew? Change equipment? Prefab the bottleneck?”

This is where intelligence replaces overbearing leadership.

Why Listening Is the Hidden Superpower

Almost all breakdowns on projects come from not using the genius of the team.

And what is the number one thing preventing us from using that genius?

We don’t listen.

Without listening:

  • People shut down.
  • Communication breaks.
  • Problems hide.
  • Solutions never surface.
  • Flow collapses.

Presence unlocks the team’s intelligence and removes massive waste.

Aizuchi on the Jobsite, Every Day

In Super PM Bootcamp, I teach activity frames.
Start a task, do the task, finish the task, then move on.

But crews rush. They half-listen. They silo themselves. They push before understanding.

Aizuchi flips that.

It teaches:

  • Listen.
  • Absorb.
  • Respond.
  • Then act.
  • With full attention.

This is the foundation of Reflect, Plan, Build, Finish the Takt rhythm.

Your Challenge

Aizuchi is not just politeness. It is not cultural flair. It is a skill and a discipline that will radically improve communication and eliminate the waste of ignoring team genius.

How can you be more present, truly listen, and replace pushing with intelligence in your daily interactions?

The answer to that will change your leadership forever.

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

Posted in All

Kaizen and Kaikaku: Continuous vs Radical Improvement

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 5 min

Kaizen and Kaikaku: Continuous vs Radical Improvement

In this blog, I want to talk about the heart of Kaizen and how Kaizen and Kaikaku apply directly to construction. These concepts are foundational to creating high-performing teams, stable systems, and long-term improvement.

If you are interested in learning the difference between continuous improvement and radical improvement, stay with me.

What is Kaizen

Kaizen means “to make better.” It is continuous improvement. In the United States, it was often taught as a one-, two-, or three-day workshop, which created a misconception that Kaizen only happens in meetings.

That is not true.

There are two major types of Kaizen:

  • Spot Kaizen.
  • System or process Kaizen.

Spot Kaizen can happen on the spot, boots on the ground, when someone simply sees something that bugs them and decides to fix it. It can be small, simple, and immediate.

System or process Kaizen is broader. It looks at how a part of the process affects the whole. That is why Taiichi Ohno would ask, “How does this improvement apply to the entire process?”

Kaizen is not just improvement. As the Japanese taught it to me, Kaizen is:

  • Love of the customer.
  • Pride in the work.
  • Acknowledgment of the employees.

If the people on the ground are not acknowledged, the soil is too hard for improvement to take root. Kaizen is the water and fertilizer that prepares the ground.

Spot vs System Kaizen

Spot Kaizen is:

  • Fix what bugs you.
  • Small, simple improvements made immediately.

System Kaizen is:

  • Improvements that affect the entire flow.
  • Improvements at the bottleneck, not outside it.

Paul Akers said it well
“There is nothing so wasteful as improving something that should not exist at all.”

Eliyahu Goldratt and his family have reinforced this for years. If your bottleneck is in one location, improving something outside of that zone does not improve the system. It distracts from what actually matters.

An analogy: Seeds, soil, and growth

Mr. Yabe from TESSEI gave us a powerful analogy:

  • TPS and Lean are the seeds.
  • The people and the company are the ground.
  • Kaizen is the water and fertilizer.

If the soil is hard, meaning people are not acknowledged, you cannot grow Lean, TPS, or any meaningful improvement. Acknowledge people first. Improve systems second.

What is Kaikaku

Kaikaku is radical improvement. Big changes. System-level transformations.

Kaikaku looks like:

  • Switching out a major piece of equipment.
  • Restructuring an entire sequence.
  • Implementing a new system.
  • Opening a new facility.
  • Adopting a new software platform.

Think of Kaikaku as the vertical leap. Kaizen is the steady upward slope.

System implementation vs continuous improvement

Let’s compare different systems on a scale of 0 to 10 for effectiveness and then look at their trajectory.

Examples:

  • The Last Planner System might be a 6, but has stayed stagnant.
  • CPM might be a 1 and has gotten worse due to abusive behavior.
  • The Takt Production System might be an 8, and it keeps climbing.

Toyota may have started around a 6, but continuous improvement pushed it upward for decades.

You must understand two things

  1. The effectiveness of your system
  2. The trajectory of your system

A system with upward trajectory beats a stagnant or declining one, even if it starts lower.

Free-market analogy

Consider this analogy:

  • US free-market capitalism may be a 60, but trending downward.
  • Communism may be a 1, also trending downward.
  • Japanese free-market capitalism may be a 62, but trending upward because of how the government manages the system.

Trajectory matters just as much as the starting point.

How Kaizen and Kaikaku apply in construction

This always comes back to the question
“Jason, should we implement fast or slow?”

The answer:

  • If your system is not at its minimum functioning level, implement fast. That is Kaikaku.
  • Once the baseline is in place, move to steady, people-friendly Kaizen.

Example:

If I walk onto a job that has no Last Planner System, no Takt Production System, and no morning worker huddles, I am not going to tiptoe. I am going to implement morning huddles immediately. We might fail for a couple of weeks, but that radical improvement gets the system to a functioning baseline.

After that, we move into gentle, steady Kaizen improvements.

In Japan, this is normal. The average employee submits 50 – 100 improvement ideas per year. In the US, the average is one to five. We have a lot of room to grow.

Kaizen and Kaikaku together

You need both:

  • Kaikaku to launch the system.
  • Kaizen to elevate the system.

Continuous improvement keeps the trajectory upward. Radical improvements reset the baseline when needed.

A question for you

Is your system at its minimal functioning composition?
Are there any radical improvements you need to make?
And once the base is in place, are you improving upward?

These questions shape the future of your project, your team, and your company.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog.

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

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SMED: How Rapid Changeovers Create Flexibility and Flow

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 6 min

SMED: How Rapid Changeovers Create Flexibility and Flow in Construction

When I talk about SMED, I am talking about Single Minute Exchange of Die. I first learned this on a lean trip to Japan with Paul Akers. In construction we often say SMET, Single Minute Exchange of Task. Today I want to share how this concept was taught to me, the remarkable things I saw firsthand, and how I am applying it in my work with phenomenal results. You are going to love this blog.

Understanding Single Minute Exchange of Die

Single Minute Exchange of Die originated from a powerful need. In United States manufacturing history, Henry Ford was a pioneer. During World War II his team created a Liberty ship every 60 minutes. One ship per hour. That is incredible. The mass production model worked beautifully in a high demand environment with large spaces and economies of scale.

Japan had a very different reality. Their factory sizes were smaller. Demand was lower. Variation was higher. They could not mass produce ten thousand of one model and wait for buyers. Instead, they might receive an order for seven hundred fifty Camry’s and then four hundred units of a different vehicle. They did not have separate plants for every variation. They needed to change machinery and dies quickly. They also did not have the money or space to hold massive amounts of inventory.

This constraint became a gift. It led to the development of Just in Time and ultimately SMED.

Why Japan Needed SMED

If you only produce what is needed when it is needed, you must be able to switch over fast. Imagine producing seven hundred fifty Camry’s with slightly different trim or dash layouts. If it took an hour to change dies, the temptation would be to overproduce the first variation. That creates excess inventory. Excess inventory creates transportation. Transportation creates defects. The entire system begins to spiral into waste.

SMED broke that spiral. It allowed Japanese manufacturers to switch from one product to another in under ten minutes. This kept production aligned with demand and prevented all seven wastes from cascading.

An Incredible SMED Example

We visited a company in Mifune that supplies parts to Toyota. Inside were six massive stamping machines with dies that weighed thousands of pounds. Paul timed the changeover for us. When a machine hit its quota, the team shut it down and began a full die exchange.

They had rail lines under each machine. When the machine stopped, a cart slid in. A panel dropped to create a roller tray. The old die slid out naturally with no motors or cranes. A second cart brought in the new die. It rolled into place. The machine reset. Then the process repeated down the line.

In six minutes all six huge dies were changed. The machines were stamping new parts. The entire line was running. The operators were tuned in like an orchestra. Paul narrated each machine clicking back online.

I used to think SMED meant one minute. It actually means single digit minutes. Anything under ten. Watching those operators run the entire line again in six minutes was one of the most impressive things I have seen in lean manufacturing.

Why Slow Changeovers Hurt Construction

When changeovers are slow, people overproduce. Overproduction creates excess inventory. Excess inventory leads to defects, over-processing, transportation, motion, and waiting. In short, slow changeovers destroy flow.

And here is the important part. Changeovers are not always about dies. They are about tasks.

What is our die in construction?

It is the moment we switch.
From a meeting to production work.
From a field walk to a pull plan.
From planning to executing.
From one task to the next.

Every time we switch contexts, if it takes fifteen or twenty minutes to reset, we lose flow.

Single Minute Exchange of Task

In construction trade partners often say they want the whole building or the whole floor. The real reason is that they do not have SMET. They do not have a fast, repeatable, efficient way to switch tasks.

Imagine a fire sprinkler contractor saying they want to install all mains through the entire building at once. That is batching. It slows everyone else down and tanks the schedule.

But imagine instead that they have a mainline installation cart. When they finish in one zone, they can switch the cart to install branch lines in under two minutes. That is SMET. Zone to zone to zone. No batching. No friction. No overproduction. Just flow.

Your Challenge

Identify your change points. Where do you switch tasks, phases, or mental focus? Where does friction slow you down?

Then ask, how can we reduce that changeover to under ten minutes?
How can we get close to one minute?
How can we create Single Minute Exchange of Task?

We have applied this in our remote consulting business with great success. It applies everywhere in construction and everywhere in your personal work systems.

A Final Thought

Frederick Taylor separated crafts so deeply that crews lost their ability to switch tasks smoothly. But historically carpenters handled rough carpentry and then finish carpentry. All they needed was to change their bags and tools. That was SMET in real time.

We need more cross training. We need more multi skilled crews. We need fast task switching. And we need systems that protect flow.

Find one place today where you can implement this. Then watch what happens.

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

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Gemba and Genchi Genbutsu The Leadership Habit That Changes Everything

Posted on by Jason Schroeder

Read 6 minGemba and Genchi Genbutsu: The Leadership Habit That Changes Everything

Gemba and Genchi Genbutsu are two of the most powerful concepts in Lean leadership. This blog will show you why these habits transform teams, elevate morale, and improve flow — and why every construction leader must embrace them.

Let’s break down what these words actually mean.

What Gemba and Genchi Genbutsu Really Mean

Gemba translates to the place of work or as some say, the scene of the crime.
If you want to understand what’s happening, you go to the place where it’s happening.

Genchi Genbutsu means go and see for yourself.

Put together, they reflect this simple truth:

Great leaders stay close to the field. Disconnected leaders drift into an ivory-tower mindset.

Lean companies operate with leadership on the shop floor, wearing the same uniforms, walking with teams, and solving problems at the source. Non-Lean companies elevate leadership away from the work, isolated in offices, disconnected from the labor that drives the business.

Mr. Amezawa, former CEO of Toyota and executive at Lexus – once shared a story comparing Nissan and Toyota. At one point, people preferred working at Nissan. Over time, Nissan declined while Toyota soared.

The difference?

Nissan adopted the Western model: leaders hidden in offices.
Toyota adopted the Gemba model: leaders always present, indistinguishable from the team.

You couldn’t tell a Toyota GM from anybody else. Same clothing. Same floor. Same involvement.

That’s Gemba. That’s Genchi Genbutsu.

The Purpose of Going to the Gemba

In Toyota by Toyota, a phenomenal book I love, the authors explain the real purpose of going to the Gemba:

You go and see so you don’t have to see the same mistake again.

Once a leader goes to the Gemba, sees the problem, fixes the root cause, and implements real countermeasures that issue should never appear again.

This aligns with Taiichi Ohno’s famous method: the “Ohno Circle.”

He’d draw a circle, put you in it, and tell you: “Watch.”

At first, you see nothing.
Then he returns:
“What do you see?”
Still nothing.

Eventually, with training, you begin to see the truth.
A worker’s arm reaches too far.
A part is slightly out of reach.
A motion repeats unnecessarily.
A hand twists awkwardly.
A tool isn’t within the strike zone.

Soon you’re spotting dozens, even hundreds of improvements.

This is the power of Gemba.

Finding the Real Constraint

Adam “Beanie” Bean from Australia taught me something profound:

Don’t look for the system constraint on schedules or reports first. Just go to the field.
Look for where the human struggles.

Where someone struggles, you’ll often find the bottleneck.

That moment of friction, the hesitation, the awkward reach, the heavy lift points directly to the weakest link in the system.

Genchi Genbutsu exposes the truth faster than any spreadsheet ever can.

The Most Powerful Leadership Lesson from Toyota

One of the greatest things I ever heard came from Mr. Amezawa himself.

He said, “I will only fire you for two reasons.”

  1. If you lie.
  2. If you look down on Gemba people.

His voice was strong. Deep. Uncompromising.

“Gemba people,” he said — meaning frontline workers.

If a leader ever disrespected the workers, demeaned them, or looked at them as “less than,” they were gone. Immediately.

Why?

Because the people closest to the work are the ones touching the product.
How they are treated directly affects the customer.
And the customer experience directly affects the company.

It’s a chain of love – or a chain of neglect.

Love the workers.
They love the work.
The work loves the customer.
The customer loves your company.
And the work keeps coming.

It’s that simple.

What to Look for at the Gemba

A Japanese leader once answered this perfectly:
When you go to the Gemba, look for three things.

  1. 3S — Sorted, Straightened, Swept

If the environment is messy, nothing else can be seen clearly.
3S is the foundation for observation.

  1. The Movement of People

Not like Frederick Taylor, where the goal was to make people work faster.
Lean is the opposite.

You look to ensure:

  • Smooth flow.
  • Minimal reaching.
  • No overextension.
  • No unnecessary motion.
  • People stay within their natural strike zone
  • Machines should handle the heavy motion.
  • People should flow with ease.

I once watched a worker move through her tasks with such grace that it looked like poetry.

Minimal motion.
Maximum value.
Pure flow.

That’s what you look for.

  1. Struggle

In Western culture, struggle looks like effort or dedication.
In Japan, struggle is a problem.

Humans lifting too heavy? Bad.
Humans sweating excessively? Bad.
Humans working overtime because the system is broken? Bad.

Lean prioritizes the least amount of human burden possible.

Struggle = waste.
Struggle = variation.
Struggle = harm.

Why Lean Fields Look Empty (and Why That’s Good)

In Takt, Last Planner, and Kanban environments, you’ll often see:

  • Fewer people.
  • Less motion.
  • Quieter zones.
  • Smoother flow.

It confuses classical CPM project leaders, who associate movement with productivity.

Busy ≠ productive.

A kid trying to scrub Kool-Aid out of carpet is “busy.”
But not productive.

Lean eliminates pointless motion.
What remains is value.

The Magic of the Ohno Circle: Improvement Explodes

In Toyota by Toyota, leaders describe how most people in an Ohno Circle initially find maybe one improvement in an hour.

But once they learn the Lean eye:

  • Flow units.
  • Friction points.
  • Change points.
  • Bottlenecks.
  • Overburden.
  • Unevennes.
  • Waste.

they begin seeing improvements everywhere.

100 ideas in minutes. 1,000 in days.

This is the awakening that Genchi Genbutsu creates.

The Challenge for Leaders Today

Every leader, no matter how high your title, must stay close to the Gemba.

Executives: walk your projects monthly.
Department heads: spend time in the field weekly.
Field leaders: walk the job every single day.
General superintendents: twice daily.

You must be at the place of work.
The real place.
The place where value is created or destroyed.

Leadership belongs at the Gemba.
Not in an office.
Not behind a screen.
Not in reports.

So here’s your challenge:

How can you bring yourself closer to the Gemba?
And how can you ensure you never again look down on Gemba people?

This is the heart of Lean.
This is the heart of Toyota.
This is the heart of leadership.

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

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Poka-Yoke: How Japan Prevents Mistakes Before They Happen

Posted on by Jason Schroeder
Read 5 min

Poka-Yoke: How Japan Prevents Mistakes Before They Happen

Poka-Yoke, or error proofing, is one of the most powerful concepts I witnessed firsthand in Japan. After seeing it in action, I can confidently say this idea is phenomenal. It has reshaped how I think about quality, flow, and construction. If you want to understand how Poka-Yoke can transform your projects the same way it transforms manufacturing, this blog will be exciting for you.

The Story: Error Proofing in Action

We visited a high mix, low volume production facility built around the Kanban method. Workers operated inside U shaped or even full 360 degree production pods where everything they needed was immediately within reach.

At one pod, a leader demonstrated a metal part that required two exact spot welds before being placed in a receiving machine. When he spot welded both points, the part transferred into inventory flawlessly. When he intentionally applied only one weld, the receiving machine refused it. The part would not move forward.

A sensor detected the missing weld.
No inspection needed.
No rework.
No defect passed downstream.

This was Poka-Yoke at its best. Mistakes are prevented by design, not corrected after the fact.

Toyota’s Approach to Quality

One thing I learned is that Toyota sets the standard for quality. If a vendor delivers a defect, Toyota requires three months of 100 percent inspection of that part. Not as punishment, but as a corrective action that trains people shoulder to shoulder and protects the value stream.

Even though this inspection may seem like waste, the waste of passing a defect downstream is far greater. This reinforces the core lean philosophy: quality must be built in, not inspected in.

Understanding Poka-Yoke

Poka-Yoke ensures that defects cannot move forward in the process. It uses physics, shape, sensors, sequence, and design to make wrong actions impossible.

Not hard.
Not complex.
Just thoughtful.

It is everywhere in Japan. Machines stop if a weld is missing. Items do not fit if they are misaligned. Tools only insert into the correct locations. Containers only accept the correct quantity or component. In manufacturing and construction, these tiny details prevent massive downstream costs and frustration.

Continuous Improvement and Taiichi Ohno

We heard a story from Mr. Amezawa, who worked closely with Lexus and Toyota. He joked that everyone used to say “Oh no” when they saw Taiichi Ohno approaching, not because he was harsh, but because he could see through every form of waste instantly.

Teams once showed him a clever improvement where they trimmed off a small metal corner earlier in the process. Ohno simply asked, “How can we prevent that corner from existing in the first place?”

That is lean thinking.
Fix the root, not the symptom.
Prevent, do not react.

What This Means for Construction

Poka-Yoke has endless applications in construction. Think about it.

What if a component could not be installed out of alignment because the jig physically prevented it?

What if a part would not fit unless it met the correct specification?

What if materials were stored in right sized frames that auto verified quantity and quality?

What if a task literally could not continue unless prerequisites were complete?

These are examples of “quality at the source,” which eliminates the need for downstream correction.

We already see this concept on factory lines, where sensors immediately remove defective tomatoes or parts. That same mindset can be applied to crews, tools, layouts, inspections, and assemblies on your project.

Jidoka and the Human Touch

A related concept is Jidoka, which means automation with a human touch. Sakichi Toyoda created weaving looms with metal pins that would drop if a thread snapped, stopping the entire machine. The operator instantly knew where the problem was.

Poka-Yoke prevents defects.

Jidoka detects problems immediately and stops the line.

Both protect quality.
Both protect people.
Both protect flow.

The Pursuit of Perfection

Paul Akers shared a story where he proudly showed a new improvement at FastCap. Mr Amezawa responded with:

Now do it without more money.
Then: Now do it without motors.
Finally: How can you prevent the defect from ever happening at all?

This pursuit of perfection never stops. Even after two decades, Paul was still being pushed to go deeper, upstream, simpler, and more elegant. That is the heart of lean.

The Key Question for Your Team

Here is the challenge for all of us. What is one thing you can error proof tomorrow so that a defect cannot move down the line?

Make quality a natural part of the process.
Make mistakes impossible.
Make excellence automatic.

If you can do that, you are already embracing the spirit of Poka-Yoke.

I hope you have enjoyed this blog.

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

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