Manage Your Timelines

A Brilliant Approach to Critical Project Sequences

This week, I want to share a powerful concept that Kevin Rice brought up during our Foreman Boot camp training.

Managing Timelines.

The boot camp itself was an amazing experience designed by Kevin, filled out with my contributions, and supported by Kate’s incredible manual (which is practically a full book). The energy and feedback from participants were phenomenal. Beyond the training, though, Kevin left us with an idea that deserves to be a permanent part of our planning approach.

The Idea: Managing Timelines

In construction, we’re used to master schedules, phase planning, and pull plans. But Kevin pointed out something different: certain critical efforts on a project don’t fit neatly into the normal production planning system. They’re not repetitive, they don’t involve multiple zones, and they don’t always align with traditional milestones.

He called these efforts timelines.

Examples include:

• Securing permanent power with the utility company
• Installing elevators
• Getting gas or internet set up
• Ordering long-lead switchgear and electrical equipment
• Coordinating solar systems and net zero building components

These are major, one off sequences that can make or break the project if they fall behind.

Why Timelines Matter

As Kevin explained, a timeline is a single sequence from start to finish that requires its own milestones and inch stones (the small, step by step actions that drive progress).

Fred Strosser, a field director I admire, once told me: “Don’t go to sleep on these issues.” Reframed: Don’t go to sleep on these timelines.

Take permanent power as an example. Between design approvals, utility coordination, long-lead equipment, and on-site installation, the lead time can stretch from 14 to 24 months. That means you must start driving this process from day one. Waiting is not an option.

The same goes for elevators, solar installations, or exterior envelope systems on complex projects. If you treat them as just another milestone inside a bigger plan, you risk missing critical deadlines. If you treat them as their own timeline with constant “what’s next?” action steps, you set your project up for success.

The Role of the Project Manager

For project managers, this means:

• Identifying which efforts qualify as independent timelines.
• Mapping out not only milestones but also inch stones.
• Driving the ball forward consistently never waiting, never falling asleep.

Superintendents and PMs must manage these timelines together with urgency and clarity.

Final Thoughts

I love this concept because it clarifies something I’ve practiced but hadn’t named before. From now on, I’ll be integrating it into future editions of the First Planner System book and into our training sessions.

When it comes to project success, don’t just manage the big plan manage the critical timelines inside it.

Key Takeaway:

Every project contains critical, one-off sequences like permanent power or elevator installs that don’t fit into the normal schedule. Treat them as independent timelines, break them down into milestones and inch stones, and never “go to sleep” on them. Managing timelines effectively can determine whether your project succeeds or stalls.