What Type Of Projects Do You Specialize In?

Why Production Systems Work on Any Project Type

Here’s a question I get often: “What types of projects do you specialize in at Elevate Construction?” And I love this question because the answer reveals something important about production planning systems. The answer is: really any type. Whether it’s multifamily or hospitals or laboratories or anything in commercial construction, we excel at it. And that’s not because we’re generalists without deep expertise. It’s because the production planning principles we teach Takt, Last Planner, flow-based coordination work across all project types when applied correctly.

I’ve got 25+ years of experience as an industry leader in construction with real construction projects. Not consulting from the sidelines. Actually building. And what that experience taught me is that the fundamental principles of production flow don’t change based on whether you’re building apartments, operating rooms, or data centers. Work still happens in physical space. Trades still need to flow through zones. Coordination still requires spatial and temporal alignment. Systems still protect people better than heroics. The project types differ. The production principles don’t.

When Specialization Becomes Limitation

The real construction pain here is companies that specialize so narrowly they can’t adapt their methods to different project types. You find firms that only build multifamily and use methods that work for repetitive residential construction but break down when applied to complex healthcare projects. Or you find specialty contractors who excel at laboratories but struggle with basic commercial work because their methods are over-engineered for standard projects. The specialization that creates depth in one area creates blindness to principles that work universally.

The opposite problem exists too: companies claiming universal expertise without systems backing that claim. They say they build everything but what they really mean is they use the same broken methods everywhere. They apply CPM to hospitals the same way they apply it to apartments. They coordinate trades reactively regardless of project complexity. They push schedules when behind regardless of whether pushing makes sense for that specific work. The universal claim is true they do work on any project type but they’re equally ineffective across all of them because they lack production system understanding.

The Pattern Most Builders Miss

The failure pattern is assuming planning methods must change fundamentally based on project type. We think hospital planning requires completely different approaches than multifamily planning. We believe data center coordination has nothing in common with laboratory coordination. We treat each specialty as requiring unique methods that can’t transfer. And we stay trapped in narrow expertise because we never learned the universal principles underlying successful production across all project types.

What actually happens is the surface characteristics differ while the fundamental production principles remain constant. Yes, hospitals have infection control requirements that apartments don’t have. Yes, data centers have critical power and cooling systems that office buildings don’t have. Yes, laboratories have contamination protocols that retail spaces don’t have. These specialty requirements are real and important. But underneath those surface differences, the production fundamentals are identical.

Every project needs proper work packaging so trades have consistent duration activities. Every project benefit from zoning strategies that create flow instead of chaos. Every project requires milestone setting that creates achievable targets with buffers protecting against variation. Every project coordinates better when trades can see where they’re working and who they’re handing off to. These principles work on apartments, hospitals, data centers, laboratories, and every other commercial construction project type.

Understanding Universal Production Principles

Let me break down why Takt planning and lean production systems work across project types. The principles are:

Work happens in space, not just time. Whether you’re building repetitive residential units or unique surgical suites, the work physically occurs in zones that trades move through. The complexity of what’s being built differs. The reality that works flows through physical space doesn’t change. Time-by-location planning formats work universally because space is universal to construction.

Trades need consistent work to maintain rhythm. A mechanical crew needs predictable work packages whether they’re installing basic HVAC in apartments or complex medical gas systems in hospitals. The technical requirements differ. The need for rhythm doesn’t. Proper work packaging applies to every trade on every project type.

Coordination requires seeing both temporal and spatial relationships. You need to know what comes next in sequence (temporal) and where it happens (spatial) regardless of project type. CPM only shows temporal relationships. Takt shows both. That advantage applies whether you’re coordinating three trades or thirty trades, simple systems or complex systems.

Buffers protect against variation everywhere. Hospitals have more regulatory checkpoints than apartments. Data centers have more commissioning complexity than warehouses. But every project type experiences variation. Every project benefit from buffers that protect milestones when variation happens. The source of variation differs. The need for protection doesn’t.

Flow creates better outcomes than push everywhere. Pushing trades to work faster when behind schedule damages productivity whether you’re building apartments or laboratories. Creating flow where trades work at sustainable rhythm with clear handoffs produces better outcomes universally. The production principle works regardless of project complexity.

Service Models That Support Production

From a construction management standpoint, we work on projects anywhere between $10 million and $200 million right now until our company grows larger. And we’re ready to serve in multiple roles based on what the project needs. As construction manager helping the GC, we bring production planning expertise that improves how the general contractor coordinates work. As construction manager at risk (CM@R), we take on both planning and execution responsibility, building the project as the general contractor while applying lean production systems throughout. As general contractor on projects that are ready to go, we plan and build using the systems we teach.

This flexibility in service models matters because different project delivery methods need production planning support in different ways. Sometimes the GC has the relationship with the owner but lacks production planning capability CM support fills that gap. Sometimes the owner wants single-source responsibility for both planning and execution CM@R provides that. Sometimes the owner wants a GC who already operates with lean production systems that’s where we serve directly as general contractor. The service model adapts. The production principles we apply don’t change.

Geographic Presence and Project Examples

We’re currently doing business in Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Utah as we scale. These states represent diverse market conditions, regulatory environments, and project types. And our consulting arm works with data centers, hospitals, airports anything you could possibly think of. The geographic and typological diversity isn’t accidental. It proves the principles work universally when you understand them correctly.

Data centers require precise coordination of critical infrastructure. Hospitals require infection control and phased occupancy planning. Airports require security protocols and operational coordination with active terminals. Multifamily requires repetitive unit construction with efficient trade flow. Laboratories require contamination control and specialized systems. Commercial office requires tenant coordination and value engineering. Every project type has unique specialty requirements. Every project type benefits from the same production planning fundamentals proper zoning, trade flow, buffer management, and visual coordination.

Why 25 Years of Field Experience Matters

The reason I can confidently say we excel at any commercial construction project type comes from 25+ years of actual field experience building these projects before teaching others how to build them. I didn’t learn production planning from books or consulting projects. I learned it from managing actual construction projects hospitals where infection control protocols constrained sequencing, laboratories where contamination protocols required specialty coordination, multifamily where repetition enabled optimization, data centers where uptime requirements drove planning decisions.

That field experience across diverse project types revealed the universal principles underneath the surface differences. Every project had unique specialty requirements. Every project benefited from the same production fundamentals. The learning wasn’t “here’s how to plan hospitals” and “here’s how to plan laboratories” and “here’s how to plan data centers” as if they’re completely different disciplines. The learning was: here are universal production principles that apply everywhere, and here’s how specialty requirements modify application without changing principles.

What Makes Different Project Types Similar

Watch for these production fundamentals that apply across all commercial construction project types:

• Zones need leveling for work density regardless of what type of work fills them
• Trades need diagonal flow through zones whether it’s simple or complex trades
• Milestones need buffers protecting them whether the phase is short or long
• Coordination needs visual time-by-location plans whether the team is small or large
• Pull planning validates sequence collaboratively whether the scope is simple or complex
• Work-in-progress needs alignment with capacity whether the project is small or large

The specialty requirements add complexity. The production principles remain constant.

Current Scale and Growth Trajectory

Our current project size range $10 million to $200 million represents where we operate until the company grows larger. This range captures most commercial construction while we build organizational capacity to handle larger projects. The upper bound isn’t a capability limit from production planning perspective. It’s an organizational scaling consideration about how many large projects we can support simultaneously while maintaining quality.

As we scale, the project size range will expand. The production principles won’t change. Whether we’re planning $50 million hospitals or $500 million hospitals, the fundamentals of zoning, trade flow, buffers, and coordination remain the same. The complexity scales. The principles don’t. This is what allows growth without losing effectiveness the systems work at any scale when understood correctly.

Building on Production Principles, Not Project-Specific Tricks

This connects to everything we teach at Elevate Construction about building capability through principles understanding rather than project-specific tricks. When you understand production fundamentals, you can adapt to any project type. When you only know project-specific methods, you’re limited to those narrow applications. We don’t have separate playbooks for hospitals versus multifamily versus laboratories. We have one production planning system based on universal principles that adapts to specialty requirements without changing fundamentals.

If your project needs production planning support regardless of type whether it’s through construction management consulting, CM@R services, or direct general contractor engagement we bring 25+ years of field experience across diverse project types applying universal lean production principles. The planning creates flow, gains buffers, and coordinates trades effectively whether you’re building apartments or operating rooms.

A Challenge for Project Owners and Leaders

Here’s the challenge. Stop assuming you need specialists who only understand your specific project type. Start looking for builders who understand universal production principles and can adapt them to your specialty requirements. The best hospital builder isn’t necessarily someone who only builds hospitals. It’s someone who understands production flow and knows how to apply it within healthcare regulatory requirements.

Ask potential partners: do you understand Takt planning and time-by-location coordination? Can you demonstrate pull planning that gains buffers? Do you zone for work density or just follow floor plan lines? Can you create diagonal trade flow? Do you build in buffers or hope for perfection? These questions reveal production system understanding that predicts success regardless of project type. Project-specific experience matters for knowing specialty requirements. Production system understanding matters for actually coordinating work effectively.

We’re ready to serve commercial construction projects across types, scales, and geographies with production planning systems that work universally. These are the projects we excel at and where we really like to spend our time anywhere builders are ready to implement systems that respect people and create predictable flow. As Taiichi Ohno said: “The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” We’ve done the work across 25+ years and diverse project types. The success comes from applying universal principles consistently.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do your methods really work the same on hospitals as apartments?

Yes. The production fundamentals zoning for work density, creating trade flow, building buffers, coordinating with time-by-location plans work universally. Hospitals add specialty requirements like infection control that modify application but don’t change underlying principles. We adapt methods to specialty requirements without abandoning production fundamentals.

What size projects do you currently handle?

Currently $10 million to $200 million as we scale organizational capacity. This captures most commercial construction. The upper bound will expand as we grow. The production planning principles work at any scale the constraint is organizational capacity to support multiple large projects simultaneously while maintaining quality.

Can you serve as construction manager if we already have a GC selected?

Yes. We often serve as CM helping GCs implement production planning systems they haven’t mastered yet. We bring Takt planning, pull planning, and Last Planner System expertise that improves how the GC coordinates work. The service model adapts to what the project needs.

What states do you currently operate in?

Arizona, Texas, Colorado, and Utah as we scale. But our consulting services extend beyond these states when projects need production planning support. Geographic presence expands based on demand. The production principles we apply work anywhere regardless of local market conditions.

Why does field experience matter if production principles are universal?

Field experience across diverse project types taught me how specialty requirements modify application without changing principles. I learned what’s truly different versus what only appears different. That distinction understanding what fundamentally changes versus what’s surface variation comes from building many project types, not from theory.