Before Phase Planning: Set the Standard and Rehearse the First Run

Here’s the deal. I am continuing the before phase planning list. I originally drafted a before phase planning checklist, a little like a manual, and I also have a summarized guide. I am thinking about turning it into a full-fledged book, because it is just that important and I want to expand on these concepts. In this post, I am covering set the standard and rehearse the first run. It is a really cool section. You will find the links to the other parts of the before phase planning series at the bottom of this post.

Short answer: Before phase planning includes setting the standard and rehearsing the first run before a phase begins. The six practices are a mock-up, a benchmark control sample or first-in-place inspection, clear conditions of satisfaction and handoff acceptance criteria, a quality checklist for each trade, first run studies, and testing any work before it is concealed. Each one finds problems while mistakes are still cheap.

The Six Practices in This Section

Before you start a phase in construction, here are the things you can do to set the standard and rehearse the first run:

1. Build a mock-up.
2. Set a benchmark control sample, or do a first-in-place
3. Define the conditions of satisfaction, the definition of done, and the handoff acceptance criteria in the pre-construction meeting.
4. Create a quality checklist for each trade.
5. Run first run studies.
6. Flag any work that will be concealed, and test before it is covered.

They all share a purpose. Each one is a way to set the standard before the phase starts, and to rehearse the first run while mistakes are still cheap, so the trades are not discovering problems in the middle of the work. Let me walk through each one.

Why Build a Mock-Up Before the Phase?

One of the things you can do before a phase is focus on your mock-up. In a Takt simulation I always talk about first run studies, and a first run study can be as simple as visiting the crew, or practicing a first of a kind. You could do it in a mock-up, or it could be the first install on your site, but I really do like mock-ups.

There are faster, cheaper ways to build them. If you build a mock-up on site, you have to build it and tear it down. It is super expensive, and it is in your way. I know of exterior consulting companies that allow you to build your structural and exterior mock-up at their shop, where they do all their testing. It is much cheaper, and the bottom line is that I love mock-ups.

I will tell you a story. One time we did a mock-up for a project. It was the first project where I was the project superintendent, and everything went pretty well. But the steel that needed to be attached to the structure for the masonry took three times as long as we had anticipated. The trade partner said it took that long in the mock-up, but he did not think it would be a problem on the jobsite. I am not blaming him. I should have known better. Sure enough, it took three times as long on the job as well.

Mock-ups are a thing. Build it once for real before you build it a hundred times. The mock-up is where the method, the materials, and the sequence get argued out at full scale while mistakes are still cheap. It is one of the best things you can do to get ahead.

The Benchmark Control Sample

The next practice is a benchmark control sample, or a first-in-place inspection. This is where you set and approve the real standard on the actual first installation, in your first zone. Everyone now has a physical reference for what right looks like, which ends the debate before it starts.

This one is risky, because we can take this and have all the wrong information, and then it is too late. If you did a really nice pre-construction meeting, but you cannot do a mock-up, you cannot go to another job, and you cannot do a first of a kind elsewhere as a model, and you can only install the first zone, then at least make sure it is well controlled with a good pre-construction meeting.

Conditions of Satisfaction and Acceptance Criteria

Make sure you are absolutely clear about the conditions of satisfaction, the definition of done, and the handoff acceptance criteria inside the pre-construction meeting. Write down exactly what the receiving trade is entitled to expect from the trade before it. A handoff without acceptance criteria is a disagreement waiting to happen. So be very clear, and write it down. When the receiving trade knows exactly what it is entitled to expect, and the trade before it knows exactly what it is expected to deliver, the handoff stops being a matter of opinion.

A Quality Checklist for Each Trade

Turn the conditions of satisfaction into a short checklist that each trade signs off on for its own work. That way, quality is built in, in the wagon or the task, and not inspected in at the end. It can be visual as well, so that you have a single page from the crew to install from.

What Is a First Run Study?

Video the very first cycle of a repeating task, and improve the method before it sets. In a Takt phase, the first cycle becomes the template for every zone after it. So a five-minute improvement multiplies across the whole line. That is why it matters so much to improve the method during the first cycle, before it sets, instead of after it has been repeated in every zone.

This can also be done offsite. You can do a first run study for a crew before it ever arrives at your project site, and that would be my preference. I would rather that we not be catchers of chaos, receiving these problems. I would rather we pitch excellence before a trade ever comes on site. You can do that with a first run study offsite or with a mock-up, and I think that is really cool.

Test Before It Is Concealed

Any work that gets hidden should be tested before it is hidden. Underground work is tested before backfill. In-wall work is tested before close-up. The confirm, test, and accept step is sequenced before the concealment, not discovered after it. Make sure that anything you are going to cover up has standard checks, inspections, and gates, especially if that is not dictated by the authority having jurisdiction.

Why Is the Phase the Central Unit of Construction?

That was section 4.2, and it is a shorter one. Let me close by saying something else. The phase is the central unit of all construction. It is how we think, and it is how we see. Here is what the phase does:

• You can sequence it with a pull plan.
• You can get the right line of balance within the pull plan.
• You can identify the right amount of buffers through your risk analysis.
• It is the core unit for your historical reference class.
• It sets your milestone.
• It triggers the pull plan three months ahead.
• Every first wagon triggers your pre-construction meeting.
• It is what you align your supply chain to, and it is how you do your lookahead planning.

Everything that we do is based on this phase concept. The phase also ties into advanced work packaging, because the phase is the construction work area. Each Takt wagon or activity has its own construction work package, engineering work package, and procurement work package. Each Takt wagon or activity in each zone should have its own installation work package. It is all beautifully aligned. The phase is where the planning, the supply chain, the work packages, and the first rehearsals all meet.

These phases also tie together to create your macro-level Takt plan, where you should be able to see your path of critical flow. Before you get to these phases, identify the things that must be done for each phase to go well.

So here is the challenge. Pick your next phase and decide how you will rehearse the first run. Will it be a mock-up, a first run study offsite, or at least a well-controlled first zone with a good pre-construction meeting?

Bottom line: Build it once for real before you build it a hundred times.

If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Want your team trained on this? See our Last Planner® System and Takt training.

On we go.

FAQ

What is before phase planning?

It is everything I do before a phase starts so the phase goes well. This part covers setting the standard and rehearsing the first run, with mock-ups, a first-in-place inspection, acceptance criteria, trade checklists, first run studies, and testing before work is concealed.

What is a first run study?

It is when you video the very first cycle of a repeating task and improve the method before it sets. In a Takt phase, the first cycle becomes the template for every zone after it, so a five-minute improvement multiplies across the whole line.

Why does Jason like mock-ups?

Because the mock-up is where the method, the materials, and the sequence get argued out at full scale while mistakes are still cheap. On my first project as project superintendent, the steel for the masonry took three times as long in the mock-up and then three times as long on the job.

What is a benchmark control sample?

It is where you set and approve the real standard on the actual first installation in your first zone, so everyone has a physical reference for what right looks like and the debate ends before it starts.

Why test before concealment?

Because the confirm, test, and accept step should be sequenced before the work is hidden, not discovered after, especially when the authority having jurisdiction does not dictate it.

Before Phase Planning Series:
Stress-Test the Plan Before Crews Mobilize.
The Work That Makes Every Construction Phase Succeed.
Build the Right Crew Before Work Begins
Work Packages, Buffers, and Multi-Train Flow