Here’s the deal. This is a short one, but it was really impactful to me when I heard it recently. It is about the battle perch, and about something I had never thought to do with it: use it to train and mentor the people around you.
Short answer: A battle perch is an elevated spot on or near your jobsite, such as a hill, an adjacent building, scaffolding, or a second-story trailer, where a senior leader can get a bird’s eye view and watch the work. Training from the battle perch means bringing assistant superintendents, field engineers, project engineers, and the project manager up there with you, and using that time to mentor them.
What Is a Battle Perch?
The concept is senior commanders being able to observe the ground, or the front, from an elevated position. I do not even remember exactly where I learned it. I think I learned it from a biography of General George S. Patton.
On a jobsite, the idea is to go up there, get a bird’s eye view, and see what is actually happening. It is going to the Gemba from a strategic and tactical standpoint as a senior leader. You spend some time up there, and you watch and observe and let it teach you.
We even have a Lean image for this. It is on the website under the Lean images, and I have shared it and talked about it quite a bit in books and other places.
The Building Will Talk to You
The other concept is that the building will talk to you. I do not know what it is out there in the universe, or the jobsite, or whatever it is that is talking to us, but something is talking to us. I am not educated enough to know what that is. But something is talking to you.
That only happens if you give it the time. A battle perch is where you stop moving long enough to see the whole job, and it is one of the best ways I know for a senior leader to go to the Gemba without getting pulled into one conversation or one problem.
Where Can You Set Up a Battle Perch?
I have set up a battle perch in a few different places:
- On a hill next to the project.
- On an adjacent building. I remember one project in downtown San Diego where there was an adjacent building you could easily walk up through the egress stairs. It was super safe, and I think we even had some survey points up there.
- By climbing up a tower crane, which is safe.
- On scaffolding. Somebody recently asked me how I set up my battle perch, and he brought up scaffolding. I said, yeah, that is a really good idea, and I have seen it before.
- On stacked trailers. Ideally, I would love to stack trailers to make a second story, and then have handrail on top of the roof where you could actually go out and look at the job, or have exterior windows, kind of like you are in a command center. I have not seen that a lot in the United States without quite high expense, but I think it would be really neat.
Whichever one you use, the goal is the same. You want a spot where you can get a bird’s eye view of the work.
How Do You Use a Battle Perch to Mentor Your Team?
This is the part that got me. The person who brought up scaffolding told me what he likes to do, and I want to be clear that this is his idea, and I do not get any credit for any of it. [ASK JASON: who is this person, and can we name him?]
He said that what he likes to do is bring people up with him and mentor them while he is up there on the actual battle perch:
- Assistant superintendents.
- Field engineers.
- Project engineers.
- The project manager.
I was like, whoa. Honestly, I had never thought about that. I have brought people up to the battle perch in the past, in different situations. But I had never actually thought about institutionalizing it, and every day being like, who wants to come with me?
What a cool mentoring opportunity. What a cool opportunity to give them. What a cool opportunity to develop other people’s careers. I just think it is super fantastic.
Why Make It an Everyday Habit?
Bringing someone up now and then is good. Making it the way you work every day is something else. When the invitation is always open, the people around you learn to see the job the way a senior leader sees it, from a strategic and tactical standpoint, and not only from the one area they are responsible for.
It also means the building gets to talk to more than one person. Everybody who comes up with you gets the chance to watch, observe, and let the job teach them.
So here is the challenge. Set up your battle perch, whether that is a hill, an adjacent building, scaffolding, or a stack of trailers. Then make it a daily habit to ask your assistant superintendents, field engineers, project engineers, and project manager, who wants to come with me? Have you used your battle perch to train and mentor others?
Bottom line: Go up to your battle perch, let the building teach you, and bring someone with you.
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On we go.
FAQ
What is a battle perch in construction?
It is an elevated position where a senior leader can get a bird’s eye view of the jobsite and see what is actually happening. It is going to the Gemba from a strategic and tactical standpoint.
Where can you set up a battle perch?
I have used a hill, an adjacent building, and a tower crane. Scaffolding works too, and ideally I would love stacked trailers with a rooftop handrail, like a command center.
How do you use a battle perch to mentor your team?
Bring assistant superintendents, field engineers, project engineers, and the project manager up with you, and mentor them while you are up there. Make it a daily habit by asking, who wants to come with me?
What does “the building will talk to you” mean?
When you spend time up on the battle perch watching and observing, the job teaches you something. I do not know exactly what it is, but something is talking to us.
Where did Jason learn about the battle perch?
I think I learned it from a biography of General George S. Patton. It comes from senior commanders observing the front from an elevated position.
People Also Read:
Developing The Battle Prech
The Construction Battle Perch
Respect for People in Lean Construction: What It Actually Looks Like
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