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Author: Danny Jiménez⁩

Pre-Construction Planning: The Five Must-Do Items to Leave Precon Right

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 33 min

Pre-Construction Planning: The Five Must-Do Items to Leave Precon Right

We’re going to talk about planning and design of precon. Now, there’s a lot more to this than what I’m going to cover now, but let’s go ahead and do one small segment and see where we end up. I want to talk about the question directly: If you had to pick something, what are the key things that you would pick? What are the most impactful things in pre-construction that we have to remember?

And I’ll close with this statement: I think it’s immoral and unethical to hold a project team accountable for a project they didn’t plan. I think it’s immoral and unethical to hold a project team accountable for a project they didn’t plan. And so these are the minimum items.

Let me walk you through the five must-do items.

The Pain of Starting Without a Plan

Here’s what happens when you don’t do proper pre-construction planning. You start the project. You mobilize. And then you discover problems. The crane is too small. The switchgear won’t be here for six months. The zones are too big. The trade partners can’t hit the schedule. And now you’re reacting. You’re fighting fires. You’re stressed. And the team didn’t plan this project together.

And here’s the problem: you’re holding the team accountable for a project they didn’t plan. That’s immoral and unethical. The team needs to plan the project together. They need to see the plan. They need to tear it apart. They need to make it right. And then they own it.

Without proper pre-construction planning, you’re guessing. With proper pre-construction planning, you’re prepared. And there are five must-do items that separate guessing from preparation.

Must-Do One: Create the Macro-Level Takt Plan

One of the most important things you can do on your project is create a macro-level Takt plan. And I’m going to put that in a timeline. I think that your macro-level Takt plan is best anywhere between the proposal I would actually do one for a proposal all the way up to schematic design, between those frameworks.

I want to take you to a really neat board here and explain why we would want a macro-level Takt plan. And even if you use CPM, I would always do a macro-level Takt plan at a high level and make sure that you have what you need. This is a macro-level Takt plan. I remember an executive one time telling me, “Jason, if you can’t see the plan in one to five minutes, you don’t have a plan.”

You might be curious why we’re showing a schedule that is running past substantial completion. This project is actually on track. This is basically their baseline strategy. And when the team was able to see this, they were like, “Hey, can we optimize how fast we’re able to get in here in the interior space? Hey, the structural upgrade phase is a little bit disconnected. Is there any way that can narrow by adjusting zone sizes? Hey, for the interiors, instead of 10 zones at 10,000 square feet, can we do 15 zones at 7,500 square feet?”

And that is actually what the team ended up doing. And this phase actually ended up hitting the milestone because everybody knows the smaller your zone size, the faster you go. So they were able to look at this from a strategic standpoint and say, “Okay, this is how I’m going to optimize move-in. We’ll really line out the occupants.” The demolition phase, that’s probably already optimized, but we have one little gap here. Can we add a second crew way early on so they’re trained and onboarded?

We have this schedule is correct. This baseline strategy is correct because it has trade flow. The trades can actually move from area to area to area. Anytime you see a schedule where they’re stacked into one zone with too many people or one trade is supposed to be in 18 different areas on the CPM schedule, no. No. No. And some more, no.

So what happens on these baseline schedules is that we actually map out what’s realistic and then we have realistic opportunities to accelerate. We can re-zone to accelerate. We can optimize a bottleneck, meaning like let’s say that there’s like an underground electrical room or something like that and we can actually prefabricate that underground electrical. We can look at the sequence. We can optimize the start of phases with great sequencing.

My point here is that seeing a macro-level Takt plan is actually key and we can do so much with it. Macro-level Takt plans are amazing. The other thing that I like them for is that this is what they should look like before you come out of pre-construction: torn apart, commented on, questioned, criticized. Just like you’re making a good movie at DreamWorks. We’ve got to have the plan on one page to where everybody understands it and just redline the crap out of it so that you can get to a solid plan that will work for you out in the field.

So here’s a quote if you want to write it down: I don’t care if your first plan is right. I care that the team can see it so the team can make it right together.

Must-Do Two: Manage Long-Lead Procurement Weekly

If Jeff came and said, “Hey, J Money, I need you to run a project for me,” and I was a superintendent, I would literally be like, “Jeff, can you hold on one second?” And Jeff would be like, “What the hell? Does he have to go to the bathroom?” And I would literally come out of my office with a piece of paper and say, “Jeff, what kind of building is it? And what things do we need to order right now for long-lead procurement?” And he’d be like, “Jason, I didn’t even tell you what the job is.” I’d be like, “I don’t care. We need to get we’re already late for switchgear. We’re already late for curtain wall.” And Jeff would be like, “Jason, are you high?” And I’d be like, “Jeff, for the love of God, we’re already late. We have to get our long-lead procurement on. What if the owner won’t pay for it? Jeff, I’ll pay for it myself.”

Like one of the biggest problems that we have in the industry is that we don’t start soon enough. I promise I won’t be too long with all of this. But there’s a great book and it’s written way back in the day. It’s called Calum K. It’s a book about a builder, a superintendent literally back in the day that recovered a project. And this is like at this point like 150 years ago in the United States. And guess what? He’s dealing with unions, railroad lines, politics, labor shortages, procurement issues. So when we’re like, “Oh, COVID-19 and supply chains,” we’ve had this problem for hundreds and hundreds of years. Every book I read says the same thing.

It literally comes down to two things. If you want to take notes, you have to start early enough. I’ve learned this from master builders. We have to start sooner and we have to monitor weekly.

This is just a little bit of a tease to my construction homies that I love. I’ll go to job sites and 98% of them, this is what happens. I’m like, “Hey, what are the biggest problems you’re dealing with?” “Okay, labor shortages and material procurement.” “Okay, let me see your procurement log.” “What’s a procurement log?” “Okay, you don’t use a log. That’s super fine. Just show it to me in Procore.” “Well, I don’t have it in there.” “Okay. Well, all right. It’s probably in the schedule. Can you show me your procurement in the ” “No, we don’t have it in the schedule.” “Okay. Who manages their procurement?” “Well, our trades do.”

And then I’m like, “Oh.” Like, have you ever seen that scene in The Naked Gun where they’re trading guns back and forth in a hostage scene and everybody in the audience slaps their head? I’m like, “No, we can’t. That is not the right answer.” We as the general contractor have to work with the trades, monitor it weekly so that we see real-time if there’s a mistake.

Here’s the key components of a procurement log:

  • Required on-job date: When do you need it on site? Work backwards from there with buffers.
  • Conditional formatting on each step: Shop drawings submitted, reviewed, approved, ordered, manufactured, shipped, received. If any step goes red, you immediately know to recover the supply chain.
  • Weekly monitoring: Track it every single week. Don’t wait for the trade to call you and say, “Sorry, it’s going to be three more weeks.” You should already know the problem and be recovering it.

A lot of times people are like, “Oh, I ordered this a year ago and I got a call yesterday from the trade saying it’s going to be three more weeks. Sorry owner, we have a delay.” Well, why are we surprised? Why were we not tracking it weekly? Why when we were looking at these, didn’t we see a problem in each of these steps real-time and recover it? Because we weren’t paying attention. We weren’t taught this.

And so, one of the most impactful things you can do to get out of pre-construction is to make sure you are managing your long-lead procurement as fast as possible.

Must-Do Three: Create Norm-Level Takt Plans (Post-Pull-Plan)

This is one of the critical ones. Create norm-level Takt plans. If you start your project with a macro-level Takt plan and you can do this with CPM or Takt so if you’re mainly CPM, that’s super fine, not a problem then you create your macro-level Takt plan. Tear it apart with the team. Make it a team plan. Make sure everybody owns it. Then you can build your work breakdown structure and CPM. But you need to see your entire plan on one page.

And one of the things that I really like as I zoom into this is that your macro-level Takt plan should be your slowest speed plus your risk analysis plus a reference class. Meaning if you’re building a laboratory, your reference class is historical data on the last 15 laboratories you’ve built. And if the last 15 projects you’ve built took 18 months and you’re promising 15 for this new one, that’s probably not smart.

So your macro-level Takt plan is your slowest speed plus your risk analysis plus your reference class. Then when we re-zone, meaning we do our pull plan, when we do our pull plan that helps us to create the sequence. And in the pull plan you actually work with the trade partners to find out the smallest zone size that’s reasonable.

Now when you do your norm-level Takt plan, which is post-pull-plan, that’s your optimized speed plus risk mitigation strategies plus your reference class mitigation strategies plus buffers. The way we do that is in a calculator. You plug in how many packages of work you have for trades, how many zones you have, and what your Takt time is. And the calculator will basically say, “Okay, you’ve got five zones planned right now. Well, if you go to nine zones, you’ll go from 95 days on your phase to 69 days. Or if you go to 11 zones, you go to 75 days and the trade partners have eight additional days for each of their scopes.”

So this calculator allows you to know how you should zone a project. And that’s important because then and only then you pull plan with the trades and you pull plan one representative zone. And when you pull plan that, that is the base of everything that we do.

All a pull plan is is one sequence in a zone of a Takt plan. And all a Takt plan is is multiple pull plans zone by zone. That’s it. So Last Planner 2.0 is Takt 100%. Last Planner 1.0 is simply one area. If you all love the Last Planner System, then the next step is to love the Takt Production System. That’s what creates your base and that’s what creates your norm-level production plan. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Must-Do Four: Create a Risk and Opportunity Register

The other most important thing is you should as the PM or the project executive create a risk and opportunity register. That risk and opportunity register is going to be created from those fresh eyes meetings. Every risk that we know or opportunity to gain more money should be mentioned on that register.

Let me give you two examples. Let’s say that one risk is the crane will be there too long and the size of crane is a $300,000 risk to your budget. Well, now you start looking into it and you find out that you could actually do two smaller ballast cranes, save the 300 grand and still have the capacity for the formwork. That’s an example of a risk.

Let’s look at an opportunity. This is kind of silly, but if you have good financial projections, let’s say that you have a guaranteed maximum price as a CM at risk, but your concrete budget is lump sum, and you realize that on the project you could actually hire two more field engineers because your budget looks strong and that would help your self-perform lump-sum budget, and that you could rent yourself your own equipment for the project, at least the forklift, as a part of your overall budget and gain $30,000 to $40,000 additionally on equipment rental gains. That’s something you would put in your opportunities column.

The bottom line is having a risk and opportunity register will set the team up for success to get rid of their risks and to realize their financial opportunities. And that happens once you do a little bit of research on your reference class. Basically what it is is don’t build a building unless you’ve done research on previous buildings. And you can even if you don’t have research, you can use AI to get some pretty good information. If you’re building a building, understand what the 10 to 15 types of those buildings look like, how long they took, how much they cost before, and make sure that you’re not undercutting that by a lot.

Must-Do Five: Host a Fresh Eyes Meeting

That brings us to the fresh eyes meeting. That means every job that goes out the door gets reviewed and the project team gets to stand and deliver. And what happens is you have something like this. It has the overall summary, the overall production plan, the first 90 days, every sequence to look at, all of the procurement items, overall work density areas, budget categories, how the team is organized. Like everything is on here. And we should just rip this thing a new one, just tear it apart and be mean because we don’t have a plan until the entire project team has reviewed it, torn it apart, and had a fresh set of eyes for it.

And guess what? If some of you are like, “I’m not letting Jeff touch my project and look at it,” no, no, no, no, no. Do you want to go home every day and be stressed about it by yourself or do you want to share the burden of this project with the team? I promise you, your mental health will be better if you share it. So the fresh eyes meeting is absolutely crucial. So that’s the fifth major thing that I would do.

A Challenge for Project Teams

Here’s what I want you to do this week. If you want to know, according to my research and opinion, what are the most impactful things that you must do in order to leave precon the right way, here are the five:

  1. Macro-level Takt plan – See the entire project on one page, tear it apart, make it right together
  2. Long-lead procurement – Start early, monitor weekly, recover problems in real time
  3. Norm-level Takt plans – Pull plan with trades, optimize zones, gain buffers
  4. Risk and opportunity register – Document risks, identify opportunities, prepare the team
  5. Fresh eyes meeting – Peer review, stand and deliver, share the burden

And this is not done very often. You can’t come to most projects and find a great master plan, procurement, pull plans starting to be done, the risk and opportunity register, and the fresh eyes meeting happening. And ideally, it’s not one fresh eyes meeting, but hopefully you get enough reviews. I’d rather there be three. One of these days when we’re really good at this, we will have reviewed that project three different times before we go out into the field.

As we say at Elevate, it’s immoral and unethical to hold a project team accountable for a project they didn’t plan. Do the five must-do precon items. Plan together. Own the plan together. Execute together.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the macro-level Takt plan the first must-do?

Because you can’t see the plan in one to five minutes without it. The team needs to see the entire project on one page, tear it apart, and make it right together. That’s how you build ownership.

Why monitor long-lead procurement weekly instead of monthly?

Because if something goes red, you need to know immediately and recover. If you wait a month, you’ve lost four weeks of recovery time. Weekly monitoring catches problems in real time when you can still fix them.

What’s the difference between macro and norm-level Takt plans?

Macro-level is slowest speed plus risk plus reference class. Norm-level is optimized speed plus risk mitigation plus reference class plus buffers. Macro happens at proposal to schematic. Norm happens post-pull-plan with trades.

Why do you need a risk and opportunity register?

To document known risks and identify financial opportunities before mobilization. The team can eliminate risks and realize opportunities instead of reacting to problems after they’ve already hurt the project.

What happens in a fresh eyes meeting?

The project team stands and delivers. Peers review the entire plan production, procurement, budget, team organization, everything. They tear it apart. They make it better. You don’t have a plan until it’s been peer-reviewed.

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

What Operational Excellence Really Means (It’s Not Just “Finished on Time”)

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 25 min

What Operational Excellence Really Means (It’s Not Just “Finished on Time”)

So let’s go ahead and talk about what it means to be operationally excellent. I’ve heard in the past superintendents say, “I finished on time. I pulled it through the knothole.” And let me say this with passion: I don’t care at all if somebody finishes on time if they had to burn through trade partners, stay away from their families, crash-land the project, or hurt somebody to do it. I don’t care at all.

And I am tired of people saying, “Well, it finished on time.” That’s not operational excellence. That’s not success. Let me explain the true definition.

The Pain of the “Finished on Time” Mentality

Here’s what happens when “finished on time” is the only metric. You burn through trade partners. They lose money. They don’t want to work with you again. You stay away from your families. Your marriage suffers. Your kids suffer. You crash-land the project. You rush. You cut corners. Quality suffers. Safety suffers. And you hurt somebody. Someone gets injured. Someone goes home in pain. Someone doesn’t go home at all.

And then the superintendent says, “But we finished on time.” That’s not success. That’s tragedy.

Here’s the problem with the “finished on time” mentality. It treats people as disposable. It treats trade partners as expenses. It treats families as acceptable collateral damage. And it treats safety as optional. That’s not Lean. That’s not respect for people. That’s classical management. And it’s evil.

I will sit in an office gathering of superintendents in a company and everybody’s like this, almost making fun of each other and joking and giggling, and their ego, their exterior, their false sense of self, their John Wayne persona is out in the open and there’s very little collaboration. Everything is, “Oh, I already knew that. I know. I know. I know.” And it’s just very disappointing to me.

And then I go into a group of PMs and they’re joking with each other in a positive way and they’re sharing and they’re like, “Yeah, I messed this up the other day.” And I’m like, “Okay, we as superintendents have got to step up as an industry.” We can no longer be proud of banana peels falling out of our trucks. We can’t be saying, “Oh, I don’t use computers.” We can’t have voicemail boxes that are full and cannot take any messages. We can’t have screen desktops with icons everywhere with no organization. And my favorite is the superintendent walking the job with nothing in his or her hands, not taking notes, and they’re like, “I got it right here.” We have got to stop this.

And I say that with love. My mission is to help create an image where superintendents can run with PMs and use technology with PMs and do just as good of a job as anyone else on the project site.

The True Definition of Operational Excellence

So let me explain what operational excellence really means. The true definition of operational excellence and success is: I finished on time with great quality. That means that we didn’t have to rush. So we had a three-month punch list with beautiful safety—because people have all kinds of different words and they get tied up in knots about how you talk about safety, but with amazing safety. Where we met our gross profit or net profit targets. And these are the important ones.

Here’s the complete definition:

Quality: Great quality means we didn’t rush. We had time for checks and gates. We finished as we go. We had a short punch list. Not a three-month crash-land disaster.

Safety: Beautiful safety means nobody got hurt. Zero injuries. Everyone went home every day. Safe environment. Safe culture. Safe systems.

Profit: Met our gross profit or net profit targets. We made money. The company made money. The budget worked. Cash flow worked.

Trades Win Financially: All trades won financially. Not just the GC. Every trade partner made money. They want to work with us again. They trust us. That’s a win-win.

Owner Is a Raving Fan: The owner is a raving fan. Unless they’re complete jerk monkeys—if they’re reasonable human beings, the owner is a raving fan. They love the project. They love the team. They tell their friends.

Career Goals Met: Each team member met their career goals. The assistant super got promoted. The field engineer learned surveying. The PM got their next big project. People grew. People advanced. People won.

Team Had Fun: The team had fun. This is the most important one. The job site was a place people wanted to be. Positive culture. Respect. Pride. Fun. Not misery. Not chaos. Not burnout. Fun.

Now, most people would look at me and be like, “Jason, you’re smoking something.” And I’ve actually had people on YouTube be like, “Jason, this proves that you’ve never had field experience.” The funny thing is I actually didn’t go to college. I did not come out as a consultant. I’ve been in the field for 30 years running work. And all of these are possible.

The Lean Lens: Cost, Quality, and Schedule Rise Together

And one thing that I want to talk about to change the mindset: you’ve ever heard of the holy trinity of construction where you have cost, quality, and schedule? And you’ve heard somebody say, “Pick two.” Actually, that only works in classical management systems. In Lean management systems, you can’t have one without all three.

And let me explain that real quick with you. The better you focus on quality in a Lean system, the faster you go and the less money you spend on rework. The more stable your schedule is, the faster you go, the better you’re able to take care of quality, and the more money you make.

There is no such thing as a win-lose in Lean thinking. There’s only win-win or lose-lose. There is no such thing as a win-lose. Let me explain what I mean. Let’s take your marriage for example. Let’s say that you are winning in your marriage and have what you want, but your spouse doesn’t. How long is that going to last? How long until that becomes a lose-lose?

Let’s say you’re getting everything you need as a contractor—change orders, money—but your owner isn’t getting what they want. How long is that going to stay a win-lose? How long until it becomes a lose-lose? There are no win-lose situations. So there’s only win-wins.

And so when it comes to operational excellence, there’s only in Lean such a thing as a win-win-win. When we do well with quality, we go fast and make money. When we flow in our schedule, we do good quality and we make money. The real way to make money is the Lean way, even though it looks counterintuitive.

So that is the definition of a project well done.

What Operational Excellence Looks Like on the Job Site

Now let me show you something more specific. If a project is running safe, then:

  • Everyone on the job site knows how to be safe in their tasks because they had great pre-task planning meetings
  • Everyone knows what they are installing because they had a great quality pre-construction meeting with visuals and work packages
  • Everyone makes improvements daily to their work because the environment is clean, safe, and organized
  • The bathrooms are clean, which sets the culture for the project site—if bathrooms are clean, everything else is clean
  • The job site team are good neighbors to the community and surrounding properties
  • Nothing hits the floor because we finish as we go—no trash, no debris, no waste sitting around
  • Materials are not in people’s way because they come just-in-time, not early, not stacked everywhere
  • Cords are off the floor and managed so that you have good access through your access ways, and everything’s on wheels so things move properly
  • All access ways are clear—you don’t stage in them, and contractors instead of being pushed on top of each other are pulled behind each other in sequence

This is what operational excellence looks like in the field. Clean. Safe. Organized. Flowing. Respectful.

The Pre-Construction Essentials Checklist

And the way that we get this done is by making sure that we start with a good pre-construction plan. And so we need the following at a minimum to run a project in an operationally excellent way:

Macro-Level Takt Plan: A full macro-level and normal-level or at least the beginnings of a normal Takt plan which is created by a pull plan.

Accountability Chart: A complete accountability chart for the team, having the right staff in the right roles.

Procurement Log: An amazingly operational procurement log that was created early on to queue up the supply chain and prevent material delays.

Risk and Opportunity Register: To make sure that you know your risks and you have a plan to overcome them before they become problems.

Active Logistics Plan: So you can maintain and operate the site—laydown, access, deliveries, cranes, hoists, all planned.

Well-Established Budget: That considers your general conditions and general requirements durations according to the Takt plan, not just guessing.

Trailer and Signage Design: You might think that’s funny, but we have to have the right visuals in order for this to work. People talk about what they can see.

Team with Experience: A team that has experience and loves working together—chemistry matters, culture matters, respect matters.

This is the pre-construction foundation for operational excellence. Without these, you’re guessing. With these, you’re planning. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Visual Management: People Talk About What They Can See

When you hear the term “set up your trailers,” I want you to know this quote: People talk about what they can see. Let me say it one more time. People talk about what they can see. Just in case it didn’t land, one more time. People talk about what they see.

And so if you have a baby-poop-brown, nasty, dusty trailer with corners filled and no organization that nobody enjoys being in, then you will not have good interaction systems. And here’s the key: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Everybody’s heard that quote. But you can’t measure what you can’t see. Let me say that again. You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And that’s what people typically know. But the rest of the quote goes like this: But you can’t measure what you can’t see.

And so we have got to have beautiful interaction spaces where you can build your team with the right team boards, and then beautiful visuals so that you and your trade partners can mark roadblocks on the boards. Screens that are on the front of the trailer. And then solving boards where you can put things visually on the board. And then obviously areas where you can do pull planning and lookahead planning.

And then, not now, but one of these days in the field, we will have worker huddle boards, area boards on every floor, and each crew will have the information to know exactly where they’re supposed to be so that we can get improvement at that level.

Everything Points to the Foremen

But before I go, where do all of these systems point? There’s arrows that point from each system. Where do they point? They all point to the trade partners and the foreman. That is where value is received. Everything—all of us on this call—are necessary but non-value-added overhead or indirect costs. We’re needed to build a project, but we’re actually not putting up drywall. We are not finishing concrete. We are not drilling caissons.

These people, the foremen, are the heroes. These are the ones that we should optimize. And so the planning should get everything that the foreman needs when they need it. The production system should get the trade partners what they need when they need it. The collaboration should get the trade partners what they need when they need it. Every last single thing in this system points to the foreman.

So operational excellence means that foremen can do their work in their work package in a zone successfully and plan, build, finish, move on. That’s operational excellence.

A Challenge for Leaders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Stop measuring success by “finished on time” alone. Start measuring success by the complete definition: quality, safety, profit, trades winning, owner as raving fan, career goals met, and team having fun. If you’re missing any of these, you don’t have operational excellence. You have partial success at best. And tragedy at worst.

As we say at Elevate, operational excellence means finishing on time with quality, safety, profit, trades winning, owner as fan, career goals met, and team having fun. That’s the complete definition. That’s win-win-win. That’s Lean.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s wrong with just “finished on time” as the success metric?

Because you can finish on time by burning through trade partners, staying away from families, crash-landing the project, and hurting people. That’s not success. That’s tragedy. Operational excellence requires all seven metrics.

What are the seven metrics of operational excellence?

Quality, safety, profit, trades winning financially, owner as raving fan, career goals met, and team having fun. All seven. Not just one or two. All seven together.

Why can’t you “pick two” from cost, quality, and schedule?

That only works in classical management. In Lean, you can’t have one without all three. Better quality = faster speed and less rework cost. Stable schedule = better quality and more profit. They rise together.

What does “people talk about what they can see” mean?

You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And you can’t measure what you can’t see. Visual management—boards, screens, maps, solving boards—lets people see the plan, see roadblocks, see progress. That creates conversation and improvement.

Why does everything point to the foremen?

Because foremen are where value is received. Everyone else—PMs, supers, engineers—are necessary but non-value-added overhead. Foremen put up drywall, finish concrete, drill caissons. They’re the heroes. Everything should optimize for them.

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

The Morning Worker Huddle: Creating One Team on Your Project Site

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 21 min

The Morning Worker Huddle: Creating One Team on Your Project Site

Welcome everybody out to this video that’s going to talk about the morning worker huddle in construction. And I’m going to use Minecraft to explain the concept and I’m super excited. Here’s the purpose: morning worker huddle all the workers on the project site, every single one of them, coming here in the morning and receiving a five-to-ten-minute orientation to the day. And what that looks like creates one social group where you see as a group, know as a group, and act as a group.

You can’t be one team if you’re all in separate meetings and you never collect everybody in one group.

The Pain of Separate Crews Heading in Different Directions

Here’s what happens without the morning worker huddle. You have separate crews heading in different directions. The plumbers are doing their thing. The electricians are doing their thing. The framers are doing their thing. And nobody knows what anybody else is doing. No coordination. No alignment. No team.

And here’s the problem: you are bought in because this person communicates real care and they want to do a really good job and you’re all heading in the same direction instead of as separate entities, separate crews heading in different directions.

Without the morning worker huddle, you have fragmentation. With the morning worker huddle, you have one team.

Here’s what happens without it. Crews don’t know what’s happening on the rest of the site. The crane is working on the west side. But nobody told the crews on the east side. They walk into the crane zone. Chaos. Nobody hears the praise. The plumbers loaned the forklift yesterday. That was amazing. But nobody else knows. No recognition. No culture building.

Two minutes a day of Lean training compounds over time. But without the morning worker huddle, there’s no daily training. No learning. No improvement. Nobody asks, “Does anybody have any feedback?” So problems don’t surface. Bathrooms are dirty. Lunch area is messy. Nobody hears about it. Nobody fixes it. And you have separate crews, not one team. That creates separate cultures, separate goals, separate directions. Chaos.

The morning worker huddle fixes all of this. Five to ten minutes. Every day. One team.

The Purpose: Creating One Social Group

Let me just take you through this and I’ll explain a couple of things. When a worker comes to the project site, obviously they come to the project, they park their car, they should have really nice parking. You know, just one quick thing. I haven’t drawn it in here, but if the parking lot is farther away from the project site and there’s a lot of walking, I would recommend restrooms and a handwash station be over here.

But basically, the workers should be able to come over here and do their parking, come in here and check in through the gate, have a place, basically a safe pathway that’s cordoned off or that’s flagged off from the regular construction environment so that whether they have their hard hat on or off, it’s super fine. Right? So I’m just drawing this path. You know, you would probably move the path along the backside of the fence, but I’m just doing this right here out in the open to make it obvious that there needs to be a path.

And there can be some pathways to walk over and go into the logistics area, but basically workers need a path to get over here to the morning worker huddle area. And we’ll do this in future videos where there’s a tent and restrooms and a place for them to eat lunch and the whole nine. We’ll talk about that in future videos.

Here’s the setup. Workers park. They walk a safe pathway  cordoned off from the construction environment  to the morning worker huddle area. Hard hats optional on the pathway. It’s safe. A tent or covered area with space for everyone. Restrooms nearby. Lunch area nearby. Comfortable. Respectful.

The elevated walkway isn’t to be more important. It’s to be heard. Sometimes the presenter will need to have a bullhorn or actually speak through a karaoke machine. One of the things that I recommend is the project delivery team, whoever’s presenting or not, can circle around the backside of the huddle and encourage people to pay attention in a kind way. And eventually, once this culture starts to take on, now you have one group. Now you’re one team.

This setup creates the environment for one social group. Everyone together. Every day. Five to ten minutes.

The Structure: Shout-Outs, Training, Plan, Feedback

But this morning, I want to talk about the morning worker huddle. Yes, I said it. Morning worker huddle. All the workers on the project site, every single one of them coming here in the morning and receiving a five-to-ten-minute orientation to the day.

And what that looks like is, “Hey everybody, welcome.” You know, and by the way, when you’re starting the morning worker huddle, typically there’s a karaoke machine or a speaker or something playing music. When the music stops, it’s like, “Welcome everybody. Welcome out to the morning worker huddle. I’ve got some shout-outs.”

Here’s the structure:

  • Shout-outs (one to two minutes): “Hey, crew on level six. You all did a great job of cleaning. Huge shout-out. Hey, plumbers, yesterday you loaned somebody the forklift. Great job.” Shout-outs build culture. Every crew hears the recognition. That creates pride.
  • Two-minute training: “We’re going to do two minutes of training. I want to talk about why we organize the hoist the way we do.” Two minutes a day equals 480 minutes a year. That’s eight hours of Lean training just from the morning huddle.
  • Plan for the day (two to three minutes): “Cranes working at the front. Please work on the east side. Do not go near the cranes—danger tape. And we’re patching on level seven. Do not access unless you need to be there.” Everyone knows what’s happening and where the hazards are. Then ask for feedback: “Does anybody have feedback?” Then release: “Head out to your crew preparation huddles.”

This structure takes five to ten minutes. And it creates one team. Every day, you reinforce the values. Every day, you give shout-outs. Every day, you train. Every day, you share the plan. Every day, you ask for feedback. That compounds into culture, alignment, and one team.

Why Every Day, Not Once a Week

And so this is something that’s done every day. And a lot of people say to me, “Hey Jason, I’ll just do that once a week.” Hey, I’m telling you, whether it’s a massive data center or a small project or $100 million project, getting all your workers together for the morning worker huddle creates one social group. You see as a group, know as a group, and act as a group.

Here’s why every day matters. Once a week doesn’t create culture. Daily creates culture. Every day, you reinforce the values. Every day, you give shout-outs. Every day, you train. That compounds. Once a week doesn’t create alignment. Daily creates alignment. Every day, you share the plan. Every day, everyone knows what’s happening. That prevents coordination failures.

Once a week doesn’t create one team. Daily creates one team. Every day, everyone gathers. Every day, you’re one social group. That creates belonging. If you only do it once a week, you’re not creating one team. You’re having a weekly meeting. That’s different. Daily creates the culture, alignment, and team that transform the job site.

Here’s the math. Five minutes a day, five days a week, is 25 minutes a week. Once a week for 15 minutes is 15 minutes a week. You get more total time with daily huddles. But more importantly, you get daily reinforcement. Daily alignment. Daily culture building. That’s what transforms the job site.

Implementation: Straight from the Parking Lot

Okay. The only caveat to that, this building isn’t super big. If it was a high-rise, you might have to split this group. The people that are working up on the tower, maybe they go right up the hoist and into the upper floors, and there’s a separate worker huddle. But the bottom line is huddling all the workers straight from the parking lot is crucial.

Now, a lot of times people ask me, “Hey, J Money, are you saying grab them from their work and make them come down?” No. I said just on their way from the parking lot here for five or 10 minutes and then they break out and do their work as groups and do their crew preparation huddle.

Here’s how implementation works. Workers arrive. They park. They walk the safe pathway. They go to the morning worker huddle area. Five to ten minutes. Then they break out to their crew preparation huddles. Then they start work. Not grabbing them from work. Not interrupting their flow. Straight from the parking lot. Before work starts.

If it’s a massive high-rise, split the groups. Tower workers go up the hoist and huddle on the upper floors. Podium workers huddle at ground level. Two huddles. Same structure. Same culture. Same alignment. Karaoke machine or speaker playing music. When the music stops, the huddle starts. That’s the signal. Simple. Clear.

The project delivery team circles around the backside of the huddle and encourages people to pay attention in a kind way. Not bossy. Not harsh. Kind. And eventually, the culture takes over. People want to attend. People want to hear the shout-outs and the plan. It’s really quite nice and this is the game changer. If I was a superintendent again, I would never run a job without a morning worker huddle. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for Superintendents

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Start the morning worker huddle. Set up the area. Create the safe pathway from parking. Get the karaoke machine or speaker. Gather everyone. Five to ten minutes. Every day.

Shout-outs. Two-minute training. Plan for the day. Feedback. Release to crew preparation huddles. That’s the structure. Do it every day. Create one team. Don’t wait for the perfect setup. Don’t wait for the perfect tent. Start tomorrow. Gather everyone. Five minutes. Do it.

As we say at Elevate, morning worker huddles create one team. Five to ten minutes: shout-outs, two-minute training, plan for the day, feedback. See as a group, know as a group, act as a group. That’s how you transform the job site from separate crews heading in different directions to one team heading in the same direction.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the morning worker huddle?

All workers gather for five to ten minutes before work starts. Shout-outs, two-minute training, plan for the day, feedback. Creates one social group where you see as a group, know as a group, act as a group.

Why every day instead of once a week?

Daily creates culture, alignment, and one team. Once a week is just a meeting. Daily compounds  shout-outs build culture, training adds up to eight hours per year, alignment prevents coordination failures.

Where do workers go after the morning huddle?

They break out to crew preparation huddles in their work areas. Fifteen to 25 minutes. 5S areas. Fill out pre-task plans. Shake out materials. Start clean, safe, organized. Then execute.

What if it’s a high-rise or massive project?

Split the groups. Tower workers huddle on upper floors. Podium workers huddle at ground level. Same structure. Same culture. Same alignment. Two huddles instead of one.

What’s the structure of the morning worker huddle?

Shout-outs (one to two minutes), two-minute training, plan for the day (two to three minutes), feedback (one minute), release to crew preparation huddles. Total: five to ten minutes. Straight from parking lot.

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

The Takt Production System: Scheduling That Maps Flow Through Rhythm

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 19 min

The Takt Production System: Scheduling That Maps Flow Through Rhythm

The Takt Production System is a scheduling system that maps flow through rhythm, continuity, and consistency on a time beat or Takt. The system stabilizes the project so you can optimize it. It is made on one page showing all three types of flow in construction because it is formatted in time and space in what is called a Takt the base unit of Takt planning.

These Takts allow you to level work and create buffers so you can absorb interruptions and variation. And here’s the critical part: Takt planning removes the chaos, the pushing, and the wasted resources of CPM. It holds the project to a one-piece flow with leveled production. It ensures you have reasonable overall total project duration.

Let me show you how it works.

The Pain of CPM Scheduling

Without Takt planning, you’re just wasting time with large batch areas. This format removes the chaos, the pushing, and the wasted resources of CPM. CPM doesn’t show flow. It shows tasks and dependencies. And that creates chaos.

Here’s what CPM does wrong:

CPM Doesn’t Show Trade Flow

CPM shows tasks. It doesn’t show the train of trades flowing through zones. You can’t see if trades are bunched up, racing ahead, or falling behind. You can’t see flow.

CPM Doesn’t Level Work

CPM doesn’t level work across zones. It stacks trades in some zones and leaves gaps in others. That creates overburden in some areas and waste in others.

CPM Doesn’t Create Buffers

CPM doesn’t create buffers to absorb interruptions and variation. When something goes wrong, the whole schedule collapses. No resilience.

CPM Pushes Instead of Flows

CPM pushes work. “We need to finish this task by Friday.” That creates rushing, chaos, and rework. Takt flows work. “The train moves every two days.” That creates rhythm, stability, and quality.

Without Takt planning, you’re pushing. With Takt planning, you’re flowing. And flow makes more money with less manpower and less chaos.

What Is Takt Planning?

It is made on one page showing all three types of flow in construction because it is formatted in time and space in what is called a Takt, the base unit of Takt planning. These Takts allow you to level work and create buffers so you can absorb interruptions and variation.

Here’s what Takt planning shows on one page:

Time on the Top Axis

Days, weeks, or Takt periods across the top. Time moves left to right. That’s when the work happens.

Space on the Left Axis

Zones, floors, or areas down the left side. Space moves top to bottom. That’s where the work happens.

Trades as Diagonal Lines

Each trade flows diagonally across the Takt plan. Framing flows zone by zone. MEP flows zone by zone. Drywall flows zone by zone. You see the train of trades flowing through the building.

This one-page format shows all three types of flow:

Trade Flow: The diagonal lines show the train of trades flowing through zones with equal speed and spacing.

Workflow: The horizontal progression shows work flowing through each zone from rough-in to finish.

Logistical Flow: The vertical stacking shows how many trades are working simultaneously and where materials need to be delivered.

You see everything on one page. Time. Space. Trades. Flow. That’s why Takt planning works.

Buffers and Little’s Law

We create buffers by using Little’s Law, which is Takt wagons plus Takt zones minus one, multiplied by the Takt time, which equals the duration. We’re able to identify the right zoning to optimize your schedule and find those buffers. Without this, you’re just wasting time with large batch areas.

Here’s how Little’s Law works in Takt planning:

Little’s Law Formula:

Duration = (Takt Wagons + Takt Zones – 1) × Takt Time

Takt Wagons: The number of trades in the train (e.g., 5 trades = 5 wagons)

Takt Zones: The number of zones in the phase (e.g., 10 zones)

Takt Time: The rhythm (e.g., 2 days per zone)

Example Calculation:

Duration = (5 wagons + 10 zones – 1) × 2 days = 14 × 2 = 28 days

This gives you the overall duration for the phase. But here’s the key: by adjusting the number of zones, you can create buffers. If you divide the building into more zones (smaller batches), you pull in the duration and create buffer time at the end. That buffer absorbs interruptions and variation.

Here’s why this works:

  • Smaller zones = smaller batches = shorter duration (Little’s Law)
  • Shorter duration = more buffer time before the milestone
  • More buffer = resilience against delays, weather, inspections, material shortages
  • Resilience = you finish on time even when things go wrong

Little’s Law lets you optimize the schedule and create buffers. That’s how you absorb interruptions and stay on track.

The Three Types of Flow in Construction

You need over 60% workflow, over 80% trade flow, and over 20% logistical flow. This ensures we reduce excess worker counts and material inventory, which makes you more money.

Here’s what each type of flow means:

Trade Flow (Over 80%):

The train of trades flowing diagonally through zones. Equal speed. Equal distance apart. No bunching. No gaps. This is the most critical flow. If trade flow is below 80%, you have chaos. If it’s over 80%, you have rhythm.

Workflow (Over 60%):

Work flowing horizontally through each zone. Rough-in. Drywall. Paint. Flooring. Trim. Each zone progresses from start to finish without stopping. If workflow is below 60%, you have incomplete zones and handoff failures. If it’s over 60%, you’re finishing as you go.

Logistical Flow (Over 20%):

Materials, equipment, and resources flowing vertically to support the trades. Deliveries timed to the Takt rhythm. Just-in-time. No excess inventory. No material shortages. If logistical flow is below 20%, you have material chaos. If it’s over 20%, you have just-in-time delivery.

When you hit all three targets over 80% trade flow, over 60% workflow, over 20% logistical flow you have a Takt project. And Takt projects have smoother finishes, need less manpower and materials, and make more money.

Here’s why all three types of flow matter:

  • Trade flow creates rhythm and predictability for crews
  • Workflow creates finish-as-you-go and handoff clarity
  • Logistical flow creates just-in-time delivery and reduces waste
  • All three together create a stable, optimized, profitable project

You can’t have just one or two. You need all three. That’s what the Takt plan shows on one page.

The Benefits of Takt Projects

Takt projects have smoother finishes. They need less manpower and materials. And they make more money. This is because the Takt rhythm creates the backbone where the team can win in a balanced and fun way.

Here are the benefits:

Smoother Finishes:

No rushing at the end. No stacking trades. No chaos. The train flows zone by zone. Finish as you go. Smooth handoffs. Smooth completion.

Less Manpower:

No overstaffing. No idle crews. No context switching. The right crew in the right zone at the right time. Equal speed. Equal distance apart. Less manpower required.

Less Materials:

No excess inventory. No early deliveries. No double handling. Just-in-time delivery to the Takt rhythm. Less waste. Less cost.

More Money:

Shorter duration + less manpower + less materials = more profit. And stable rhythm means predictable cash flow and fewer change orders.

Balanced and Fun:

The Takt rhythm creates predictability. Crews know what they’re doing tomorrow. They know where they’ll be next week. That reduces stress. That creates pride. That makes the job site balanced and fun instead of chaotic and miserable.

Are you ready to make more money, use less manpower, stabilize procurement, and reduce the load on your team? If so, it’s time for Takt planning on your project. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Why Takt Is the Backbone of Scheduling

Remember, flow where you can, pull when you can’t, and stop pushing. Takt time is the basis for construction scheduling. Systems like Scrum and Last Planner are pull systems that align everything else to the Takt rhythm. Takt is the backbone to everything we do.

Here’s how Takt integrates with other systems:

Takt + Last Planner:

Takt sets the rhythm. Last Planner removes roadblocks. The train flows on the Takt rhythm. Roadblocks are identified and removed through Last Planner meetings. Both systems work together.

Takt + Scrum:

Takt sets the production rhythm. Scrum manages the project delivery team. The trades flow on Takt. The project team sprints on Scrum. Both systems work together.

Takt + Pull Planning:

Takt sets the milestone and the sequence. Pull planning validates the handoffs. The train flows on the Takt plan. Pull planning ensures each trade is ready for their handoff. Both systems work together.

Takt is the backbone. Everything else aligns to the Takt rhythm. Without Takt, you’re pushing. With Takt, you’re flowing. And flow beats push every time.

A Challenge for Schedulers

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Create a Takt plan for your next phase. Time on top. Space on the left. Trades as diagonal lines. See the flow. Calculate the duration using Little’s Law: (Wagons + Zones – 1) × Takt Time. Create buffers by optimizing the zone count.

Check your flow metrics: Over 80% trade flow? Over 60% workflow? Over 20% logistical flow? If yes, you have a Takt project. If no, adjust the zones, adjust the sequence, adjust the Takt time. Get to flow.

As we say at Elevate, Takt planning maps flow on one page with time and space. Use Little’s Law to create buffers, level work, and optimize zones. Flow where you can, pull when you can’t, and stop pushing. That’s how you finish on time with less manpower and more profit.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Takt planning?

A scheduling system that maps flow on one page with time on top, space on the left, and trades as diagonal lines. Shows all three types of flow: trade flow, workflow, and logistical flow.

How do you create buffers in Takt planning?

Use Little’s Law: (Takt Wagons + Takt Zones – 1) × Takt Time = Duration. By increasing zones (smaller batches), you pull in duration and create buffer time at the end to absorb delays.

What are the three types of flow in construction?

Trade flow (over 80%) train of trades flowing diagonally. Workflow (over 60%) work flowing horizontally through zones. Logistical flow (over 20%) materials flowing vertically to support trades. Need all three for Takt projects.

Why is Takt the backbone of scheduling?

Because Takt sets the rhythm. Last Planner removes roadblocks. Scrum manages the project team. Pull planning validates handoffs. Everything aligns to the Takt rhythm. Without Takt, you’re pushing. With Takt, you’re flowing.

What are the benefits of Takt projects?

Smoother finishes, less manpower, less materials, more profit, and balanced rhythm where teams win. Takt creates predictability, reduces stress, and makes the job site fun instead of chaotic.

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

The Takt Production System: Bringing Toyota’s TPS to Construction

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 19 min

The Takt Production System: Bringing Toyota’s TPS to Construction

The Toyota Production System ignited the Lean revolution, transforming Toyota into one of the world’s most profitable automakers. Their assembly line runs on a strict Takt time, a cadence driven by projected demand and factory throughput. As each vehicle rolls forward, components and subassemblies are pulled in via kanban systems. Spot a defect? A team member hits the andon or pulls it to stop the line, instantly fixing issues at the source in real time.

In this system, Takt equals priority with pull reinforcing flow. The car is the unit of flow or the flow unit. Everything centers on continuous, efficient movement.

But here’s the challenge: contrast this with construction. The product doesn’t move. The process does. It’s people, tools, materials traversing the site, not the building itself. So how do we bring Toyota’s TPS to construction? Through the Takt Production System TPS in construction, mirroring Toyota’s TPS.

The Pain of Construction Without Flow

Let’s use traffic as our analogy. When cars bunch up, especially behind a slower one, flow grinds to a halt. Sure, some weave ahead, but the bottleneck eventually slows everyone. The cure? Stop, reset, restore spacing, and recommence at an even speed. That’s flow. Equal speed and equal distance apart.

Just like in manufacturing, in construction, think of each trade like a car or an automobile or a bike or a bicycle. All of them varying in size, speed, and predictability. Without synchronization, they bunch up. Some race ahead. Some fall behind. The bottleneck slows everyone. And flow grinds to a halt.

Here’s what happens without Takt flow:

Trades Stack and Bunch

Drywall finishes early and stacks with paint. Paint stacks with flooring. Flooring stacks with trim. Crews stand around waiting. Or they hop to another zone and break sequence. Flow stops.

Trades Race and Fall Behind

One trade races ahead three zones. Another falls behind two zones. They’re not synchronized. Handoffs break. Coordination fails. Rework happens.

Bottlenecks Slow Everyone

The slowest trade determines the pace. If MEP takes three days per zone and everyone else takes two, everyone waits for MEP. Or they race ahead and create gaps. Either way, flow breaks.

CPM Stretches and Stacks

CPM schedules don’t maintain equal speed and spacing. They stretch trades across multiple zones. They stack trades in the same zone. And they create the chaos you see on every traditional project.

Without Takt flow, construction looks like traffic bunched up, racing, stopping, starting, chaos.

The Flow Unit in Construction: Trains of Trades

So the flow unit becomes the train of trades, moving in cadence, equally spaced, moving across building zones the rails for that train. How do we orchestrate this? Through the Takt Production System or TPS in construction, mirroring Toyota’s TPS.

Here’s how it works. To sync trades, we link them into a Takt train, into wagons packaged workflows that run in a tight sequence. Each wagon is a trade or a trade package. And the wagons are linked together into a train. The train moves through zones on a Takt rhythm. Equal speed. Equal distance apart. Just like Toyota’s assembly line.

Here’s the analogy:

The Train = The Train of Trades

All trades linked together in sequence. Framing. MEP rough-in. Drywall. Paint. Flooring. Trim. Each trade is a wagon. All wagons linked into one train.

The Tracks = The Zones

The building divided into zones by work density. Zone 1, Zone 2, Zone 3. The train moves through the zones on the tracks. Equal speed. Equal distance apart.

The Takt Time = The Rhythm

Every two days (or whatever the Takt time is), the train moves. Framing finishes Zone 1 and moves to Zone 2. MEP finishes prep and moves to Zone 1. The train advances. The rhythm holds.

The Flow = Continuous Movement

The train never stops. No bunching. No racing. No gaps. Equal speed and equal distance apart. That’s flow.

This is how you bring Toyota’s TPS to construction. The train of trades flows through zones on a Takt rhythm. Just like cars flow through Toyota’s assembly line.

Mapping the Takt Train

Once linked, we map that train on a Takt plan. Zones down the side, time along the top, trains flowing in line like an assembly timetable. This produces a production line in construction functioning just like Toyota’s.

We pull labor, materials, details into each Takt wagon. We can halt the line to address issues at their root. Just like in TPS, with Takt visibility, we gain system control.

Here’s what you see on the Takt plan:

If the train is elongated, it’s crawling too slow.

The diagonal line on the Takt plan is stretched out. The train is taking too long to move through zones. Takt time is too long. Or the zones are too big. Or the crew composition is wrong. The train is crawling.

If it’s compressed or tall, it’s racing and going maybe too fast.

The diagonal line on the Takt plan is steep. The train is racing through zones. Takt time is too short. Or the zones are too small. Or you’re pushing the crews. The train is racing. That’s not sustainable.

If it’s fragmented, you’ve got multiple unsynchronized trains.

The diagonal lines on the Takt plan are broken. Different trades going different speeds. No synchronization. Multiple trains. No flow. That’s chaos.

And unlike CPM schedules, a Takt train never stretches or stacks trades.

CPM schedules stretch trades across multiple zones. They stack trades in the same zone. Takt plans don’t do that. Each trade gets one zone at a time. Equal speed. Equal distance apart. That’s why CPM delays are so common. CPM doesn’t maintain flow. Takt does.

Here’s what the Takt plan gives you:

  • Visual system control you see the train, the zones, the rhythm
  • Constraint identification if the train is elongated, compressed, or fragmented, you see it
  • Roadblock visibility if the train stops, you see where and why
  • Pull system activation labor, materials, details pulled into each wagon on the rhythm
  • Andon capability halt the line to address issues at their root, just like Toyota

The Takt plan is your visual control system. Just like Toyota’s assembly line boards.

Managing Constraints and Roadblocks

Managing the train means identifying and resolving constraints and roadblocks.

Constraint examples: Misjudged Takt time or packaging, uneven train speeds, resource shortages or missing buffers, poor zone configuration, or things that affect the train of trades or the train tracks.

Constraints are system design issues. First planners optimize constraints. They’re part of the system. You don’t remove constraints. You optimize the system around them.

Roadblock examples: Weather delays or plan changes, incomplete site prep, permissions or layout, defects, inspection failures or material shortages, labor or equipment issues, or things that are in the way of the train of trades.

Roadblocks are temporary blockers. Last planners remove roadblocks. They’re in the way. You identify them and remove them so the train can flow.

Construction teams tackle these issues in structured meetings:

  • Strategic planning and procurement meeting where we observe the macro-level strategic Takt plan and the procurement log to make sure that we have the strategy and materials for the job site
  • Trade partner weekly tactical where we finalize the pull plans, lookahead plans, and weekly work plans to create short-interval plans that are roadblock-free
  • Afternoon foreman huddle where we prepare for the next day
  • Zone control walks where we compare the lookahead and the weekly work plan to the actual and we manage handoffs
  • Team daily huddle where we solve problems real time with the project team

These meetings keep the train flowing. They identify constraints. They remove roadblocks. They maintain rhythm. Just like Toyota’s daily production meetings. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

The Three Steps to Flow the Takt Way

Do you want to flow the Takt way? Well, first, design the process as a linear production line. Two, run it in Takt trains to keep continuous rhythmic flow. And three, maintain it by adjusting constraints and removing roadblocks. This is the fastest and most predictable path to complete projects.

Step One: Design the Process as a Linear Production Line

Divide the building into zones by work density. Link the trades into a train. Map the train on a Takt plan. Design the system for flow. Equal speed. Equal distance apart.

Step Two: Run It in Takt Trains to Keep Continuous Rhythmic Flow

Set the Takt time. Move the train on the rhythm. Pull labor, materials, details into each wagon. Maintain equal speed and equal distance apart. Keep the train flowing.

Step Three: Maintain It by Adjusting Constraints and Removing Roadblocks

Run structured meetings. Identify constraints. Optimize the system. Remove roadblocks. Halt the line when needed. Fix issues at the root. Then restart the flow.

This is the Takt Production System. This is TPS in construction. This is how you bring Toyota’s flow to the job site.

A Challenge for Builders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Map your trades as a train. Divide your building into zones. Link the trades into wagons. Set the Takt time. Map the train on a Takt plan. And see the flow.

If the train is elongated, it’s crawling too slow. If it’s compressed, it’s racing too fast. If it’s fragmented, you’ve got multiple unsynchronized trains. Adjust. Optimize. Remove roadblocks. Maintain flow.

As we say at Elevate, the Takt Production System mirrors Toyota: trains of trades flow through zones with equal speed and spacing. Design linear. Run in trains. Manage constraints. That’s how you bring TPS to construction.

Are you ready to bring TPS to your job site and transform your flow? If so,

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the flow unit in construction?

The train of trades all trades linked together in sequence, moving in cadence, equally spaced, moving across building zones. The zones are the rails. The train moves on a Takt rhythm.

How does the Takt Production System mirror Toyota’s TPS?

Toyota’s assembly line runs on Takt time with cars flowing through stations. Construction’s Takt system runs on Takt time with trains of trades flowing through zones. Both maintain equal speed and spacing for continuous flow.

What’s the difference between constraints and roadblocks?

Constraints are system design issues misjudged Takt time, uneven train speeds, poor zone configuration. First planners optimize constraints. Roadblocks are temporary blockers weather, defects, material shortages. Last planners remove roadblocks.

How do you know if the Takt train is working?

Look at the Takt plan. If the train is elongated, it’s crawling too slow. If it’s compressed, it’s racing too fast. If it’s fragmented, you’ve got multiple unsynchronized trains. Equal speed and spacing means flow.

What are the three steps to flow the Takt way?

Design the process as a linear production line. Run it in Takt trains to keep continuous rhythmic flow. Maintain it by adjusting constraints and removing roadblocks. That’s the fastest path to completion.

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

Full Kit: Why You Must Have Everything Before You Start

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 18 min

Full Kit: Why You Must Have Everything Before You Start

Here’s the principle that changes everything: if I want to go do something and be successful, I really want to start with pre-kit or full kit before I start. Full kit means having everything you need materials, information, equipment, access, and resources before the crew mobilizes to the work. No chopping down trees. No making tools. No running back for supplies. Everything ready. Then execute.

Let me show you why this matters using a Minecraft example that illustrates the principle perfectly.

The Pain of Starting Without Full Kit

Let’s say that I’ve just spawned into this Minecraft world and I want to make a farm. Just a quick little farm, not a big deal. What would I have to do? Well, first of all, I’m thankful I’m in the daytime. Then I’m going to have to chop down some trees. Then I’m going to have to go ahead and make a crafting table. And then I’m going to have to make a pickaxe. Then go mining. And then get a bucket. And so on and so forth. And then I would go make what I needed to make, right?

I have to go through a number of steps. You see my point? You’re going to have to start preparing a lot of different things in order for you to be successful.

Here’s what happens when you start without full kit:

Step One: Chop Down Trees

You need wood. So you go find trees. You chop them down. You collect wood. That takes time. And you’re not working on the farm yet.

Step Two: Make a Crafting Table

You need a crafting table to make tools. So you convert wood into planks. You craft the table. That takes time. And you’re still not working on the farm yet.

Step Three: Make a Pickaxe

You need a pickaxe to mine stone. So you craft the pickaxe. That takes time. And you’re still not working on the farm yet.

Step Four: Go Mining

You need iron to make a bucket. So you go underground. You mine. You smelt ore. That takes time. And you’re still not working on the farm yet.

Step Five: Make a Bucket

You need a bucket to move water. So you craft the bucket. That takes time. And you’re still not working on the farm yet.

Finally: Build the Farm

Now you have everything. Now you can build the farm. But you’ve spent all this time preparing. And by the time you’re ready, it might be nighttime. And in Minecraft, nighttime brings monsters. Just like on a construction project, delays bring chaos.

This is starting without full kit. You spend all your time preparing. You context-switch constantly. You lose focus. And you’re vulnerable to delays and problems.

The Power of Starting With Full Kit

Okay, let’s look at a different example. Let’s say that you wanted to make that same farm, but you had an open space that was ready and you had a full kit, meaning you had all of the supplies that you needed to make it happen. How would that change the circumstances?

Well, first of all, when you go to do it, you have everything that you need, right? I got my bucket. I got my hoe. I’m ready to go. I got my seeds. I’m feeling good. I got dopamine. I’m ready. I see an example of what’s already been done. I know exactly how to do it.

So I go ahead and plop these things down for safety over here. And I’m ready to go. And I have my farm. It looks just like the first one because I had a map, an example. I had the space and I had full kit, everything that I needed to get this done.

Here’s what changes when you start with full kit:

You Have Everything You Need

Bucket. Hoe. Seeds. Water. Space. Map. Everything ready. No running back for supplies. No context switching. Just execute.

You Get Dopamine

When you have full kit, you feel good. You’re ready. You see the path forward. And that dopamine drives focus. You get that 20 to 40 minutes of deep work where you’re locked in and productive.

You Have an Example

You see what “done right” looks like. You have a map. You know exactly how to do it. No guessing. No figuring it out as you go. Clear execution.

You Avoid Nighttime (Delays)

When you have full kit, you execute fast. You finish before nighttime. In Minecraft, nighttime brings monsters. On construction projects, delays bring chaos, coordination failures, and rework. Full kit protects you from both.

Here are the benefits of full kit summarized:

  • You have everything you need no running back for supplies or tools
  • You get dopamine and focus that 20 to 40 minutes of deep work where you’re locked in
  • Preparation is fresh on your mind no context switching between preparing and executing
  • You avoid delays and chaos finish before “nighttime” hits and monsters show up
  • You find problems early if you can’t get full kit, you know before the crew mobilizes

Full kit means you start only when you’re ready to finish. That’s the principle.

What’s the Difference Between Starting With and Without Full Kit?

Now, you might say to yourself, well, what’s the difference between going ahead and chopping down a tree and making all those things versus having this full kit, this pre-kit before you start, you know, imagined by this chest?

Well, first of all, if you have problems getting any of these supplies, you’ll find out right away. Second of all, when you’re over here doing this, you’ll get that dopamine and that 20 to 40 minutes of focus, and you’ll be able to do it right.

The other thing is that when the preparation is fresh on your mind, you can actually go get those things before you now have context switching. The other thing is, and I think this is a neat little example, if I go too long here in the Minecraft world, it’s going to become nighttime and I’m going to have lots of bad things that hop in and hurt me in my world, just like on a real construction project.

Here’s the difference:

Without Full Kit:

  • You spend time preparing chopping trees, making tools, mining, crafting
  • You context-switch constantly from chopping to crafting to mining to building
  • You lose focus every switch breaks your dopamine-driven deep work
  • You’re vulnerable to delays by the time you’re ready, nighttime hits
  • You find problems late when you’re already committed and the crew is waiting

With Full Kit:

  • You execute immediately everything ready, just build
  • You maintain focus no context switching, just 20 to 40 minutes of deep work
  • Preparation is fresh you know where everything is and how it goes together
  • You finish before delays complete the work before nighttime (chaos) hits
  • You find problems early if you can’t get full kit, you know before mobilization

The difference is massive. Without full kit, you’re grinding. With full kit, you’re flowing. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

The Lesson for Construction

So the lesson here is if you’re going to go do something in construction or with a crew, always focus on full kit.

Here’s what full kit looks like on a construction project:

Materials: All materials for the work package in the zone delivered, inspected, and kitted

Information: Drawings, specs, RFI responses, submittals approved, and clear

Equipment: Tools, lifts, scaffolding, power, and access ready

Access: Pathways clear, previous work complete, inspections passed

Resources: Crew trained, oriented, and ready with the right crew composition

When all five are ready, you have full kit. The crew can start and finish without stopping. No context switching. No running back for supplies. No waiting. Just execute.

And here’s the critical part: if you can’t get full kit, you find out before the crew mobilizes. That’s when you fix it. Not when the crew is standing around waiting. Not when the schedule is slipping. Before mobilization.

Full kit is the difference between grinding and flowing. Between chaos and rhythm. Between delays and finishing on time.

A Challenge for Superintendents

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Before any crew mobilizes to any zone, verify full kit. Ask five questions:

  1. Do we have all materials delivered, inspected, and kitted?
  2. Do we have all information drawings, specs, RFI responses, submittals?
  3. Do we have all equipment tools, lifts, scaffolding, power, access?
  4. Do we have access pathways clear, previous work complete, inspections passed?
  5. Do we have the right crew trained, oriented, ready with right composition?

If the answer to any question is no, don’t start. Fix it first. Get full kit. Then execute.

As we say at Elevate, full kit means having everything you need before you start. No context switching, no delays, fresh preparation, and dopamine-driven focus. That’s how you flow.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is full kit?

Full kit means having everything you need before you start: materials, information, equipment, access, and resources. No running back for supplies. No context switching. Just execute.

Why does full kit create dopamine and focus?

Because when you have everything ready, you feel good. You see the path forward. That dopamine drives 20 to 40 minutes of deep work where you’re locked in and productive.

What happens if you start without full kit?

You context-switch constantly between preparing and executing. You lose focus. You’re vulnerable to delays. And by the time you’re ready, nighttime (chaos) hits. You find problems late when the crew is already committed.

How do you verify full kit before starting?

Ask five questions: materials ready? Information clear? Equipment available? Access open? Crew trained? If any answer is no, don’t start. Fix it first. Get full kit. Then execute.

What’s the difference between starting with and without full kit?

Without full kit, you’re grinding spending time preparing, context switching, losing focus, vulnerable to delays. With full kit, you’re flowing executing immediately, maintaining focus, finishing before chaos hits. The difference is massive.

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

How to Sequence Multifamily Projects for Flow (Fresh Eyes Meeting Strategy)

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 23 min

How to Sequence Multifamily Projects for Flow (Fresh Eyes Meeting Strategy)

Here’s something that will transform how you approach multifamily sequencing: start with the clubhouse first, then the show suites, then move into production buildings. This allows finish crews to flow from the clubhouse into the show suites, establishing your quality standard and mockup before hitting production rhythm. And the way you validate this sequencing? Fresh eyes meetings where you bring in experienced builders to catch the golden unicorn tasks that don’t fall into standard schedules.

Let me walk you through how this works.

The Pain of Sequencing Without Flow

Starting out with the overall perspective, then we’ll dive into the details. In our production plan, we have the bidding and buyout. And it looks like that will all happen May 7th to like June 17th. This is deferred submittals. And then this is actually the trade partner preparation process. This is where we do pre-mobilization meeting, precon meetings, the like.

And then we have our site work, structure, exterior, and interiors. This just kind of gives you an overview. That way when I hop into the actual production plan, it will make sense. So I’m just going to slowly scroll down and say, you know, this is pretty normal. We have our permitting, trade partner preparation process, our submittals, deferred submittals, and then timelines.

And so I just want to come right on down here and just show you high level the overall strategy. We don’t have tothe sequences have been pretty well vetted. So strategy number one is start on the site. The idea would be to get to building one certified pad as fast as we can. Right now, we’re wanting to target with our trades to see if we can get there by July 17th and at least start on building pad one. And then basically what happens is building two, building three, building four would come online behind utilities.

Here’s the problem most teams face. They sequence based on what’s easiest for site logistics without thinking about flow. They put the show suites in the last building because it’s convenient. They don’t coordinate the clubhouse with production rhythm. And they don’t validate the sequence with fresh eyes before they commit. That creates coordination chaos, delays, and broken flow.

The Clubhouse-First Strategy for Flow

One thing that we’ve found is it tends to work out really well if you can get the community building in ahead of kind of everything else because it allows the finish crews to flow from the community building into the show suite and then they can complete the show suites while they’re completing the community building and then they go away for a while and then come back to do their regular production work.

So it doesn’t matter to me in any way, shape, or form whether it goes before or after really as long as the show suites are available early enough for leasing. The way that we’ve been able to solve that is just by doing the community building first. You could do it concurrently and probably get the same flow.

Yeah, I like what you’re saying. So you would basically be like they would come in clubhouse, they move right into the show suites wherever they end up being and then you hit everybody off on a nice rhythm and you run them through the buildings. And those show suites become your quality standard, your mockup essentially for everything moving forward. So it’s done, you know, arguably generally a month or two before they actually get to the main production piece.

Here’s why this works. When you do the clubhouse first:

Benefit One: Finish Crews Flow Naturally

Finish crews start in the clubhouse, move to show suites, establish rhythm and quality standards, then flow into production buildings. No stopping and starting. No breaking rhythm.

Benefit Two: Show Suites Become Your Mockup

The show suites establish your quality standard before production starts. Every trade sees what “done right” looks like. And you work out the kinks before hitting full production.

Benefit Three: Early Leasing Access

The leasing team operates out of the clubhouse. Show suites are ready for leasing while production continues. No delay in revenue generation.

Benefit Four: Site Work Coordination

While the clubhouse is going in, you’re doing all the underground deeps and shallows, sewers, water lines, power, all that. The clubhouse could be going in at that time. That gives you time to get all the utilities in, jamming with the fire hydrant thing. If you have any difficulty getting the fire hydrants in, there is a hydrant close to these two buildings. So it buys you more time for the wood framing.

The sequencing works. You access the clubhouse from one direction. That gives you time to get utilities in around the production buildings. And you maintain flow.

The Golden Unicorn Problem (Why Fresh Eyes Meetings Matter)

I just had a quick comment. I call them the rainbow unicorn tasks that are specific. So using our templated schedule, there’s a challenge of identifying those little bits of scope that don’t fall into the same routine in our schedule. But it sounds like you’ve addressed it because you touched base on the post-tensioning cables in the slabs. And that’s one of those activities that doesn’t typically fall into one of our buildings or one of our schedules.

So I just want to make sure that the precon team is identifying those golden unicorn or those rainbow unicorn items that don’t fall into a typical standard schedule and that they’re accounting for those. And it sounds like you guys have.

Yeah, but I’m writing it down. So we’ll do full drawing review and add details. Now, if you had made that comment a week before, you would have caught us that we need more detailing on the finished site work. And so we are going to look at those things. Just so you know, we’ve done a preliminary high-level get-us-out-of-trouble review. I’ll be doing a 30-minute drawing review every day for the next three months. And so we’ll do exactly what you’re saying.

Here’s what golden unicorns are:

  • Post-tensioning cables in slabs doesn’t fall into standard slab-on-grade schedules
  • Fire line coordination with building framing requires fire hydrants before framing starts
  • Elevator long lead seven though this project doesn’t have elevators, most do
  • Electrical distribution and switch gear shop drawings, utility coordination, long lead times
  • Finished site work details drainage, parking, surface treatments that aren’t in standard templates
  • Parking requirements for early building openings need surface parking ready when first building opens

These are the tasks that templated schedules miss. And fresh eyes meetings catch them before they become problems.

Here’s why fresh eyes meetings work:

  • Experienced builders who’ve done similar projects spot the golden unicorns immediately
  • They ask questions like “What about fire line coordination?” before you mobilize
  • They validate sequencing decisions before you commit resources
  • They catch schedule durations that don’t match reality (like slab-on-grade taking too long)
  • They share reference class data from other projects to validate timelines

Fresh eyes meetings are preventative problem-solving. You bring in people who’ve been there before. They spot the problems. You fix them before they cost time and money.

The Reference Class Forecasting Method

Here’s what we can do. This is actually cool and we’re going to walk the walk. We can do a reference class on the foundation. Reference class forecast. This is exactly why we’re here. If it ends up being this duration, then we know we’re accurate.

Here’s how reference class forecasting works:

Step One: Identify the Task with Uncertain Duration

In this case, slab-on-grade with post-tensioning. The schedule shows about two months. That feels long. But we’re not sure because we haven’t done post-tensioned slabs before.

Step Two: Gather Data from Similar Projects

We have data from some other North American United States projects that have not exactly the same but similar. So we’ll do a compare. We can look at what the current timeline is for under-slab and slab-on-grade and add maybe some time for the sanitary because it’s now underground as well instead of hanging from the arcade ceiling.

Step Three: Adjust for Project-Specific Differences

This project has post-tensioning. Previous projects had suspended slabs with arcades. Post-tensioning might be faster. But underground sanitary might be slower. Reference class helps us calibrate.

Step Four: Validate with Trade Partners

We have a concrete contractor right now that with an LOI would start working on all the coordination and could verify this with us. If not and we don’t have an LOI, I could probably go through the sequence with them. So every trade that’s got a component to these slabs will review and tweak and have them buying into their time.

Reference class forecasting removes guesswork. You use actual data from similar projects. You adjust for differences. You validate with trades. And you get accurate durations.

The Two-Day Takt Time Decision

Just so you know, most of our trades are like we have them on a two-day Takt time doing four units every two days. Some of the trades, not all of them, are hitting five units every day on some of these developments. So they’re not freaking out and we’ve been able to take care of most of their requests through design.

Here’s why two-day Takt time works for multifamily:

Zone Size: Right now we have about 4,000-square-foot zone sizes on a two-day Takt time and the exteriors are about 2,500 square feet on the perimeter. That’s sized for crews to complete in two days with full kit.

Trade Buy-In: Every trade we’ve already worked through the trades, all of our bottleneck trades, and confirmed a two-day Takt time would work for them. They’ve done it before. They know they can hit it.

Design Accommodation: We’ve been able to take care of most of their requests through design. The system is designed for the crew to install in rhythm. That’s key.

Buffers Built In: Right now we’re thinking if we have everything done right that we could do this in 15.5 months. If something happens that we don’t see, 16.5. But we’re going to even try to do better than that. And that would still leave us a couple four weeks at the end buffer if we hit these two targets.

Two-day Takt time creates predictable rhythm. Crews flow zone to zone. Every two days, the train moves. And you finish on time without burning people out. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for Project Teams

Here’s what I want you to do this week. If you’re planning a multifamily project, sequence the clubhouse first. Let finish crews flow from clubhouse to show suites to production buildings. That establishes quality standards and maintains rhythm.

And run a fresh eyes meeting. Bring in experienced builders who’ve done similar projects. Ask them to spot the golden unicorns the tasks that don’t fall into standard schedules. Post-tensioning. Fire line coordination. Electrical distribution. Parking for early openings. Catch them before mobilization.

And use reference class forecasting for uncertain durations. Don’t guess. Gather data from similar projects. Adjust for differences. Validate with trades. Get accurate timelines.

As we say at Elevate, sequence multifamily projects for flow: clubhouse first, then show suites, then production buildings. Fresh eyes meetings catch golden unicorns. Reference class forecasting removes guesswork. That’s how you finish on time without burning people out.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should the clubhouse go first in multifamily sequencing?

Because it allows finish crews to flow from clubhouse to show suites to production buildings, establishing quality standards and rhythm before hitting full production. Show suites become your mockup.

What are golden unicorn tasks?

Tasks that don’t fall into standard templated schedules like post-tensioning, fire line coordination, electrical distribution, or parking requirements for early openings. Fresh eyes meetings catch them before they become problems.

How does reference class forecasting work?

Gather data from similar projects, adjust for project-specific differences, validate with trades. It removes guesswork and gives you accurate durations based on actual data instead of estimates.

Why two-day Takt time for multifamily?

Because zones are sized for crews to complete in two days with full kit, trades have confirmed they can hit it, and design accommodates their workflow. It creates predictable rhythm without burning people out.

What’s a fresh eyes meeting?

Bring in experienced builders who’ve done similar projects. They spot golden unicorns, validate sequencing, catch schedule durations that don’t match reality, and share reference class data. Preventative problem-solving before mobilization.

 

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

Is The 9th Waste Sabotaging Your Lean Efforts?

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 22 min

Is The 9th Waste Sabotaging Your Lean Efforts?

Here’s a concept that was taught to me by Rick Boesch about the ninth waste in construction, and it’s a fantastic concept, and I absolutely love his thinking on it. The ninth waste is unhealthy conflict or a lack of alignment, where people are pulling in different directions with counterproductive behavior. And if you think about the eight wastes, they all tie together. But the ninth waste is huge. In fact, there are five external factors in systems thinking that create the ninth waste, and I’m going to walk you through them.

And then I’m going to give you Rick’s solutions for how to eliminate it.

The Pain of Unhealthy Conflict and Lack of Alignment

So what is the ninth waste in construction? Now, I’ve thought a lot about this, and I’m going to build off of what Rick says, and he’s right, by the way, and I consider him to be a mentor. Unhealthy conflict is the ninth waste, or a lack of alignment, where people are pulling in different directions, counterproductive behavior.

And this makes sense to me, because if you go through the eight wastes in the Paul Akers order, which I prefer, overproduction brings about excess inventory, which has to be moved, which is motion and transported, which is a waste. Those two things, and being so busy that you take your eye off quality, creates defects. Moving things and not doing it right the first time creates defects. Then when you have to fix that, that’s over-processing, which creates waiting workers waiting on work or work waiting for workers. And it’s all a waste because we could have used the genius of the team.

But the ninth waste is unhealthy conflict within the team or a lack of alignment. Those are two very different things not using the genius of the team versus just outright fighting. And you could loop them together, but to talk about this and not adulterate the original eight wastes, we want to talk about it in this light. So it’s unhealthy conflict.

Let me go through the concepts one by one, what they mean to me. I don’t want any disparity between what I say and what Rick says, so you can reference his blog post. But let me tell you this: in my opinion, the ninth waste is huge.

The Five External Factors in Systems Thinking That Create the Ninth Waste

In fact, there are five external factors in systems thinking that I’m always focused on that we’ve put in the book Elevating Pre-Construction Planning.

External Factor One: Ability to See the Paradigm

Does the owner of the building see the paradigm of finishing on time and respecting people? If not, you’ll have the ninth waste.

External Factor Two: Paradigms and Mindsets

Does the owner, owner’s rep, designer, or actually within your own company the general contractor company leaders, or trade partner company leaders do they see the paradigm and have the mindset of finishing on time well with operational excellence and caring for people? If not, you will have the ninth waste. You’ll have unhealthy conflict.

External Factor Three: The Goal of the System

Now, this might sound funny to you, but the goal of every project is not to finish on time and respect people. If you have a superintendent that keeps everything in his head, the goal is for that superintendent to feel important. If you have a project where the owner’s rep is grandstanding and beating up the general contractor, the goal is not to finish on time and respect people. The goal of that project is for that owner’s rep to make a name for himself. That’s the goal.

So if you don’t have the goal properly aligned by all and agreed to by all, you will have the ninth waste: unhealthy conflict in construction.

External Factor Four: The Structure of the System

If you are attempting to do one thing as the contractor on the side, but the structure of the team, the structure of the contract, the structure of anything that affects your work is not in line with Lean thinking, then you will have the ninth waste.

External Factor Five: The Rules of the System

A great example would be: you have to use CPM, you don’t get any float, you cannot get a time extension if it’s not on a critical path, you must put a worker in every zone, you must recover with additional resources or overtime. All those things are going to crash-land your project or put your project into a downward productivity spiral. They’re not going to help. So they’re going to create the ninth waste in construction.

And so I just want you to know that this is such an important topic. We have to have an integrated team, integrated location, co-location, integrated communication systems, integrated goals, integrated contracts. That’s why I love IPD so much.

Here are the five external factors that create the ninth waste:

  • Ability to see the paradigm does everyone see finishing on time and respecting people as the goal?
  • Paradigms and mindsets do leaders have the mindset of operational excellence and caring for people?
  • The goal of the system is the goal actually to finish on time and respect people, or is it for someone to feel important or make a name for themselves?
  • The structure of the system is the team, contract, and work structure aligned with Lean thinking?
  • The rules of the system do the rules (CPM, no float, no time extensions, mandatory overtime) create downward spirals?

If any of these are misaligned, you’ll have the ninth waste: unhealthy conflict and lack of alignment.

Misconception One: Lowest Price Equals Best Value

Rick talks about misconception number one, which is that lowest price equals best value. And it doesn’t. Lowest bid never means lowest overall total cost. You get a low bidder that’s going to change-order you to death. That cost is going to be more than what a reasonable cost would have been. We’ve got to get rid of this thinking that we have to select the low bidder or we have to select the most irresponsible player.

Here’s the way Rick explained this to me. When you select based on low bid, you are intentionally incentivizing the contractor to spend the least amount of time on your project as possible. Because as Rick says, we sell time, and so labor hours cost money. So when you reduce the cost, you reduce the time, you reduce the care, you reduce the end product, the quality of the end product. It’s insane. We must get away from this.

Here’s the truth: low bid incentivizes the contractor to spend the least amount of time on your project. They sell time. Labor hours cost money. So when you reduce cost, you reduce time, care, and quality. And you get change orders, rework, delays, and conflict. That’s the ninth waste.

Misconception Two: You Can Shed Risk for the Owner

The second misconception, which is number two, is the concept that you can shed risk for the owner. I hate this one, and I’ll liken it to surveying. I remember helping in Southern California a massive top 100 ENR company help with their field engineering. And I remember that they were about to get rid of field engineers, and their excuse was, “Well, we should just shed the risk to the surveyor.”

But they had buildings five feet in the wrong spot, elevation busts like eight inches here, two or three feet there, problems everywhere that the team was dealing with. And so because they’re intelligent, I won’t tell you who it is, they switched their focus from “forget this, none of our surveyors are actually paying for these big mistakes, we are.” We’re going to beef up our field engineering department with surveyors and get it right the first time, because there’s no such thing as shedding risk.

Because at the end of the day, is the surveyor going to come fix the building? Are they going to move it five feet in the other location? Are you going to sue them and put them out of business and get your money back? No, no, no. You’re going to eat it. It’s your butt. So you might as well get it right.

This concept of shedding risk is ridiculous. When you shed risk to somebody, they’re going to start acting in a manner that protects them: buffers, lack of transparency not buffers in Takt planning, but like they’re going to pad, they’re going to sandbag, I should have used the word sandbag they’re going to protect themselves. They’re going to be less transparent. They’re going to CYA. They’re going to pay for additional insurance above what’s needed. They’re going to hire lawyers and go into arbitration more than we need to. People are going to defense up. They’re going to armor up. And it’s going to hurt the project.

There is no such thing as entirely shedding risk. There’s responsible risk allocation, and I’ll tell you, more importantly, risk mitigation or risk reduction. And all of these result in conflict, and unhealthy conflict at that.

The Three Solutions to Eliminate the Ninth Waste

So Rick gives a couple of suggestions, which I want to give to you right now, and then you can dig further, because this is a great concept.

Solution One: Focus on the Team

One of the first things that you can do is focus on the team. Build the team. Build trust. Build connection. Build good contracts. Build a good environment to where it’s mostly built on trust. Yes, you have your legal documents. Yes, you have your contracts. But it’s mainly built on trust and you have a great relationship. Spend more time there.

Solution Two: Focus on Risk Mitigation, Not Risk Transfer

The second one that I loved was focus more on risk mitigation than risk transfer. Lean in as a team and make sure that we’re getting rid of the risk instead of just pawning it off on somebody else. This will do so much, so much for your work, and to eliminate the ninth waste.

Solution Three: Remove the Focus on Price

The third one that I love: remove the focus on price. Literally go after best value, because low bid is almost never lowest overall total cost. So make sure that you’re hiring based on qualifications and best overall value, which also means that you’re paying for pre-construction planning, which is the statistical indicator of whether or not a project will go right or not. Pre-construction planning is absolutely key. And if you do this with transparency, you’re heading in an amazing direction. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for Leaders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Look at your project. Are you seeing the ninth waste? Unhealthy conflict? Lack of alignment? People pulling in different directions? If yes, check the five external factors. Is the paradigm aligned? Are the mindsets aligned? Is the goal aligned? Is the structure aligned? Are the rules aligned?

And then apply Rick’s three solutions. Focus on the team. Build trust. Focus on risk mitigation, not risk transfer. And remove the focus on price. Go after best value instead of low bid.

As we say at Elevate, the ninth waste is unhealthy conflict and lack of alignment. Stop low-bid thinking. Stop shed-risk mentality. Focus on team, risk mitigation, and best value.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ninth waste in construction?

Unhealthy conflict or lack of alignment where people pull in different directions with counterproductive behavior. It’s not using the genius of the team or outright fighting.

What are the five external factors that create the ninth waste?

Ability to see the paradigm, paradigms and mindsets, the goal of the system, the structure of the system, and the rules of the system. If any are misaligned, you get conflict.

Why does low bid create the ninth waste?

Because low bid incentivizes contractors to spend the least time on your project. When you reduce cost, you reduce time, care, and quality. That creates change orders, rework, and conflict.

Why can’t you shed risk to someone else?

Because at the end of the day, you’re going to eat it. The surveyor won’t fix the building. And when you shed risk, people armor up, sandbag, CYA, and become less transparent. That creates conflict.

How do you eliminate the ninth waste?

Focus on the team and build trust. Focus on risk mitigation instead of risk transfer. Remove the focus on price and hire based on qualifications and best value instead of low bid.

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

Achieving Flow in Construction

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 30 min

Achieving Flow in Construction

Here’s the message I want to share: how do we achieve flow in construction without hurting people, or basically do it with respect for people? Because if we focus only on value-receiving time (the zones getting work done fast), we violate the rules of flow and hurt people. And if we focus only on value-adding time (the trades working at full capacity), we create delays and waste. Flow in construction requires both. And we must start with respect for people first, then optimize the work.

Let me explain.

The Pain of Focusing on Value-Receiving Time Only

If you’re familiar with the amazing work of Nicholas Modig and Pär Åhlström, you’ll remember the framework in the book This Is Lean. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend you do. It’s fantastic. So I want to paint a picture here. If we focus on value-receiving time as the priority in construction, I want to talk about what that does.

In the book This Is Lean, there is an example where Sarah feels a lump in her breast, and there’s a one-stop breast clinic, and there are enough doctors and care workers to where Sarah can come in from first contact in two and a half hours and have a diagnosis. Now this is great. Everybody would want this. But there’s another side to the story, and I want to say that if we adapt the resources to the patient so that we always get care like this, I have some serious questions that I want to ask.

Number one: Is the clinic profitable doing it this way and having this many resources available? Is the staff working overtime? Is the staff stressed? Are they overburdened? Are they doing quality work within that two and a half hours with time for checks and gates—gates in a flow system where we can actually check the quality of the work? And are there buffers, not only to protect the staff, but to actually help movement through the clinic?

And so these are some serious questions that I want us to consider when we’re understanding this analogy.

Now, Nicholas was gracious enough to do a LinkedIn post where he had proposed the question: Is a GoPro on the actual flat in the construction site useful? And so I would like to answer the question: What happens if you view the film camera on the zone only and focus on value-receiving time for the zone or the unit?

And I’ve gone ahead and mapped this out. This is in the extreme, so don’t take this too far. But if we were focused on value-receiving time only throughout the zones on a construction project, we would have time on the top, location on the left, and every zone would be worked on continuously, which means you would either have to have multiple trade partners, or you’d have to, hypothetically, have 2,340 plumbers all at once.

And it’s not realistic, because the questions in construction are: Do we have unlimited resources? Can we supply the project that fast? Can it be managed? Can we maintain quality? And is it safe? These are legitimate questions, let alone considering the downward productivity spiral of focusing on value-receiving time only, where, instead of having that stack, if you at least have one resource with a lot of actual labor, you are going to extend your overall project duration, because the job site cannot take that many people, that many workers, and fit that many people into that space, and you’ll have a massive overrun.

So the answer to “Do we have unlimited resources?” is no. “Can we supply the project that fast?” That’s no. “Can it be managed?” No. “Can you maintain quality?” No. “Is it safe?” No. And if we did this hypothetically, it would be just as bad as CPM, because we have massive overruns from increasing work in progress above capacity, and now we’ve entered into a downward productivity spiral.

How We Violate the Rules of Flow

Okay, so when we add excess labor, throw money at the problem, increase WIP above capacity, bring materials too early and outside of just-in-time, or push, rush, and panic, we violate the rules of flow. These rules of flow are pretty well known. In my mind, it’s in the book Goldratt’s Rules of Flow, and it’s based on the work that Eliyahu Goldratt has done with his book The Goal and the theory of constraints, and then also Critical Chain.

Here are the rules of flow:

  • Triage and focus on first things first eliminate bad multitasking
  • Work only on full kit everything is prepared before starting
  • Adjust the dosage of attention and energy toward one-piece flow
  • Segregate large and small activities
  • Standardize work and synchronize on Takt time
  • Add buffers into the system to protect flow

If we were to increase work in progress above capacity, we would violate the rules of flow. So that extreme doesn’t work, at least in my mind.

The Pain of Focusing on Value-Adding Time Only

Now let’s look at value-adding time. If we focus only on value-adding time, let’s take a look at what that does. In the book This Is Lean by Nicholas Modig and Pär Åhlström, I’m sure I’m saying that last name improperly, I apologize, but in the book, the story goes like this. Allison thinks she has cancer, and from first contact to diagnosis, the system takes several months, because she goes in and is told to wait. She goes in to the next step and is told to wait. Basically, we have the resource here, and the doctors or the care providers really filling up their schedules, which extends the timeline of the diagnosis for Allison.

The concerns here with this multitasking and batching is that there are delays, bad care, more costs, waste and unevenness, and mistakes from context switching. This is bad. So let’s look at it in construction. What happens when you put the film camera only on the trade crew, meaning look at it myopically from one trade’s perspective?

Well, doing the value-adding time only, and again, I would say with multitasking and batching, means that every trade partner in this same framework is going at their own speed, irrespective of what’s needed for the job, and you still have an overrun. This is a focus on individual trade efficiency only, where they’re going their own speed, and they’re not fitting into the whole. We’re not optimizing the whole. And so that’s not great.

Flow Requires Both Value-Adding and Value-Receiving Time

So let’s look at value-adding and value-receiving time together. And the reason that we want to look at this, and this is, by the way, what the book suggests, so this is a shout-out to This Is Lean: construction is a balance between the demands of the customer and the supply of trade partner experts and resources. And Todd Zabelle makes this case in the book Built to Fail and does a really nice job of it. It has to be both.

Okay, so let’s take a look at it. So if we were going to actually add a construction section in the book This Is Lean, maybe one day this will happen where you have an analogy, I think it would be good to put in a vet clinic with lots of different types of animals, lots of different types of treatment, right? And you have many of them, so many species, all in need of healthcare for checkups, vaccines, maternal care, injuries, and various illnesses.

So here are some questions: How can we create the shortest treatment time and accommodate many flow units while not overburdening the staff with the highest quality at the lowest overall total cost? And you’ll see that I put a film camera on the patient, the animal, and the resources, the vet clinic. And only, in my opinion, by merging both can we really get a good flow.

And so as it turns out, we have been able to figure this out in construction quite well. And that’s where, if you see the phase of construction and the train of trades, meaning trade one, two, three, four, five, if you have the film camera on the actual phase, not the zone, and you have the camera on the train of trades, and you put the camera on the train of trades and on the phase to make a complete view of the phase, then you have a complete picture. And I think that’s brilliant.

We do that all the time, and it’s with Takt planning. And so if you plan that way, where you have really good flow within the zone in the phase, and you have good flow of the train of trades in the diagonal with buffers, even if you have delays, you can still finish on time and really accomplish a nice construction project without ever going into a downward productivity spiral. This is genius. So this is flow. We do it all the time.

What Is Flow in Construction?

So flow in construction is the density of value-receiving time from the perspective of the value-receiving unit in relation to the overall throughput time by creating ideal flow and proper leveling of value-adding resources and people. And I want to stress that last part.

And so when we have a good flow of resources with the trades, then what we do is we take all of these different trade partners going different speeds, and we line them up: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and we flow them through the project. So now we have zones in the phase receiving value, but we have enabled a flow with the value-adding unit. You only get the construction project done as fast as the trades can flow.

So the train is going the same direction, moving in the right sequence, going the same speed through level zones, going the same distance apart, aligned with supply chains, with no multitasking and batching, working with as little overburden, unevenness, and waste as possible. So this is what the flow looks like.

So we have it to the point of Nicholas’s original post, which I want to support. You have value-receiving time within the zone inside the phase, but you also have resource and trade flow. You have value-adding time, and we maintain that flow. Okay, so this is a genius way to look at it. We get the best scenario when we have both. And he talks about that all the time.

The Best Path to Achieve Flow in Construction

So instead of resource efficiency on the left and flow efficiency on the horizontal axis, I think it should be resource efficiency and work efficiency. If you don’t have either, you have waste. If you have mostly resource efficiency, you have bad customer service. If you have only work efficiency at the expense of people, you have disrespect for people and resources. This is what I want to caution construction against. But if you have high resource efficiency and work efficiency, then you have flow. And that’s the way I would like to look at it.

Now here’s the warning for us in the USA specifically, and I don’t know about other countries. But if you prioritize work efficiency first, you’re like, “Hey, we’re going to focus on the work, and then we’ll take care of people later,” you will not be able to achieve any of it, because in the USA, we have a tendency of prioritizing profits over people. And if somebody comes over here and abuses people, they never move up to taking care of people.

And people are like, “Wait a minute. What does taking care of people have to do with resource efficiency?” You cannot be resource efficient unless you’re respecting the equipment, the trade partner, the foreman, the workers, and the people that are installing the work.

And so what I would rather have us do is see us protect our people and become a little bit more resource efficient first. Take care of the equipment. Take care of the trade. Take care of the foreman. Take care of the workers. Take care of their flow. Take care of people. Be a little bit selfish with holding that trade flow and remove their overburden first. And then it’s easy to see how we can work towards flow efficiency with Lean practices and optimization. So this is definitely the path we need to take in construction. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

The Reality of What’s Happening in the Construction Industry

Now to prove my point, let me answer the question: Is this just some posturing for the subs and likes on LinkedIn? Well, no. In 2021 in the United States, 6,000 men died from suicide. 1,000 died from work-related injuries. Suicide rates for men in construction are 75 percent higher than men in the general population. Owners abuse contractors. Disrespect for workers is rampant. And we lose production primarily from too much work in progress.

To be truly Lean, we need to understand human nature and create solutions that protect people. Now, real quick, while we’re on this slide, this has been studied. There is a direct correlation between workers being stacked and pushed and overburdened, to then them getting injuries in unsafe environments, to then using opioids, to then leading to opioid addictions, to then having marital problems, which leads to divorce, which leads to child custody battles, which leads to financial difficulties.

And when you add mobile workforce, typically working shifts and overtime in very harsh environments, and with people who have access to lethal means, you can see why the suicide rate in construction is around 53 per 100,000, over veterans, which is about 38 per 100,000, and it’s five times as much as the national average, which is 11 per 100,000.

And the overburden and the injuries in the first place come from when we push and rush and panic, increase work overtime, add people, and we’re doing really crazy things and focusing only on work efficiency. These are all tied together, and it’s a very, very serious thing. So if we only focus on work or put the camera on the zone, we will be as bad as classical management and CPM, and we cannot do that.

Here’s what happens when we focus on work efficiency at the expense of people:

  • Workers get stacked, pushed, overburdened
  • Injuries happen in unsafe environments
  • Opioid use starts to manage pain
  • Opioid addiction develops
  • Marital problems and divorce follow
  • Child custody battles and financial difficulties compound
  • Mobile workforce, shifts, overtime, harsh environments, access to lethal means
  • Suicide rates 53 per 100,000 in construction vs. 11 per 100,000 national average

This is not just theory. This is reality. And if we only focus on work efficiency without protecting people first, we create this spiral. We cannot do that.

A Challenge for Leaders

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Put the camera on the train of trades and the phase together. Not just the zone. Not just the trades. Both. Create flow by balancing value-receiving time and value-adding time. And start with respect for people first. Protect the equipment. Protect the trade. Protect the foreman. Protect the workers. Remove their overburden. Then optimize the work.

As we say at Elevate, flow in construction requires both value-receiving time and value-adding time. Focus on people first, then optimize work. That’s how you achieve flow without hurting people.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is flow in construction?

Flow is balancing value-receiving time (zones getting work) and value-adding time (trades flowing) to create smooth throughput without overburdening people or creating waste.

Why can’t we just focus on value-receiving time (getting zones done fast)?

Because you’d need unlimited resources, create massive coordination chaos, and enter a downward productivity spiral. The job site can’t handle that many workers simultaneously.

Why can’t we just focus on value-adding time (keeping trades at full capacity)?

Because trades go at their own speed irrespective of the job’s needs, creating delays, waste, unevenness, and mistakes from context switching instead of optimizing the whole.

What’s the best path to achieve flow in construction?

Start with resource efficiency (protect people first), then move toward work efficiency (optimize the work). Don’t start with work efficiency at the expense of people.

Why does focusing on work efficiency first hurt people?

Because it creates overburden, injuries, opioid use, marital problems, and suicide. Construction suicide rates are 53 per 100,000 vs. 11 per 100,000 national average.

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

Last Planner in Construction | Add Worker Huddles (Upgrade Your Production Planning)

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 21 min

Add Worker Huddles: Upgrade Your Production Planning

Here’s something that will change everything for Last Planner implementation: I have never seen operational excellence at scale without the morning worker huddle. Multiple billion-dollar projects, multiple hundreds-of-millions-dollar projects, multiple hundreds-of-thousands-dollar renovations, multifamily, townhomes, data centers, hospitals, schools all of it. Without the morning worker huddle, the Last Planner System stops at the foremen and only 20 to 40 percent of the plan reaches the workers who are actually doing the work.

And that’s the missing piece.

The Pain of Information Stopping at the Foreman

Now when you look at the Last Planner System, it’s pretty great but it is in its one-point-zero and we need to take it to two-point-zero, three-point-zero. I am not the inventor of the Last Planner System, but I am a builder and have my own opinion and these opinions are solely mine about how to take it to the next level. And if it’s a Lean system, we will improve it. I’m very disappointed that it’s not farther along than it is. If it’s a Lean system, it should be upgraded by now.

The Last Planner System basically says that if you have planners, it should come to the last planners, which are the foremen, to execute work in the field. But that’s not complete. We need first planners and a first planner system in collaboration with last planners. And we need to get that all the way to workers. And that is what is meant by getting it all the way to the field.

What I’ve seen and you’ve seen as well is that you are in your conference room and you are talking to the trades. You’re around your horseshoe and these are your trade foremen. Whatever you’re coordinating and talking about in here, only about 20 to 40 percent of that actually reaches the people who are actually doing the work, the workers.

Here’s what happens. You have a great coordination meeting. You solve roadblocks. You align on the plan. The foremen leave the meeting. And then they go back to their crews. But they filter the information. They forget parts of it. They prioritize what they think is important. They communicate in their own style. And by the time the information reaches the workers, 60 to 80 percent of it is gone. The workers don’t see the plan. They don’t know the coordination. They don’t understand the roadblocks. And they’re swimming across a mile-wide channel and drowning five feet from shore.

The Workers Are the King

Now, there’s a story from Toyota by Toyota. It’s a really great story where a Lean practitioner in Toyota was asked by a sensei, “Who is the king?” Now, I know that terminology doesn’t really land with us here in the United States, but the point remains. And she was like, “Is it the general manager? Who is it?” And then she thought, “Oh, it’s the operator on the line.” And then she told her sensei, and he was like, “Yes, but let me tell you more. The operator is the king and everybody supports the king.”

Our workers and foremen are the value-added entities on a project site. And if they are not getting the information, if they can’t see as a group, know as a group, and act as a group, if they don’t have full kit, if they don’t know what’s going on, I always say it’s like swimming across a mile-wide channel and drowning five feet from shore. How would you like to swim that far just to drown? You’re almost there.

So, the Last Planner System in its original conception is misguided in this sense: that the information should only make it to the foreman and that human beings naturally and genetically will get the information to workers. That’s not reasonable to understand or to assume.

Why Human Genetics Work Against Communication

Richard Dawkins said, and I love his books about evolution, if humanity is to altruistically elevate and take its next step, you cannot count on genetics for help. Our genes are designed to reproduce and self-perpetuate. Selfishness, greed, isolation, hoarding resources. If we want to do the right thing and be enlightened, we have to override our genetic programming. And our brains are wired to auto-filter information and to uncommunicated and to conserve calories.

And so, to assume that foremen, even though they’re awesome humans and they’re good people, that genetically in their gene housing that they will naturally communicate what we want is not realistic. And so we have got to make sure that we have systems not only where the project is planned with the right systems in the first planner system, but we’ve got to get it all the way to the workers.

So, when we’re in the office, we also have got to get that information out to a field board every day, to the workers every day.

Here’s the truth. Foremen are good people. But they’re human. And humans filter information. They forget things. They prioritize what they think is important. They communicate in their own style. And they’re contractually incentivized to take care of their own interests. So instead of you as the superintendent controlling the environment and the rhythm, they control it. And they’re doing what they want. And they’re all going in separate directions.

That’s not because they’re bad. That’s because they’re human. And we need a system to bypass the filtering.

How Foremen Create Separate Cultures

Now let me tell you, I’m not a consultant. I’m not dissing on consultants. I am a career field super that’s now trying to help the industry. And I have noticed that if you do not do this worker huddle, you still have foreman filtering for you, which means they create the culture separately, not you. And they’re good people, but they are contractually incentivized to take care of their own interests.

So instead of you as the superintendent controlling the environment and the rhythm, they control it. And they’re doing what they want. And they’re all going in separate directions. This is not a lecture. I love you.

Here’s what happens without worker huddles:

  • Foremen filter information only 20 to 40 percent reaches workers
  • Foremen create the culture separately instead of the superintendent creating it
  • Each foreman goes in their own direction instead of rowing together
  • Workers don’t see the plan, don’t know coordination, don’t understand roadblocks
  • The superintendent loses control of the environment and the rhythm

Without worker huddles, you’re delegating culture creation to the foremen. And they’re going to create separate cultures. Not because they’re bad. But because that’s what happens when there’s no system to bypass the filtering.

How Worker Huddles Bypass Filtering and Create Total Participation

When you create that worker huddle, you bypass this 20 to 40 percent and you communicate to the crews. Let me just be real candid with you. If a behavior is happening, I have in morning worker huddles before said, “Hey everybody, you are all contracted to be able to spend 15 to 25 minutes in your crew preparation huddles going through and 5S’ing your areas, identifying eight wastes, filling out your pre-task plans, getting ready, shaking out materials, and starting clean, safe, and organized. And if your foreman’s not letting you do that, you’re not obeying the contract. And if you’re not obeying your foreman, you are not in total participation.”

There is no question about what they should be doing. There is no filtering from the foreman whether they want or don’t want to do something. I as the superintendent have control of the environment and I have control of the rhythm. And I do not control people. I am setting up the job site for success and we are working in total participation.

Here’s what happens when you implement worker huddles. If you love these workers and you should, they will see it. They will hear your shout-outs. They will hear you asking for feedback. They will learn Lean thinking two minutes every day. They will hear the plan and be better aware. You will have stable environments and you will have the second most important concept in Lean after respect for people, and that is total participation.

We think that Lean will work outside of that. It won’t. Paul Akers, Paul Akers, Paul Akers. Total participation. You go to Japan, 130 million people are working and acting the same way. They are a highly coordinated society. And here in the United States we act like we’re cowboys and cowgirls in the Wild West. You can’t do that. We have to row together in total participation.

The Results of Worker Huddles

When you implement this, your job site will get cleaner, safer, more organized, everybody working in the same direction. This is the missing piece of getting the Last Planner System all the way to the people changing the product and putting the work in place. This is why you must have a worker huddle. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

Here’s what worker huddles create:

  • Information reaches 100 percent of workers, not just 20 to 40 percent
  • The superintendent controls the environment and the rhythm, not the foremen
  • Everyone rows together in total participation instead of going in separate directions
  • Workers see the plan, know coordination, understand roadblocks, and have full kit
  • The culture is unified instead of fragmented by foreman filtering

Worker huddles bypass the genetic filtering that humans naturally do. They create total participation. They get the Last Planner System all the way to the workers. And they transform the job site.

A Challenge for Superintendents

Here’s what I want you to do this week. Start a morning worker huddle. Get everyone together for 10 to 15 minutes before work starts. Review the plan. Give shout-outs. Ask for feedback. Teach two minutes of Lean thinking. Communicate expectations. And bypass the foreman filtering.

You’ll see it immediately. Workers will start seeing the plan. They’ll start understanding coordination. They’ll start rowing together. And the job site will get cleaner, safer, more organized, and more productive. Not because you pushed. But because you created total participation. As we say at Elevate, the Last Planner System stops at the foremen and only 20 to 40 percent reaches workers. Worker huddles bypass filtering, create total participation, and get plans all the way to the field. Start the huddle. Control the environment. Row together.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do only 20 to 40 percent of plans reach workers?

Because foremen filter information. They forget things. They prioritize what they think is important. They communicate in their own style. And they’re human. Humans are genetically wired to auto-filter information, uncommunicated, and conserve calories. Worker huddles bypass this filtering and get 100 percent of the plan to workers.

What happens without worker huddles?

Foremen create the culture separately instead of the superintendent creating it. Each foreman goes in their own direction. Workers don’t see the plan. And the superintendent loses control of the environment and the rhythm. Foreman filtering creates fragmented cultures instead of unified participation.

How do worker huddles create total participation?

By bypassing foreman filtering and communicating directly to the crews. The superintendent controls the environment and the rhythm. Workers hear the plan, see coordination, understand roadblocks, and have full kit. Everyone rows together in the same direction instead of going in separate directions.

What should you cover in a morning worker huddle?

Review the plan. Give shout-outs. Ask for feedback. Teach two minutes of Lean thinking. Communicate expectations. Remind crews to spend 15 to 25 minutes in crew preparation huddles 5S’ing areas, identifying eight wastes, filling out pre-task plans, and starting clean, safe, organized.

Why is total participation the second most important concept in Lean?

Because Lean won’t work without it. You can’t have some people rowing and others going in separate directions. Japan has 130 million people working and acting the same way. That’s total participation. Worker huddles create that same coordination on the job site.

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

    Related Books

    The First Planner System: The Project Planning System for Executives, Project Managers, and Superintendents in Pre-construction - Book 2
    Get Book
    Pull Planning For Builders: How to Pull Plan Right, Respect People, and Gain Time (The Art of the Builder)
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    The Ten Improvements to Production Planning: What Lean Builders Can Do To Improve Short Interval Planning (The Art of the Builder)
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    Related Books

    The First Planner System: The Project Planning System for Executives, Project Managers, and Superintendents in Pre-construction - Book 2
    Get Book
    Built to Fail: Why Construction Projects Take So Long, Cost Too Much, And How to Fix It
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    Related Books

    The First Planner System: The Project Planning System for Executives, Project Managers, and Superintendents in Pre-construction - Book 2
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    The 10 Myths of CPM: How The Critical Path Method Systematizes Disrespect for People
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    Calumet "K"
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    faq

    General Training Overview

    What construction leadership training programs does LeanTakt offer?
    LeanTakt offers Superintendent/PM Boot Camps, Virtual Takt Production System® Training, Onsite Takt Simulations, and Foreman & Field Engineer Training. Each program is tailored to different leadership levels in construction.
    Who should attend LeanTakt’s training programs?
    Superintendents, Project Managers, Foremen, Field Engineers, and trade partners who want to improve planning, communication, and execution on projects.
    How do these training programs improve project performance?
    They provide proven Lean and Takt systems that reduce chaos, improve reliability, strengthen collaboration, and accelerate project delivery.
    What makes LeanTakt’s training different from other construction courses?
    Our programs are hands-on, field-tested, and focused on practical application—not just classroom theory.
    Do I need prior Lean or takt planning experience to attend?
    No. Our programs cover foundational principles before moving into advanced applications.
    How quickly can I apply what I learn on real projects?
    Most participants begin applying new skills immediately, often the same week they complete the program.
    Are these trainings designed for both office and field leaders?
    Yes. We equip both project managers and superintendents with tools that connect field and office operations.
    What industries benefit most from LeanTakt training?
    Commercial, multifamily, residential, industrial, and infrastructure projects all benefit from flow-based planning.
    Do participants receive certificates after completing training?
    Yes. Every participant receives a LeanTakt Certificate of Completion.
    Is LeanTakt training recognized in the construction industry?
    Yes. Our programs are widely respected among leading GCs, subcontractors, and construction professionals.

    Superintendent / PM Boot Camp

    What is the Superintendent & Project Manager Boot Camp?
    It’s a 5-day immersive training for superintendents and PMs to master Lean leadership, takt planning, and project flow.
    How long does the Superintendent/PM Boot Camp last?
    Five full days of hands-on training.
    What topics are covered in the Boot Camp curriculum?
    Lean leadership, Takt Planning, logistics, daily planning, field-office communication, and team health.
    How does the Boot Camp improve leadership and scheduling skills?
    Yes. You’ll learn how to run day huddles, team meetings, worker huddles, and Lean coordination processes.
    Who is the Boot Camp best suited for?
    Construction leaders responsible for delivering projects, including Superintendents, PMs, and Field Leaders.
    What real-world challenges are simulated during the Boot Camp?
    Schedule breakdowns, trade conflicts, logistics issues, and communication gaps.
    Will I learn Takt Planning at the Boot Camp?
    Yes. Takt Planning is a core focus of the Boot Camp.
    How does this Boot Camp compare to traditional PM certification?
    It’s practical and execution-based rather than exam-based. You learn by doing, not just studying theory.
    Can my entire project team attend the Boot Camp together?
    Yes. Teams attending together often see the greatest results.
    What kind of real-world challenges do we simulate?
    Improved project flow, fewer delays, better team communication, and stronger leadership confidence.

    Takt Production System® Virtual Training

    What is the Virtual Takt Production System® Training?
    It’s an expert-led online program that teaches Lean construction teams how to implement takt planning.
    How does virtual takt training work?
    Delivered online via live sessions, interactive discussions, and digital tools.
    What are the benefits of online takt planning training?
    Convenience, global accessibility, real-time learning, and immediate application.
    Can I access the virtual training from anywhere?
    Yes. It’s fully web-based and accessible worldwide.
    Can I access the virtual training from anywhere?
    Yes. It’s fully web-based and accessible worldwide.
    What skills will I gain from the Virtual TPS® Training?
    Macro and micro Takt planning, weekly updates, flow management, and CPM integration.
    How long does the virtual training program take?
    The program is typically completed in multiple live sessions across several days.
    Can I watch recordings if I miss a session?
    Yes. Recordings are available to all participants.
    Do you offer group access or company licenses for the virtual training?
    Yes. Teams and companies can enroll together at discounted rates.
    How does the Virtual TPS® Training integrate with CPM tools?
    We show how to align Takt with CPM schedules like Primavera P6 or MS Project.

    Onsite Takt Simulation

    What is a Takt Simulation in construction training?
    It’s a live, interactive workshop that demonstrates takt planning on-site.
    How does the Takt Simulation workshop work?
    Teams participate in hands-on exercises to learn the flow and rhythm of a Takt-based project.
    Can I choose between a 1-day or 2-day Takt Simulation?
    Yes. We offer flexible formats to fit your team’s schedule and needs.
    Who should participate in the Takt Simulation workshop?
    Superintendents, PMs, site supervisors, contractors, and engineers.
    How does a Takt Simulation improve project planning?
    It shows teams how to structure zones, manage flow, and coordinate trades in real time.
    What will my team learn from the onsite simulation?
    How to build and maintain takt plans, manage buffers, and align trade partners.
    Is the simulation tailored to my specific project type?
    Yes. Scenarios can be customized to match your project.
    How do Takt Simulations improve trade partner coordination?
    They strengthen collaboration by making handoffs visible and predictable.
    What results can I expect from an onsite Takt Simulation?
    Improved schedule reliability, better trade collaboration, and reduced rework.
    How many people can join a Takt Simulation session?
    Group sizes are flexible, but typically 15–30 participants per session.

    Foreman & Field Engineer Training

    What is Foreman & Field Engineer Training?
    It’s an on-demand, practical program that equips foremen and engineers with leadership and planning skills.
    How does this training prepare emerging leaders?
    By teaching communication, crew management, and execution strategies.
    Is the training on-demand or scheduled?
    On-demand, tailored to your team’s timing and needs.
    What skills do foremen and engineers gain from this training?
    Planning, safety leadership, coordination, and communication.
    How does the training improve communication between field and office?
    It builds shared systems that align superintendents, engineers, and managers.
    Can the training be customized for my team’s needs?
    Yes. Programs are tailored for your project or company.
    What makes this program different from generic leadership courses?
    It’s construction-specific, field-tested, and focused on real project application.
    How do foremen and field engineers apply this training immediately?
    They can use new systems for planning, coordination, and daily crew management right away.
    Is the training suitable for small construction companies?
    Yes. Small and large teams alike benefit from building flow-based leadership skills.

    Testimonials

    Testimonials

    "The bootcamp I was apart of was amazing. Its was great while it was happening but also had a very profound long-term motivation that is still pushing me to do more, be more. It sounds a little strange to say that a construction bootcamp changed my life, but it has. It has opened my eyes to many possibilities on how a project can be successfully run. It’s also provided some very positive ideas on how people can and should be treated in construction.

    I am a hungry person by nature, so it doesn’t take a lot to get to participate. I loved the way it was not just about participating, it was also about doing it with conviction, passion, humility and if it wasn’t portrayed that way you had to do it again."

    "It's great to be a part of a company that has similar values to my own, especially regarding how we treat our trade partners. The idea of "you gotta make them feel worse to make them do better" has been preached at me for years. I struggled with this as you will not find a single psychology textbook stating these beliefs. In fact it is quite the opposite, and causing conflict is a recipe for disaster. I'm still honestly in shock I have found a company that has based its values on scientific facts based on human nature. That along with the Takt scheduling system makes everything even better. I am happy to be a part of a change that has been long overdue in our industry!"

    "Wicked team building, so valuable for the forehumans of the sub trades to know the how and why. Great tools and resources. Even though I am involved and use the tools every day, I feel like everything is fresh and at the forefront to use"

    "Jason and his team did an incredible job passing on the overall theory of what they do. After 3 days of running through the course I cannot see any holes in their concept. It works. it's proven to work and I am on board!"

    "Loved the pull planning, Takt planning, and logistic model planning. Well thought out and professional"

    "The Super/PM Boot Camp was an excellent experience that furthered my understanding of Lean Practices. The collaboration, group involvement, passion about real project site experiences, and POSITIVE ENERGY. There are no dull moments when you head into this training. Jason and Mr. Montero were always on point and available to help in the break outs sessions. Easily approachable to talk too during breaks and YES, it was fun. I recommend this training for any PM or Superintendent that wants to further their career."

    agenda

    Day 1

    Foundations & Macro Planning

    • Introduction to Takt Production System® principles
    • CPM vs TAKT comparison
    • Macro planning, zoning, and density analysis
    • Quantities and production rates
    • Hands-on application to participants’ projects with LeanTakt PM experts

    day2

    Norm Planning & Flow Optimization

    • Review and refinement of Day 1 work
    • Pull planning and sequence optimization
    • Work packaging for balanced flow
    • Project integration session with LeanTakt PM coaching

    day3

    Advanced Tools & Comparisons

    • Macro work packaging and example walkthrough
    • Calculator Norm for production optimization
    • Stacking comparison to avoid trade conflicts
    • Hands-on application to participants’ own schedules

    day4

    Buffers, Controls & Finalization

    • Review of Day 3 implementation
    • Buffer management strategies and placement
    • Takt control principles and steering methods
    • Project plan finalization with expert guidance

    day5

    Control Systems & Presentations

    • Takt steering, control systems, and real project examples
    • Participant project presentations with LeanTakt PM feedback
    • Wrap-up, feedback, and action planning for post-training implementation

    faq

    UNDERSTANDING THE TRAINING

    What is the Virtual Takt Production System® Training by LeanTakt?
    It’s an expert-led online program designed to teach construction professionals how to implement Takt Planning to create flow, eliminate chaos, and align teams across the project lifecycle.
    Who should take the LeanTakt virtual training?
    This training is ideal for Superintendents, Project Managers, Engineers, Schedulers, Trade Partners, and Lean Champions looking to improve planning and execution.
    What topics are covered in the online Takt Production System® course?
    The course covers macro and micro Takt planning, zone creation, buffers, weekly updates, flow management, trade coordination, and integration with CPM tools.
    What makes LeanTakt’s virtual training different from other Lean construction courses?
    Unlike theory-based courses, this training is hands-on, practical, field-tested, and includes live coaching tailored to your actual projects.
    Do I get a certificate after completing the online training?
    Yes. Upon successful completion, participants receive a LeanTakt Certificate of Completion, which validates your knowledge and readiness to implement Takt.

    VALUE AND RESULTS

    What are the benefits of Takt Production System® training for my team?
    It helps teams eliminate bottlenecks, improve planning reliability, align trades, and reduce the chaos typically seen in traditional construction schedules.
    How much time and money can I save with Takt Planning?
    Many projects using Takt see 15–30% reductions in time and cost due to better coordination, fewer delays, and increased team accountability.
    What’s the ROI of virtual Takt training for construction teams?
    The ROI comes from faster project delivery, reduced rework, improved communication, and better resource utilization — often 10x the investment.
    Will this training reduce project delays or rework?
    Yes. By visualizing flow and aligning trades, Takt Planning reduces miscommunication and late handoffs — major causes of delay and rework.
    How soon can I expect to see results on my projects?
    Most teams report seeing improvement in coordination and productivity within the first 2–4 weeks of implementation.

    PLANNING AND SCHEDULING TOPICS

    What is Takt Planning and how is it used in construction?
    Takt Planning is a Lean scheduling method that creates flow by aligning work with time and space, using rhythm-based planning to coordinate teams and reduce waste.
    What’s the difference between macro and micro Takt plans?
    Macro Takt plans focus on the overall project flow and phase durations, while micro Takt plans break down detailed weekly tasks by zone and crew.
    Will I learn how to build a complete Takt plan from scratch?
    Yes. The training teaches you how to build both macro and micro Takt plans tailored to your project, including workflows, buffers, and sequencing.
    How do I update and maintain a Takt schedule each week?
    You’ll learn how to conduct weekly updates using lookaheads, trade feedback, zone progress, and digital tools to maintain schedule reliability.
    Can I integrate Takt Planning with CPM or Primavera P6?
    Yes. The training includes guidance on aligning Takt plans with CPM logic, showing how both systems can work together effectively.
    Will I have access to the instructors during the training?
    Yes. You’ll have opportunities to ask questions, share challenges, and get real-time feedback from LeanTakt coaches.
    Can I ask questions specific to my current project?
    Absolutely. In fact, we encourage it — the training is designed to help you apply Takt to your active jobs.
    Is support available after the training ends?
    Yes. You can access follow-up support, coaching, and community forums to help reinforce implementation.
    Can your tools be customized to my project or team?
    Yes. We offer customizable templates and implementation options to fit different project types, teams, and tech stacks.
    When is the best time in a project lifecycle to take this training?
    Ideally before or during preconstruction, but teams have seen success implementing it mid-project as well.

    APPLICATION & TEAM ADOPTION

    What changes does my team need to adopt Takt Planning?
    Teams must shift from reactive scheduling to proactive, flow-based planning with clear commitments, reliable handoffs, and a visual management mindset.
    Do I need any prior Lean or scheduling experience?
    No prior Lean experience is required. The course is structured to take you from foundational principles to advanced application.
    How long does it take for teams to adapt to Takt Planning?
    Most teams adapt within 2–6 weeks, depending on project size and how fully the system is adopted across roles.
    Can this training work for smaller companies or projects?
    Absolutely. Takt is scalable and especially powerful for small teams seeking better structure and predictability.
    What role do trade partners play in using Takt successfully?
    Trade partners are key collaborators. They help shape realistic flow, manage buffers, and provide feedback during weekly updates.

    VIRTUAL FORMAT & ACCESSIBILITY

    Can I access the virtual training from anywhere?
    Yes. The training is fully accessible online, making it ideal for distributed teams across regions or countries.
    Is this training available internationally?
    Yes. LeanTakt trains teams around the world and supports global implementations.
    Can I watch recordings if I miss a session?
    Yes. All sessions are recorded and made available for later viewing through your training portal.
    Do you offer group access or company licenses?
    Yes. Teams can enroll together at discounted rates, and we offer licenses for enterprise rollouts.
    What technology or setup do I need to join the virtual training?
    A reliable internet connection, webcam, Miro, Spreadsheets, and access to Zoom.

    faq

    GENERAL FAQS

    What is the Superintendent / PM Boot Camp?
    It’s a hands-on leadership training for Superintendents and Project Managers in the construction industry focused on Lean systems, planning, and communication.
    Who is this Boot Camp for?
    Construction professionals including Superintendents, Project Managers, Field Engineers, and Foremen looking to improve planning, leadership, and project flow.
    What makes this construction boot camp different?
    Real-world project simulations, expert coaching, Lean principles, team-based learning, and post-camp support — all built for field leaders.
    Is this just a seminar or classroom training?
    No. It’s a hands-on, immersive experience. You’ll plan, simulate, collaborate, and get feedback — not sit through lectures.
    What is the focus of the training?
    Leadership, project planning, communication, Lean systems, and integrating office-field coordination.

    CURRICULUM & OUTCOMES

    What topics are covered in the Boot Camp?
    Takt planning, day planning, logistics, pre-construction, team health, communication systems, and more.
    What is Takt Planning and why is it taught?
    Takt is a Lean planning method that creates flow and removes chaos. It helps teams deliver projects on time with less stress.
    Will I learn how to lead field teams more effectively?
    Yes. This boot camp focuses on real leadership challenges and gives you systems and strategies to lead high-performing teams.
    Do you cover daily huddles and meeting systems?
    Yes. You’ll learn how to run day huddles, team meetings, worker huddles, and Lean coordination processes.
    What kind of real-world challenges do we simulate?
    You’ll work through real project schedules, logistical constraints, leadership decisions, and field-office communication breakdowns.

    LOGISTICS & FORMAT

    Is the training in-person or virtual?
    It’s 100% in-person to maximize learning, feedback, and team-based interaction.
    How long is the Boot Camp?
    It runs for 5 full days.
    Where is the Boot Camp held?
    Locations vary — typically hosted in a professional training center or project setting. Contact us for the next available city/date.
    Do you offer follow-up coaching after the Boot Camp?
    Yes. Post-camp support is included so you can apply what you’ve learned on your projects.
    Can I ask questions about my actual project?
    Absolutely. That’s encouraged — bring your current challenges.

    PRICING & VALUE

    How much does the Boot Camp cost?
    $5,000 per person.
    Are there any group discounts?
    Yes — get 10% off when 4 or more people from the same company attend.
    What’s the ROI for sending my team?
    Better planning = fewer delays, smoother coordination, and higher team morale — all of which boost productivity and reduce costs.
    Will I see results immediately?
    Most participants apply what they’ve learned as soon as they return to the jobsite — especially with follow-up support.
    Can this replace other leadership training?
    In many cases, yes. This Boot Camp is tailored to construction professionals, unlike generic leadership seminars.

    SEO-BASED / HIGH-INTENT SEARCH QUESTIONS

    What is the best leadership training for construction Superintendents?
    Our Boot Camp offers real-world, field-focused leadership training tailored for construction leaders.
    What’s included in a Superintendent Boot Camp?
    Takt planning, day planning, logistics, pre-construction systems, huddles, simulations, and more.
    Where can I find Lean construction training near me?
    Check our upcoming in-person sessions or request a private boot camp in your city.
    How can I improve field and office communication on a project?
    This Boot Camp teaches you tools and systems to connect field and office workflows seamlessly.
    Is there a training to help reduce chaos on construction sites?
    Yes — this program is built specifically to turn project chaos into flow through structured leadership.