First Planner System™️ – Introduction – 4 – Building the Team

Posted on August 14, 2025August 14, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 7 min

Building a Project Team That Actually Performs

In this blog, I’m diving into one of the most important and most overlooked components of project success: building a healthy, high-functioning project team.

You can have the perfect plan, the best resources, and all the right systems in place… and still fail miserably if your team isn’t operating at its full potential. I’ve seen it happen on projects big and small, and the root cause almost always comes down to team dynamics.

Why Planning Alone Won’t Save You

Planning a project before you start is essential. Systems like the First Planner System and Takt Planning give you the tools to set up a flawless production plan. But even the best plan will crumble if the team executing it isn’t aligned, healthy, and motivated.

I once worked on a $280 million tower project in downtown Salt Lake City. We had top talent, great resources, a realistic timeline, and the right systems. Still, within months, we were already three months behind schedule.

The problem wasn’t the plan, it was the people dynamic. Internal conflicts, disengaged leadership, and a lack of alignment stalled progress.

The Three Non-Negotiables for a High-Performing Project Team

Through that experience (and many others), I’ve identified three critical needs every project team must have to succeed:

1. A Multiplier Leader

A great leader doesn’t just manage, they multiply the team’s capabilities. A multiplier leader:

Builds and develops the team
Has hard but necessary conversations
Holds remarkable, productive meetings
Coaches, mentors, and invests in people without micromanaging
Scales communication and clarity across the project

Without this kind of leader, teams drift, silos form, and potential goes untapped.

2. A Cohesive Team

Strong leadership is only part of the equation. The team must also engage in the right behaviors:

Get to know each other personally
Build trust
Engage in healthy conflict
Set and commit to goals together
Hold one another accountable
Deliver results

These behaviors, outlined in Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, form the backbone of high performance. Skip any step, and the chain breaks.

3. A Strenuous Performance Goal

Even with the right leader and healthy team behaviors, you still need a unifying, ambitious target to rally around.

This could be a milestone, a “rally cry,” or a challenging deadline.
It pushes the team to lean in, collaborate, and give their best.

On that $280 million project, once we set a bold but realistic performance goal, the team’s energy shifted. We identified weak links in leadership, made necessary changes, and performance skyrocketed, eventually finishing under budget.

Multipliers vs. Diminishers

Liz Wiseman’s Multipliers makes it clear:

Multipliers are talent magnets, liberators, challengers, debate makers, and investors.
Diminishers are empire builders, tyrants, know-it-alls, micromanagers, and bottlenecks.

The difference between the two can make or break a project.

The Reflection

The team is the apparatus through which every other system operates. If your team is healthy, enjoys coming to work, engages in healthy conflict, and works together to create flow, you’ll deliver consistent value. If not, misalignment, low morale, and inefficiency will drain your project’s momentum.

Key Takeaway

A high-performing project team needs three things: a multiplier leader, a cohesive culture, and a unifying, challenging goal. Miss any one of them, and even the best-laid project plan can fail.

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

First Planner System™️- 5 – Balancing the Team

Posted on August 14, 2025August 14, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 6 min

Balancing the Project Team for Long-Term Success

In this blog, I’m continuing my reading from Elevating Pre-Construction Planning and diving into a critical topic, team balance.

Once you’ve built a functional team with the right leader, clear goals, and healthy behaviors, the real challenge begins: maintaining that balance over the long haul. When a project team is pushed past its capacity, cycle times increase, throughput slows, and errors become more frequent.

Overburden can sneak in from many directions, excessive administration, pointless meetings, unnecessary approvals, constant changes without extra help, or owner-driven variation. As a leader, my top priority is preventing this waste of valuable time and energy by keeping my team balanced and healthy.

Three Key Metrics for Evaluating Balance

1. People & Positions

Ask yourself: Do I have the right people on the team, and are they in the right roles? Having too few people doing too many jobs or misaligned roles, creates burnout. And yes, sometimes you have to remove “high-performing assholes” because the damage they do to morale outweighs their contributions.

2. Personal Organization & Schedule

A balanced team follows leader standard work, has personal organization systems, and protects the blend between work and home life. As a leader, it’s my job to protect their time, not exploit it. That means making schedules and organization systems visible so I can step in when someone’s workload becomes unsustainable.

Instead of asking, How can I get more out of people? I ask, How can I get people home on time?

3. Project Conditions

Even a well-staffed, well-organized team can be thrown off balance by project conditions such as:

Design changes & change orders – Isolate changes and don’t overload the team without additional resources.
Constant variation – Standardize meetings, agendas, and processes wherever possible.
Lack of support – Hire, borrow, or outsource help when needed.
Too many or too few people – Right-size the team to keep communication smooth.
Waste & inefficiency – Remove waste like a hawk with “Paul Akers goggles.”
Unhealthy conflict – Address and resolve toxic dynamics fast.

The Monthly Team Scorecard

I use a monthly scorecard to measure areas like:

Proper roles and workload balance
Healthy work-life blend
Physical and emotional health of the team
Stability, focus, and alignment
Healthy conflict and chemistry
Labor quality and quantity
Design and engineering cooperation

Aggregating these scores across the team provides an early-warning system for imbalance, so we can fix problems before they snowball.

The Reflection

Balancing a project team is about more than just keeping schedules and tasks in check, it’s about preserving morale, focus, and energy. Owners, reps, designers, trades, and even corporate demands can throw your team into a downward spiral if you’re not actively protecting their balance.

Once the energy required to keep the project under control exceeds the total energy your team can give, things will collapse. My job is to make sure that never happens.

Key Takeaway

A balanced team is a productive team. Protecting your people’s capacity and morale is the single most effective way to keep projects on track and profitable.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

First Planner System™️- 6 – Individual Balance

Posted on August 14, 2025August 14, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 7 min

Balancing the Individual for a Stronger Team

In this blog, I’m diving into the team component of Individual Balance, one of the most overlooked yet powerful aspects of building a high-performing construction team.

We’ve touched on this before when talking about overall team health, but here’s where leadership must become deeply personal and intentional. A true work-life balance exists when work doesn’t drain the best parts of who we are. When we’re emotionally exhausted at work, we have less to give at home and that imbalance doesn’t just happen because of long hours.

Often, the imbalance is triggered by the stress hormones we experience while working. Chronic stress, driven by elevated cortisol levels, can lead to anxiety, depression, and poor physical health. My role as a leader is to reduce that stress by controlling the environment and conditions my team works in. I can’t and shouldn’t try to control emotions, but I can remove unnecessary stressors, set realistic expectations, and create a workplace where people feel safe and supported.

The Four Pillars of Individual Balance

1. Mindset

There’s no such thing as a completely fixed or growth mindset, everyone has both. The goal is to spot where resistance to change exists and help shift perceptions. That might mean providing resources, having open conversations, or simply walking alongside a team member through change until they’re ready to embrace it.

When we introduced takt planning, for example, some saw it as a threat to the “old ways” of building. I learned that empathy first, change second, is the only way forward.

2. Aspirations

Humans need to aspire to something greater, whether that’s career growth, skill development, or personal fulfillment. As a leader, I take responsibility for helping my team set realistic goals, see opportunities, and connect them to the resources or people that will help them get there.

One tool I recommend is the Clarity Action Influence Exercise, where we work backward from life purpose to 5-10 year goals, milestones, and short-term “inch stones.”

Take Steve Rogers (our fictional super) as an example:

Purpose: Become a general superintendent and develop training programs.
BHAG: Master senior superintendent skills and project scheduling in five years.
Next Milestone: Become proficient in scheduling in 10 months.
Defining Goals: Take a takt course, actively manage schedules, shadow a mentor, reflect on outcomes, and learn pull planning.

When people have this clarity, they’re far more engaged and motivated.

3. Capability & Capacity

Skill without capacity leads to burnout. That’s why I encourage every team member to build strong personal organization systems, visible, intuitive, and consistent.

I recommend time-blocking in this order:

You (health, wellness, personal goals)
Family
Leader Standard Work
Meetings and project needs

This sequence creates a win-win-win: the person, their family, and the project all benefit. Reverse it, and it’s a lose-lose-lose.

4. Personal Organization Systems

Chaos is the enemy of capacity. I make sure my team uses:

Prioritized to-do lists
Weekly work plans
Daily execution plans with buffers
Focused work sessions free from unnecessary distractions

This approach routinely saves 1–4 hours per day and gives my team back control over their time.

The Reflection Test

If your team’s balance score is under 80%, it’s time to act. Ask yourself:

Do they know about fixed vs. growth mindset?
Do they have a clarity document?
Do they have a personal organization system?
Do they have a solid morning routine?
Are they time-blocking their days with buffers?

A healthy project requires healthy people. When we protect our team’s balance, productivity and morale soar.

Key Takeaway

A great project can’t come at the expense of the people building it. Individual balance isn’t a “nice to have” it’s a leadership responsibility and a business advantage.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

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The 4 Periods Of Superintendent Growth You Must Master

Posted on August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 7 min

The Four Periods of Superintendent Growth You Must Master

There are four distinct periods in a superintendent’s growth journey, each with specific lessons, skills, and experiences that can shape the rest of your career. In this blog, I’ll Walk you through these four periods, how to leverage each one, and the resources that can help you at every stage.

Learning Phase:

When you’re coming up through the field, your career may progress through positions, surveyor, field engineer, carpenter, etc. but no matter where you start, there’s a horizontal journey happening: the learning phase.

This is your time to gather as many tools as possible for your professional tool belt.

I recommend two main entry points into this phase:

Carpenter.
Field Engineer. (my personal preference, though both paths work)

The key is not the title it’s the experiences you gain:

Creating and reading lift drawings.
Performing survey and layout work to understand coordinate geometry and spatial awareness.
Conducting frontline quality control (QC) and safety checks.
Connecting with the craft and truly respecting field teams.

If you take the carpenter route, ensure you’re still getting exposure to layout, QC, safety, and direct field experience.

This is also the time to check essential boxes:

Learn project management terms and skills.
Understand planning and scheduling.
Build a strong foundation in safety basics.
Learn the QC process.

Mastery Phase:

Once you’ve built your foundation, it’s time to move into mastery.

Here, action is everything. As Tony Robbins puts it:

“Knowledge is not power. Knowledge and action are power.”

The mastery phase is about implementing what you’ve learned, messy or not:

If you’ve learned planning, plan a job.
If you’ve learned the QC process, run meetings and manage quality on a project.

Yes, it will be imperfect. Yes, you’ll fail at times. But that’s the path, failing forward is how every great superintendent, project manager, and leader has grown.

Leading Phase:

After learning and implementing, you transition to teaching and leading.

You might now oversee others who directly manage projects. True leadership is when a leader you’ve trained goes on to create another leader, this is where your influence scales.

Apply principles like Jocko Willink’s Extreme Ownership:

Build the team.
Simplify the mission.
Prioritize.
Decentralize command, let others create the plan, then review and support it, so they’re empowered to lead.

Legacy Phase:

Finally, you reach the legacy stage.

Some superintendents continue building projects with increasing excellence. Others develop training programs, write books, or create something lasting for their family or industry.

But there’s a crucial point here: Many people hit a stage of stagnation, frustrated with industry issues like poor scheduling or lack of respect for people. This is where you must push through, find your passion again, and move into expansion.

Think of it like breaking out of an old shell to grow into something better. Frustration often means you’re on the verge of a breakthrough.

Where Are You Now?

Ask yourself:

Which phase am I in – Learning, Mastery, Leading, or Legacy?
What skills or experiences do I still need to gain?
How can I start building toward my next stage today?

Key Takeaway:

Superintendent growth happens in four phases, Learning, Mastery, Leading, and Legacy. Each stage demands a different focus, from building foundational skills to implementing them, developing others, and leaving a lasting impact. Knowing which phase you’re in and intentionally preparing for the next is the fastest path to career excellence.

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:

On we go

Answers to Questions about Takt – Explicit

Posted on August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 7 min

Today, I’m diving into some of the most common and pressing questions about TACT Target Alignment Construction Tactics and sharing straight talk about what works, what doesn’t, and how you can get the most out of it on your projects.

First off, I want to say how much I appreciate all the feedback and engagement from listeners who are implementing these ideas in real life. It’s inspiring to see people push through challenges and transform their work.

Does ACCE Accreditation Matter for Construction Management Degrees?

This question came from a listener considering master’s programs. Here’s my take: Texas A&M’s program is solid but tends to produce graduates who can be arrogant and fixed in their mindset. Other schools like Texas State, UT El Paso, or Texas Tech also provide good education with more humility and openness. At the end of the day, a degree just gets you into the industry; your attitude and willingness to learn determine how far you’ll go.

Can Large Trade Partners Use TACT Even if the GC Isn’t?

Yes, Success happens when the large trade partner leads the rhythm and isn’t bullied by the GC. They must ensure the site is clear ahead of their work, but it’s absolutely possible.

Using Microsoft Project or CPM Schedules with TACT?

Honestly, I’ve only seen CPM schedules really help once. Most of the time, they give a false sense of security. Better tools exist, like Smartsheet combined with Power BI, to actually implement Lean scheduling methods effectively.

Does TACT Work on Residential Projects?

Absolutely, though residential crews like framers can be stubborn, every house is basically its own zone, and TACT works well when trade partners follow the lean process.

Advice for Owners on Large Industrial Projects to Encourage TACT?

This is tough, few contractors really know how to implement it well. Owners should hire experts, invest heavily in training, and hold contractors accountable with scoring and disqualification penalties if standards aren’t met. You can’t just tell a GC to use TACT and expect smooth sailing.

Finding Contractors Who Understand These Techniques?

It’s rare. Many GCs don’t understand CPM, project management, or procurement either. Owners must demand it and legal teams should help enforce it. Some contractors like High Street Ventures, Mortensen, DPR (in some regions), and Robbins & Morton stand out as good examples.

Will PEMBOC or PMP Programs Start Covering TACT?

I hope not, their current approach damages everything else, and I fear they’d ruin TACT as well. The Project Management Book of Knowledge is almost useless for practical implementation.

Has TACT Been Used in Rail or Road Projects?

Yes for road projects, no for railways yet.

Biggest Mistake When Implementing TACT?

Trying to do it alone, forcing 5-day TACT meetings, misusing weekends as buffers, and poor zoning/packaging. Don’t be afraid to get professional help Lean TACT scales as far as you need it to.

Key Takeaway

Successfully implementing TACT requires about six months of consistent training, motivation, and effort. During this ramp up period, mistakes are natural as the team learns the system. However, if resistance or lack of follow-through continues beyond this timeframe, it often signals deeper issues like a lack of commitment or poor cultural fit. TACT works best when the entire team is aligned and engaged forcing it without proper support, planning, and buy-in almost always leads to failure. Knowing when to be patient and when to address these challenges is crucial for long term success.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

The Six Month Ramp and Disobedience

Posted on August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 5 min

Today, we’re diving into why it often takes six months for a team to fully implement a new system and what it means if they’re still not on board after that ramp.

In my experience, every significant change whether it’s a new workflow, a tool, or a process comes with a learning curve. I call it the six-month ramp. That’s the period where you’re building the knowledge, motivation, and tools needed for the team to succeed. Mistakes? Totally fine. Struggles? Expected. The focus is on progress, not perfection.

Here’s where it gets important: if someone isn’t performing within that six-month ramp, it’s usually a training or resource issue. But if they’re still resisting after six months when the systems are clear, the training is complete, and the support is in place that’s no longer a learning problem. That’s disobedience.

I’ve seen it happen: skilled people choosing not to adopt the system, quietly undermining the team, or sticking to old ways. When that happens, it’s not about aptitude it’s about attitude and cultural fit.

A great example is our journey with pull planning. At first, it seemed intimidating. Nobody wanted to do it. But by applying the Switch method creating the right circumstances, training the team, and motivating them we saw complete adoption in six months. Today, it’s second nature.

The lesson? Commitment to process is what sustains excellence. When pressure mounts, we don’t rise to our ambitions we fall to the level of our training and discipline. Processes and systems aren’t constraints; they’re the structure that makes success repeatable.

Key Takeaway

If a team member is struggling within the first six months of learning a new process, it’s likely a training or support issue. If they resist after six months, it’s no longer about capability it’s about commitment.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

If We Stay Ahead, We Have Fun

Posted on August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 5 min

In this blog, I want to share a simple truth I’ve seen proven over and over again, getting behind makes work hard, but staying ahead makes work fun.

Recently, we were deep in preconstruction for a project we call Leanville. We started planning 18 months ahead an investment of at least $80,000 in early planning and it paid off. Feedback from the design team and owner was fantastic. We were delivering one of their best experiences yet.

Then, one critical deliverable the norm level TACT plan didn’t happen on time. I let it slide over the holidays, but when we came back, it still wasn’t done. That discovery, coupled with other performance issues, meant we had to let a team member go.

The fallout? For two weeks, we scrambled. Procurement lagged. Bid packages weren’t ready. The team felt the pressure, and morale dipped. We weren’t ahead anymore and it wasn’t fun.

By late February, we fought our way back. The TACT plan was in place. Procurement was on track. Coordination meetings were crisp, PPC scores were strong, and mirror boards looked great. The mood shifted instantly. The team was joking, collaborating, and thriving.

That’s when our project manager said something powerful:

“I’m never going to let the team get in that situation again. If I have to have hard conversations, I will because I don’t want to go back there.”

And that’s the point: being ahead is the secret to an energized, high performing team. It’s how you create space to take a Friday afternoon at the lake, to work without stress, to enjoy the job. Waiting for information, for drawings, for “the right time” feels comfortable in the moment but trades short-term ease for long-term misery.

On mega projects, this principle is even more critical. A billion dollar project is never just one project it’s a collection of smaller ones that each need their own plan, team, and rhythm. Without that structure, teams burn out fast.

The formula is simple:
Ahead = Fun. Behind = Misery.
If you want to protect your team, their morale, and your results, fight to stay ahead.

Key Takeaway

A fun, high-performing project team isn’t an accident it’s the result of relentless planning, decisive action, and staying ahead. Fall behind, and morale collapses; stay ahead, and the work becomes both productive and enjoyable.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

First Planner System™️- 7 – The Production Plan

Posted on August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 8 min

Mastering the Production Plan in the First Planner System

In this blog, we’re diving into one of the most critical parts of Elevating Pre-construction Planning, the Production Plan.

This is where your lean project vision becomes an actionable, visual roadmap. If your team, trades, and supply chain aren’t aligned to a production rhythm, you’ll end up with chaos instead of flow.

The production plan is the backbone of the First Planner System. It’s more than a schedule, it’s the design of a living, breathing production system that aligns every moving part of your project from design through delivery.

Why a Production Plan Matters

Once you’ve built a strong, balanced leadership team with the capacity to implement lean, your next step is to make a production plan, align trades to it, and clear the path for flow.

Here’s the core difference:

A schedule is just a prediction of what should happen.
A production system transforms inputs into reality and determines what will actually happen and when.

A proper production plan answers these key questions:

Do crews have the people, materials, tools, equipment, permissions, and information they need exactly when and where they need them?
Are all supporting systems, design, fabrication, delivery, and hoisting aligned with the same rhythm?

When the answer is “yes,” you achieve production flow.

The Three Design Principles from Built to Fail

Todd Zebel’s Built to Fail offers three lessons that every planner should adopt:

Design a production system, not a schedule: Schedulers alone can’t connect the plan to field reality.
Control work in progress (WIP): Too much WIP will lengthen cycle times and delay your project.
Adding people won’t always make things faster: Focus on flow and coordination, not headcount.

And above all, remember: administration doesn’t build the project, crews in the field do.

Key Tools in Your Project Production Plan

A strong production plan integrates multiple planning layers, each serving a specific purpose:

Macro-Level Takt Plan (Master Plan)
- Simulates the entire project based on available resources.
- Sets milestones, intermediate targets, and procurement alignment.
- Establishes the “big picture” rhythm.
Norm-Level Takt Plan
- Pull plans one phase and one zone at a time.
- Copies flow across all zones for that phase.
- Builds in buffers to protect the schedule.
Six-Week Look-Ahead (Make Ready) Plan
- Removes roadblocks early.
- Aligns supply chains and specific dates to the plan.
Weekly Work Plan
- Fine-tunes coordination with trades.
- Locks commitments for the week ahead.
Day Plans
- Details the next day’s work for precise execution.
Crew Plans
- Defines exactly what each crew needs to complete their work package in their zone on time.
Team Scrum Board
- Tracks roadblocks, constraints, and tasks.
- Keeps leadership focused on supporting field flow.

The Takt Production System Advantage

The Takt Production System integrates:

Takt (flow by time and location)
Last Planner System (collaboration and commitment planning)
Scrum (team alignment and task management)

This hybrid ensures:

Phases are sequenced correctly.
Buffers are built into the plan.
Crews work at a sustainable pace.

KPIs That Keep Your Plan Honest

Tracking only PPC (Percent Plan Complete) gives you a narrow view. Add these to your dashboard:

Perfect Handoff Percentage: Are crews starting work with everything they need?
Remaining Buffer Ratio: Are you burning through your buffers too quickly?
Roadblock Removal Average: How fast are constraints being cleared?

Reflection: Is Your Plan Production-Ready?

Ask yourself:

Do you have a macro-level takt plan with milestones?
Is your norm-level takt plan optimized for zones and takt time?
Are you planning every phase?
Do you use six-week look-aheads to make work ready?
Are you collaborating with trades on weekly work plans?
Are you day planning with trades?
Do you understand the takt system well enough to implement it?
Are you controlling WIP to maintain flow?

If your average score on these is below 80%, your production system needs work before you break ground.

Key Takeaway

A production plan isn’t just a schedule, it’s the rhythm that keeps your crews, trades, and supply chain in sync. Without it, you’re flying blind. With it, you have a roadmap for predictable, efficient, and profitable delivery.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

First Planner System™️- 8 – Lean in Contracts

Posted on August 13, 2025August 13, 2025 by Danny Jiménez⁩

Read 8 min

Lean in Contracts: The Foundation for a Smooth-Running Project

In this blog, we’re continuing our journey through Elevating Preconstruction Planning by focusing on one critical and often overlooked, element: Lean in Contracts.

Lean planning transforms your project into a coordinated production system. But here’s the catch: if you want that system to work, your trade partners must know the rules of the game before they join the team. That means your lean expectations must be baked into their contracts.

When this is done well, you create alignment, reduce friction, and set the stage for smooth collaboration. When it’s skipped, you leave yourself open to misunderstandings, resistance, and even formal disputes.

Why Lean Belongs in Contracts

You can have the most well-thought-out takt plan in the world, but if your trade partners haven’t agreed to the practices that support it, you’ll struggle to execute.

By outlining lean requirements up front, you:

Establish clear expectations that everyone signs off on.
Protect the project from scope disputes and costly change orders.
Show respect for your trades by giving them the tools, training, and awareness they need to succeed.

Some in the lean community argue that contracts aren’t necessary for lean implementation, that culture and cooperation are enough. I strongly disagree. Culture matters, but so does clarity. Contracts lock in that clarity.

Key Lean Provisions to Include in Contracts

Here’s a breakdown of practical inclusions that keep projects lean, safe, and predictable:

1. Cleanliness as a Habit

Clean-as-you-go, not clean-at-the-end. Crews keep their work areas swept and organized at all times to support safety and productivity. Workers are trained to avoid letting debris hit the floor in the first place.

2. Just-in-Time Deliveries

Deliveries are coordinated to the right inventory buffer, no more, no less. This avoids overcrowded laydown areas and reduces wasted motion while ensuring materials are available when needed.

3. Worker and Foreman Huddles

Mandatory daily huddles to review safety, plan the day’s work, and align teams. Foremen attend a dedicated daily huddle to coordinate upcoming work.

4. Daily Setup

The first 25 minutes of each shift are for preparing the work area, reviewing quality and safety requirements, and organizing tools and materials.

5. Quality Control Checklists

Before starting any phase, trades review a QC checklist or visual quality board to confirm readiness.

6. Technology Requirements

Foremen must have tablets to access schedules, plans, and project management software in real time.

7. Zero Tolerance Systems

A respectful, caring zero tolerance policy for unsafe or disrespectful behavior, consistent with the safety program.

8. Approved Foremen

All foremen must meet project standards and be approved by the on-site leadership team before starting work.

9. Geographic Area Assignments

The site is divided into zones, each managed by a superintendent and field engineer. Trades must provide a foreman for each active area.

10. Contractor Grading

Weekly performance scores are shared with owners, trade leaders, and internal teams. Grades are based on objective criteria and posted publicly.

11. OSHA Training Standards

All workers must have OSHA 10 certification; all foremen must have OSHA 30. If an OSHA 10-trained crew is on site, an OSHA 30 foreman must be present at all times.

12. Delivery Scheduling Discipline

Material deliveries are booked in advance on the delivery board or software. Late or out-of-sequence deliveries are rerouted to a queuing area.

13. Takt Construction Commitment

All contractors participate in pull planning, follow the takt production system, and work within their designated zones and takt times.

Respect Through Clarity

Including these provisions isn’t about micromanaging. It’s about creating the circumstances where lean systems can actually thrive. Without contractual backing, you risk trades being caught off guard or worse, requesting additional compensation for time spent in huddles, pull planning sessions, or other lean activities.

When you put it in writing, you’re showing respect for everyone’s time and setting the stage for a project where expectations are shared, agreed upon, and achievable.

Reflection: Are Your Contracts Lean-Ready?

Ask yourself:

Do you have a list of required lean provisions for trade contracts?
Are these provisions already included in your master subcontract agreement or work orders?
Are you onboarding trades collaboratively during buyout so they understand what’s expected?

If your score on these questions is below 80%, now’s the time to make changes before the next project starts.

Key Takeaway

Lean systems succeed when expectations are contractual, clear, and agreed upon so trades can fully commit without surprises or disputes.

If you want to learn more we have:

Discover Jason’s Expertise:

On we go

Building a Project Team That Actually Performs

Why Planning Alone Won’t Save You

The Three Non-Negotiables for a High-Performing Project Team

1. A Multiplier Leader

2. A Cohesive Team

3. A Strenuous Performance Goal

Multipliers vs. Diminishers

The Reflection

Key Takeaway

Balancing the Project Team for Long-Term Success

Three Key Metrics for Evaluating Balance

1. People & Positions

2. Personal Organization & Schedule

3. Project Conditions

The Monthly Team Scorecard

The Reflection

Key Takeaway

Balancing the Individual for a Stronger Team

The Four Pillars of Individual Balance

1. Mindset

2. Aspirations

3. Capability & Capacity

4. Personal Organization Systems

The Reflection Test

Key Takeaway

Mastering the Production Plan in the First Planner System

Why a Production Plan Matters

The Three Design Principles from Built to Fail

Key Tools in Your Project Production Plan

The Takt Production System Advantage

KPIs That Keep Your Plan Honest

Reflection: Is Your Plan Production-Ready?

Key Takeaway

Lean in Contracts: The Foundation for a Smooth-Running Project

Why Lean Belongs in Contracts

Key Lean Provisions to Include in Contracts

1. Cleanliness as a Habit

2. Just-in-Time Deliveries

3. Worker and Foreman Huddles

4. Daily Setup

5. Quality Control Checklists

6. Technology Requirements

7. Zero Tolerance Systems

8. Approved Foremen

9. Geographic Area Assignments

10. Contractor Grading

11. OSHA Training Standards

12. Delivery Scheduling Discipline

13. Takt Construction Commitment

Respect Through Clarity

Reflection: Are Your Contracts Lean-Ready?

Key Takeaway

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faq

General Training Overview

Superintendent / PM Boot Camp

Takt Production System® Virtual Training

Onsite Takt Simulation

Foreman & Field Engineer Training

Testimonials

Testimonials

agenda

Day 1

Foundations & Macro Planning

day2

Norm Planning & Flow Optimization

day3

Advanced Tools & Comparisons

day4

Buffers, Controls & Finalization

day5

Control Systems & Presentations

faq

UNDERSTANDING THE TRAINING

VALUE AND RESULTS