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Labor Productivity Principles

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 37 min

Stop Slowing Down Your Labor Productivity: Why More Workers Makes You Slower

Jason is really excited about this podcast. He teaches this a lot and he’s been able to give the case studies and some of the graphs now to people he’s taught. He wants to give full credit to the Scrum course from Scrum Inc. The Scrum course that Felipe Engineer does for a lot of this information. This is where he first received this.

Jason really likes Scrum and the system because it anchors us back to true scheduling and builder techniques. If you haven’t done the Scrum course from Felipe Engineer, please go do so. Jason didn’t fully understand scheduling until he learned about Scrum.

The question is: are you slowing down your labor productivity? Because if you are, we need to stop and we need to help each other and learn from each other and get this fixed. Here’s some conflict. You are hurting your labor productivity and you need to stop.

The Dice Game That Proves Variation Kills Productivity

If you’ve ever played the simulation Parade of Trades, you know that there’s an opportunity to roll ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes on your die. When you play this game, you use a die. Whatever you get on your roll is your capacity, your manpower. You get to move, whether you’re playing Parade of Trades or the Elevate Construction or Lean Takt invention called Takt Towers. Whatever you roll is how much work you get to complete based on how much work is available.

There are different scenarios where you have different dice. One dice might say one, two, three, four, five, six. The other one might be three, three, three, four, four, four. The other one might be one, two, two, three, three, six. It might be one, one, two, five, six, six. Let’s take the most realistic one: one, two, three, four, five, six. When you roll that, sometimes you get sixes and sometimes you get ones. And the variability, the variation in that system makes teams go slower.

When you play the simulation, you go through the exercise and everybody’s able to reflect: oh my gosh, the dice where it was three, three, three, four, four, four, they finished at $17 million. And the one, two, three, four, five, six finished at like $26 million. The differences were the increase in labor. The one, two, three, four, five, six had 380 units of labor. The three, three, three, four, four, four had like 286 units of labor. So it was a lot less. And the inventory levels are similar.

What we are able to reflect on is that when we have more variation in the speed that everybody’s going, the more manpower and materials you have, which means the longer the project takes and the more it costs. So then you compare it to the overall cost. The three, three, three, four, four, four, like Jason said, that’s $17 million. The one, two, three, four, five, six, that’s like $24 million. And then the time: the three, three, three, four, four, four, you finished in 19 weeks. The one, two, three, four, five, six finished in 21 or 23 weeks. It was longer and it costs more money.

So then you think about this correlation and what it means to us. What it means is we have to get everybody working at the same speed at the same distance apart. Flow and the creation of flow, even if you’re going at a medium speed, will always finish the project faster and will always be the least cost because you have right sized inventory levels, material inventory levels, and you have right sized manpower.

Pushing vs. Building Capacity: Two Opposite Approaches

Jason loves that analogy. Secondly, when they went over to meet with Marco and Janusz with Tachting in Germany, they played these Takt simulations, the best one in the world in his opinion. When there was a lot of dependency and a lack of flow, there were certain behaviors that humans engaged in. When there was flow, there were certain behaviors they engaged in.

There’s a book called The Bottleneck Rules and Jason really enjoys that book. What it talks about is creating capacity versus pushing. If you think about a bottle, a hot sauce bottle like Tapatio, if you think about a bottle with a small bottleneck, there’s two things you can do. You can push harder behind the bottleneck, which will create more pressure and more dependency. Or you can increase the bottleneck. You can widen the actual bottleneck.

In construction, so many times we just start pushing through that bottleneck instead of creating capacity. Jason created two scenarios reflecting on this. A project engineer called him the other night and was asking advice. He said “Hey, the team that I’m working with, they have an hour long scheduling meeting where nine people meet every day. We’re nine weeks away from the end. All they do is talk about the schedule and update the CPM. And they’re all running frantic. How do I survive in this environment?”

Jason said “Okay, you as a project engineer, you’re probably supposed to be focusing on materials, punch list, quality installation. You focus on your role and doing your role really well. Don’t start running around, freaking out, acting busy like everybody else does when things like that happen. Create capacity.” That got Jason’s mind visualizing these two scenarios.

The first scenario, which is what the industry does, is pushing. This is where you roll ones and sixes. You do this by:

  • Throwing manpower at the problem or the project
  • Throwing money at the problem or the project
  • Throwing materials at the problem or the project
  • Making workers work too fast and too long
  • Working with unsafe and unclean conditions
  • Working with too much dependency
  • Working with not enough time
  • Having too large or too small batch sizes
  • Having an improper sequence and moving start dates up without preparation
  • Running around and looking frantic and busy just because you want to show your boss you care

This is what pushing looks like. Excess manpower slows you down. Excess money slows you down most of the time. Excess material slows you down. Making workers work too fast slows you down. Working with unsafe and unclean conditions slows you down. Working with too much dependency, meaning you’re not getting everybody working at the right distance apart at the same speed, that’ll slow you down. Having not enough time in the schedule will freak everybody out and have them start pushing so it will slow you down. Having too large or too small of batch sizes which creates dependency will slow you down. Having the improper sequence. This is what most people do to attempt to improve their project conditions and it just won’t do it.

Now on the build capacity side, rolling threes or threes and fours, this is what you would do:

  • Focus on removing roadblocks
  • Installing it right the first time
  • Aligning procurement so that procurement can be there on time
  • Keeping a consistent rhythm and beat
  • Keeping the project clean, safe, and organized
  • Improving team health and stability
  • Taking more time to prepare and make work ready

On the pushing side, we’re always just trying to move people forward without preparation. On the build capacity side, we’re keeping things on a rhythm and taking the time to prepare so we can build it right the first time. You can be on the build capacity side or you can be on the pushing side. Jason really likes this visual.

Why Agile Projects Have 42% Success vs. 26% for Traditional

The reason Jason opens with this is because throwing excess manpower and materials at a problem or a project rarely helps. And it’s the first thing that people do. In construction when somebody’s like “Oh, we got to focus on production, we got to go faster, we’ve got to recover this project,” it’s like because all they have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. They start throwing these additional resources at the problem and it just takes longer and slows things down.

Let’s talk about some data. This is from Jim Johnson from the Standish Group Chaos Report 2018. On average, Agile projects have a 42% success rate compared to only 26% for traditional projects from 2013 to 2017. When you look at the shakeup, the success rate for traditional projects is very low. We’re talking about 74% not successful. 21% are absolute failed projects. 53% are challenged and finished behind schedule and stretched the team.

When you start to involve true Scrum, when you start to involve true lean principles, pull, Takt time, then you’re increasing your percentages at a minimum by another 26%. If the whole industry right now just listened to the advice that the industry has, let alone advanced Takt planning, let alone advanced lean concepts, let alone the book This is Lean from Nicholas Modig, we could have a success rate of at least 42% and only have 50% projects have difficulty and only 8% projects fail.

You might not think that that additional roughly 25% is a big deal, but Jason does. Then you add in Takt time, you add Takt time planning, concepts like This is Lean, true Scrum, Last Planner done right, and your percentages are going to skyrocket through the roof.

Team Consistency Matters More Than Team Size

When we look at the impact of adding manpower versus just keeping level manpower levels and level material inventory levels, when we talk about the amount of tasks that are able to be complete basically on time, on a scale of zero to 80, five different scenarios show the amount of tasks that can be completed by different teams depending on the consistency of their manpower levels or their team composition varies greatly.

When less than 50% of the team is consistent, they only get 38 tasks done on average. When 50 to 70% of the team composition or manpower composition is consistent, they can get around 48 tasks done on average. When 70 to 85% of that team composition or manpower is consistent, then you’re somewhere around 58. 85 to 90% consistent, then you’re up to like 70 tasks. When it’s above or equal to 95%, then you’re at around 75 tasks on average that can be done. That’s going from 38 tasks to 75 tasks on average. You want more tasks completed in a time duration. What you need to do is keep your team composition or your manpower fairly consistent.

So that’s one principle: you don’t want organizational or socialized debt or crew debt, which is when you have to onboard someone, do additional training, get people accustomed to cultural norms, team norms, politics, gaining trust. When you create variation in team composition, you have to do all those things. You have to onboard, train, get people used to cultural norms, absorb them, make sure that trust is gained, go through the five behaviors of a team.

Brooks’s Law: Adding People Makes Projects Take Longer

There’s something else called Brooks’s Law, which says that when you take manpower levels above what’s needed, so you’re in the excess zone, then the return on investment diminishes and the project will slow down. That’s especially true at the end of the project and it costs more money. When you look at team sizes, you have to consider that as team sizes increase, then the costs increase as well.

For instance, when you look at the productivity or the return on investment, what you earn versus what you spend: If you have a team size of two, the time it takes to complete a task might be somewhere around 12 months, then your cost is going to be pretty low. Team size of four, you might get your project done in maybe 10 months and your cost is still fairly low. Team size of six, your time is actually somewhere around nine to eight months and your cost is fairly reasonable and your choice is productive from a time standpoint in comparison to your cost.

Now you go into a team size of 10 and it’s going to take like 17, 16, 17 months and your costs have doubled. You get into a team size of 17 and it’s going to take something like around the same time, 16, 17 months, and now your costs have quadrupled and now your costs have exceeded the amount of time or the return on investment for the time it took you to complete that task.

My point is: two, four, six, 10, 17. Two took 13 or 14 months. Four took 10, 11, 12. Six took nine or 10. Ten people on the team took 16 or 17. Seventeen people took 16 or 17.

But when you look at two, four, six, 10, and 17 on a team size, when you’re talking about costs: two is low, four is low, six is about the average. When you go from six to 10, you double your cost. When you go from 10 to 17, you double your cost again, which quadruples it from the original ideal team size, which is around four to six people. Brooks’s Law says that as you add people, excess people to a team, it will take more time and it will cost more. The source is from a study of 491 projects at www.qsm.com/process.

Context Switching and Communication Saturation

The other one is context switching. When you have more teams who are onboarding and doing training and absorbing and adapting to cultural norms, team norms, politics, and gaining trust in team behaviors, it might take that worker a week to get through that process. The context switching from going to what they were doing to this new team is astronomical.

It might take a human being to adapt into a new environment and cultural norm four to seven days. It might take a crew a half day or a day or a day and a half to reorient to a new task. And at a minimum it takes you 15 to 30 to 45 minutes to change your focus within context switching. Know that anytime you take a consistent team with a consistent focus out of their focus and flow, there’s context switching.

The other thing is the deteriorating team communication or what’s called communication saturation. If you have three people on a team, there’s three communication pathways. Four people on a team, there’s six communication pathways. Five people on the team, there’s 10 direct communication pathways. Six people on the team, there’s 15 direct communication pathways.

As you add more people to the team, you are actually increasing the complexity of communication and it slows you down and makes you lose productivity. The last one Jason wants to talk about is when you have multiple projects and you’re not able to focus. This is from Gerald M. Weinberg, 1992, Quality Software Management Systems Thinking.

When you have multiple simultaneous projects because you have larger crew sizes and more people on those crews, then your productivity diminishes. If you have one project, you might be at 100% efficiency or focus time. When you have two projects, you’re down to 80%, which means there’s 20% waste. Three projects, you’re down to 20% for each project, 60%, which means 40% is waste. Four projects, you’re at 10% capacity for all four at 40% with 60% waste. When you have five projects, you’re able to be 5% focused on each project, which means you’re down to 75% waste.

The bottom line here is for labor: when you add excess labor and materials, you slow down because you have to keep team size consistent to reduce crew and organizational debt, focus on one piece or one process flow, maintain a proper ratio of time to cost versus team size, reduce the complexity of communication among teams, focus and stay in a consistent flow and not lose the productivity that comes from simultaneous projects, avoid the need for overtime which after four to nine weeks can exponentially slow you down, and allow crews to be 100% productive.

One more time: keep crews consistent, make sure you have the right team size, reduce the complexity of communication, reduce organizational team or crew debt, increase your focus by keeping the right project focus, reduce overtime, and reduce the effects of Brooks’s Law which says that as you add manpower you will slow down your productivity in your project, especially at the latter part of the project.

Let’s build capacity and consistency and stop pushing and throwing manpower, throwing money at it, throwing materials at it, making workers work too fast, workers work on unsafe and unclean conditions with too much dependency, not enough time with too large or too small of batch sizes in an improper sequence. That’s the principle and what Jason’s asking everybody to do is to move over into the create capacity side and understand labor productivity in its truest form.

Jason’s not saying he knows everything. He’s just saying as he’s learning these things, he’s realizing that in the construction industry, there are things like Nicholas Modig talks about flow efficiency and resource efficiency. There are the labor productivity principles we learned from Scrum. There are the production laws we learned from manufacturing. Why didn’t we know these 20 years ago? Why didn’t somebody bring them up 25 years ago? Why didn’t somebody teach him 15 years ago? This is ridiculous.

These are true principles. Jason can testify that they’re true. Our current condition is we’re not using them. His challenge to you is let’s use them and let’s share them so that the next generation of construction workers and builders and leaders do not have to go through the same struggle that we had to go through where we’re like “Yeah, let’s increase production. Let’s do this. Let’s go faster” and just not knowing anyway, shape or form how to do it. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

FAQ

Q: Why does adding more workers to a project make it slower?

Brooks’s Law says that as you add excess people to a team, it will take more time and cost more. Study of 491 projects shows: team size of six takes 9 months at reasonable cost. Team size of 10 takes 17 months and costs double. Team size of 17 takes 17 months and costs quadruple. When you add more people you increase communication complexity (6 people = 15 communication pathways), create crew debt from onboarding and training, cause context switching that takes 4 to 7 days to adapt, and lose focus across multiple simultaneous projects.

Q: What’s the difference between pushing and building capacity?

Pushing is throwing manpower, money, materials at the problem, making workers work too fast and too long, working unsafe and unclean, too much dependency, not enough time, wrong batch sizes, improper sequence, moving start dates up without preparation, running around looking frantic. Building capacity is focusing on removing roadblocks, installing right the first time, aligning procurement, keeping consistent rhythm and beat, keeping project clean safe organized, improving team health and stability, taking more time to prepare and make work ready. On pushing side you’re moving people forward without preparation. On build capacity side you’re keeping things on rhythm and taking time to prepare to build it right the first time.

Q: How does team consistency affect productivity?

When less than 50% of the team is consistent, they only get 38 tasks done on average. When 95% or more of the team is consistent, they get 75 tasks done on average. That’s going from 38 tasks to 75 tasks just by keeping team composition consistent. When you create variation in team composition you have to onboard, train, get people used to cultural norms, absorb them, gain trust, go through the five behaviors of a team. This organizational or crew debt slows you down dramatically.

Q: What does the dice game teach about variation and flow?

The dice that rolls one, two, three, four, five, six (high variation) finished at $26 million with 380 units of labor in 23 weeks. The dice that rolls three, three, three, four, four, four (low variation, consistent flow) finished at $17 million with 286 units of labor in 19 weeks. When you have more variation in the speed everybody’s going, the more manpower and materials you have, which means the longer the project takes and more it costs. Flow at medium speed always finishes faster and costs least because you have right sized inventory levels and right sized manpower.

Q: Why do Agile projects succeed more than traditional projects?

From 2013 to 2017, Agile projects had 42% success rate compared to only 26% for traditional projects. Traditional projects: 74% not successful, 21% absolute failures, 53% challenged and finished behind schedule. When you involve true Scrum, lean principles, pull, Takt time, you increase percentages minimum 26%. Add Takt planning, This is Lean concepts, true Scrum, Last Planner done right and percentages skyrocket. You could have 42% success, 50% with difficulty, only 8% failures instead of current state.

On we go.

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-Takt Virtual Training: (Click here)
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-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

JUST IN TIME is NOT the Problem!!!

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 35 min

Stop Blaming Just-In-Time: You’re the Problem and Here’s Why

Jason keeps hearing people over and over and over blaming just-in-time deliveries for a supply chain system and an economy of scarcity right now because of COVID-19 that’s actually gone into a spiral because of overproduction and because of batching and because of non-lean behaviors. He’s tired of hearing about it and he’s going to do a podcast right now.

But first, a Norwegian professional, a lean expert and owner on the owner side, sent him something he really appreciates. It’s called the Seven Conditions for a Sound Activity. All seven conditions must be fulfilled before starting in a new control area. This ensures the most efficient start of any activity. This is going in the lean Takt book called Takt Planning and Integrated Control.

Here are the seven conditions:

  • Prior activities are completely finished and have the required quality. The next activity entering an area first verifies the readiness together with site management and the activity exiting the area.
  • Construction design and information: drawings, foundations, BIM models, and other required information is available. It safeguards quality, health, and safety. Construction design is at the right level of development.
  • Materials and components are of the right quantity and amount at the right place at the right time. Workers have checked that materials and components fulfill requested descriptions.
  • Workers have the right knowledge and capacity. They have fully understood the tasks to be performed. Necessary changes have been considered in advance.
  • Equipment needed to perform the task is available. Equipment is appropriate, safe, and tested. Protection gear is available and cleaning equipment is easily available.
  • Workspace and safety: ensure workspace and area around are tidy and prepared. Safe job analysis or job hazard analysis or pretask plans have been huddled and implemented.
  • External conditions: approvals and permissions are given. This includes measures to counteract weather conditions.

Jason really loves this. They’re going to put this in the next version of their Takt book. If you have concepts that relate to Takt, flow, pull, lean that you feel like should be in the third revision of their Takt book, please send it their way. Those are the seven conditions of a sound activity. Jason figured he would put this in as a preface because it heads into the just-in-time deliveries portion of the podcast really nicely.

The Root Cause: You’re Freaking Out and Making It Worse

Jason is excited about the need for the industry to become truly lean. He kind of thinks that this whole supply chain crisis and our economy of scarcity is a good thing. If you think about it, Japan didn’t go through much different of a circumstance. It was probably worse than what we’re going through right now. The difference is how they responded versus how we’re responding.

They have a respect for people and for resources and they’ve created stability and flow. And we’re just freaking out. We’re like “Oh, COVID-19. Let’s all freak out and run screaming naked into the woods.” Jason is excited about the need for the industry to become truly lean because now we’re being forced to. Unless we make it worse.

Let’s get into the conflict. You are blaming just-in-time falsely. You are the problem. You need to stop. Let Jason tell you a quick story. Everywhere he goes now somebody’s like “Oh Jason, you’re teaching us about just-in-time deliveries or teaching us about flow, but man, this just-in-time thing is crap. I can’t get anything.” Let Jason call BS or bullshit on that. That’s not the problem.

The problem is we’re in a worldwide pandemic and people are at home and we’ve interrupted the flow of materials and supply throughout the world. Our supply chains have gone into chaos. Now by going home and realizing that socialist governments will simply pay people to not do anything and to be too reserved about being out and about and serving the world with their services, they’re staying home. Also people are quitting their jobs in droves. There are a lot of people that are still on unemployment and there are a lot of people that are still not working intentionally, even though they could.

That’s mostly the problem. We have a resource problem. We have a manpower problem. We have a worker shortage. Root caused in a pandemic, a disease, and social systems that are encouraging people to stay home. That’s the root cause. Now we are making it worse and Jason will tell you why.

What Just-In-Time Actually Means

First of all, let’s talk about what just-in-time is. Jason’s got the book open here. This is Lean by Nicolas Modig. The first principle in flow and flow efficiency is just-in-time and it’s about creating flow. Imagine a football match. Flow is when the team passes the ball from one end of the pitch to the other and finally kicks the ball into the opponent’s goal. The ball is moving all the time. All the players help to find the perfect path for the ball. The ball flows across the pitch and into the goal.

In principle, scoring a goal in football is the same as delivering exactly what the customer wants when the customer wants it and in the quantity that the customer wants. Customer service is about scoring a goal. Then you tie in the Jidoka principle. Jidoka is the other side of the same coin. It complements just-in-time. Jidoka is a somewhat abstract principle. But let Jason ask a question that will hopefully help you grasp it: what underlying conditions must exist in order for a football team to score a lot of goals?

First of all, you have to see the pitch, the ball, and the goal. See all players on the pitch. See the score. See how much playing time is left. Hear the whistle. Hear their team members and the crowd. Can every player see and hear and be aware of everything that is happening all the time based on this clear picture so that they can make decisions about how together they can score a goal? So really just-in-time is about flow.

Jason looked it up and there are a lot of different definitions of just-in-time, but the basics are Takt time, flow production, and pull systems in that order. So when people are bad-mouthing just-in-time, you’re bad-mouthing flow.

Just-In-Time Is Not “Order It When You Need It Right Now”

Let’s talk about just-in-time as it relates to just materials. As just-in-time relates to materials, it’s taking the required on job date according to your Takt time, the buffer that should be ahead of it. And this is what everybody forgets. The buffer is the amount of materials that you are storing ahead of the job or on the job within a certain time range so that workers are not waiting on materials but so that you don’t have too much materials on site to where you’re tripping over them and causing the eight wastes or the seven wastes.

Once you have that buffer, it’s the management and the checking in on the supply chain ahead of that buffer. There are certain points of release that you have to check on. Making sure that you as a project team are using your procurement tracking methods, your procurement log, to ensure the success of those points of release. And that you’re utilizing supermarkets, which means you’re able to bring in materials into supermarkets, a stage location outside of the work, where you’re able to pull from those supermarkets, pull from those inventory buffers at the right time at the right quantities to supply work.

Some people in the industry falsely think just-in-time is you order something and you deliver it to where it arrives on the job site just right when you need it. Hell no, that’s not what just-in-time means. Just-in-time means what’s the required on job date? What is the current buffer that the industry, the market, the supply chains necessitate? What are the supply chain points of release and are we using supermarkets?

Everybody right now that’s complaining about just-in-time deliveries, they’re not doing any of these things. They don’t have a Takt plan to know when the crap is required on the job. They haven’t planned and researched the proper buffers per the current market. They haven’t checked on the supply chain because only 5% of projects that Jason visits anywhere in the world have a procurement log with the right points of release that people are checking on weekly and daily. And hardly anybody’s using supermarkets.

Here’s Jason’s point. We have people complaining about the supply chain and they’re like “Oh my gosh, COVID. Oh my gosh, you can’t get materials. Oh my gosh.” And they don’t have a Takt plan and they don’t have a procurement log. What the hell? Most of this stuff is an unforced error versus a forced error. Most of this stuff is just our stupidity on projects versus an industry condition.

You’re Actually Blaming Batching and Overproduction

Now to make that even worse, why is everybody blaming just-in-time? It’s because they don’t understand it and they’re actually blaming just-in-time for overproduction and batching. When people go out and they’re like “I’m going to order everything right now and I’m going to put it on the job site and I’m going to store it,” that’s batching and that’s overproduction and you’re slowing down the entire production system throughout the world because you’re freaking out and you’re reacting.

Can we prevent this? Jason doesn’t know. Everybody’s in the point of freaking out right now. There are so many dishonest people out there. Maybe we couldn’t have avoided this. But even if we couldn’t have avoided this, Jason wants to tell you exactly why it’s happening.

Why is everybody blaming just-in-time? It’s because they don’t understand it. Actually it’s batching and it’s overproduction that is to blame for this spiral into chaos that we have right now in addition to the pandemic, this disease, our inability as national world governments to respond to this disease, social systems like socialism that are incentivizing people to stay home and receive a check for doing nothing, and workers that won’t come back to work and support an economy in a capitalistic sense where people are incentivized through survival and incentive to actually go out and do work and do their part. We’re being too overly cautious with a disease that is very serious that does kill people. However, we have to keep a world economy going or else more unintended consequences are going to happen.

You take all that and then you add people overproducing and batching. Now we have a worse system. You’re not actually blaming just-in-time. You’re blaming batching and you’re blaming economies of scale and you’re blaming overproduction. When you overproduce something, you now have the waste of excess inventories and motion and transportation. Now you have defects and now you have overprocessing and now you have waiting.

When you overproduce things you have a lot of the other wastes which slows down production, which then slows down these manufacturers’ ability to even produce stuff. Think about this: now you have every contractor in the world once they get a project ordering pipe and ordering curtain wall and ordering roofing and ordering insulation and ordering fasteners all right now without actually considering when they need it.

You have people getting in front of you in line that might not need this stuff for two years. But because they’re putting in batch orders, it’s slowing down the production of the facilities and the supply chains, which then creates excess inventory, which then creates motion, which then creates transportation, which then creates defects, which then creates overprocessing, which then creates waiting because we’re in a frantic, stupid, non-flow situation.

How to Fix It: Level Production Based on Actual Need

Let’s talk about how to fix it. If every vendor, every manufacturing plant, every supplier verified, had a way to magically verify exactly when it was needed everything, then they could level production. Not slow down, level production. And put the orders in the right sequence, in the right order based on need. They would be able to triage these things and actually work in a flow and probably be able to take care of our needs.

But because we have companies, and probably Amazon and Google and Apple and all these companies building these big warehouses ordering everything all the time are the biggest culprits, because we are ordering from batching according to economies of scale and not respecting our other networks and not respecting the supply chain and not respecting each other, then we’re being selfish and we’re causing the ripple in the system.

When you order everything all at once:

  • You’re batching
  • You’re relying on economies of scale which we don’t have anymore
  • You’re overproducing
  • You’re cutting in line ahead of other people that actually need it sooner than you do

And that is what is slowing everything down. Not just-in-time.

If we actually wanted to fix the supply chains, everyone in the world would get their project on a rhythm with a good schedule. They’d throw CPM out the door. They would create a Takt plan with a Takt time. They would all create procurement logs with the right material inventory buffers and they would submit honest and true orders according to what was actual possible for the production system. Everybody would be in the right spot in line working at the same rhythm at the right distance apart. That’s how you would fix this thing.

But in the absence of not being able to fix this thing, we’re just going to have to deal with the consequences of us just not knowing what just-in-time is. Everyone is in a mad rush and that is what is causing the problem.

Blame Yourself, Not Just-In-Time

Jason wants you to know, even though you might have to just go submit your batch order, even though to play this nasty dirty poker game you might have to go trick your suppliers and you might have to try and cut in line because that’s what you need to do to take care of your owner, Jason does want you to know that every time you do that, you are causing the problem.

So the next time that you’re like “Oh my gosh, we can’t get our materials. We can’t get our insulation. We can’t get our fasteners and man, it’s just because I keep submitting these batch orders ahead of when I actually need it because I’m lying to suppliers and disrespecting my competitors,” Jason at least wants you to blame it on the right person.

Even if we can’t get out of it, stop blaming it on just-in-time. Blame it on yourself because you are batching and you’re overproducing and you’re causing the problem. You’re being dishonest and you are essentially lying to people and you’re cutting in line.

Every time you submit that batch order, every time, and you might need to, every time you might need to, Jason’s just saying, he’s not saying don’t do it. If everyone else is playing dirty, you might have to play dirty too. But Jason wants you to sit there and giggle to yourself: “I am a part of the problem. I just submitted a batch order before when I needed it. And I’m encouraging and trying to leverage an economy of scale that doesn’t exist and overproducing and causing waste. And I’m slowing everybody down and cutting in line and disrespecting my competitors. I just did that.”

Giggle to yourself for a minute and then just walk away knowing that you’re the problem and say “I don’t care.” Everything’s fair in love and war, right? Just modify the sentence to say everything’s fair in love and war and construction.

That’s what Jason wants you to do. But under no circumstances, under no circumstances should you blame just-in-time. Just-in-time wasn’t the problem. If everybody had started to share the increased buffer durations with each other but still focus on just-in-time, we would be better off right now than we are.

Jason wants everybody to share this podcast. He wants this podcast to go famous. He wants people to be pissed off at him or he wants people that know what they’re doing to be happy with him and share the message that we have got to stop demonizing just-in-time.

Because we’ve got overproduction and batching over in the corner of this room giggling being like “I just blamed just-in-time. I just pushed my sister down the stairs and blamed it on the dog.” That’s what’s going on right now.

Stop blaming just-in-time. Get educated on what it actually is. When you blame just-in-time you’re blaming flow, you’re blaming Takt, and you’re blaming pull systems, which will actually make you go faster. You’re letting overproduction and you’re letting batching off the hook, which we can’t do if we ever want to get better.

Go do your dishonest ordering of materials, but at least when you do so blame yourself. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

FAQ

Q: What does just-in-time actually mean in construction?

Just-in-time means what’s the required on job date according to your Takt time, the buffer that should be ahead of it (the amount of materials stored ahead of or on the job within a certain time range so workers aren’t waiting but you’re not tripping over excess), management and checking in on the supply chain ahead of that buffer with certain points of release, and utilizing supermarkets (stage locations outside of work where you pull from inventory buffers at the right time and quantities). It’s NOT ordering something to arrive on the job site just right when you need it.

Q: Why are supply chains actually broken right now?

Root cause: pandemic, disease, and social systems encouraging people to stay home. We interrupted the flow of materials and supply throughout the world. People are quitting in droves, still on unemployment, still not working intentionally even though they could. Then we made it worse by overproducing and batching. Every contractor ordering pipe, curtain wall, roofing, insulation, fasteners all right now without considering when they need it. People getting in front of you in line who don’t need stuff for two years but putting in batch orders, slowing down production of facilities and supply chains.

Q: What happens when you batch order and overproduce?

When you overproduce, you create waste of excess inventories, motion, transportation, defects, overprocessing, and waiting. When you overproduce things you have a lot of the other wastes which slows down production, which then slows down manufacturers’ ability to produce stuff. You’re cutting in line ahead of people who actually need it sooner. You’re slowing down the entire production system throughout the world because you’re freaking out and reacting. You’re being dishonest, lying to suppliers, disrespecting competitors.

Q: How would we actually fix supply chains?

Everyone in the world would get their project on a rhythm with a good schedule. Throw CPM out the door. Create a Takt plan with Takt time. All create procurement logs with the right material inventory buffers. Submit honest and true orders according to what was actual possible for the production system. Everybody would be in the right spot in line working at the same rhythm at the right distance apart. Vendors would level production and put orders in the right sequence based on actual need. They could triage and work in flow.

Q: What should I do if I have to batch order to survive?

You might have to play dirty if everyone else is playing dirty. That’s what you need to do to take care of your owner. But at least blame it on the right person. Stop blaming just-in-time. Blame yourself. Sit there and giggle: “I am a part of the problem. I just submitted a batch order. I’m leveraging an economy of scale that doesn’t exist and overproducing and causing waste and slowing everybody down and cutting in line and disrespecting my competitors.” Walk away knowing you’re the problem and say “I don’t care. Everything’s fair in love and war and construction.”

On we go.

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

Healthy Sexual Relationships in Marriage, Feat, Katie Schroeder

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 35 min

Building Families Through Intimacy: Why Construction Leaders Need to Talk About This

Elevate Construction exists to bless families. We protect workers and we’re bringing respect back to workers in construction, supporting and teaching leaders and for the leadership on project sites, for the ultimate purpose of creating stability and respectful environments that protect families.

Essentially, Elevate Construction’s divine purpose is to build families. So why would we talk about things like marriage and intimacy and pornography? Because it builds families. Jason was at a bookstore and he felt inspired from heaven to pick up this book about intimacy and marriage. They’re going to discuss some of these things and really key in on how we can be better at intimacy in marriage, because this really builds families.

Whether you’re religious or not religious or whatever, there are a lot of people that have false concepts, stigmas, aversions, embarrassments when talking about sex and sexual intimacy. People can either go way off the deep end or be overindulgent when they’re younger or completely avoid it their entire childhood.

Parents say no, no, no, no. Then all of a sudden somebody gets married and it’s like yes. And they’re like “Okay, I need a minute. I’m not mentally ready for this.” There’s just a lot of lack of education for people in this realm to prepare them for marriage or relationships. That’s why we’re going to talk about this because sexual frustrations plague many marriages. It’s a problem for at least 50% or more of couples and it’s the leading cause of divorce.

Why You Might Think Everything’s Fine When It’s Not

Katie says the book is actually really interesting because you might think “Well, it’s fine. We have sex all the time, so everything’s fine.” But it’s probably not as fine as you think it is. There’s probably a lot of issues underlying, hidden, or there could be. A lot of people end up in these sexless marriages. Katie thinks sometimes we do get a sex education in school. So nobody’s confused about the mechanics of sex. But the mechanics of intimacy are quite a bit different.

It’s kind of like in construction, everybody talks about increasing production, increasing production. What does that mean? Nobody knows what that means. When we talk about increasing happiness in marriage and improving intimacy, at least Jason will speak for the guys, they have no idea what that means for a woman. Everybody knows the mechanics of sex. Everybody knows about the details and how it all works. But it’s very infrequent that somebody knows exactly the differences between men and women when it comes to these things.

We need to fix this. The other thing is we probably need to get really good paradigms when we’re teaching our children about it. For instance, if you’re super religious and you’re like “No, no, no, no, no,” probably a better message is “Not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet. Go” when you’re married. When it’s “No, no, no, no, no,” there’s a story in the book that was quite sad where a couple just got married, they come back from the reception. His grandfather was like “Where’s your bride? What’s going on?” He was like “Well, we drove separately so nobody would think that something was going on.” He was like “You’re married. It doesn’t matter.”

If we’ve told people that sex is wrong, sex is wrong, sex is wrong, and then all of a sudden on somebody’s wedding night we’re like “Go, feel comfortable with this,” probably not going to happen. The other thing is, if we’re overindulgent or indulgent, or we’re having sex before marriage, is this an indulgent, selfish, fun thing or practicing for a future marriage? Or is it just the mechanics without the connection? Those are the two things we’re working on in the sense that we need couples to be holier and healthier. And we need to teach our children so that they have better marriages.

The Biggest Difference: When Foreplay Actually Starts

What are some of the differences between men and women when it comes to intimacy? Katie says the biggest difference is that for a woman, and it says this in the book, and it’s probably pretty accurate, foreplay starts basically after you just had sex. So all of the events now leading up to the next time you’re going to have sex count as foreplay.

It’s the husband’s or male partner’s behavior. It’s how he treats her, how he connects with her, how he listens to her, little acts of kindness, whatever her love languages. It’s all of these things that build to put her in a space that causes her to want to be intimate with him. For him, foreplay starts right before you’re fixing to get busy. And then after you’ve had sex, then a male is more prone to connect or be softer in his approach or listen or be emotionally available.

The cycle is completely off. They’re completely opposite. Women want to connect to have sex. Men have sex, then they want to connect. So you have to find a way to bridge that gap. That’s probably the biggest thing: understanding that it just starts way, way before for a woman, how she feels about you to get to a spot where she feels comfortable being vulnerable or being intimate.

If It Was Good Once, It Can Be Good Again

The honeymoon period. We’ve all had times in our marriages where this has worked. We’ve all had times in our marriages where we have really focused on the other person and it’s been a beautiful thing. Then maybe we get a little bit unfocused and things head in a bad direction. Katie’s point was: if it was good once, it can be good again. If one person has done it on the earth, you can do it. We’ve set an example. So there’s hope to come back to that.

Jason would say from a vulnerable standpoint, and this is not criticism for Katie, but probably the topic of intimacy has been Katie’s personal nightmare for 18 years. That’s accurate. Same for Jason because his cycle is like every two days and her cycle is like once every two weeks or every two weeks. It’s off. For Jason, because he’s a dirtbag, it’s caused contention. He’s been withdrawn, pouty, a number of things. Katie’s just had to kind of partner up with him and be super considerate. And sometimes that causes an aversion.

Why is it that somebody who is on a different, maybe slower cycle can develop an aversion? By the way, it’s a myth that it’s always the girl who wants it less. Sometimes it’s in a different direction. But why, Katie, can someone develop an aversion? “I think it just starts with that feeling like you’re obligated to have sex with somebody because you’re married to them and you don’t want them to go somewhere else. So you have all these reasons why you should have sex with them or you feel like you should have sex with them. And that you don’t want to and you resent that you have to and then that resentment can build and cause an aversion to where it’s physically repulsive to have sex with someone who you love.”

If you’re not in the mood, then it’s a bad mental state mixed with a physical action. Tony Robbins says if you want to change anything, think a happy thought and then clap or jump or do some kind of movement and it anchors it into your body. You associate, you program neurologically your mind by mixing emotions and actions. If you always have a negative emotion with the action of sex, then you’re going to neurologically program yourself into an aversion. The point is you can get back to that honeymoon phase.

The Honeymoon Phase: Working Through the Grief

Katie wants to talk about the honeymoon phase because that was really beneficial to her to understand. Biologically speaking, our minds kind of trick us into this very chemical love. That’s when you just want to do anything for your spouse or the person you’re dating. You kind of have blinders on. You don’t really see the whole picture.

Then after you’re married, it could be a couple of years where you start to be like “Who the hell am I married to? Who is this guy or girl or whatever?” You’re no longer being driven by that kind of chemical blindedness that you were before.

What can happen is like a grief process. You have to come to terms with the fact that you’re almost mourning this marriage that you thought you would have or this person that you thought you married because they’re not the same and you feel tricked or you feel trapped. You have to work through almost like the stages of grief for that honeymoon, for that marriage, what you thought your marriage was going to be like.

Katie remembers feeling like “Who is this guy? He was not like this when we dated or he was super nice because Jason has a hard time sometimes being super nice.” She felt like “This is not the person that I married” and she’s sure he felt the same way.

She wishes she’d learned a long time ago that that’s a process you can kind of work through and then come out on the other side more committed to the work that it takes now to build a marriage that is truly based on not just a chemical attraction or a chemical high, but that you are now more devoted to building this marriage.

A key component of that is building the intimacy. Sexual intimacy has to do with obviously the physical, but it’s also spiritually connected. So a spiritual intimacy and an emotional intimacy. And then you couple that with sexual intimacy. You have to have all three.

Katie would say Jason was not emotionally intimate ever. You’re emotionally intimate. Not really. Like you’re not emotionally there. So the resentment is really the thing. You don’t want to come into any kind of sexual situation where you have resentment. That’s super unhealthy.

You want to do any work that needs to be done so that you’re preventing that “she’s just doing her duty or he’s just doing his duty” situation. You don’t want that in a marriage. That’s the opposite of what you want. That’s the sort of thing that leads to parallel marriage, which is just that roommate situation where you’re doing all the logistical things, you’re checking all of the boxes except for the important stuff: the three intimacies which are crucial to happiness in marriage.

Love Languages: Serving, Not Auditing

When we read books like The Five Love Languages, that’s for you to serve your partner, not to audit your partner and expect something back. Katie always says it’s not her obligation to take care of her spouse’s needs, but if you read a book like The Five Love Languages, that’s so that if you choose to and you have the desire, and you should if you’re married, you have the opportunity to go find out what your spouse’s love languages are and take care of those needs. But never to audit and require it and make somebody feel obligated. That’s when aversions start to happen.

Katie feels like the love languages thing can be weaponized quite easily. You can weaponize that by saying “Well, my love language is physical touch. So if you loved me, you would touch me.” Or “Katie, your love language might be acts of service. So I can’t validate any of those acts of service you’re doing because that’s not my love language.”

For Katie, if Jason was thoughtful, he would have magically read her mind or left the keys hanging so she could take the girls to seminary in the truck. If he was trying to serve her, he would have just left the keys where he knew she would need them rather than seeing that he maybe tried to hug her and that was his way of showing affection.

Sometimes you can misinterpret too. A man maybe does have this physical thing and he wants to hug you when you’re having a hard day and you’re just like “Get off me. Why would I want to be hugged?” And he’s just trying to show you comfort.

It’s not good to say “I’m not going to accept any acts of love if they’re not in my love language.” You’re shutting yourself away from a lot of beautiful things in the world, not just from your spouse, but even your children or whatever. Use all of these tools in the name of connection, not “How can I get what I want?”

Skin Hunger and the Need for Touch

If there’s any disconnect in intimacy, if there’s any disconnect with any of the concepts they’ve talked about, we need to get help. We need to read good books. Reach out to Jason on LinkedIn or email at jasons@elevateconstructionisd.com or call 602-571-8987. He can hook you up with a couple of recommendations. Do the Google research, ask your spouse, get counseling, marriage counseling, because life really, you should have joy. It shouldn’t be a nightmare. It shouldn’t be super horrible. There are ways to figure this out. There’s hope. There’s light at the end of the tunnel.

One last thing. There’s something called skin starvation or skin hunger where human beings, whether they think they do or not, sometimes need touch. Jason was walking out of his shed the other day and he realized just for a minute that he just needs to touch Katie. If they just cuddled or held hands, there’s a lot of times where we solve the need to just touch somebody skin to skin with sex when it might be a handhold or a hug or a cuddle or being near somebody.

The other thing is with our children. Studies show that if our children don’t get hugged and hand-held by their parents in appropriate ways, then they might be suffering from skin starvation, be doing things that might be leading towards the more unnatural or unhealthy or be putting themselves into sexual situations where they otherwise wouldn’t just because their skin is hungry for touch, because that’s a normal human need.

Katie points out that during childhood, kids are picked up and cuddled and tickled and all of those things. Then we start to, maybe it’s American society, but we start to back off of that touch as they go through puberty. It’s like “Oh, your body’s different now. So I’ll give you respect or autonomy.” Then pretty soon nobody’s touching them and they just crave that.

The book said that French or Puerto Ricans at a cafe will touch each other on the arm or whatever. They have contact with each other like 120 times an hour, whereas Americans it’s something like 20 times an hour. We’re just not a touching society anymore.

We can do better. If Jason could encourage anything, it’s that he wishes he would have had this information 18 years ago because literally without any irreverence, it’s not Katie’s fault, the topic of intimacy has been one of the hardest things of anything he’s ever had to deal with. If there was anything that was going to tear apart his marriage, it would be this. This is definitely one of the tops for a lot of people and a lot of couples in addition to finances.

Katie thinks it’s unnecessary to live in a sexless marriage unless there was a medical reason. A guy might be on a two day cycle. A gal might be on a two week cycle or one month cycle. Usually the rule of thumb is about once every week is at least considered healthy, maybe more, maybe a little bit less. But if you’re in a relationship where you’re frustrated and it’s about once every month, every three months, every six months, then maybe there’s an opportunity there.

From Jason’s perspective, we want to build families and raise children in a way that they’re healthy and they can have beautiful, wonderful marriages and live in a happy manner. That’s the purpose of this podcast. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

FAQ

Q: What’s the biggest difference between men and women when it comes to intimacy?

For a woman, foreplay starts basically after you just had sex. All of the events leading up to the next time count as foreplay: how he treats her, connects with her, listens to her, little acts of kindness, whatever her love languages. It’s all of these things that build to put her in a space that causes her to want to be intimate. For him, foreplay starts right before you’re about to have sex. After sex, a male is more prone to connect or be emotionally available. The cycle is completely opposite. Women want to connect to have sex. Men have sex, then they want to connect.

Q: How does someone develop an aversion to intimacy in marriage?

It starts with feeling obligated to have sex because you’re married and you don’t want them to go somewhere else. You have all these reasons why you should have sex with them and you feel like you should but you don’t want to and you resent that you have to. That resentment builds and causes an aversion to where it’s physically repulsive to have sex with someone you love. If you’re not in the mood and it’s a bad mental state mixed with a physical action, you neurologically program yourself into an aversion by mixing negative emotions with the action of sex.

Q: What happens after the honeymoon phase ends?

Biologically, our minds trick us into chemical love where you want to do anything for your spouse and have blinders on. After you’re married, maybe a couple years, you start to be like “Who the hell am I married to?” You’re no longer being driven by that chemical blindedness. What can happen is a grief process. You’re almost mourning this marriage you thought you’d have or this person you thought you married because they’re not the same. You feel tricked or trapped. You have to work through stages of grief for that marriage you thought you’d have, then come out more committed to the work it takes to build a marriage based on devotion, not just chemical attraction.

Q: How should I use The Five Love Languages in my marriage?

Use it to serve your partner, not to audit your partner and expect something back. It’s not your obligation to take care of your spouse’s needs, but if you choose to and have the desire, find out their love languages and take care of those needs. Never audit and require it and make somebody feel obligated. That’s when aversions start. Don’t weaponize it by saying “My love language is physical touch so if you loved me you’d touch me” or “I can’t validate your acts of service because that’s not my love language.” Use all these tools in the name of connection, not “How can I get what I want?”

Q: What is skin hunger and why does it matter?

Skin starvation or skin hunger is when human beings need touch. Sometimes we solve the need to touch somebody skin to skin with sex when it might just be a handhold, hug, cuddle, or being near somebody. Studies show if children don’t get hugged and hand-held by parents in appropriate ways, they might suffer from skin starvation and put themselves into sexual situations they otherwise wouldn’t because their skin is hungry for touch. During childhood kids are cuddled and tickled, then we back off as they go through puberty, then nobody’s touching them and they crave it. We’re not a touching society anymore and we can do better.

On we go.

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

Am I Wounded? Feat, Katie Schroeder

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 32 min

The Story You’re Telling Yourself: Why Wounded Leadership Destroys Construction Teams

Katie Schroeder is on this conquer the world with education and continuous improvement coaching, self-improvement program, really doing a lot of great things. She’s been sharing a lot of things with Jason, and she sent him a feminine and masculine divine identity versus wounded identity or behaviors chart. Jason thought this was too good to not share. Katie can’t remember where she found it, but she’ll think about it as they go. Why did she think it was really cool?

“I think it’s cool because this chart basically lists the feminine characteristics and masculine characteristics and kind of helps us identify when we’re feeling a certain way, or perhaps when our spouse or someone that we’re interacting with is feeling a certain way. We can kind of see where they’re at on the chart and then maybe lead from a more compassionate space. Seeing that maybe they’re just coming from a wounded place.”

Which goes back to Brene Brown’s podcast with Russell Brand where she talked about how everybody is doing their best. When you can recognize that sometimes people are just really deeply wounded, that it’s nothing personal, and maybe there’s even something you can do to help them or at least be compassionate.

When Katie sent it to Jason, he kind of took it as a way to identify where somebody was and not to be so defensive about it. But now he sees that this is a tool to kind of show up in a way where you can connect.

The Divine Feminine vs. The Wounded Feminine

The divine feminine qualities, the best version of the qualities you possess, would be attributes you would find in divine parents. The divine feminine qualities are intuitive, grounded, receptive, reflective, strong with boundaries, empathetic, compassionate, magnetic, supportive, vulnerable, authentic, flows through life effortlessly surrendered, open, trusting, creative.

The characteristics you find in the wounded feminine are insecure, needy, codependent, manipulative, inauthentic, over emotional, victim mentality. When do people go towards their divine nature and when do they show up in the wounded? Why is it important for us to know?

Katie thinks about it for herself. When she feels herself acting in one of these wounded spaces, she’s allowing others to affect her and giving her power away, letting someone else be in control of her emotions. Therefore she shows up in a way that is not her most empowered self.

For Katie, not over emotional, but definitely insecure or manipulative would be traits she relates to and exhibits. While she’s talking, Jason thinks it’s okay to feel these things. It’s okay if you feel insecure and needy or whatever, but it’s nice to know where home is.

Here’s what Jason was thinking: there are people who would define their ideal woman as codependent, really needy. “I want my woman to really need me, you know?” And then on the man side, wounded masculine, this is somebody who’s speaking from a wounded standpoint: aggressive, withdraws, avoids people, competitive. Some of those words would describe what you would call the typical rugged American male.

Where you hear like toxic masculinity, which is an overused buzzword and oversimplified, in all reality there is a form of masculine that is divine, that is your best self, your most empowered masculine self. Or there is when a male is wounded and he comes across in that way.

Why This Matters for Construction Leadership

The reason this was important to Jason, you’re probably wondering why this makes sense to have on a construction podcast. He really wants to do away with as much as possible the concept that superintendents have to be these controlling, aggressive, withdrawn, non-emotional, evasive, non-approachable, competitive, somewhat abusive person. Get away from that towards the divine masculine.

Jason will read them since this is the male part. Our divine nature as masculine humans is deeply present, doesn’t judge, supportive, has discipline, focused, logical, confident, protective, honest, accountable, has integrity, humble, has boundaries, offers stability and security, responsible.

If we can move from the controlling, aggressive, withdrawn, unapproachable, competitive, abusive, somewhat unstable, bipolar image that some superintendents have, well most superintendents quite frankly, and project managers and leaders in construction have, and realize that we’re probably acting in that way because of a woundedness or an abuse or bad circumstances, and realize that we have permission to show up and love and realize we’ve got our light shine, Jason thinks that would really help in creating connection and encouraging collaboration and communication on project sites.

What do we do from here? Now that we know our divine nature is really one of transparency and openness and vulnerability, and it’s not this wounded negative behavior, and we don’t have to stay in that space, what do we do with this information? What would the challenge be for people?

Katie thinks the very basic thing is when we feel like, and nobody wants to be diagnosed. We hate that when someone’s trying to coach us just because they’re getting coached. Katie comes home, she’s going through these coaching programs, and she starts telling Jason coaching stuff, and he immediately chooses to get triggered. “Don’t you coach me.”

The one Jason’s been pushing back on most is when Katie tells him “Well, that’s just a story you’re telling yourself in your head” and he flips out. However, they’re going to talk about it in the second part of this podcast.

Leading With Compassion Instead of Reacting to Wounds

Nobody wants to be diagnosed by their spouse or someone they’re in a relationship with. But Katie thinks if you can, when you see behavior that is from the wounded side of male or female, and obviously each of us has a mix, it’s not just black and white, lead in a way that you’re not just reacting to their behavior and not allowing their woundedness to trigger you. Allow it to trigger something compassionate in you.

If you could see what everyone was going through behind the scenes, maybe somebody’s wife is going to be induced early or it’s stressful, you would automatically feel compassionate. You would give them so much grace and so much love. But we do not walk around with all the labels right on our chest like “Oh, hey, I’m dealing with an eating disorder or I’m dealing with a spouse that’s abusive.”

To close this section down and get into the next one, the words for the wounded feminine are insecure, needy, codependent, manipulative, inauthentic, over emotional, being a victim. We have the opportunity to step out of that space and show up differently, get coaching, get therapy, go to different programs.

Same thing with the masculine for these characteristics. If we’re controlling, aggressive, withdrawn, unapproachable, avoiding interactions with other people, too competitive, abusive, unstable, that means it’s coming from a wounded place and there’s an opportunity for healing. Jason’s purpose on the podcast is let’s not let these things define us or define roles or the image that we have, specifically in construction.

The Story We’re Telling Ourselves

Katie is in a coaching program and the model they teach is that things happen and they’re just circumstances. The circumstance itself is pretty neutral. But what happens is because of our past experiences and our thoughts about ourselves and our thoughts about others, we start to assign meaning to things that didn’t necessarily have that meaning. We kind of build up this little story.

Here’s an example. Jason did a training for some Norwegians last night. So he was working all night. This morning Katie had to take her girls to early morning seminary for church. She went to get the car keys and they weren’t there, the keys to Jason’s truck. They were on the key ring in his office.

Katie’s like “How rude are you to take your keys to your office knowing that I have to take these girls to seminary in the morning and I have to drive the van.” Do you see? She just created this story. When she knows in her heart, he’s just thoughtless. He just wasn’t thinking of her. But she’s turned it into “You’re not considerate. You never think about me. You don’t think about my feelings. You don’t care that I had to drive.” Katie’s cool wife, who’s cooler than Jason, gets to drive this big clunky 15 passenger van because he holds the keys in his office.

Here’s what happens with these stories:

  • Something simple happens and we start to tell ourselves these stories and we get mad and then we pretty soon want to hold them accountable.
  • Katie wants to go to Jason banging on the door while he’s doing his meeting and be like “Why would you take the keys? You’re rude. You’re not a good person, bro.”
  • That’s just the story she’s told herself about these keys when she genuinely knows if she can stop and calm down and come from an empowered space that he really is super thoughtless.
  • He just was walking around with his keys and took them out to his office, which is in the backyard at midnight.

If you can get to that point of clarity, then you can be like no emotions, move on, do the right thing. Which is the same concept they had in Leadership and Self-Deception. If you can go back and get clarity on any situation from a non-emotional standpoint, then you have the opportunity to do the right thing and respond right. That’s a huge thing. And maybe Jason’s too focused on construction, but just in his world, that’s something we really have to get better at. Not only in our relationships, but in our interactions at work.

Katie gives one more example. She told Jason the other day they don’t lock the bedroom door because the lock is broken and he forgot. That’s something applicable across the board. He forgot. She could tell herself he forgot because she’s not important to him or he forgot because he doesn’t care. When in all reality, he just got busy or wasn’t listening. Jason doesn’t even remember this.

In any situation, you can start telling yourself a story. “This behavior means this to me. And now I’m going to react in a way that’s ugly and I shouldn’t react that way.” Katie wants to be somebody that acts and is not acted upon. She always wants to be in charge of her emotions and in control of who she is and how she shows up and not be affected by someone who forgot something or who she thinks maybe didn’t care about her.

The Rats in the Barrel: Why We Pull Each Other Down

Jason totally agrees. He thinks it’s really helpful because you either can find out maybe what the other person’s story is and respond accordingly and then build from there. When it descends into chaos, it’s like “Why did you do this?” “Well, I didn’t do that.” And then it just starts an argument. Nobody’s listening. But if we started to realize that we’re most of the time just telling each other stories and we’re pulling each other down like rats in a barrel.

Jason loves this story. He has no idea if it’s true or not. But a story was told to him that people back in the day would fill up a barrel three quarters of the way full, put some fruit on the top and have a little board tilted up to the top of the barrel. When rats would come in to eat the rotten fruit, there was just a layer of fruit and water underneath. If you got one or more rats in there, as soon as one of them tried to crawl out, the other ones would grab hold and pull them back down.

Essentially, that’s what we’re doing if that story is true. Even if it’s not, it’s a good image. Emotionally, if somebody’s down or in a spot, we’re just pulling down all of the other people who aren’t there. We’re just in a negative spot and negative mentally. The people who are in a good spot, we’re letting people drag us down when we go to their space. Katie brings up the Max Lucado book You Are Special. These little wooden dolls would get little dots on them. The dots basically represented criticism or self-doubt or just little negative things.

Katie also saw a social media post the other day where somebody was rude and then the other person walked away and was really grumpy too. Out of nowhere, a little black ball showed up in their hand and then they passed that rudeness and that little black ball. It just keeps passing to other people. How do we stop the cycles? We stop telling each other stories. If your wife or your husband is emotional and ranting, that’s their story. That’s their reality. You don’t have to automatically absorb that. Katie thinks you have to walk that fine balance where you don’t want to be dismissive where it’s like “Oh, you’re just telling yourself a story. Here he goes again.”

But to try and look into your divine feminine because that’s where you have the empathy or the compassion or supportive or vulnerable. Same with masculinity. You’re maybe seeing your wife act in a manipulative way or needy and that frustrates you. But if you could see she needs some support right now or maybe she needs to feel protected.

Why Construction Leaders Are Wounded and What to Do About It

Katie totally agrees. And then tying it back to construction. Nobody knows the stress that a superintendent, a project superintendent goes through or a director or a PM or some of these foremen. Some of these people that are just in critical positions in construction, they literally get backed up into a wall and there’s no wonder. It’s really not a surprise that women and men in this crazy industry can become wounded.

This is an opportunity for us to get help, to get coaching, to get therapy. But also for each of us to be understanding and to be compassionate, to realize that everyone’s doing their best, even if somebody hurt you.

This is an extreme example, but if somebody robs your house, it’s still done from a positive intent. They’re getting money to support themselves. Even though that’s a radical concept and a radical example, most of the time anybody, even if they’re doing something that’s morally or ethically wrong, they’re doing something for a positive intent. It might not be ethical, it might not be moral, it might not be just, it might just be for survival. But the point is nobody woke up and said “Oh, I’m going to go be evil and mess with somebody today.”

Well, except for maybe five. Satan’s on the list. So there’s some bad people, but most of the people, would you agree that most people are doing their best? Katie agrees that most people are doing their best and sometimes their best is something that the rest of us might find horrific or damaging.

Jason’s not a Marxist and he doesn’t believe in communism and he doesn’t believe in the teachings of Karl Marx and circumstances in the environment. He’s not particularly fond of Freud. However, there are just so many different circumstances and pieces of our environment that shape who we are. We just don’t know what somebody is going through unless we’ve walked in their footsteps. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

FAQ

Q: What’s the difference between divine masculine and wounded masculine leadership?

Divine masculine is deeply present, doesn’t judge, supportive, has discipline, focused, logical, confident, protective, honest, accountable, has integrity, humble, has boundaries, offers stability and security, responsible. Wounded masculine is controlling, aggressive, withdrawn, unapproachable, competitive, abusive, somewhat unstable. Most superintendents and project managers show up in wounded masculine because of stress, abuse, or bad circumstances. But we have permission to show up and love, to let our light shine, which helps create connection, collaboration, and communication on project sites.

Q: How do the stories we tell ourselves create conflict?

Things happen and they’re just circumstances. The circumstance itself is pretty neutral. But because of our past experiences and thoughts, we assign meaning that wasn’t necessarily there and build up a story. Katie’s example: Jason took his keys to his office at midnight. She created a story: “How rude are you, you never think about me, you don’t care I had to drive the van.” When in reality, he was just thoughtless, walking around with keys at midnight. That story makes her want to bang on his door and hold him accountable for being rude when he just forgot.

Q: What should I do when I see someone acting from a wounded place?

Don’t just react to their behavior and don’t let their woundedness trigger you. Allow it to trigger something compassionate in you instead. If you could see what everyone was going through behind the scenes, you would automatically feel compassionate and give them grace and love. But we don’t walk around with labels on our chest. Lead from empathy and compassion. Look into your divine feminine or masculine traits: empathetic, supportive, protective, offers stability. They might just need support or to feel protected.

Q: Why do construction leaders end up wounded?

Nobody knows the stress that a superintendent, project superintendent, director, PM, or foreman goes through. People in critical positions in construction literally get backed up into a wall. There’s no wonder, it’s really not a surprise that women and men in this crazy industry can become wounded. There are so many different circumstances and pieces of environment that shape who we are. We don’t know what somebody is going through unless we’ve walked in their footsteps. This is an opportunity to get help, coaching, therapy, and for each of us to be understanding and compassionate.

Q: What does it mean that everyone is doing their best?

Most people, even if they’re doing something morally or ethically wrong, are doing something for a positive intent. It might not be ethical, moral, or just. It might be for survival. But nobody woke up and said “I’m going to go be evil and mess with somebody today.” Most people are doing their best and sometimes their best is something the rest of us might find horrific or damaging. If you can get clarity from a non-emotional standpoint, you have the opportunity to do the right thing and respond right instead of reacting to the story you’re telling yourself.

On we go.

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

Project Engineer Guide to Payments & Contracts (Pay Apps, Subcontracts, and Risk)

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 21 min

Payments and Contracts: Why Getting Trades Paid Is One of the Most Important Things a PE Does

There is a version of project administration that believes its job is to be thorough. Every step documented. Every requirement verified. Every submission reviewed against a checklist before it moves forward. And there is nothing inherently wrong with thoroughness. The problem is when thoroughness becomes a mechanism for delay when the documentation standard, the billing cycle, the review process, or the submission requirement becomes a tool that sits between a trade partner and the payment they have already earned by performing the work.

The average wait time for payment, for a consultant working with some of the largest general contractors in the industry, is nine months. Not ninety days. Nine months. On $5 million of annual revenue, with diligent accounts receivable management and proactive follow-up, the average accounts receivable sits at $1.3 million. The average bank account balance runs between $5,000 and $150,000. Payroll is $180,000 per month.

That is not a cash flow problem. That is a system that has made trade partners and service providers into involuntary lenders for projects they are not financing. And the PEs and PMs who allow that to happen through inattention, through complexity, through negotiation games, through letting pay applications sit in an email inbox are failing the people who do the actual work of building.

What Contracts Are Actually For

A contract is not a defensive document. It is not a liability shield. It is the agreement that allows a trade partner to come to the project and do their work with clarity about what is included, what is excluded, what they will be paid, and when. A well-written contract protects both parties by eliminating ambiguity before ambiguity becomes a dispute. A poorly written contract one with vague scope, unclear inclusions and exclusions, or a schedule of values that does not tie money to the work being done is a dispute waiting to happen, and the dispute will cost more than the writing would have.

The PE’s responsibility in contracting starts with making sure the scope of work is clearly identified. Inclusions and exclusions need to be spelled out specifically enough that both parties can look at the same piece of work and agree on whether it is in the trade’s scope. The schedule of values needs to be broken out in enough detail that money can be tied directly to progress not in broad lump sums that make payment disputes inevitable, but in line items that reflect the actual sequence and components of the installation.

When that work is done properly at the front end, the rest of the payment process is cleaner because there is no ambiguity to exploit and no gaps to fill with negotiation. The contract becomes the document that enables the trade rather than the document that constrains them.

Why Paying on Time Is a Production Strategy

Here is the argument that tends to get missed in conversations about construction payment. Paying trades on time is not an ethical nicety layered on top of the production system. It is a production system requirement. When trades are not paid on time, their cash flow breaks. When cash flow breaks, their labor force gets thin. When their labor force gets thin, their crew productivity drops. When crew productivity drops, the handoff to the next trade slips. When handoffs slip, the Takt plan erodes. When the Takt plan erodes, the buffers get consumed. When the buffers are gone, the schedule is exposed.

The financial health of the trade partner is the operational health of the project. A general contractor that treats its trades as involuntary bankers is not protecting its own interests. It is undermining the production system it depends on to deliver the project. The money the GC holds past due is not savings it is a hidden cost being paid in productivity, schedule risk, and trade partner relationships that will be harder to rebuild on the next project.

And beyond the production logic, there is a human reality that never shows up on a financial statement. Trade partners are small businesses run by people who made the same choice that any entrepreneur makes to bet on their own craft and build something. Banks are reluctant to lend to them. Their margins are thin. Their overhead is real. When a GC holds their payment for ninety days, or six months, or nine months, those business owners are managing that gap with personal credit, lines they cannot easily obtain, and constant stress that follows them home to families who depend on those paychecks flowing. Retainage compounds the problem by withholding a percentage of earned money well past the point where the risk it was supposed to manage has passed.

This is not a rant against the system. It is a description of what the system currently does to people, so that the PEs and PMs who can change it at the project level understand what is actually at stake.

The PE’s Specific Responsibilities in Payment Management

The project engineer, working with the PM, owns the payment process from the trade’s first invoice through the final retainage release. That means proactive management of every step not reactive processing after someone follows up.

Pay applications need to be set up in a format that makes submission and approval straightforward. The schedule of values should be built with the trade’s input so it reflects the actual sequence of their work. The billing cycle should be communicated clearly at the start of the project so there are no surprises about when invoices are due or when payment is expected. When a pay application comes in, it should be processed promptly. Not held. Not failed for formatting issues that do not affect the substance of the payment request. Not sat on in an email inbox waiting for the next cycle because nobody followed up.

When a pay application has a genuine issue missing backup, scope that is overbilled relative to progress, an executed change order that has not been incorporated the PE’s job is to communicate that issue specifically, clearly, and promptly, so the trade can correct it and resubmit without losing a billing cycle unnecessarily. Using technical requirements as delay mechanisms is not administration. It is disrespect in paperwork form.

Change order management is equally important. Change orders should be written, priced, and executed as close to the event as possible not batched at the end of the project when the scope is hard to verify, the pricing is inflated by uncertainty, and the negotiation has become adversarial. A PE who manages change orders proactively, keeping them current with the work as it happens, protects both the trade and the owner from the disputes that late reconciliation always produces.

And retainage should be released as fast as the contract and the lien waiver process allow. The standard practice of holding retainage until the very end of the contractual window, when the trade’s risk to the project has been over for months, is not a protection mechanism. It is a habit that keeps trade partners in the banking business long past the point when they should have been paid and moved on.

Warning Signs That the Payment System Is Failing the Trades

Before the cash flow crisis compounds into a production crisis, watch for these signals that the payment process has drifted from enabling the trades to burdening them:

  • Pay applications are sitting in an email inbox for more than a few days without action or a specific response identifying the issue.
  • Billing cycle timing is being used to defer payments by weeks when the pay application arrived on time and had no substantive errors.
  • Trades are following up more than once on the same payment before receiving a response or a resolution.
  • Change orders are accumulating without being executed because the negotiation is being deferred to the end of the project.
  • Retainage is being held past the contractual requirement or the practical risk window without proactive communication about when release will occur.

Every one of those signals is a trade partner absorbing a cost that belongs to the project administration system. Every one of them is a PE and PM choice that could be made differently.

Lean Administration: The Bare Minimum That Actually Works

The right amount of administration is the bare minimum required for clear communication, legal compliance, and trade enablement. Not more. Lean thinking applied to project administration means: every step in the payment process should add value to the outcome of getting the trade paid accurately and on time. Steps that add complexity without adding accuracy or protection should be eliminated. Requirements that create rework for the trade without improving the owner’s position should be examined. Documentation that nobody will ever read should not be required.

A PE who runs a Lean payment process is not cutting corners. They are respecting the trades enough to design a system that serves them rather than one that protects the GC at the trade’s expense. The goal is the simplest, most direct path from “trade submitted” to “trade paid” that maintains the legal and financial integrity the project requires. Every unnecessary step between those two points is waste and it lands on the trade partner’s cash flow, not on the project’s.

We are building people who build things. Getting them paid for what they build, on time, without games, is one of the most direct ways a PE or PM demonstrates that the people doing the work are valued. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow and build the payment culture that treats trade partners as partners rather than lenders.

A Challenge for Builders

Open your current project’s accounts payable status this week and look at every trade partner invoice that is more than thirty days old. For each one: does the trade know exactly what is holding it up? Is the issue specific and correctable? Is there a date by which it will be resolved? If the answers are weak, the payment system is burdening your trades instead of enabling them. Fix it this week, not next billing cycle. They already did the work.

As Jason says, “Respect for people is not soft it’s a production strategy.”

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does late payment from a GC affect the production system on the project?

Because trade partners’ financial health directly determines their operational capacity. When cash flow breaks, labor force thins, crew productivity drops, handoffs slip, and the Takt plan erodes. The money held past due is not savings it is risk transferred onto the production system that the GC depends on to deliver the project.

What is a PE’s specific role in managing trade partner payments?

The PE works with the PM to ensure contracts are set up with clear scope and a detailed schedule of values, that pay applications are processed promptly without unnecessary delay, that change orders are executed as close to the event as possible, and that retainage is released as fast as the contract and lien waiver process allow.

What does “Lean administration” mean in the context of payments and contracts?

It means the bare minimum required for clear communication, legal compliance, and trade enablement no more. Every step in the payment process should add value toward getting the trade paid accurately and on time. Steps that add complexity without improving accuracy or protection should be eliminated. The simplest, most direct path from submission to payment is the goal.

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.

Project Engineer Information Management: How to Stay Organized on a Construction Project.

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 21 min

Project Engineer Information Management: Getting the Right Information to the Crew in Their Zone

Picture the scene that every successful project moment starts with. A crew in their zone. A foreman with their team ready to install. Materials staged. Equipment available. Labor in place. And in the foreman’s hand or posted visibly in the work area a single, clear, visual installation work package that shows exactly what gets installed, in what sequence, to what standard, with all the relevant details from the drawings, specs, change orders, manufacturer requirements, and owner preferences consolidated into one coherent document.

That picture is the ultimate end of everything a project engineer does. Not the RFI log. Not the submittal tracker. Not the filing system on the project management platform. Those are all mechanisms. The destination is a crew with full kit in their zone, information included, who can complete their work package without stopping to hunt for something that should have already been in their hands.

When that moment happens cleanly, a PE did their job. When it does not happen when the foreman is calling the trailer for a detail, searching three locations in the project management software, asking the super to dig out a meeting minute from four weeks ago the information system failed, and that failure traces back to a PE who has not yet oriented their role around the crew.

What Advanced Work Packaging Actually Means

Advanced work packaging is a concept that carries a lot of weight in industry conversations and less clarity than it deserves. The simplified version is this: find the path of construction, break that path into component assemblies or work packages, and link the design, engineering, procurement, and construction activities together as a single integrated production system. The output is an installation work package an IWP that gives the crew in the field the equivalent of an IKEA kit of parts. Every component is identified. The assembly sequence is clear. The information and the materials arrive together, and the crew assembles the work on site from a prepared kit rather than from a scattered information environment.

That is the model. And the project engineer is the person responsible for building that kit from an information standpoint. Not once, at the start of the project. Continuously updating, clarifying, and consolidating as the design evolves, as RFIs get answered, as submittals get approved, as change orders get executed, and as the construction sequence moves through zones and phases. The IWP is a living document that reflects the current, accurate, complete information the crew needs for their specific scope in their specific zone.

The Real Problem: Information Scattered Across Thirty-Five Locations

Here is the conversation that happens when the IWP concept gets challenged. Someone says: we can’t provide that to the crews. They cannot haul information from zone to zone. And then comes the comment: it’s all on the project management platform. It’s all in one place. The crew just needs to know where to look.

No. It is not all in one place. The drawing is in one location. The spec section that governs that drawing is in another. The RFI that clarified the spec is in a third. The addendum that revised the drawing is in a fourth. The executed change order that modified the scope is in a fifth. The meeting minutes where the owner’s representative commented on the installation method are spread across three or four separate meeting records. The manufacturer’s installation requirements are attached somewhere in the submittal package. The owner’s top ten requirements are in a separate document entirely.

That is not information management. That is information storage passive, fragmented, and hostile to the crew that needs to use it. The project engineer’s job is to take everything from all thirty-five of those locations and consolidate the relevant portions into one installation work package for each work package the crew is about to execute. Highly visual. Properly summarized. Not too much text. A single front page that shows the crew what they are building and what the expectations are. And everything they need to do it correctly, in one place.

When the super and the field engineer are spending their day hunting through project management platforms to find information that should already be in the crew’s hands, the project will spiral into chaos. The information system failed them. The PE’s job is to make sure it does not fail them.

The Trade Partner Preparation Process as the Information Assembly System

The IWP does not get built in a single sitting. It gets assembled continuously through the trade partner preparation process every meeting, every coordination event, every RFI resolution, and every submittal approval is an opportunity to pull more information into the package.

The buyout and contracting phase establishes what the trade is contracted to build and what standards apply. The pre-mobilization meeting confirms the setup requirements and the information the trade needs before they can mobilize effectively. The pre-construction meeting gathers submittals, clarifies RFIs that are outstanding before work begins, establishes the quality and safety documentation requirements, and identifies what the owner requires in addition to what the contract specifies. Pull planning sessions identify what information needs to be in the crew’s hands by specific dates to keep the production system flowing. Lookahead reviews flag information gaps that could become zone stops if not closed before the crew arrives. Weekly work plan preparation confirms that the IWP for the upcoming scope is complete before the week starts.

Every one of those touchpoints is a PE adding information to the package. The cumulative result by the time the crew is standing in the zone ready to work is an IWP that reflects everything from the design, the contract, the coordination, the owner’s requirements, and the construction sequence. The crew should not have to ask a question that the IWP does not already answer.

What Breaks When the Information System Breaks

The damage from a broken information system travels fast and lands on everyone. When RFIs sit open without a Lean management system tracking their urgency against the construction sequence, design gaps arrive at the field as surprises instead of as resolved clarifications. The crew stops. The super improvises. The improvisation may or may not be consistent with what the engineer will eventually answer. Rework becomes likely.

When submittals are not tracked against procurement lead times, the approved product arrives late or the wrong product arrives because the submittal was never coordinated against the procurement log. The crew’s material is not there or is not the right material. Another stop. Another restart that costs more than the original schedule showed.

When drawings are not kept current with addenda, bulletins, and RFI revisions, the crew installs from outdated information. The quality issue surfaces at inspection or at closeout, and the rework cost is multiples of what a current drawing would have cost to maintain.

When permissions special inspections, fire marshal approvals, air barrier tests, commissioning signoffs are not tracked on a log against the construction sequence, the crew finishes the work and then waits to have it inspected before they can move on or close the zone. The buffer gets consumed not by production variation but by an administrative failure that should have been closed weeks earlier.

Every one of those failures has the same root. The PE was not managing information as a production system. They were managing it as a filing system, and filing systems do not protect crews.

Warning Signs That Information Management Is Failing

Before the schedule and quality consequences compound, watch for these signals that the PE’s information system is not oriented toward the crew:

  • The foreman is calling the trailer for details that should already be in the work package, more than once per week.
  • RFIs are open past the date when the construction sequence needs the answer, and nobody has escalated the urgency.
  • The drawing set in the field does not reflect current addenda, bulletins, or RFI revisions.
  • The procurement log is not being tracked against the Takt plan, and long-lead items are appearing as surprises rather than as managed risks.
  • Submittals are being processed on a review cycle timeline rather than a construction-sequence timeline, meaning approved products are arriving late for the zone that needs them.

Any one of those signals means the PE’s information system is serving the documents, not the crew. The fix is an orientation reset: every log, every system, every tracking tool exists to ensure that crew in that zone has full kit. That is the only measurement that matters.

The Maestro of Information

The project engineer is the maestro of project information not the archivist, not the document manager, not the platform administrator. The maestro. The person who knows what information exists, where it lives, what state it is in, and how to get the right piece to the right person at the right time in a form they can actually use.

That role requires a real system. A Lean RFI management process that tracks every open item against the construction sequence. A submittal log that is synchronized with the procurement log. Current drawings posted digitally in real time whenever an addendum, bulletin, or RFI revision changes the scope. A file structure that makes the right information findable in under a minute. Communication flows that tell trade partners exactly what they need to know, when they need to know it, without requiring them to dig. And project management tools that support the trades rather than becoming another place the information goes to get lost.

We are building people who build things. The project engineer who masters information management is building the environment in which every crew can perform at their best because what they need is already in their hands when they step into the zone. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow including the PE information management systems that keep information moving from design to installation without a single unnecessary stop.

A Challenge for Builders

Pick one active work package on your current project and run a full kit check on the information. Is there a single document the crew can install from, or is the relevant information sitting in thirty-five different locations? Is the drawing current with all RFIs, addenda, and bulletins posted? Are the spec sections, manufacturer requirements, change orders, and meeting minute decisions that affect this scope consolidated into one place? If the answer is weak, the PE owns that gap, and it should be closed before the crew steps into the zone.

As Jason says, “Plan it first, build it right, finish as you go.”

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an installation work package and what should it contain?

An installation work package is a single, visual, crew-ready document that consolidates everything a crew needs to install their scope in their zone drawings current with all revisions, relevant spec sections, manufacturer requirements, change order scope, owner requirements, material lists, and installation instructions.

Why is having information “on the project management platform” not the same as having full kit?

Because project management platforms store information they do not consolidate it. Drawings, specs, RFIs, addenda, change orders, meeting minutes, and submittal packages live in separate locations. The PE’s job is to pull the relevant pieces from all those locations and assemble them into a single installation work package the crew can actually use in the field.

What happens to the project when PE information management breaks down?

The crew stops. Design gaps arrive as surprises. Wrong materials get installed from outdated drawings. Inspections get missed because permissions were never tracked against the schedule. Rework follows every one of those failures.

 

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.

Where Balance Comes From

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 20 min

Where Balance Actually Comes From: The Lean Truth Nobody Is Saying

The work-life balance conversation has produced a generation of misunderstandings. The message that people need rest, relationships, health, and a life outside of work is true. The conclusion that some people have drawn from it that the path to balance is commitment reduction, less mental focus, more distraction at work, and a general dialing back of engagement is false. And in construction specifically, where the field depends on people who show up fully present and technically sharp, that misunderstanding is doing real damage.

Balance does not come from less. It comes from Lean. And until more leaders say that clearly, directly, and without apology, the people who need to hear it will keep misinterpreting the message and producing the opposite of what the original intention was not more balance, but more chaos in both directions.

The Misinterpretation That Creates Non-Performers

Here is the scenario that plays out in organizations that have been communicating about balance without being specific about what produces it. A worker or a leader hears the message that work is not everything, that family matters, that rest matters, that relationships matter. They genuinely take that to heart. But without the Lean framework that explains how to actually create the time and mental space for those things, they draw the only available conclusion: I should do less at work. Focus less. Commit less. Be less mentally present during the hours I am there so that I can save some of myself for after.

The result is someone who is distracted at work, behind on their tasks, creating problems for the people downstream of them, and ironically more stressed, not less, because the backlog of undone work follows them home. The balance they were seeking is farther away than when they started. And the team around them is absorbing the cost of their reduced performance in rework, delays, and the friction of working alongside someone who is not there even when they are physically present.

That person was not told to become useless at work for the sake of their personal life. That is not what balance means. What they were told, or should have been told, is to become Lean which is a completely different path to the same destination.

What Actually Creates Balance

Balance comes from a personal organization system that allows a person to be fully present and fully productive during the time they are working, so that the time outside of work is genuinely free rather than secretly contaminated by unfinished business and unresolved mental loops.

The specific practices that build that system are not complicated, but they require discipline to implement. A to-do list that captures everything that needs to be done, so the brain is not spending energy trying to hold it all in working memory. Time blocking that assigns focused work to specific windows, so every hour has a purpose rather than being managed reactively. Email discipline that treats external communication as a scheduled activity rather than a continuous interruption. Buffers between meetings so that commitments have the room to land before the next one begins. One-piece flow that brings full focus to a single task through completion rather than batching and switching. Full kit before starting work so that the task can be finished in one cycle rather than stopping, gathering, and restarting.

These are Lean principles applied to personal productivity. They are the same logic that makes a zone on a construction project flow cleanly applied to a human brain and a work calendar. And the outcome they produce is the same: more actual output per unit of time and energy, which means the time outside of work is genuinely available for the things that make a life rather than filled with the spillover of a day that never achieved flow.

The Book That Names the System

David Allen’s Getting Things Done is one of the most complete articulations of personal productivity as a system. Its central insight is that the brain is not a reliable storage device for open loops every unfinished task, unresolved commitment, or uncaptured idea that lives in someone’s head is consuming working memory and generating low-level stress that follows them everywhere. The solution is to get everything out of the head and into a trusted system, so that the brain can focus fully on the work in front of it rather than managing the anxiety of everything it might be forgetting.

That principle is Lean thinking applied to the individual. It is the personal equivalent of a production plan: capture, prioritize, sequence, and execute in one-piece flow. The person who has built that system can close their laptop at the end of the workday and actually be present for their family because the open loops are closed or captured. The person who has not built that system brings every unfinished item home mentally, even when they are physically somewhere else.

Balance is not a time problem. For most people in demanding roles, it is a system problem. And the system is learnable.

Why Generation-Specific Messaging Makes This Worse

There is a specific communication pattern that has gained traction in conversations about younger workers a framing that treats high performance expectations as inherently problematic, that positions commitment as a form of exploitation, and that validates distraction and divided attention as forms of self-expression. Some of that conversation is responding to real problems: burnout, poor leadership, unreasonable expectations, work environments that genuinely do not respect people’s lives outside of work. Those problems are real and worth addressing.

But the response that teaches people to be less organized, less focused, and less committed to their craft as a form of self-protection is not a response to exploitation. It is a response that makes people worse at their work, more stressed overall, and less able to create the genuine balance they are seeking. The advocacy that matters is not “work less” it is “work Lean.” Protect your energy through systems, not through disengagement. Build the personal organization that makes you more effective per hour rather than just fewer hours. Demand the kind of leadership and environment that makes Lean possible. That is the message that actually serves people.

Balance on the Jobsite and in the Office

The same principles apply at both levels. A superintendent who has a personal organization system who time blocks their morning walk, who captures roadblocks immediately into the right system, who runs a clear daily routine and is not managing by email can leave the site at the end of the day without the project following them home. A PM who batches everything, responds to every email as it arrives, never finishes a task before starting the next one, and has no capture system for open items takes the project home every night even when they are trying to be present somewhere else.

The Lean operating system on the project is what makes the team’s balance possible. Takt plans, pull planning, standard work, the morning worker huddle these all reduce the cognitive load that workers and leaders would otherwise carry through their day and into their evening. The construction version and the personal version are the same underlying principle: design the system to protect the people inside it, so that performance during work time is sustainable and time outside of work is genuinely free.

Warning Signs That the Balance Message Got Misunderstood

Before the non-performance pattern compounds, watch for these signals that the balance conversation landed in the wrong place:

  • A team member is physically present but mentally managing personal tasks, relationships, or distractions during core work hours, and performance is suffering.
  • The work-life balance message has produced someone who has reduced their commitment to training and professional development rather than building the systems that would make development sustainable.
  • A leader is less engaged in the production system fewer walk-arounds, less attention to the weekly work plan, less presence in the morning huddle and framing the reduction as self-care.
  • Open loops are accumulating because there is no personal capture system, and the stress from those open loops is being interpreted as a sign to work less rather than a signal to get organized.

Every one of those situations calls for the same response: not more encouragement to disconnect, but direct coaching on the personal organization system that makes genuine disconnection possible.

Build the System First

The path to balance is not subtraction. It is construction building a personal organization system that allows full presence during work time and genuine freedom outside of it. Vision and clarity documents. A single trusted capture system. Time blocking. Email discipline. One-piece flow. Full kit before starting. Buffers between commitments. These are the tools. They work. And they are learnable by anyone willing to treat their own productivity with the same seriousness that good builders treat their production systems.

We are building people who build things. That includes building the people who have the personal discipline to show up fully, perform excellently, and leave at the end of the day without the job following them home. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow including the personal organization discipline that makes balance real rather than aspirational.

A Challenge for Builders

Look honestly at your own productivity system this week. Do you have a single trusted list that captures every open loop in your professional life? Do you time block focused work so that each task gets full attention through completion? Do you have a practice for closing the day that signals to your brain that the work is done? If the answers are weak, the balance you are trying to create will stay out of reach regardless of how many hours you reduce. Build the system. The balance follows the system. It does not come from doing less of the work it comes from doing the work in a way that leaves you genuinely free when you step away from it.

As Jason says, “Flow over busyness.”

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean that balance comes from Lean rather than from doing less?

It means that genuine work-life balance is produced by a personal organization system a clear capture process, one-piece flow, time blocking, and full kit that allows full presence during work hours and real freedom outside of them. Doing less without that system just spreads the same stress over fewer hours.

Why is distraction at work not a path to better balance?

Because distraction does not close open loops it creates more of them. Every unfinished task and divided attention event generates cognitive load that follows a person home. The path to being genuinely present outside of work is performing with full focus during work, not fragmenting attention across both.

What personal productivity practices produce the balance that Lean promises?

A trusted capture system for all open commitments, time blocking for focused work, one-piece flow that finishes tasks before starting new ones, full kit before beginning any task, email discipline that treats communication as a scheduled activity, and buffers between meetings that allow commitments to land cleanly before the next one begins.

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.

Letting Lower-Level People Make Key Decisions

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 20 min

Letting Lower-Level People Make Decisions: The Difference Between Delegation and Abdication

There is a LinkedIn post archetype that has convinced an entire generation of leaders they are doing something courageous. It usually features a six-panel image. Panel one: the confident leader who lets their team make all the decisions. Final panel: the leader with their head down because no decisions are getting made correctly. The caption celebrates autonomy. The subtext celebrates chaos. And in the construction industry, where Lean systems take years to build and can erode in weeks, that archetype is doing real damage.

Here is the truth that gets lost in the empowerment narrative. Letting people make decisions is not inherently good leadership. It is good leadership when the people making those decisions are trained, proven, and capable of holding others accountable for the same standards. It is abdication when they are not when decision-making authority gets handed to people who have not yet internalized the system they are now in charge of maintaining. The difference between those two things is not subtle. One builds culture. The other erodes it.

Lean Entropy: What Happens When Systems Outlive Their Builders

Here’s the pattern that shows up on projects and inside companies that have done the hard work of implementing Lean. The system takes hold. Productivity doubles. Projects finish early. People are healthier and happier. The culture is measurably different from what it was before. Leaders celebrate the win. And then, quietly, the entropy begins.

Not from outside. From inside. An untrained person gets promoted because the company is scaling and bodies are needed. They have never fully implemented the system themselves. They have never gone through complete Lean training. They have never held a crew, a trade partner, or a fellow leader accountable for the standards. And now they are in charge. Now they are the general superintendent, or the area general, or the regional operations manager. And because nobody held them accountable for mastering the system before they were promoted, they are free to run it their way.

Their way means pulling pieces out. Deciding the morning worker huddle takes too long. Deciding the zone cleanliness standard is impractical. Deciding the pull plan cadence is more than the team needs. Deciding to let the superintendent’s messy site slide because it’s their job to figure out. Every one of those decisions, made independently and without accountability, is a brick removed from the system. And within months, the system that took years to build is rubble dressed up as autonomy.

Why Western Culture Makes This Worse

The commenter who started this conversation had worked globally with leaders across multiple industries and came to a clear conclusion. In Japan, you do not get promoted until you are a master. Not until you understand the system thoroughly. Not until you have proven you can execute it yourself and hold others accountable for doing the same. The culture of being an honorable contributor to the excellence of the whole of the company, the family, the craft means that mastery is the prerequisite for authority, not a credential that comes after the promotion.

In the United States, the approach is nearly the opposite. The cultural programming favors independence, individualism, and the sink-or-swim model where people get thrown into roles before they’re ready and expected to figure it out. Culturally, we celebrate the person who makes decisions quickly. We are suspicious of processes that require extended mastery before authority gets granted. And we have wrapped that cultural value in the language of empowerment so thoroughly that holding someone accountable for a standard has come to feel like the problem rather than the solution.

That framing is costing us the Lean systems we have worked hardest to build. Every time a leader looks at a VP or a GS who is dismantling the operating system and says “I have to let them lead at their level,” they are not showing respect for their colleague’s autonomy. They are abandoning every person who built the system every superintendent who put in the discipline, every trade partner who trusted the environment, every worker who showed up to a clean, organized, safe site and felt what a Lean project actually produces to the consequences of untrained decision-making.

The Only Promotion Standard That Protects the System

Here is the standard that should govern every promotion decision in a company that is serious about Lean implementation. Nobody gets promoted until they have proven they can run clean, safe, and organized projects the Lean way themselves, and can hold another team accountable for doing the same. Both conditions are required. Not just demonstrating personal mastery. Demonstrating the ability to reproduce the standard in others, consistently.

That standard is not punitive. It is the only honest measure of whether a person is ready for the authority being handed to them. If they cannot hold a team to the system, they cannot protect the system at scale. If they cannot demonstrate the standard on their own project, they will not hold it across a region. The promotion that skips that test is not a reward. It is a transfer of risk from the company to the system and the system will absorb that risk in the form of entropy, erosion, and eventually the loss of every gain the Lean work produced.

The Difference Between Standards and Control

The argument that usually gets made against this standard is that it is command and control. That it does not trust people. That it does not allow the creativity and ownership that produces great work. That argument confuses the standard with the person. Holding someone to a Lean operating system is not telling them how to think or blocking their creativity. The Lean system is itself the vehicle for creativity for solving problems, for finding better approaches, for improving every process through the PDCA cycle. What it is not is optional. The standard is not optional. The zone cleanliness is not optional. The pull planning cadence is not optional. The morning worker huddle is not optional.

Allowing someone to dismantle those things and framing it as trust is not trust. It is the abdication of leadership dressed in the language of empowerment. And it communicates something devastating to every person who built the system: your effort does not matter. Your sacrifice in learning and implementing and holding the line does not matter. What matters is that the new person feels comfortable making decisions, regardless of whether those decisions are destroying what you built.

Warning Signs That Lean Entropy Is Already Underway

Before the damage compounds, watch for these signals that the system is eroding from within:

  • A newly promoted leader is pulling key components out of the Lean system without going through the training that would help them understand why those components exist.
  • Leaders are walking past dirty, disorganized, or unsafe sites and deciding it is “that team’s job to figure out” rather than holding the standard.
  • Pull planning sessions are getting compressed, abbreviated, or skipped at the discretion of individual leaders who have not been held accountable for the outcomes of doing so.
  • Morning worker huddles are disappearing from projects run by certain leaders without any accountability from above.
  • The phrase “let them run it their way” is being used to justify the removal of non-negotiable standards rather than the delegation of legitimate decision-making.

Every one of those signals is the Lean system calling for a leader to step forward and hold the line. The system cannot protect itself. The culture cannot reproduce itself. Leaders do that trained, accountable, Lean-minded leaders who understand what they have and are unwilling to let it erode because they prefer to be liked rather than to lead.

What Real Delegation Actually Looks Like

Real delegation is not the absence of standards. It is the presence of a trained person who holds the standards independently because they have internalized them, not because someone is watching. That is the goal of Lean leadership development not to create people who wait for direction, but to create people who have absorbed the system deeply enough that they protect it instinctively, hold others to it consistently, and teach it effectively to the next generation of leaders.

That kind of delegation requires investment. It requires that the company build a training pipeline serious enough to produce genuine mastery before authority is transferred. It requires that promotion decisions be based on demonstrated capability rather than years of tenure or need to fill a seat. And it requires that the leaders at the top of the system hold their directors and GS’s to the same standard they hold the foremen and supers because entropy does not start at the bottom. It starts wherever the accountability stops.

We are building people who build things. That includes building the leaders who will protect the system when nobody is watching. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow and build the leadership pipeline that produces mastery before authority rather than after.

A Challenge for Builders

Look at the last three promotions your organization made. Were those people trained and proven in the Lean operating system before they moved into the new role? Can they run a clean, safe, and organized project the Lean way themselves? Have they ever held a team accountable to the same standards? If the answers are weak, the entropy is already starting quietly, at the decision level, in the places nobody is looking closely yet. Go look now. Fix the pipeline before the system pays the price for the promotion that was made too soon.

As Jason says, “Respect for people is not soft it’s a production strategy.” And nothing disrespects the people who built a Lean system more than allowing an untrained leader to dismantle it in the name of empowerment.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between delegating decisions and abdicating leadership?

Delegation gives decision-making authority to people who are trained, proven, and capable of holding others to the same standard. Abdication gives that authority to people who are not ready, and then frames the resulting erosion of standards as trust. The difference is whether the person receiving the authority can protect the system they are now responsible for.

Why does Lean implementation erode even in companies where it worked?

Because untrained people get promoted before they have mastered the system, and once they have authority, they make decisions that pull key components out often without realizing what those components are protecting. Entropy starts not at the bottom but wherever the accountability for the system stops being enforced.

What is the right standard for promoting someone in a Lean organization?

They should be able to demonstrate that they can run clean, safe, and organized projects the Lean way themselves, and hold another team accountable for doing the same. Both conditions are required. Personal mastery alone is not enough they must be able to reproduce the standard in others before being given authority over a broader system.

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.

Stop Call Wait Is Not Waiting

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 20 min

Stop, Call, Wait Is Not Waiting: The Distinction That Changes How Teams Respond to Problems

Waiting is one of the most destructive words in construction. Not because stopping is wrong, but because most people use waiting as a cover for doing nothing when doing nothing is never the right answer. Waiting for full design before planning starts. Waiting for the trade to resolve a procurement question before the log gets updated. Waiting for someone else to figure it out before picking up the phone. That kind of waiting is passive. It is a choice to stop value flow and stand still rather than take the next natural step that is always available.

And then there is stop, call, wait the Andon-based problem response that Toyota built into its production system and that construction is starting to apply through the Takt Production System. And on the surface, it looks like waiting. Stop the crew. Call the team. Wait before restarting. But it is not waiting at all. It is one of the most active things a team can do when something has gone wrong.

Understanding the difference between those two things between passive waiting and active problem resolution is one of the more advanced concepts in production system thinking, and it matters enormously for how teams respond under pressure.

The Standing Tactical Order: We Do Not Wait

Here is the standing tactical order worth writing on the wall of every trailer in construction: any time we wait, we fail. Not pause. Not stop to solve. Wait meaning do nothing fail. Anytime we batch, we fail. Anytime we don’t work in one-piece flow, we fail. Anytime we don’t use full kit, we fail. These are not guidelines. They are production laws with consequences that show up in the schedule, the budget, and the people every single day.

Waiting shows up everywhere in construction, often disguised as something else. We are waiting for the full design before we start the procurement log but a napkin sketch is full kit enough to begin building a supply chain framework, because the supply chain information exists and AI can help close gaps in the interim. We are waiting for the trade partners to be contracted before we begin procurement planning but you can start planning before the contract is inked because the project exists and the work has to happen. We are waiting on a response before we take the next step but there is always a next step that does not require that response. The question is whether the team is trained to find it.

Patton’s principle is useful here. In the field, he did not want messages saying they were holding their position. He wanted to know what the advance looked like. The same logic applies to every project team. Holding the position, waiting to move, staying still those are failure states, not strategic ones. There is always a natural next step. Taking it is not optional.

What Stop, Call, Wait Actually Is

Here is where the concept gets precise and the distinction becomes critical. Stop, call, wait was named specifically in the context of quality-at-the-source production control. And it sounds like it conflicts with the standing tactical order about waiting. It does not. It is a completely different kind of action.

Stop means you see something wrong, hear something wrong, feel something wrong, or learn from someone else that something is not right. In manufacturing, you hit the Andon cord or the button the signal that tells the line to pause. In construction, you stop the crew. You stop the train of trades. You stop the process that is generating defects, creating safety risk, or moving in the wrong direction. You stop it because starting it back up without fixing the problem will only make the problem more expensive.

Call means you immediately assemble the people who can help solve it. You call the team leader. You call the coordinator. You call whoever has the authority, the information, or the skill to contribute to the fix. You do not stand there. You do not wait for someone to notice on their own. You pull the right people into the problem right now.

And what happens after the call is not waiting. What happens after the call is that a leader gets appointed to coordinate the response. Information gets gathered. A plan gets made. That plan gets communicated to the team. The plan gets executed. And then only then does the work restart. Not before. Not when the plan is half-formed. Not before full kit is confirmed. You do not start the line back up until you know it will not produce the same defect again.

That entire sequence stop, assemble, diagnose, plan, confirm full kit, restart looks nothing like waiting. Waiting is the absence of activity. Stop, call, wait is the presence of focused, purposeful activity directed at solving a problem before it scales. The word “wait” in that sequence means hold the restart, not hold your effort.

The Conceptual Reframe: Stop, Call, Figure It Out

If the term itself creates confusion, the concept is better named: stop, call, figure it out with the team. Or stop, call, take the next natural step. The core principle is that there is always a next natural step available, and it is always the team’s job to take it. When the crew is stopped, the team’s next natural step is to diagnose. When the diagnosis is done, the next natural step is to plan. When the plan is made, the next natural step is to communicate. When communication is clear, the next natural step is to confirm full kit. When full kit is confirmed, the next natural step is to restart.

There is never a moment in that sequence where doing nothing is the correct option. Never a moment where the team should be sitting still waiting for something external to happen before they can act. The external thing the missing material, the design answer, the trade coordination decision is itself the target of the team’s active pursuit during the stop. You do not wait for it to arrive. You go get it.

The Distinction That Separates Productive Stops from Passive Ones

The clearest way to understand the difference is to look at what the team is doing during the stop. In a productive stop, every person in the response has a specific next action. The coordinator is gathering facts. The first planner is reaching out to remove the roadblock. The superintendent is looking ahead to see what downstream work can proceed safely while the stopped zone is being resolved. The foreman is documenting the situation for the buffer log. The PE is confirming what full kit looks like for the restart.

In a passive wait, the team is standing around. Talking about the problem without solving it. Pointing at who is responsible without organizing a response. Watching the schedule slip without activating a recovery path. The difference is motion specific, directed, value-adding motion versus inertia.

Watch for these signals that a stop has become passive waiting rather than active resolution:

  • Nobody has been appointed as the coordinator for the problem. The team is assembled but there is no single person driving the response.
  • The conversation is about blame rather than next steps. Who caused this is receiving more energy than what we do about it.
  • People are waiting for a response from someone else before taking any action of their own, when an action is available that doesn’t require that response.
  • The restart is being delayed by uncertainty that could be resolved by making a decision rather than by gathering more information.
  • The buffer log is not being updated, which means the stop is not being used to build the documentation that protects the project later.

Every one of those signals means the stop has drifted into passive waiting. The fix is to get specific: who owns the next action, what is it, and when does it happen.

Never Go to Sleep on a Problem

This principle was named plainly by a project director whose standard was direct and consistent: don’t go to sleep on this. What he meant was exactly this. Do not let a problem sit unattended overnight. Do not accept that the right next step is to wait and see what tomorrow brings. Find the next natural step and take it before the day is done.

That standard reflects the underlying production logic. Every hour a problem sits unsolved is an hour of production capacity the project cannot recover. Every day a stopped zone stays stopped without active resolution is a day of buffer consumption that will eventually show up in the schedule. The team that treats every stop as an active challenge something to be solved, not waited through is the team that protects its buffers and its people.

We are building people who build things. That includes building the reflex to act, the instinct to find the next natural step, and the discipline to hold the line until full kit is confirmed before restarting. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow and build the production discipline that turns every stop into a solved problem rather than a waiting game.

A Challenge for Builders

Walk your project this week and watch what happens the next time work stops. How quickly does the team assemble? How quickly does a coordinator get appointed? How quickly does the diagnosis produce a plan? And how quickly does that plan confirm full kit for the restart? If the answers are slow, the team has drifted into passive waiting rather than active resolution. The fix starts with naming the distinction, training the response, and making it a standing expectation that every stop is the beginning of a solution, not the beginning of a pause.

As W. Edwards Deming said, “It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is “stop, call, wait” and where does it come from?

It comes from the Andon system in Toyota’s production model, where workers are empowered to stop the line when they detect a defect or quality risk. In construction, it means stopping the crew when something is wrong, calling the team to solve it, and not restarting until full kit is confirmed. It is an active problem-solving sequence, not passive waiting.

What is the difference between productive stopping and passive waiting?

A productive stop has specific next actions, an appointed coordinator, active diagnosis, and a clear path to restart. Passive waiting is inertia standing still, pointing at blame, or sitting on a problem until someone else resolves it. The distinction is whether the team is doing something directed at the solution while the work is stopped.

When should a crew be restarted after a stop?

Only when full kit is confirmed meaning the condition that caused the stop has been resolved, the plan for restarting has been communicated, and the team is confident the work will not produce the same defect or safety risk again. Restarting before full kit is confirmed simply restarts the problem.

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.

We All Have a Pull in Us That Wants to Be Better

Posted on by Danny Jiménez⁩
Read 20 min

We All Have a Pull That Wants to Be Better: The Leadership Invitation Construction Needs

There are two ways to tell someone their habits are hurting them. One is to point at the habit and call it dumb. The other is to remind them of the part of themselves that already knows there is a better way, and invite them toward it. Both can be honest. Only one actually works. And the construction industry with all of its urgency, all of its standards culture, and all of its legitimate frustration at the gap between how things could be and how they usually are has defaulted almost entirely to the first one.

This is a call for the second. Not because grace is softer than standards. Because grace actually produces the change that standards without relationship almost never do. We all have a pull in us that wants to be better. The leadership challenge is not convincing people that improvement is necessary. It is creating the conditions where the part of them that already knows it can finally answer.

The Clean Desk That Started a Fight

Here is the specific moment that cracked this open. An AI graphic about a clean, organized desk got posted on LinkedIn. And multiple superintendents came onto the thread to push back. The argument: if a super is cleaning their desk, they’re not out in the field where they belong. Full chest, confident, certain they were right.

Here’s why that thinking is wrong. Nobody is saying a superintendent should spend hours maintaining their desk. A desk overhaul takes forty-five minutes. Maintaining it after that is not a time expense it is a habit. The same habit that produces an organized trailer produces an organized site. The same discipline that keeps a workspace clean produces the discipline to maintain zero tolerance in zones, in cleanliness standards, in pre-task planning. The way a leader performs with their desk is the same way they perform everywhere else. That is the principle. Not the desk itself.

The supers who push back on clean desks are often the same ones whose projects are chaotic, whose zones are cluttered, and whose teams are in perpetual firefighting mode not because they are bad people, but because they have been taught that visible busyness in the field is the only legitimate measure of a superintendent’s value. That training is wrong, and it produces sites that reflect it.

The Better Response

The temptation when confronting wrong thinking is to name it plainly. And sometimes that is necessary. But the LinkedIn commenter who offered this response to that moment had something better: we all have a pull in us that wants to be better. That is not passive. It is not a retreat from standards. It is an acknowledgment that the person who needs to change is not an enemy of improvement they are a person who has been pointed in the wrong direction by the environment they came up in, and who has a part of them that, if reached, will choose differently.

The invitation reframes the entire conversation. Instead of: your way is wrong and here is why you’re dumb. It becomes: there is a version of you that already knows what this could look like, and I’d like to talk to that person. That reframe does not lower the standard. It changes the approach for getting there from shame into a place people close and defend, to invitation into a place people step toward.

Why This Matters for Leadership on Site

The practical implications of this principle run all the way through daily site leadership. A superintendent who leads through frustration and criticism creates a team that hides problems. Nobody wants to bring the bad news to someone who responds to bad news by making the person delivering it feel like a failure. So the foremen stop bringing it. The problems stay hidden until they are crises. The superintendent then has more reasons to be frustrated, and the cycle tightens.

A superintendent who leads through invitation who assumes the person in front of them has good instincts that got poorly directed, who asks questions instead of announcing conclusions, who connects the team member’s own desire to do good work with the standard being requested creates a completely different environment. People surface problems early because the response is curiosity and problem-solving, not anger. People step toward the standard because they have been shown how it connects to something they already care about, not because they fear the consequence of falling short.

This is not softness. This is production intelligence. The culture of any site is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate, and the most important behavior to watch is the one the leader models in the moment of frustration. Frustration will come. The question is what the leader does with it.

Reaching for the Good When You’re in It

There is something honest and important in acknowledging that this principle is not abstract it applies to the leader themselves, not just to the people they are leading. There are moments in any role where the frustration becomes real and heavy. Accounts receivable that has ballooned into a cash crisis while people keep asking you to resend the invoice you already sent three times. A meeting where nothing moved. A project where the same problem keeps surfacing in new forms. A day where everything feels stuck and the pull toward anger is stronger than the pull toward clear thinking.

In those moments, the invitation applies internally too. Can you reach for the part of yourself that knows how to respond well? Not suppress the frustration that is not the goal. But find the thread that leads back to constructive movement. Ask for what you need. Let the people who care about you help reset the system. Put your hands up if that is what it takes. Feel the pull toward better, and follow it.

That is what leadership development actually looks like in practice. Not the polished version delivered on a stage. The messy real version where a person in a hard moment makes the choice to reach for better rather than stay in the worse. And the team that watches them make that choice learns something they could not have learned from a handbook.

What “Reaching for Better” Looks Like in Construction

The practical version of this principle shows up in the decision moments that happen on every project every day. Watch for these specific places where the invitation matters more than the critique:

  • A foreman who does not know the Takt plan and is improvising in the field. The invitation: here is how this sequence is supposed to flow, and here is why it will make your week easier than what you’re doing now.
  • A trade partner who has never experienced a pull planning session and sees it as paperwork. The invitation: you know better than anyone what your crew can realistically install in a zone. We want to hear that before we commit to a date.
  • A superintendent who keeps information in their head because that is how they have always operated. The invitation: when the plan is in their head, the crew is guessing. When it is visual, they can perform. Let me show you what that looks like on a board.
  • A PM who has been measuring success by getting materials to the site without checking whether the site was ready for them. The invitation: the trades need the materials at the right time in the right zone. Here is how that changes when we sequence delivery to the production plan.

None of those are comfortable conversations. All of them assume the person being invited has a part of them that wants the better outcome. Most of the time, that assumption is correct.

The Essence of Lean as an Invitation

This is not separate from Lean. This is the heart of it. The production tools Takt, Last Planner, pull planning, full kit, zone standards are invitations to a better way of working. They are not demands. They are demonstrations that the frustration most field teams carry is not inevitable, that the waste and the rework and the panic and the firefighting that define most projects are not construction’s natural state. They are the symptoms of a poorly designed system. And a better system is available.

The person who pushes back on a clean desk, on a Takt plan, on a morning worker huddle, on zero tolerance they are not pushing back on the idea of a better project. They are pushing back on an invitation they have not yet trusted. The answer to that is not a louder argument. It is a clearer, more patient, more honest invitation that assumes they have a pull toward better and tries to connect to it. We are building people who build things. That includes building the trust that makes people willing to take the step. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow and build the culture where the pull toward better actually has room to answer.

A Challenge for Builders

Find the person on your team this week who pushes back on the standard the hardest the one who makes the excuse, who offers the counterargument, who comes on with full chest. Resist the instinct to counter them. Instead, ask them one question: what would it look like if this project went better than any project you’ve been on? Listen to the answer. Find the part of what they described that connects to what you’re asking of them. Start there. The pull is in there. It is in everyone. The leadership skill is learning to reach it rather than argue past it.

As Taiichi Ohno said, “Where there is no standard, there can be no improvement.”

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does “the pull toward better” mean as a leadership concept?

It is the recognition that most people already have an instinct toward doing good work and being part of something excellent. Effective leaders connect to that instinct with invitation rather than overwhelming it with criticism which produces defensiveness rather than change.

Why does a clean desk matter to a superintendent’s overall performance?

Because the discipline of maintaining an organized workspace reflects the same habits that produce an organized site. The desk is not the goal the habit is. A super who cannot maintain their own workspace is running on the same habits that produce chaotic zones, missed standards, and reactive leadership in the field.

How is invitation different from lowering the standard?

Invitation does not lower the standard it changes the path to it. Shame closes people off. Invitation opens them toward the thing you are asking for. The standard stays exactly where it is; the approach for getting there becomes one that the person being led can actually step into rather than defend against.

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.

    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)
    Get Book
    The Ten Improvements to Production Planning: What Lean Builders Can Do To Improve Short Interval Planning (The Art of the Builder)
    Get Book

    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.

    agenda

    Day 1

    Agenda

    • Intro to Camp
    • Set Expectations
    • Morning Routine
    • Plan Day
    • Explain "Why"
    • Teams Intros + Yells + Expectation
    • Focus, Physiology, Words + Yells
    • Blocks to Leadership
    • 50 Million
    • Biggest Thing
    • Choose Your Word
    • Marketing Exercise
    • Interview for the Project
    • PO Homework and Close the Day

    Outcomes

    • Understand how to get into a proper state to lead
    • Understand how to dig deep to find the confidence to lead
    • Team work and collaboration
    • Understand marketing
    • Understand how to interview for and win a project

    Day 2

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Macro Takt planning
    • Setup jobs + Signs + Logistics
    • Explain the IPCS™
    • Detailed logistics training
    • Team balance & health training

    Outcomes

    • Learn the IPCS™ understand how to integrate the entire project from start to finish with First Planners™ and Last Planners® through the Takt Production System®
    • Learn how to review a project
    • Learn advanced logistics
    • Learn team balance and health

    Day 3

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Review How Big Things Get Done
    • Review IPCSTM
    • Fix (Schedule, zone, logistics, trailer, org & procurement)
    • Fresh Eyes Meeting
    • Pre-Con Overview
    • TAKT SIMULATION
    • Recap and Review

    Outcomes

    • Understand why and how to plan
    • Understand the benefits of using a Takt production plan
    • Learn the steps to proper pre-con that sets the project up for success
    • Learn how to review a project in a Fresh Eyes Meeting
    • Learn flow from Takt planning

    Day 4

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Opposing Squares
    • Pull Plan
    • Takt Remaining
    • Norm Update
    • Re Zoning
    • Risks & Pre-Con Align
    • Meeting System
    • Problems
    • Recap

    Outcomes

    • Understand the Norm level Takt plan for weekly/daily planning
    • Benefits and outcomes of rezoning strategies
    • Using meetings to feed information through the system and to the Foremen

    Day 5

    Agenda

    • Morning Routine
    • Day Planner
    • Plus & Delta
    • Huddle I.D.S
    • Day Plan
    • Worker Huddle
    • Norm Update
    • Team Huddle
    • Lean Systems Recap
    • Feedback Exercise
    • Final & Close

    Outcomes

    • Know what information is needed and how to get it to the Workers
    • Better understand how to give feedback and why it’s crucial for everyone
    • How to problem solve as a team
    • Understand how all systems tie together
    • Know how the information gets all the way to the worker
    • Have perfect clarity on the individual’s personal organization planner