The game does not begin and end while work is happening. The game begins when we know we have the work, and it ends when the work is done, not when you hit a roadblock. That one idea changes how a crew leader spends the day.
This is Part 11 of my walk-through of my book Elevating Construction Foremen. If you are just joining, start with Part 1. This part is about how crew leaders make work ready: quality feature of work boards, the six-week make-ready lookahead, the standard project meetings, and roadblock removal.
Short answer: Crew leaders spend most of their time making work ready. Pull every requirement for a high-risk feature of work into one simple quality visual before the work starts. Review every activity in the six-week make-ready lookahead and ask what will hold you up. Then be fanatically addicted to removing roadblocks, ideally about 15 days before they would hit the work.
What Is a Quality Feature of Work Board?
In construction today, shop drawings and submittals are required for most scopes of work. The idea is for the crew to have detailed and specific information for their work in the field. This is a great step, but not the final one. Shop drawings and submittals are often batched, leaving information in multiple areas and on multiple pages for the crew leader to assemble in the field.
How much better would it be if the crew had a specific quality feature of work checklist or visual to align its efforts? A great quality visual has very simple bullet points, pictures, and double-checking criteria. It is easy and fast to read, and it is enjoyable to look at. It is your job to get this kind of instruction to your crew, whether or not it is provided to you. Either collect the information into one location with the team or do it yourself, before the work begins, not during. I explain the checklist side in Field Quality Checklists.
The document that comes out of the preconstruction meeting is used to:
- Orient the crew.
- Train the crew ahead of the work.
- Prepare the work.
- Do the work.
- Inspect the work daily as you go.
- Reflect on the work.
- Inspect the work from the GC side.
- Update requirements as better means and methods are learned.
- Catalog proper practices for the next project with the same scope.
Why Does Making Work Ready Matter So Much?
A crew leader will spend most of her or his time making work ready. Too many crew leaders show up on site without preparation, start work, spread out materials, and then pull off when they hit a roadblock. We hear things like, “I’m leaving until this is figured out,” or “I am pulling my crew off,” as if it is a weapon to wield. Those words should never leave a crew leader’s mouth in retaliation.
It was the crew leader’s job to prepare the work and to help the GC prevent the roadblocks. A crew leader who shows up unprepared and leaves when trouble arises is not a crew leader at all. He or she is an inexperienced worker who bosses people around and plays the victim. A real crew leader prepares work, clears roadblocks, has a backup plan, and leans in to help solve problems when they arrive. The game timer begins the day you find out about the project and ends when the work is 100% finished.
How Do You Use the Six-Week Make-Ready Lookahead?
The six-week make-ready lookahead is the six-week schedule filter coordinated with the trades, from a pull plan, from the master schedule. It is used in the trade partner weekly tactical meeting so crew leaders can see whether work is made ready and whether there are roadblocks. For every activity you have in the next six weeks, ask yourself: do I have the means and methods expectations, quality and safety expectations, materials, trained labor, layout, space, approved information, equipment, tools, permissions, contracts, and insurance to perform that task properly? If the answer to any of those is no, it becomes a potential roadblock and one of your main focuses. More in Participating in the Look-Ahead.
The key is to:
- Really visualize the work.
- Visualize it in 3D.
- Ask what you need for that task or process to run smoothly.
- Use all your senses, hearing, sight, and touch, to get a feel for the space.
- Don’t ask, “Is this ready?” Ask, “What will hold me up?”
What Are the Standard Meetings on a Great Project?
Great projects host a standard set of meetings to scale information to crew leaders and workers and solve problems that would get in their way:
| Meeting | Purpose | Schedule used | Attendees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team meeting | Build the project team and manage the project from a business standpoint. | Master schedule | Project director, project executive, PM, supers, PEs, field engineers |
| Strategic planning and procurement | Review the long-term plan and align procurement to support it. | Master schedule and procurement log | PM, supers, PEs |
| Trade partner weekly tactical | Look ahead six weeks, make work ready, identify roadblocks, and build a committed weekly work plan. You participate heavily. | Six-week lookahead and weekly work plan | Supers, PEs, field engineers, crew leaders |
| Afternoon crew leader huddle | Plan the next day and lock in the how. | Weekly work plan and day plan | Supers, PEs, field engineers, crew leaders |
| Worker huddle | Connect with every worker each morning and share the plan. | Day plan | Project team, crew leaders, all workers |
| Crew preparation huddle | Stretch and flex, prepare the work, review pre-task plans and expectations. You lead it. | Day plan, safety plans, quality boards | Crew leader and workers |
| Team check-in | A 5–15 minute huddle at a scrum board to gather roadblocks and provide what the field needs. | All schedule types | PM, supers, PEs, field engineers |
| OAC | Owner, architect, and contractor make decisions to support the project. | Master schedule | Project leadership, owner’s rep, architect |
The afternoon huddle keeps crew leaders with their workers during productive morning hours. The worker huddle matters because the project must operate as one team, and crew leaders will only pass along about 40% of the needed information from the afternoon huddle.
How Should Crew Leaders Remove Roadblocks?
The project superintendent should have a list, or preferably a map, of all known roadblocks, like the roadblock tracking maps we use. That becomes the most important thing for the PM, PE, superintendent, field engineer, and crew leaders to focus on. They should all be fanatically addicted to removing those roadblocks before they impact work.
A roadblock is anything that will potentially cause waste, unevenness, or overburden to the crews, hold up the train of trades, or stop the work. The industry sometimes uses the word constraints, but that is not the correct term. They are roadblocks because they could hold up the train if they are not removed from the track ahead. The farther ahead a roadblock is found and removed, the better, and that is your number one job. The ideal average is 15 days ahead. As the saying goes, “A man who does not plan long ahead will find trouble at his door.”
So here is the challenge. Pick the next high-risk feature of work on your scope and build a one-page quality visual for it before the work starts. Then take your next six weeks of activities and, for each one, write down the answer to “What will hold me up?”
Bottom line: Your game starts when you know you have the work, so make it ready, put the expectations on one visual, and remove roadblocks long before they reach your crew.
If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.
On we go.
Elevating Construction Foremen series:
Previous: Part 10: Zones, Pull Plans, Quality Precon Meetings, and Studying Drawings
Next: Part 12: The Weekly Work Plan, the Day Plan, and Your Morning Routine
FAQ
What is a quality feature of work board?
It is a simple checklist or visual for one feature of work, with bullet points, pictures, and double-checking criteria. It comes out of the preconstruction meeting and is used to orient, train, prepare, do, inspect, and improve the work.
What should a crew leader ask when making work ready?
For every activity in the next six weeks: do I have the means and methods, quality and safety expectations, materials, trained labor, layout, space, approved information, equipment, tools, permissions, contracts, and insurance? Any no is a potential roadblock.
How far ahead should roadblocks be removed?
The farther ahead the better. The ideal average is 15 days before the roadblock would impact the work.
People Also Read:
The Difference Between Roadblocks & Constraints
Fanatical Roadblock Removal
Lookahead Planning Explained: 6-Week Make-Ready in the Last Planner® System
How Foremen Run the Day, Tactical Meetings, Huddles & Zone Control
If you want to learn more we have:
-Takt Virtual Training: (Takt Virtual Training)
-Check out our YouTube channel for more info: (Elevate Construction on YouTube)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Elevate Construction Podcast)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Training Programs and Certifications)
-The Takt Book: (The Takt Book on Amazon)
Discover Jason’s Expertise:
Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction. As the company’s Founder and COO, 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.