Are You Attacking or Defending?

General Patton declared: the Nazis are the enemy, wade into them, spill their blood, or they will spill yours. We are not army officers. But we are constantly at war with variation and waste. Patton’s quote rewritten for builder: waste and variation are the enemies. Wade into them, eliminate them, or they will eliminate you. All-out warfare on anything that does not add value is the only approach allowing us to reach full potential. Every day is battle against waste and variation. We are at war. Everything in construction process is literally trying to kill us on site or waste countless hours of time and money. Eliminate waste and variation. Waste and variation are intolerable. Sometimes necessary to endure them during pursuit of more urgent goal. But if you must temporarily endure them, be sure you never come to tolerate them. They should completely annoy you. Imagine someone scratched paint on your new truck in parking lot. Worked hard to save up for that truck. Hoped to drive it few months in pristine condition. Now someone carelessly opened car door into side. Chunk of paint missing in middle of dent. Not only damaged your door, but cowards didn’t leave note with insurance information. How do you feel? Can you feel that absolute hatred for situation? Hold it. Let it constrict blood vessels and turn face red. That is how you should feel about waste and variation. How you should feel when you walk onto dirty project sites. When you open portable restrooms on site and see no toilet paper. When you see rebar laying around with no apparent purpose. Never defend. Always attack.

Here’s what most superintendents miss. They tolerate waste and variation. Dirty sites become normal. Missing toilet paper becomes expected. Rebar laying around becomes how things are. Inventory stockpiles get covered with mud and nobody cringes. Design changes get radioed to foremen stopping concrete pours and everyone just deals with it. Variation interrupts flow and teams shrug. Because they’re defending, not attacking. Defensive position is stagnation. Nobody ever defended anything successfully. There is only attack and attack and attack some more. Historically, defenses eventually fall to ruin. Only in attack do we keep enemy on run and preserve forces. Only on move do we stay safe. When stagnating or on defense, we become object of attack. Make no progress. Fall is inevitable. Like Constantinople built impenetrable defenses for thousand years, became complacent, eventually fell. Like Nazis conquered Europe with Blitzkrieg attack tactics, then had to defend 1,600 miles of coastland and everything changed. Attack enables quick victories. Defense handicaps and leads to eventual ruin. Construction same. Attack waste and variation aggressively. Never defend and tolerate them.

The challenge is most superintendents fall behind the 8-Ball stuck in firefighting mode. Being behind the 8-Ball in pool: cue ball positioned behind 8-Ball cannot get direct shot at other balls. No good move available. On project: failure to plan puts team behind 8-Ball preventing advancing. Once someone gets hurt because no advanced safety planning, project unmanageable. Team has no time to advance or overcome. Only react to circumstance. Team allowed project to become unclean and disorganized. Cannot instantly implement cleanliness habit because bad habits already formed. Time spent cleaning up after themselves leaves no time preventing future infractions. Being behind 8-Ball puts team in firefighting mode. Everything is emergency. Everyone’s job becomes putting out fires. Firefighter at work isn’t trying to avoid water damage. Isn’t hesitant about breaking down door. Isn’t focused on anything other than putting out fire. Hacks through roof, drenches home, damages anything in way to extinguish flames. Sometimes deemed safer to just let house burn down. When superintendents fall into firefighting mode, no room for preservation or prevention. Clock is ticking. Cannot sit down to strategize. Knee-jerk attempts to solve problems cause more damage to project. That’s defending. Not attacking.

• The Eight Wastes: Your Enemies
• There are eight recognized wastes in our industry:

• Excess inventory.

• Overproduction.

• Wasted transportation.

• Wasted motion.

• Needless waiting.

• Over-processing.

• Defects.

• Not using the combined skills of the team.

Consider inventory. Ever been on project where all fixtures or all rebar brought out only to sit, wait, get moved, damaged, reordered, move again, installed with defects, sold to owner who no longer has choice, then haunted during punch walks with everyone who tours building?

Remember last time you saw stockpile of rebar get completely covered with mud on site? Remember how it felt? It is all waste. The ignorance was waste, as was inventory, damage, and reordered materials. Lost productivity, added stress, missed football games at home while working late, lost profits, bad performance reviews, hindered careers, difficult and contentious conversations, lowered morale, lack of pride, sleepless nights is all waste. We should not tolerate it.

Variation: The Flow Killer

Let’s say you get started making dinner for family. Get all groceries, start burners, heat oven, mix ingredients, get halfway through cooking recipe. Kids now tell you they don’t want that meal. Spouse tells you he or she working late and can’t be home for dinner. Realize you’re missing eggs you need to make what kids really do want. In all confusion, you burned food that was on schedule. How do you feel? What do you do?

Variation is any interruption to flow of project. Happens when information or plans change, when commitments are not met, when consistency and flow are compromised.

Many in industry love creating variation for folks on site. Ever gotten word from architect to make change on site, picked up radio, called foreman, and changed plan? What happens next?

Think about concrete crew on site. Forms mobilized, rebar on way, layout performed, concrete and finishers scheduled, everything ready to go. Then you get call on radio: hold off on wall because there’s change. Or, please stop work because we forgot inspection. Or, we need to put bulkhead in different location because missing information about specific block out.Easy, right? Just stop. Just change. Just deal with it. We all know it isn’t that simple.

Form work was needed elsewhere. Schedule now behind. Just wasted all day mobilizing forms and must take them back. Have to cancel concrete. Oh yeah, they can’t reschedule for another two days, so just lost another two days. More rebar needs to be ordered, so office now interrupted. Suppliers left fighting fires. No one knows new plan. Morale goes out window. Engineers have to reconfigure layout. Work tomorrow needs to be rescheduled. Rest of week needs to be planned again.Variation is not easy. Not fun. Should not be tolerated. One seemingly minor change causes far more consequences than we realize, all at expense of our morale, personal lives, and all that we care about. Might be necessary at times to please owner or fix mistake, but should never be tolerated easily. Should make us cringe to create variation on site. Should embarrass us. We should shield people from it whenever possible.

Attack, Don’t Defend: The Patton Philosophy

Nobody ever defended anything successfully. There is only attack and attack and attack some more. Historically, defenses eventually fall to ruin. Only in attack do we keep enemy on run and preserve forces. Only on move do we stay safe.

When stagnating or on defense, we become object of attack. Make no progress. Fall is inevitable. If we must be in defensive position, we need to use that time to redirect and plan counterattack. Once group is on defensive, they are handicapped.Consider Nazis in World War II. Their Blitzkrieg tactics of attack enabled them to quickly conquer most of Europe. Tactics so effective that France was conquered in six weeks, Denmark conquered in mere six hours. However, once they found themselves as occupiers, Nazis had to change behavior from aggressive offense to defense. Had to defend 1,600 miles of coastland from impending Allied invasion.Prospect of defending such large area brought huge problems. Everything from not having steel and concrete needed to build defenses, to not having manpower to garrison them. When Patton had them on defensive, they had to help stragglers, destroy equipment and ammunition, obtain mobile supplies, regroup, try to rally time and again. So not only did they need to carry on normal necessities of war, but also had to re-establish critical momentum Patton’s army already had.

Behind the 8-Ball: Firefighting Mode

When we sink into defensive position on project sites, we find ourselves behind the 8-Ball. In game of 8-Ball Pool, black 8-Ball is last ball player sinks into pocket. Being behind 8-Ball refers to times when cue ball positioned behind 8-Ball and cannot get direct shot at other balls. In this situation, there is no good move available.

Failure to plan will put team behind 8-Ball and keep them from advancing on project. Consider project with no advanced safety planning or implementation. Once someone gets hurt, project is unmanageable. Team does not have any time to advance or overcome. Can only react to circumstance.

Likewise, when team has allowed project to become unclean and disorganized, they cannot instantly implement habit of cleanliness and organization because bad habits already formed. With all time spent going back and cleaning up after themselves, they do not have time to prevent future infractions.

Being behind 8-Ball puts team in firefighting mode. Everything is emergency. Everyone’s job becomes putting out fires.

Firefighter at work is not trying to avoid water damage. Isn’t hesitant about breaking down door. Isn’t focused on anything other than putting out that fire. When he enters burning building, he hacks through roof, drenches home, damages anything in way to extinguish flames. In some cases, deemed safer to just let house burn down.Same is true in life and work. When superintendents fall into firefighting mode, there is no room for preservation or prevention. When waste and variation are destroying our future work, clock is ticking. Cannot sit down to strategize. Knee-jerk attempts to solve problems often end up causing more damage to project.

Constantinople: Defensive Position Leads to Fall

In 324 AD, Roman Emperor Constantine chose existing city of Byzantium as new capital of Roman Empire. Named it Constantinople and built defenses that remained impenetrable for over thousand years.Residents of city relied on their location and fortifications as defense and over time became complacent. After centuries as one of finest cities in world, Constantinople became target of ongoing attacks from neighboring civilizations.

Eventually, weakened by political and religious infighting, economic downturns, and plague, great city finally fell in 1453 to Sultan Mehmed II, leader of Ottoman Empire.This pattern has replayed itself over and over throughout history. When cultures, companies, or people aren’t actively and regularly winning, they are on their way to losing, even if it takes some time.

The System Failed You

Let’s be clear. When superintendents tolerate waste and variation, it’s not entirely their fault. The system failed by teaching that dirt, missing toilet paper, rebar laying around is just how construction is. Nobody showed that waste and variation should completely annoy you. Nobody explained that absolute hatred you feel for someone scratching your truck is how you should feel about waste. Nobody demonstrated that tolerating them leads to major losses. The system taught deal with it when actually attack it.

The system also failed by not teaching that variation is not easy, not fun, should not be tolerated. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow. Concrete crew has forms mobilized, rebar on way, layout performed, everything ready. Then radio call: hold off on wall because there’s change. Form work needed elsewhere. Schedule behind. Wasted all day mobilizing forms. Have to cancel concrete. Lost two more days. More rebar ordered. Office interrupted. Suppliers fighting fires. No one knows new plan. Morale gone. Engineers reconfigure layout. Work tomorrow rescheduled. Rest of week planned again. One seemingly minor change causes far more consequences than we realize. The system taught just change the plan when actually variation destroys flow.

The system fails by teaching defensive position is acceptable when actually defense is stagnation. Nobody ever defended anything successfully. There is only attack and attack and attack some more. Constantinople built impenetrable defenses for thousand years, became complacent, eventually fell. Nazis conquered Europe with attack tactics, then had to defend 1,600 miles of coastland and everything changed. When stagnating or on defense, we become object of attack. Make no progress. Fall is inevitable. Being behind 8-Ball puts team in firefighting mode with no room for preservation or prevention. The system taught defend when actually attack waste and variation aggressively.

The Challenge

Here’s your assignment. Stop defending. Start attacking waste and variation.

Feel absolute hatred for waste and variation. Imagine someone scratched paint on your new truck. Feel that hatred. Hold it. Let it constrict blood vessels and turn face red. That is how you should feel about waste and variation. When you walk onto dirty project sites. When you open portable restrooms and see no toilet paper. When you see rebar laying around with no apparent purpose. Let it completely annoy you.

Eliminate the eight wastes. Excess inventory, overproduction, wasted transportation, wasted motion, needless waiting, over-processing, defects, not using combined skills of team. All waste. Ignorance, inventory, damage, reordered materials, lost productivity, added stress, missed football games, lost profits, bad performance reviews, hindered careers, difficult conversations, lowered morale, lack of pride, sleepless nights. Do not tolerate it.

Stop tolerating variation. Concrete crew has everything ready. Radio call changes plan. Form work needed elsewhere. Schedule behind. Wasted all day. Cancel concrete. Lost two days. More rebar ordered. Office interrupted. No one knows new plan. Morale gone. Layout reconfigured. Tomorrow rescheduled. Week planned again. Not easy. Not fun. Should not be tolerated. Should make you cringe. Should embarrass you. Shield people from it whenever possible.

Attack, don’t defend. Nobody ever defended anything successfully. Only attack and attack and attack some more. Historically, defenses fall to ruin. Only in attack do we keep enemy on run and preserve forces. Only on move do we stay safe. When stagnating or on defense, we become object of attack. Constantinople built impenetrable defenses, became complacent, fell. Nazis attacked with Blitzkrieg tactics conquering Europe, then defended coastland and lost momentum.

Avoid being behind 8-Ball in firefighting mode. Cue ball positioned behind 8-Ball cannot get direct shot. No good move available. Failure to plan puts team behind 8-Ball. No time to advance or overcome. Only react. Bad habits formed. Time spent cleaning up leaves no time preventing future infractions. Everything becomes emergency. Everyone putting out fires. No room for preservation or prevention. Clock ticking. Cannot strategize. Knee-jerk attempts cause more damage.

Wade into waste and variation. Eliminate them or they will eliminate you.

On we go.

FAQ

What are the eight wastes in construction?

Excess inventory, overproduction, wasted transportation, wasted motion, needless waiting, over-processing, defects, not using combined skills of team. All waste. Ignorance, inventory, damage, reordered materials, lost productivity, added stress, missed football games, lost profits, bad performance reviews, hindered careers, difficult conversations, lowered morale, lack of pride, sleepless nights. Do not tolerate it.

What is variation and why does it matter?

Any interruption to flow of project. Happens when information or plans change, when commitments not met, when consistency and flow compromised. Concrete crew has forms mobilized, rebar on way, layout performed, everything ready. Radio call changes plan. Form work needed elsewhere, schedule behind, wasted all day, cancel concrete, lost two days, more rebar ordered, office interrupted, no one knows new plan, morale gone. One seemingly minor change causes far more consequences than realized.

Why should you attack instead of defend?

Nobody ever defended anything successfully. Only attack and attack and attack some more. Historically, defenses fall to ruin. Only in attack do we keep enemy on run and preserve forces. Only on move do we stay safe. When stagnating or on defense, become object of attack. Make no progress. Fall is inevitable. Constantinople built impenetrable defenses for thousand years, became complacent, fell. Nazis attacked conquering Europe, then defended and lost momentum.

What does being behind the 8-Ball mean?

In pool, cue ball positioned behind 8-Ball cannot get direct shot. No good move available. On project, failure to plan puts team behind 8-Ball preventing advancing. No advanced safety planning, someone gets hurt, project unmanageable. Team has no time to advance or overcome. Only react. Puts team in firefighting mode. Everything emergency. Everyone putting out fires. No room for preservation or prevention.

How should you feel about waste and variation?

Imagine someone scratched paint on your new truck. Worked hard to save up for it. Hoped to drive few months in pristine condition. Now someone carelessly opened car door into side. Chunk of paint missing. Didn’t leave note. Feel that absolute hatred. Hold it. Let it constrict blood vessels and turn face red. That is how you should feel about waste and variation. Completely annoy you. Never tolerate them.

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