Elevating Construction Takt Planning – Part ‪1‬

CPM Has Ruled Construction Since 1965 and Projects Finish Late With Crash Landings Every Time

There is a scheduling system that has governed construction for sixty years. Critical Path Method. Adopted by AGC in 1965 as industry standard. Still considered gold standard today. Used on nearly every project. Required in most contracts. Taught in universities. Certified by professional organizations. And it destroys projects. Causes crash landings. Creates chaos. Disrespects workers. Sacrifices families. Hides problems until too late. Because CPM is fundamentally broken. Not because schedulers are incompetent. Not because superintendents do not try. But because CPM itself incentivizes push over flow. Optimism over reality. Complexity over clarity. Deception over transparency. And the entire industry remains addicted to it. Why? Because better the devil you know than the angel you do not. Because CPM has made its way into contracts and legal standards and owner requirements. Because challenging it threatens positions, relevance, education, careers. So everyone keeps using it. Keep crashing projects. Keep burning out workers. Keep sacrificing families. Keep pretending detailed complexity equals solid planning. When the truth is: CPM is wild guess masquerading as science. CPM slams everything left to data date creating false sense of security. CPM hides flow problems in excessive detail nobody can read. CPM institutionalizes hiding problems through logic adjustments. CPM enables dragon sickness where superintendents hoard schedule knowledge instead of collaborating with teams. And CPM must be dethroned. Not eliminated necessarily. But subordinated. Governed. Held accountable by the one system that rules all others: Flow. Takt Planning. Because as Taichi Ono taught in manufacturing: flow where you can, pull where you must. And adapted to construction: flow where you can, pull where you cannot, push where you must. In that order. Always. Flow is king. Takt Planning is the one ring to rule them all. To govern CPM, Last Planner, Scrum, and all other systems. To bring respect back to workers. To preserve families. To finish projects on time. Without crash landings. Without burnout. Without chaos. This is why Elevating Construction Takt Planning exists. To dethrone CPM. To declare war on disrespect. To bring flow back to construction. And to save the one to five percent of workers whose lives are being destroyed by push systems that ignore human dignity.

Here is what happens when CPM rules unchecked. A project team creates first schedule draft. Uses smallest amount of detail. Plans for ideal conditions. Not tied to proper risks and constraints. Optimistic timeline emerges. Owner falls in love with end date. Confirmation bias settles into team psyche. They give away general conditions and schedule time to save face and please customer. Customer doomed to disappointment. Because CPM deceives about how long projects actually take. Slams everything to left. Promises to calculate float but rarely shows it on printed schedules. Creates false security. Then project starts. Reality hits. Optimistic schedule cannot hold. Problems emerge. But CPM hides them. Schedulers adjust logic ties. Make well-hidden changes. Negative float disappears from view. Team feels falsely content. Until evidence becomes irrefutable. Too late. No contingencies left. Crash landing inevitable. Push begins. Workers stay late. Families suffer. Someone says “this is just the way it is” when asked why they cannot come home. Burnout spreads. Quality drops. Safety incidents rise. Project finishes late anyway. Despite heroic efforts. Despite sacrificing people. Despite destroying families. And nobody blames CPM. They blame the superintendent. The trades. The owner changes. The weather. Anything except the system that incentivized this disaster from day one through optimistic timelines hiding flow problems until recovery became impossible.

The real pain is CPM masquerading as solid plan when it is actually detailed guessing. Many associate busyness and motion with productivity. Similarly they mistake excessive detail as indication of solid plan. But CPM master schedules are wild guesses. Not yet accurate production rates applying properly within local geographical and market conditions. Historical data with certain sequences exists but those sequences can be used intact and do not justify CPM as method. CPM shows detailed guessing. Nothing more. Yet because it looks complex, teams trust it. Believe in it. Build careers defending it. When the simple truth is: very few builders, even those creating their own schedules, can see overall plan from CPM printout. CPM experts argue filters, hammock activities, graphical schedule printouts solve this. But these solutions do not hold non-summarized data accountable to flow within context of whole plan. Bottom line: very few read CPM schedules and nobody can fully understand them without lot of detailed focused work. CPM is not practical or efficient. At best, quality safety and financials rely on skill thoughtfulness discipline and good fortune of person who entered information initially. Knowing plan in its entirety is crucial. Nobody can take CPM schedule, read it within reasonable timeframe, and see overall plan like you can with Takt. CPM is too complex to effectively read and manage. Yet it rules construction like tyrannical mother-in-law who shows up to help after baby is born. Sounds like blessing initially. Over time bosses everyone around. Badmouths you for every move. Disrupts family peace and stability. Remains in house only because damage sending her home seems harder than enduring her presence. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

The Five Fatal Problems With CPM

Problem one: CPM is too optimistic. Does not easily show flow or geographical connections between WBS sections. Hard to read. Hides inefficiencies. Miscalculates how long projects take. When first schedule draft is made, it plans for ideal conditions without proper project risks and constraints. Owner bids optimistic schedule. Falls in love with end date. Confirmation bias settles in. Team gives away general conditions and schedule time. Enters eventual crash landing with no contingencies available. CPM deceives us about how long projects take.

Problem two: CPM makes us think plan is better and more complete than it really is. People wrongly associate busyness with productivity. Similarly they mistake excessive detail as indication of solid plan. But CPM is wild guess. Historical data exists for certain sequences but does not justify CPM as method in itself. CPM masquerades as good plan when all it actually shows is detailed guessing. Very few can see overall plan from CPM printout. Even with filters and graphical tools, these do not hold data accountable to flow within whole plan context.

Problem three: CPM hides the plan in complexity of its format. No one can fully understand CPM schedules without lot of detailed focused work. Not practical or efficient. Quality safety and financials rely on this plan. Knowing plan in entirety is crucial. But nobody can take CPM schedule, read it within reasonable timeframe, and see overall plan like you can with Takt. CPM is too complex to effectively read and manage.

Problem four: CPM has too much unchecked power. Legal considerations, analysis, and standards all based on CPM. Manipulated and used for pointless purposes. Industry addicted through sheer familiarity. Made its way into most contracts. Difficult to find owner who does not think it vital to success. Reigns supreme in construction which is exactly the authority leading to its unrighteous dominion. Concept of CPM is not necessarily bad when kept in its place. Problem is: it is not currently in its place. Must be dethroned as gold standard.

Problem five: CPM institutionalizes hiding problems. Professionals simply adjust logic ties and make well-hidden changes to make negative float disappear. When using Takt, practitioners might say: Takt does not work, I constantly see problems in this system and we are not tracking to finish on time. This is precisely because Takt is productivity paranoid system reflecting reality and bringing all problems to surface. True lean scheduling system shows what is actually going to happen. CPM hides things. Builders feel falsely content until evidence team will not finish on time is irrefutable, oftentimes too late. CPM also contributes to dragon sickness: non-transparent possessive siloed superintendents who hoard schedule like dragon hoards gold. Covet power and security from being only one who knows plan because not confident or competent enough to work with team and let team own plan together. CPM encourages this bad behavior and destroys collaboration.

Why This Book Was Written

Most construction projects do not finish on time. There is better way of running projects. Success of cost quality and safety is ultimately determined by execution of schedule. What are implications of improperly scheduled project? Disrespect for workers and families of everyone involved. Both unacceptable. If we want to bring respect back to workers and keep family time sacred, we need to bring flow back to construction to correct scheduling practices. Results are interconnected and dependent on one another. This book is call to respect people and resources, qualities too seldom seen in mad rush of current construction practices with outdated ineffective techniques. This book is intended to save lives, care for workers, train leaders, and preserve families.

Lean definition at Elevate Construction: respect for people and resources, stable environments, and continuous improvement. Takt Planning is strategic initiative in creating stable environment. How can anyone continuously improve in chaotic environment? How can stable environments be built with exclusion of deep abiding respect for people and resources? To bring this respect training and preservation back to construction, we have to get formula right for lean. Have to bring back stability which allows for respect and continuous improvement. Have to bring back flow. Takt does this.

The Three Dedications

To the uninterested: For those who make living off old systems, this book is dedicated to possibility we can eventually come together, stop worrying about own careers and paychecks, and turn focus to wonderful workers in our industry who make magic happen. If you can confidently promulgate old ways of push and pull in construction and still feel you are taking care of people, we will go to hell and back with you to collaborate and reach compromise.

To the opposers: For those who choose to oppose this work and values Elevate Construction seeks to foster, this book is dedicated to battle your existence has necessitated. To those who do not care about people, we want you out of construction. We want you gone. Your ineffective system of push is overburdening and in some cases destroying people and families. There are moral and ethical issues at heart of taking care of workers and our industry must change. To you, the one to five percent who do not care about people, we declare war on your disrespect, your selfishness, and your greed.

To those ready to elevate: This book is dedicated to you, your craft workers, leaders on your project site, and families whose lives will be positively impacted as you strive towards better way. To everyone who has felt pressure to stay late at work. To those who have told family member “this is just the way it is.” To all who have been rushed because project is behind. For all who see CPM schedule and think “that will not work.” And for those who use Last Planner and see amount of chaos on your project when paired with CPM, this book is for you. Come share our vision and learn how to gain back time needed to live remarkable life.

The Lord of the Rings Allegory: One Ring to Rule Them All

Last Planner, Scrum, CPM, Graphical Schedules, and many others ultimately work and fulfill their purpose when they are governed by one. That one is Flow. It is Takt Planning and use of Takt Time in scheduling. All our rings of power are ruled by one: the Ring of Flow. Construction ring verse: Three keys for builders under sky (study drawings, be in schedule, take reflection walks daily), seven roles in their collaborative halls (field engineer, project engineer, assistant superintendent, assistant project manager, project superintendent, project manager, project director or executive), nine meetings set to scale them, one king overall known as Flow. In land where respect reigns supreme, one to rule them all, one to find them, one to bring them all and in its might bind them. Over CPM, Last Planner and Scrum, Flow rules to bind them, in land where respect reigns supreme.

What wearers of original nineteen rings did not know: their powerful rings were gifted with ulterior motive and ruled by the one. One ring’s entire existence was to harness and control other rings and dominate will of other ring wearers. In construction, all our rings of power are ruled by one: Flow. Takt Planning. Use of Takt Time in scheduling. Standing order of maintaining flow where we can to guide team’s effort to create stability and govern all other systems. One ring to rule them all.

Flow Where You Can Pull Where You Cannot Push Where You Must

Taichi Ono, father of lean, said: flow where you can, pull where you must. Translated from manufacturing to construction: flow where you can, pull where you cannot, push where you must. Flow is king. Rules all and should be our first priority value and focus. In construction, when we cannot flow, we need to pull. And we all know situations that regardless of best efforts we have to push hard to get finished. In similar fashion and in this order, we must use Takt and Flow systems, then tools like Scrum and Last Planner, and then CPM only when we must. At times when last three are used, Takt will govern them all.

Industry currently benefits from Last Planner system. Typically in new approach: CPM schedules created identifying milestones, pull planning done to milestones with Last Planner, make ready plans detail target dates for manpower materials and information, weekly work plan becomes production control tool from which percent plan complete can be tracked as project team huddles to execute daily work. This is great step in right direction. But will not fully be supported until CPM stops leading as unruly master with its unrealistic end dates and poor preparation. Takt Planning has not yet taken hold in United States like it should. Needs to be empowered as main scheduling tool to either replace critical path method or at minimum hold it accountable and govern it.

The Challenge

Stop defending CPM because it protects your career, your education, your position, your relevance. Start recognizing flow must rule all other systems. Start using Takt Planning to govern CPM, Last Planner, Scrum, and all other scheduling approaches. Start bringing respect back to workers by creating stable environments through flow. Start preserving families by finishing projects on time without crash landings requiring late nights and burnout. Start dethroning CPM as gold standard and subordinating it under Takt’s governance. Not necessarily eliminating CPM. But keeping it in its rightful place. Under control and accountability of Takt. Like spouse who overprograms Saturday needs realistic partner bringing duo back into reality by planning what should be done within time allotted. Only way to have great Saturday is use common sense partner or pair them together. Never should optimistic unrealistic partner plan Saturday alone.

As the book dedication declares to the one to five percent who do not care about people: we want you out of construction. We want you gone. Your ineffective system of push is overburdening and in some cases destroying people and families. There are moral and ethical issues at heart of taking care of workers and our industry must change. To you who do not care about people, we declare war on your disrespect, your selfishness, and your greed. And to everyone ready to elevate: this is for you. For your craft workers. For leaders on your project site. For families whose lives will be positively impacted as you strive towards better way. Come share vision and learn how to gain back time needed to live remarkable life. Flow where you can. Pull where you cannot. Push where you must. In that order. Always. With Takt Planning as the one ring to rule them all. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the five fatal problems with CPM scheduling?

One: too optimistic, does not show flow or geographical connections. Two: makes you think plan is better than it really is (detailed guessing). Three: hides plan in complexity nobody can read. Four: has too much unchecked power in contracts and legal standards. Five: institutionalizes hiding problems and enables dragon sickness.

What is dragon sickness in construction scheduling?

Dragon sickness is when superintendents hoard schedule knowledge like dragon hoards gold, coveting power and security from being only one who knows plan because not confident or competent enough to let team own plan together, CPM encourages this non-transparent possessive siloed behavior destroying collaboration.

Why was Elevating Construction Takt Planning written?

Most construction projects do not finish on time, there is better way, and success of cost quality and safety is determined by schedule execution. Book is call to respect people and resources, save lives, care for workers, train leaders, and preserve families by bringing flow back to construction.

What does “flow where you can pull where you cannot push where you must” mean?

Taichi Ono taught flow where you can, pull where you must in manufacturing. Translated to construction: use Takt and flow systems first, then tools like Scrum and Last Planner, then CPM only when you must—in that order, with Takt governing all other systems.

How does the Lord of the Rings allegory apply to construction scheduling?

Just as one ring ruled all other rings of power in Tolkien’s work, Flow (Takt Planning) must rule all other scheduling systems (CPM, Last Planner, Scrum) in construction, the one ring to rule them all, governing systems to create respect for people and stable environments.