This step in the Last Planner implementation series is to implement all six takt steering controls. Once we have zone control and start noticing problems, we need to recover from them and know what to do. We’re now playing the football game with yard lines, sidelines, and goalposts, so we can see on a continual basis whether we’re winning.
Short answer: When zone control shows waste, unevenness, or overburden, decide whether it’s a roadblock or a constraint, then use one of six steering strategies in your collaborative huddles: level work, manage production, get foremen and supers working together, create stability, produce a quality product, and remove roadblocks.
What Are You Looking For?
| Problem | What it includes |
|---|---|
| Waste | Overproduction, excess inventory, defects, transportation, motion, over-processing, waiting, and unused talent |
| Unevenness | Defective work, roadblocks, delayed work, production loss, stops and restarts, unleveled zones and crews, variation, trade process bottlenecks, and zone bottlenecks |
| Overburden | Workers pushed or going too fast, too much overtime, too many areas, too much context switching, zone work density too high, not enough people, fatigue, working beyond training, lack of resources, work too complex, lack of breaks, and lack of buffers |
With zone control, you notice these in real time, and then you get to go fix them. I have other posts that describe these strategies in a lot of detail, and they’re in Elevating Construction Foremen, but here’s the overview as part of this series. See Lean Onboarding Series – Waste, Unevenness, & Overburden.
Is It a Roadblock or a Constraint?
Roadblocks are items to be cleared ahead of the train of trades: RFIs not answered, layout not ready, work area not ready, missing material, crew not ready, improper planning or sequence, resources unavailable, work not authorized, or a change in the work plan by the owner.
Constraints are part of the design of the train of trades. They can be adjusted but probably can’t be removed entirely: takt zones, takt time, work packages, sequence, labor counts, trade processes, zone configuration, number of zones, labor productivity, variation, train alignment for one-process flow, standard work, site configuration, and mining for unforeseen conditions as part of system design. Read The Difference Between Roadblocks & Constraints.
Strategy 1: How Do You Level Work?
- Adjust takt zones so every zone has a similar level of effort for the crews. Otherwise, you’ll only go as fast as your most complex zone.
- Adjust work packages and work steps so crews are leveled to the zones. You’ll never go faster than your slowest crew.
- Level information flow, so submittals, RFIs, and design work aren’t dumped all at once on office and design teams.
- Level labor, and adjust work so each wagon has buffers and isn’t overburdened or stretched too thin.
Leveling creates flow. See Heijunka: Leveling Work for Flow and Predictability.
Strategy 2: How Do You Manage Production?
- Optimize bottlenecks: look at the work and find them.
- Optimize task cycle times within a zone through time studies and observing production in the field.
- Reduce batch sizes by having the right number of zones.
- Increase labor productivity through training.
- Reduce variation with anything that creates standardization and consistency.
- Get crews to work in one-process flow.
Strategy 3: Are Foremen and Supers Working Together?
If you see roadblocks in the field, ask: are your foremen and superintendents working together to pre-stage materials, prepare for the next task, and improve handoffs from zone to zone? Are they pulling contractors into the areas behind them? Are workers being trained before they move on? Are materials and equipment aligned to the zone durations, the goalposts, to arrive just in time with buffers?
Strategy 4: Is the Project Stable?
Is the project clean, safe, and organized? Is the team balanced and healthy? Is the team managing delays as a group? Are they holding start dates per the takt time? Are they engaging in an effective meeting system and holding daily huddles? If the project isn’t stable, you won’t be able to see and remove roadblocks in time.
Strategy 5: Are You Producing a Quality Product?
We talk a lot about lean, but lean is really, let’s build it right the first time. Are crews installing with quality at the source? Finishing work as they go? Using standard work? Prefabricating as much as they can? Following a quality process well, according to triggers in the schedule?
Strategy 6: Are You Removing Roadblocks?
Are they using and managing buffers, seeing deviations in real time, using make-ready look-ahead planning and roadblock maps, and removing roadblocks? Read Fanatical Roadblock Removal.
| You see | Start with |
|---|---|
| Constraints | Level work and manage production |
| Roadblocks | Foremen and supers working together, stability, quality, and roadblock removal |
When you’re using zone control and you ask, now what do I do, you’ll typically use one of these six strategies to correct the work in your collaborative huddles. It’s pretty fantastic.
What’s New on YouTube?
We recorded 20 more videos for the Jason Schroeder YouTube channel, for about 60 total. In case it looks self-aggrandizing, the consultants we use said viewers want to build a relationship with one person, so that’s why it’s my name. It wasn’t to be famous. It was to create connections. There are also 20 videos kicking off each meeting in this series, so you can go to a group and say, I want to run a pull plan, here’s the intro video. People seem to like watching surveying and heavy equipment more than construction education, but we’re doing our best and having some fun.
After two and a half years of LinkedIn outreach, we’re at almost 23,000 connections. It’s a long game.
So here is the challenge. At your next afternoon foreman huddle, name one problem you saw in a zone, decide if it’s a roadblock or a constraint, and pick the steering strategy to fix it.
Bottom line: Zone control shows you the problems. The six steering strategies tell you what to do about them.
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.
Takt and Last Planner Implementation series:
Previous: Zone Control
Next: Get All Trades Into Their Wagons
FAQ
What are the six takt steering strategies?
1. Level work. 2. Manage production. 3. Get foremen and superintendents working together. 4. Create stability. 5. Produce a quality product. 6. Remove roadblocks. Use them in your collaborative huddles when zone control reveals waste, unevenness, or overburden.
What is the difference between a roadblock and a constraint?
Roadblocks are items to be cleared ahead of the train of trades, like unanswered RFIs, layout not ready, or missing material. Constraints are part of the design of the train of trades and can be adjusted, like takt zones, takt time, work packages, sequence, and labor counts, but probably can’t be removed entirely.
Which steering strategies address constraints?
The first two, leveling work and managing production. Roadblocks are usually addressed with the other four: foremen and superintendents working together, stability, quality, and roadblock removal.
People Also Read:
Takt Steering & Control
Takt Steering & Control Book – Introduction
Roadblock Removal
Buffers Create Flow
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.