Lean Onboarding Series – Respect for Resources

“I’m Not the Plane’s Janitor”

Paul Akers once walked into an airplane restroom left in genuinely terrible condition, trash everywhere, a dirty mirror, an unsanitary mess. He was not the plane’s janitor, and nobody was paying him to clean it. He cleaned it anyway, wiping down the mirror and sink, throwing away the trash, and leaving the space better than he found it.

His reasoning was simple and worth repeating directly: that plane was a resource enabling him to do his own work, get where he needed to go, and accomplish what he set out to do. He respected that resource at a fundamental level, and that respect, not an assigned job duty, was what actually motivated him to leave it better than he found it.

The Real Pain: Wasting What Actually Enables the Work

The real pain on construction projects shows up as a familiar pattern of waste: stick-building everything on site and throwing away a full fifth of the material back out through the dumpster, submittals reviewed carelessly enough that the wrong materials get ordered and have to be replaced, materials staged carelessly and left to get damaged before they are ever even installed. Every one of these patterns represents a failure to respect the actual resources that make the work possible in the first place.

The Failure Pattern: Treating Materials, Equipment, and Spaces as Disposable

The failure pattern is a culture where materials, equipment, and shared spaces get treated as disposable, or as someone else’s responsibility entirely, rather than something genuinely appreciated and protected because it enables real work to happen. A forklift, a crane, a hoist, a set of materials staged for installation, none of these are simply expendable inputs. They are the actual resources a project depends on completely.

A few places where genuine respect for resources shows up clearly across a project team are worth naming directly:

• Project engineers reviewing submittals carefully and inspecting deliveries, so materials do not need to be wastefully reordered or discarded.
• Superintendents choosing prefabrication and precise pre-cutting over wasteful stick-building that generates unnecessary scrap.
• Foremen staging and handling materials carefully enough that they are not damaged sitting around before installation.

This Isn’t About Being the Janitor, It’s About Appreciating What Enables Your Work

Paul Akers was not cleaning that restroom because it was technically his job. He did it because he genuinely appreciated that the plane, restroom included, was a resource making his own work possible. The same logic applies directly to a jobsite. Respecting a hoist, a crane, a set of materials, or a shared hallway is not about taking on someone else’s job. It is about recognizing that these things are exactly what make your own work possible in the first place.

From Submittals to Staging: Respect Shows Up at Every Level

Real respect for resources shows up differently depending on the role, but the underlying principle stays the same throughout. Project managers can write contracts so materials arrive by zone, just in time, rather than all at once creating clutter and risk of damage. Project engineers can review submittals thoroughly and inspect deliveries carefully, preventing the waste of ordering the wrong materials or discarding damaged ones. Superintendents can choose prefabrication and careful pre-cutting over wasteful stick-building that generates unnecessary scrap headed straight for the dumpster. Foremen can stage and use materials responsibly, keeping them protected rather than exposed to damage. And workers benefit directly when all of this is done well, since properly managed resources keep flow intact, protect profit, and stay out of everyone’s way rather than becoming clutter and obstacles.

Why It Matters: Waste Isn’t Just Cost, It’s Disrespect

This matters because wasted materials and damaged equipment are not simply a financial problem to track on a budget sheet. They represent a form of disrespect, toward the resource itself, and toward everyone downstream who depends on it being available, functional, and ready when needed. A culture that tolerates wasted materials or poorly maintained shared spaces is not simply being financially careless, it is failing to extend the same respect to resources that it claims to extend to people.

Teach the Framework: Appreciate It, and You Won’t Waste It

Here is a simple, repeatable mental habit worth teaching directly throughout an entire project team: genuinely name appreciation for whatever resource is actually in front of you. I appreciate this hoist. I appreciate these bathrooms. I appreciate this forklift. I appreciate this crane. That small, deliberate habit of naming real appreciation builds the underlying instinct not to waste or damage what you are actually grateful to have access to, addressing the root of waste rather than just cleaning up after it happens.

A few practical resources on a typical jobsite deserve this same deliberate respect, and they are worth naming directly:

• Shared spaces like restrooms, lunch areas, hoists, and entryways, kept clean and functional the way you would want to find them yourself.
• Equipment like forklifts, cranes, and lifts, used and maintained carefully rather than treated as expendable.
• Materials staged and handled with real care, protected from unnecessary damage before they are ever installed.

Turning This Into Daily Practice

Before using any piece of equipment, entering any shared space, or handling any set of materials, pause for a moment and genuinely name what that resource actually enables you to do. Leave shared spaces better than you found them, the same way Paul Akers did on that plane, not because it is formally your job, but because you genuinely respect what that space or resource makes possible for you and for everyone else relying on it.

Connecting It Back to Building People, Not Just Projects

None of this happens without a culture that genuinely values resources as much as it values people, recognizing that wasted materials, damaged equipment, and neglected shared spaces ultimately hurt the people depending on them. Building that kind of respect into every level of a project, from procurement decisions down to how a single material gets staged, is exactly what protects flow, profit, and the people doing the work.

If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams build a genuine culture of respect for the resources that make real, flowing production possible.

The Challenge

So here is the challenge worth carrying onto your next project: pick one resource you interact with daily, a piece of equipment, a shared space, a set of materials, and genuinely name what it enables you to do before you use it. As Paul Akers put it, “This plane is a resource for me. I appreciate and respect this resource at a fundamental level.” On we go.

FAQ

Why does it matter that Paul Akers cleaned a restroom that wasn’t technically his job?

His motivation was not a sense of obligation, but genuine appreciation for the resource, the plane, that made his own work and travel possible. That same mindset, respecting what enables your work rather than treating it as someone else’s problem, applies directly to how resources get treated on a construction site.

What are some common ways construction projects fail to respect their resources?

Stick-building materials on site and discarding a significant portion as waste, carelessly reviewing submittals leading to wrong or reordered materials, and staging materials carelessly enough that they get damaged before installation are all common patterns. Each represents a failure to respect the actual resources making the work possible.

How does respecting resources connect to protecting project profit and flow?

Properly managed materials, equipment, and shared spaces stay out of everyone’s way and remain functional and available exactly when needed, which protects both schedule and profitability. Wasted or damaged resources create clutter, delays, and unnecessary costs that ripple through the entire project.

What is a simple habit for building genuine respect for resources on a jobsite?

Deliberately naming appreciation for a specific resource, a hoist, a crane, a set of materials, before using it helps build the underlying instinct not to waste or damage it. This small, repeatable practice addresses the root cause of waste rather than just cleaning up after it occurs.

Does respecting resources apply only to materials and equipment, or also to shared spaces?

It applies to both. Restrooms, lunch areas, hallways, and entryways deserve the same genuine care and respect as materials and equipment, since they are all resources that enable people to do their work effectively and comfortably.