Seeing Roadblocks Trick: Give Your Trades an Assignment

Stop Asking “Any Roadblocks?” and Give Your Trades an Assignment

Here’s the deal. I have a killer idea for you today that I literally just learned about by being on projects yesterday, and I want to share it with you. It is a really cool idea that can help us see roadblocks out ahead.

Short answer: Don’t just ask your trade partners, ‘Any roadblocks?’ At the start of the weekly tactical or the afternoon foreman huddle, hand out the printed six-week make-ready lookahead, put the ten-point ‘ready’ list on the wall, and give everyone five to ten minutes to find what will go wrong out ahead. A real assignment surfaces roadblocks that a generic question never will.

First, a Recap on Make-Ready Planning

I have talked before about the make-ready lookahead, and this is not the main focus of today, but it sets up the idea. First and foremost, you should be able to visualize the work in 2D, visualize it in 3D, and visualize the environment surrounding it. You should be able to connect emotionally and ask yourself how you feel about that space.

Really experience the question of whether we are ready in a certain area for make-ready lookahead planning. Not just with a thought, not just with words, but with visuals. Not just visuals, but 3D visuals. Not just 3D visuals, but actually being there and experiencing the space.

What “I’m Ready” Really Means

I want to make a definitive comment. When any of your trade partners say they are ready for an activity, or that they do not have roadblocks, here is what it means for that activity.

• The expectations are clear.
• The materials are correct, on time, inventoried, and inspected.
• Labor is available, and that labor is trained.
• RFIs, information, and submittals, anything necessary for that work, are ready.
• The quality feature of work board and any safety requirements, including the JHAs, are ready.
• The space will be or is ready.
• The layout is or will be ready without issue.
• The equipment and tools are available.
• There are no issues with permissions such as permits, inspections, or gates that would stop the work from proceeding.
• Contracts and insurance will be ready.

That is the list we agree on together as a group. I would invite you, in your trade partner weekly tactical and your afternoon foreman huddle, to print that list out as big as you can and put it on the wall. That way, when you ask trade partners whether they are ready, they can reference it and actually see it. I think that is a one hundred percent brilliant idea.

The New Idea

Now let me go to the new idea I had recently while I was at a job site. I saw a project team doing a really good job. The superintendent asked, hey, are there any roadblocks, and they looked out the next six weeks, but there was not really enough time to dig in and look at it. So it was a general, generic question.

Kudos to this job site. The superintendent already had the six-week make-ready lookahead printed on the desk for the meeting, for everyone.

Then it hit me. Why not, at the beginning of the meeting, say to all the trade partners, as we begin this meeting, please look at that printout of the six-week make-ready lookahead. Look at all of your activities and make sure all ten of those things are ready for every activity. And I want you to try to find a roadblock.

Do not just ask, are there any roadblocks? Give them an assignment. Your assignment is, if something is going to go wrong, what will go wrong? What will go wrong out ahead? What is going to happen that will stop your work? Then give them five or ten minutes.

If I were a foreman, that would be a time to clear my mind. I would not be on my phone. I would not be distracted. I would not be on the radio. With my pencil or pen, I would literally go through and check each of the items and do that kind of visualization. It hit me that this would work.

What Counts as a Roadblock

We have to start looking out ahead, because remember, roadblocks are items to be cleared ahead of the train of trades. Here is what they could be.

• An RFI that is not answered.
• Layout that is not ready or is incorrect.
• A work area that has not been made ready.
• Missing material or equipment.
• A crew that is not ready ahead.
• Improper planning, overcommitting, or miscommunication.
• A change in the work plan.
• A safety concern.
• Improper sequencing.
• Resources that are unavailable.
• Work that is not authorized.
• A change in the work plan by the owner.
• An internal resource problem with my own company.
• Plans that will not be ready, or anything else.

Put Roadblocks and Constraints on the Wall

The other thing I was thinking is, why not put this roadblocks and constraints visual up on the wall, to say, here are some of the things that will mess you up. Constraints are items that are a part of the design of the train of trades that can be adjusted. To remove constraints, you adjust the following.

• The Takt zones.
• The Takt time.
• The work packaging.
• The sequence.
• The leveling of labor.
• The trade processes.
• The zone configuration.
• The number of zones.
• Labor productivity.
• Variation, by reducing it.
• Standard work, by improving it.
• Site configurations.
• Unforeseen conditions, by mining for them.

You could literally have your roadblocks and constraints list up on the wall, ready to go, and say, let’s see if any of these are going to affect you, because you have given the right amount of time to do that planning. This is an idea I love, love, love, and I want to see all of you implement it as part of your weekly trade partner tactical and your afternoon foreman huddles.

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So here is the challenge. Print your six-week make-ready lookahead for everyone at your next meeting, give your trade partners five or ten minutes, and ask them what will go wrong out ahead. Then put your roadblocks and constraints lists on the wall.

Bottom line: If something’s going to go wrong, what will go wrong?

On we go.

FAQ

What does it mean when a trade partner says they are ready for an activity?

It means expectations are clear, materials are correct and on time, labor is available and trained, information is ready, quality and safety requirements are ready, the space and layout are ready, equipment and tools are available, permissions are in place, and contracts and insurance will be ready.

What is the new idea Jason shares?

At the start of the meeting, give the trade partners the printed six-week make-ready lookahead and an assignment to find a roadblock, instead of just asking whether there are any. They get five or ten minutes to think through what will go wrong out ahead.

What is the difference between a roadblock and a constraint?

Roadblocks are items to be cleared ahead of the train of trades. Constraints are items that are part of the design of the train of trades that can be adjusted.

Where should these visuals be used?

On the wall in the weekly trade partner tactical and the afternoon foreman huddle, so trade partners can reference it.

People Also Read:

Ways to get Roadblocks from Trades
Roadblock Tracking Maps
Takt Steering And Control Book
Last Planner System and Takt training

Want your team trained on this? See our Last Planner System and Takt training.