Short-Term Planning in Construction (Weekly Work Plan System).

Stop Building the Same Plan Four Times

Here’s the deal. There is a habit in short-term planning that wastes an enormous amount of a project delivery team’s time, and almost nobody questions it. We build the plan, then we build it again, then we build it again, then we build it one more time. I want to explain why that happens, why it is overprocessing at its worst, and what to do instead.

Where the Plan Actually Comes From

Start with the master plan, which should be a macro level Takt plan. From there, you pull plan phase by phase. A phase is not a duration of time. It is a geographical location with a start and an end, with its own zones.

That pull plan becomes your production plan, and the production plan is the basis for everything. It should have buffers and milestones, and it should be an achievable, coordinated plan.

The Instruction I Cannot Ascribe To

When I was first taught the Last Planner System, the instruction went like this. Have the trades be part of the pull plan. Then have them make a look ahead plan from scratch. Then have them make a weekly work plan from scratch. Then have them make a day plan from scratch.

That is overprocessing at its worst, and I cannot ascribe to that whatsoever.

What the Rebuilding Looks Like in Practice

The problem gets worse when it is mixed with the concept of stickies. Here is the pattern.

• Somebody does a pull plan on one board.
• Then there is a separate board for the look ahead, with completely different stickies.
• Then there is another separate board with stickies just for the weekly work plan.

That last plan is not vertically aligned to milestones. It does not have flow. And it is a complete waste of time for the project delivery team.

You might say, well, at least they have stickies so they can see. Yes, but they are seeing the wrong thing. The pull plan. The pull plan. The pull plan. The pull plan is the coordination.

Filters, Not New Creations

Once the pull plan educates your production plan, your actual level three schedule, and not in CPM, because I do not believe in CPM, everything downstream becomes a filter rather than a new creation.

• The six week look ahead is a filter, so you can IDS, meaning identify, discuss, and solve roadblocks and make work ready.
• The weekly work plan is a filter, and its filter is commitments, commitments, commitments, commitments.

All they are is filters. They are not brand new creations.

Three Questions in the Weekly Tactical

What I do in the trade partner weekly tactical, the meeting you have every week with your trade partners, is very effective, and it comes down to three things. Confirm with each trade that their scope is still on schedule. Look at the critical handoffs and make sure we are still on track. And ask whether any trade needs to request something from another trade that they must have in order to make their commitment.

Your weekly work plan is all about commitments, and those commitments are what have to happen in the handoffs on a weekly basis.

Choosing Which Handoffs to Attend

When you get into the next week and start planning the next day, you realize you have to hit that handoff, that handoff, that handoff. As the project delivery team member over the area, you might not be able to watch every one.

Say fifteen handoffs are happening tomorrow. Ten of them are pretty typical, so you go down the line saying, you will hand off, good, you got it, you got it. Then a trade says they want some help, so that one goes on your list. Then there is a new one, so that goes on your list too. Then a critical one, and another critical one. Now, as the superintendent, field engineer, lead person, or assistant superintendent, you have four handoffs to go hit, the ones you are committed to in the weekly work plan, to make sure you are handing off successfully.

That is how it works. Then you mark them. If you have any problems, you address them in that same day afternoon foreman huddle, so you can recorrect for tomorrow.

Get It Off the Conference Room Wall

The other thing I would say is get that weekly work plan off the wall. Do not keep it on the conference room wall.

This is where the principle applies that the Japanese only use thoroughly tested technology, and Lean only uses thoroughly tested technology. The plan has to be available to everybody. Even if you print it out so everybody has a physical weekly work plan, I am fine with that. But it has to be everywhere. You cannot have it only on stickies on a wall back in the conference room.

Everybody needs to see as a group, know as a group, and act as a group. So instead of leaving the weekly work plan static in the office, I want it in the foremen’s hands. What you can keep in the office are the roadblock boards, so you have a place to talk about roadblocks.

That is the main philosophy around weekly work planning.

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So here is the challenge. Count how many times your team rebuilds the same plan from scratch. If the answer is more than once, start treating the look ahead and the weekly work plan as filters of the pull plan instead.

Jason Schroeder said it plainly: “They’re not brand new creations.” Build the plan once, then filter it.

On we go.

FAQ

What is the overprocessing Jason describes?

Having trades participate in the pull plan, and then build a look ahead plan from scratch, a weekly work plan from scratch, and a day plan from scratch. Each rebuild duplicates work that the pull plan already coordinated.

Why are separate sticky boards for each plan a problem?

Because the resulting plan is not vertically aligned to milestones and does not have flow. People can see stickies, but they are seeing the wrong thing, since the pull plan is where the coordination actually happens.

How does a superintendent decide which handoffs to attend?

Out of all the handoffs happening the next day, most are typical and can be confirmed with the trades. The ones that go on the list are where a trade asks for help, where the handoff is new, or where it is critical.