We’ve talked about programs and projects and milestones. Now we’re talking about phases. My first outline for the book was all over the place, like a fall leaf drifting in a winter storm. We came up with this outline of the components of a takt plan instead, and it’s really lending itself to easy understanding. I don’t think I’ve ever communicated these things on a podcast the way we are now.
Short answer: Phases are groupings of zones that trains of trades flow through. Study the drawings first, picture the building in an exploded view, and find each train track. Each phase has a start milestone, a line of balance, a sequence, a buffer, and a finish milestone, and phases are where you measure the parametrics and Little’s Law calculations.
What Is a Phase?
Phases are groupings of zones. I really need you to remember that. It’s the easiest way to look at it. You may have multiple trains of trades moving through those zones using the same tracks, but the location, or zones, will be the common factor. A phase has a start milestone, a pace-setting line of balance, a sequence, a buffer, and a finish milestone, which could be an intermediate milestone for the overall takt plan or project.
Phasing is the first classification in breaking the project into manageable parts. In a blog post I did for the Lean Builder blog, I talked about how builders schedule, the work breakdown structure, and typical CPM structures. Whether you’re in takt or CPM, you always start with phases, then zones within the phases, then micro zones. We don’t do time by deliverable. We always do time by location for the construction of the building. In design or the warranty period, you might use time by value-receiving unit or value-adding unit. Typically, what you put on the left is fixed, and what you see in the diagonal flows.
How Do You Find the Phases?
At DPR around 2013, some confident, brilliant people were putting together their production planning efforts, and I was part of it. Something I had never seen in any scheduling training: we study the drawings. We don’t just start clicking into a schedule, start in Excel, or build sequences. We get a feel for it. That’s what builders do.
In Salt Lake City, I worked with one of my favorite human beings of all time on an 11-inch stack of structural and architectural drawings. We went page by page, making general marks on the printed plans. How would it flow? What are the constraints? What would the phases be? It let us create the work breakdown structure.
- Research the drawings and look for the general phases.
- Ask if each phase will have consistent areas or zones within it.
On a typical building, I’ll see site work, foundations, structure, interiors, exterior, roof, finish site work, and testing and commissioning. You can even do this with MEP, because the MEP infrastructure backbone runs through similar zones: the entry section rooms, out through the chases, up to the roof air handlers, and then feeding the building. To classify as a phase, it must be broken down by zones.
What Does an Exploded View Have to Do With It?
Have you ever looked at an IKEA assembly drawing? They take a bed frame or desk and pull everything apart in an expanded view, with dotted lines showing how it goes together. Imagine a building in an expanded view. How will the train flow through the zones? You’ll see a train of trades run through zones on the foundation, up through the structure, through the interiors, through the MEP entry sections and chases up to the roof, around the exterior, across the roof, and across the site. That’s how you know it’s a phase: it’s a train track with its own train of trades. See Multi-Train Takt Planning: How Trains of Trades Flow Through a Phase.
Why Do I Keep Talking About Time by Location?
Some of you say, Jay Money, you talk about this too much. I get it. But I was working with some amazing superintendents the other day, and they were struggling because they’d been mentally programmed their whole careers to create schedules time by deliverable. That’s a two-dimensional view. Even in civil, where some takt benefits don’t directly translate, time by location is a three-dimensional view: you see production rates, crew flow, trade flow, and buffers. A brilliant man asked me today if a linear accelerator installation in an existing basement could go in takt. Absolutely. Even without repeatable areas, you get to check and manage your key indicators. I want every builder programmed from day one to think in time by location.
| Advice | Why |
|---|---|
| Identify large groups of work that flow together | Those become phases |
| Ask if a train or trains can flow through it | If so, it’s a phase |
| Expect phases to link and be interdependent | They form the path of critical flow |
| Expect each phase to have its own type of flow and work | Plan each phase on its own terms |
| Scale fractally | Mega projects use campus, program, project, phase, zone, and micro zone. Normal projects need only phases and zones. |
What Does the Shape of a Phase Tell You?
A phase creates a geometric object and a mathematical relationship for how the train flows. You’re seeing where a train was in time as it flowed through zones, down the page. A long phase, left to right, means the train is going slow. A tall phase means it’s going fast relative to time. From that object, you can see how it ties to other phases, when it starts, the milestones, the risks, the line of balance, the sequence duration, the buffers, whether there are multiple trains, and the general shape.
What Can You Calculate From a Phase?
German researchers came up with three parametrics, measured within phases:
| Parametric | Calculation | Ideal range |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Takts used in the takt plan divided by empty takts; tracks the value provided to the flow of work | 0.5 to 2.5 |
| Efficiency | Compares the number of takt wagons and takt sequences | 0.3 to 3.0 |
| Stability | Train buffers divided by end buffers | 0.5 to 2.0 |
There are also seven formulas that directly correlate to a phase, and Little’s Law as translated to takt works within a phase. From a phase, you can calculate the minimum duration, the realized flow percentage, the number of zones and duration for an intersecting takt time, and the efficiency and value parametrics. So when I tell you not to ignore the concept of a phase, it’s not a preference or an opinion. It’s how we calculate the production analyses we need in a construction schedule.
Each phase is structured with a line of balance, a sequence duration, and a buffer calculated from the risks, then pieced together with the other phases to identify the path of critical flow. Network them together and you have a path you can analyze, which ties into critical chain theory from Eli Goldratt, with measurements that can replace the CPM algorithm and standards we have to get away from. Critical chain has been proven to be 40% more effective. Look it up.
So here is the challenge. Before you open any scheduling software, study the drawings, picture the building in an exploded view, and mark every train track you see. Those are your phases.
Bottom line: Takt plans are a visual schedule, and they’d be worth it if they were only that. Breaking them into phases unlocks so much more.
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 Production System series:
Previous: Milestones
Next: Zones
FAQ
What is a phase in a takt plan?
Phases are groupings of zones. A phase has a start milestone, a pace-setting line of balance, a sequence, a buffer, and a finish milestone, and multiple trains of trades may use the same zones. Phasing is the first classification in breaking the project into manageable parts.
How do you identify phases in construction?
Research the drawings and look for the general phases, then ask whether each phase has consistent areas or zones a train of trades can flow through. Typical phases: design, buyout, procurement, site make-ready, mobilization, demolition, foundations, superstructure, exterior, interior, site work, and testing and commissioning.
What are the takt parametrics?
The value parametric divides the takts used in a takt plan by the empty takts (ideal about 0.5 to 2.5). The efficiency parametric compares the number of takt wagons and takt sequences (ideal about 0.3 to 3.0). The stability parametric divides train buffers by end buffers (ideal about 0.5 to 2.0). All are measured within phases.
People Also Read:
Before Phase Planning: The Work That Makes Every Construction Phase Succeed
What Is a Construction Phase Plan?
Macro Takt Planning Strategy (Master Schedule Level)
Heijunka: Leveling Work for Flow and Predictability
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.