Takt Steering & Control Book – Beginning the Meeting System

The Trade Partner Weekly Tactical (PART 1)

The Trade Partner Weekly Tactical is one of the most important meetings on a construction project. It brings supers, PEs, FEs, and trade foremen together with one purpose, to create a reliable weekly work plan, look ahead six weeks to make work ready, and remove roadblocks that threaten flow.

When this meeting is done right, only 20% of the time is spent making plans and 80% is focused on identifying and eliminating constraints. Remember, flow doesn’t come from pushing work, it comes from making work ready.

Here’s the structure of a successful Weekly Tactical:

1. Positive Shout Outs

Every meeting should start on a positive note. Begin with shout-outs that recognize good work, collaboration, or progress. At first, the leader may need to provide most of the recognition, but over time, the team will naturally contribute. This builds trust and creates a culture of appreciation.

2. The Lightning Round

Borrowed from Patrick Lencioni’s Death by a Meeting, the lightning round is a quick check in. Each participant gets 60 seconds to share small updates, minor issues, or items to add to the agenda. This clears distractions and ensures the most critical matters get priority later in the meeting.

3. Safety Topic

A quick discussion of a safety item helps anchor the team’s focus on what matters most keeping everyone safe. Making safety a standing agenda item reinforces it as a core value, not an afterthought.

4. Review the TAC Plan

Before diving into weekly details, step back and review the bigger picture. This includes:

• Updates from strategic planning and procurement.
• Key milestones and whether the team is aligned to meet them.
• Production trends (via line of balance).
• Upcoming pre-construction meetings.
• The path of critical flow and buffer status.

This keeps everyone grounded in the overall project objectives.

5. Review Last Week

Looking back helps the team learn and improve. Review last week to:

• Track overall trends.
• See if activities need to be pulled forward.
• Identify PPC (Percent Plan Complete) variances and perform root cause analysis.
• Capture corrective actions to prevent repeat issues.
• Review key KPIs; buffer ratio, roadblock removal average, and handoff percentage.

This ensures unfinished work and lessons learned flow into the current plan.

6. Review Current Progress

Since the Tactical happens mid-week, it’s important to check how the current week is going:

• How has progress been so far?
• Do adjustments need to be made?
• Are activities at risk of slipping into next week?

With this context, the team is ready to build a reliable plan for the upcoming week.

7. Create the Weekly Work Plan

This step is about coordination and commitment. The weekly work plan should approach 100% reliability, with trades deeply engaged and committed to their promises. The process includes:

• Filtering weekly activities.
• Discussing handoffs and readiness.
• Documenting roadblocks as they’re identified.

8. Finalize and Publish the Weekly Work Plan

Once refined, the plan should be displayed in a large, easy to read format that foremen can actually use in the field. A strong weekly work plan shows:

• Activities by zone and trade.
• Key handoffs and dependencies.
• Spatial layout of work areas.
• Commitments made between trades.

The plan should also support field walks, daily huddles, and visual tracking of progress. All lean systems are seeing systems the plan must be visible and practical.

This is only Part 1 of the Trade Partner Weekly Tactical. In the next section, we’ll cover more details on how to run this meeting effectively and keep flow strong throughout the project.

Key Takeaway

The Trade Partner Weekly Tactical isn’t just another meeting it’s the engine that drives flow. By focusing less on pushing tasks and more on making work ready, teams can align, commit, and remove roadblocks in real time. Done right, this meeting transforms chaos into clarity and keeps projects on track week after week.