Your Fastest Trades

Being Ahead in Only One Area (Doesn’t Actually Gain You Time)

Here’s a comment from a superintendent that sounds smart but is actually incorrect: “We’re ahead on level three, so it doesn’t matter that we’re behind on level one and two. We’ll make up that time.” And I get why someone would think that. It sounds logical. But when you actually map it out, you see that being ahead in one area doesn’t gain you anything. It just creates a gap.

And this is important because most people don’t realize this until it’s too late.

The Pain of Thinking Speed in One Area Makes Up for Delays in Another

There was a team I won’t tell you where they are and you won’t know who I’m talking about, and I like it that way because I want people to feel safe with the information they share. The onsite team was a little bit chaotic on this job, and the company systems were all there for them to succeed. And they weren’t doing very well. They were losing time consistently while other projects in the same company were ahead of time. They’re gaining months and months and months.

I mean, seriously, one job the other day was like three months ahead of what they were planning on simply because of stability and flow. And this project kept drifting. And so, we don’t believe in coming in and saving a team, but we do believe in coming in and helping and making sure the process and the system was helping them and being followed. You know, it does have to be followed.

So, we came in and found out that they weren’t holding to the meeting structure and they weren’t following their standard best practices and they weren’t implementing according to the Takt plan. And one of the comments that came from the superintendent was, “Well, because we’re ahead on level three, it doesn’t matter that we’re behind on level one and two, because we’ll make up that time.”

And that’s the topic that I want to cover today.

Here’s what happens. The team is behind on levels one and two. But they’re ahead on level three. So, they think, “Great, we made up time. We’re back on track.” But when you map it out, you realize that being ahead on level three doesn’t accelerate the overall schedule. It just creates a gap. Because everything in construction is dependent. Trades flow sequentially. And if you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others, you’re not faster. You’re just out of rhythm.

Why Being Ahead in One Area Doesn’t Gain You Anything

So that’s not a bad thing to think because it means that the person is thinking. And it’s not unnatural to think that. But it is incorrect. And like everything in these podcasts, we want to make sure that we’re providing accurate information.

If you actually map that out, you see that that doesn’t actually gain you anything. Because if you’re ahead in a couple of zones, because everything is dependent and in a flow according to an original plan, you end up with a gap. You don’t end up with an acceleration.

The person that we sent out there, who asked to go out there, who’s a Takt and field expert, actually mapped it out for the onsite team. And they were like, “Oh, oh my gosh. Okay. So those areas being ahead, they ended up being gaps because there’s too many dependent activities that prevent us from actually switching the overall sequence and gaining time. And really what we need to do is just pause and get back into flow.”

And the project team went through in detail. They did a complete as-built of where they were. They said, “This is what we’re going to have to do, or what we get to do to finish. Let’s just stabilize and get back into flow.” And they’re back on track. They’re back on track.

Here’s why this matters. When you’re ahead in one zone, you can’t just accelerate the entire project. Because the trades behind you aren’t ready. The materials aren’t staged. The inspections aren’t complete. The handoffs aren’t clean. So, you end up waiting. And that waiting is a gap. And the gap doesn’t save time. It just creates chaos.

The Rare Exception (And Why It Almost Never Happens)

But it is a falsehood. You can’t be like, “Oh, we’re ahead up here on this random floor. So that’s time that we get back.” That may be true. Like if you were like, “Okay, everything’s ready. Everything’s dependent. There are no constraints that prevent that from being a change in sequence.” And then you’re like, “Instead of floors one, two, three, four, we’re going to go one, three, two, four.” And it pans out. Maybe. I think you’ve got like a one in ten chance of that actually happening.

It will cause variation and you may not gain anything even if it did work. But nine times out of ten, and I do know this, that’s not just a random thought, nine times out of ten, it’s going to gain you nothing. And it’s just going to end up being a gap.

Here’s the exception. If everything is truly ready materials staged, inspections complete, trades onboarded, handoffs clean and you can change the sequence without causing variation, then maybe being ahead in one zone lets you switch the order and gain time. But that almost never happens. Why? Because construction is dependent. Trades flow sequentially. Materials arrive in order. Inspections happen in sequence. And if you try to jump ahead, you create coordination chaos, variation, and rework.

So yes, theoretically, you could gain time by being ahead in one zone. But in practice, it almost never works. And when you map it out, you see that the gap is more likely than the gain.

The Core Principle: Flow Matters More Than Speed

Here’s the concept. It doesn’t matter how fast your fastest trades and I’m going to add areas are going. It matters how your slowest trades and your hardest or slowest zones are going. We’ve got to get everything leveled and we’ve got to get everybody inside of a train going the same speed and the same distance apart and synchronize the trains of trades together.

And so, I just wanted to explain that concept. It’s not evil. It’s not bad. It’s not stupid to think it. But it is incorrect. Most of the time, these things are actually a sign of intelligence that the person is thinking this way. But when you actually map it out, it’s beyond human comprehension to actually see if it’s actually right. And you have to map it out. When you map it out, you see it. Nope. That’s not accurate.

Here’s the truth. The project moves at the pace of the slowest trade. The hardest zone sets the rhythm. And if you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others, you’re not accelerating. You’re just out of sync. The solution isn’t to celebrate being ahead in one area. The solution is to pause, stabilize, and get back into flow. Level the work. Synchronize the trains. And move together at the same speed, the same distance apart.

That’s how you gain time. Not by sprinting ahead in one zone. But by flowing together in rhythm. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

A Challenge for Superintendents

Here’s what I want you to do this week. If you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others, don’t celebrate the zone that’s ahead. Map it out. Look at the dependencies. Look at the constraints. Look at what’s preventing you from switching the sequence. And nine times out of ten, you’ll see that being ahead in one zone doesn’t gain you anything. It just creates a gap.

And when you see that, pause. Stabilize. Get back into flow. Level the work across all zones. Synchronize the trains of trades. And move together at the same speed, the same distance apart. That’s how you gain time. Not by sprinting in one area. But by flowing together in rhythm.

As we say at Elevate, it doesn’t matter how fast your fastest zones are going. It matters how fast your slowest zones are going. Flow matters more than speed. Level the work and synchronize the trains.

On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why doesn’t being ahead in one area make up for being behind in others?

Because construction is dependent. Trades flow sequentially. Materials arrive in order. Inspections happen in sequence. If you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others, you can’t accelerate the overall schedule. You just create a gap because the trades behind you aren’t ready.

What happens when you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others?

You end up waiting. The trades behind you aren’t ready. The materials aren’t staged. The inspections aren’t complete. The handoffs aren’t clean. So, the zone that’s ahead sits idle. That’s a gap, not an acceleration. And gaps don’t save time.

Is there ever a situation where being ahead in one zone gains you time?

Theoretically, yes. If everything is truly ready materials staged, inspections complete, trades onboarded, handoffs clean and you can change the sequence without causing variation, then maybe. But that happens one in ten times. Nine times out of ten, it just creates a gap.

What should you do if you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others?

Pause. Stabilize. Get back into flow. Don’t celebrate the zone that’s ahead. Map out the dependencies and constraints. Level the work across all zones. Synchronize the trains of trades. And move together at the same speed, the same distance apart.

Why does flow matter more than speed in one area?

Because the project moves at the pace of the slowest trade. The hardest zone sets the rhythm. If you’re ahead in one zone but behind in others, you’re not accelerating the project. You’re just out of sync. Flow creates predictability. Speed in one area creates chaos.