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Project Production Management: Beware, Variation Compounds with Dependence! (Part 2)

(By Hal Macomber, EVP Touchplan and George Hunt, Lead – Pre-Sales/Sales Engineering Touchplan) Variation is present in things we do every day. From variation in driving speeds on the highway leading to traffic jams, to the varying weather conditions causing us to delay our planned concrete placement, variation has a huge impact on our daily lives. More specific to our projects, unmanaged variation leads to delays, blown estimates, unsafe conditions, and loads of frustration. Understanding why variation is such a big deal, how it affects our projects, and how we can counteract it, can ultimately lead to more positive project outcomes.

We learned three key lessons about project production management (PPM) from Toyota that directly relates to our work in design and construction. 

  1. Ensure that the production process is not overburdened. Don’t carry a load more than you can handle; don’t run a process longer than the design parameters; don’t cram work into a time shorter than is needed. That’s overburdening.
  2. Variation must be observed and managed otherwise it compounds. Tolerances stack; early and late completions don’t offset each other; and variation compounds with dependence.
  3. Identify and remove waste in our processes. This requires understanding what adds “value” in a process. Everything else is waste from the customer’s perspective.

The order of these lessons matter. While we didn’t know that when we learned these lessons, we do now. Many companies who were serious about Lean attacked waste first. Why? Reducing waste meant decreased costs and reduced time through production. Unfortunately, working on waste before taking care of the first two items isn’t sustainable.

First, a few words about overburdening: DON’T DO IT. 

It’s dangerous for a 10-ton crane to attempt to lift 15 tons. Don’t do it. It’s dangerous for people to work in the hot sun without adequate hydration. Don’t do it. People working long hours on a regular basis cause undetected errors. Don’t do it. Make sure that people, processes and equipment are right-sized for the work that needs to be done.

What’s the big deal about variation?

We’ll start with our commonsense. Which of the following actions are good for your project?

  • Let’s get a jump on it
  • We want supers who are pushers.
  • Give us plenty of laydown space
  • Make sure that all planned activities start on time
  • Stop starting. Start finishing.
  • Supers adjust to the changing circumstances.
  • Will run the project as if no laydown space is available
  • Adjust to the changing circumstances of the project

Our commonsense or common practice often produces exactly the opposite of what we want. For instance, on critical path-managed projects, teams focus on starting every activity as planned. This practice often leads to excess work in process and therefore a late project. (We’ll cover this in detail in an upcoming post.) The right-side options from the above list produce better outcomes. We have to change our commonsense to get the most from PPM.

Those of you who have played the Lean Construction Institute’s Parade of Trades® simulation have experienced operations that are dependent on the output of prior ones; any gains in the upstream operations are lost. In addition, those losses accumulate for downstream operations on an exponential basis! The larger the variation the more variation compounds. Try a thought experiment with me.

We have a simple three operation sequence of work. Each crew works at the same average pace of six units per day. It will take them five days on average each to complete their work for the 30 units. Each operation starts one day after the preceding operation.

Day one: 1st operation does 5 units

Day two: 2nd operation does 4 units and 1st operation does 7 units

Day three; 3rd operation does 4 units; 2nd operation does 5 units; 1st operation does 5 units.

This pattern continues for an expected nine days. All crews are prepared to do all of their 6 units, however except for the 1st operation, the other operations can’t do more than the work that is ready for them regardless of how efficient the crews are. Upstream gains are lost and losses accumulate. We can predict that work will not finish by day nine, and we don’t know when it will finish. How would this work out in a 25 operation sequence of work for 100 units? … Yes, it’s unpredictable. Most of the time, it’s so unpredictable that we routinely buffer our estimates for how long the project will take.

What can we do to counteract variation?

We have a number of countermeasures or practices available to minimize variation and the effect on our performance.

  • Make the work ready for the people and the people ready for the work. This entails a rigorous evaluation of any roadblock or hurdle that could keep work from starting and finishing. We call these constraints. The purpose of look-ahead planning is to surface and resolve constraints so there is no impediment to doing the work that we agreed we should be doing.
  • A great way to counteract variation in the rate of performing work is to establish a fixed pace. Lean Construction adopted the german word for this — takt. Set a pace that every operation in a sequence will work. Establish swing capacity (buffer) so that work can usually/always be done as planned. Maintain available alternative work (workable backlog) for that swing capacity so they are always productive.
  • Use interim milestones so the collection of crews can see that they are “making the pace” (progress principle).
  • Every week make reliable promises from one trade to the others that are based on having the capacity and material to do the work they promise.
  • Learn from the variation that you experience. Status the work daily including the reasons for variation. Use five whys to understand the underlying cause(s) of the variation. Take countermeasures to improve it.

Reducing variation on your project is one of the best ways to get the outcomes you want. It’s not as difficult as you may think. It starts by making a shift in common practice/commonsense coupled with the above five practices. Skeptical? Try it!

For more information on the best ways to reduce variation read how Data-Driven Planning Delivers Projects Faster. If you missed last week’s post, please read Flow Provides Focus for Production Project Management.

Flow Provides Focus for Project Production Management

Welcome to Touchplan’s Project Production Management Blog Series

(By Hal Macomber & George Hunt) We just wrapped up our blog series Revisiting the Five Big Ideas Transforming the Design and Construction Industry. For the next three or four months, we are writing about Project Production Management. PPM is not a subject that is taught in most Construction Management courses, although it could be argued that it should be. The fundamentals of PPM are more closely aligned to the reality of our projects and the risks associated with them, than the more conventional project management thinking. Understanding PPM can help teams effectively identify the often overlooked risks that put the delivery of our projects in jeopardy. 

The Lean Construction Institute (LCI) was originally a DBA (doing business as) name for The Center for Innovation in Project and Production Management. Going back to 1993, PPM has been a focus of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) and LCI. The Last Planner System of Production Control® is the one comprehensive PPM system for design and construction that people practice today. The other prevalent approaches are the Critical Path Method (CPM) for project scheduling and control and Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) for planning, designing, and controlling functional blocks (or chunks) of project scope. 

Takt Planning and Management has been an underutilized practice for pursuing flow for production of design and construction work product. Takt has been practiced since 1999 on projects I was involved in for The Neenan Company and repeatedly through the current day. Yet, the first book on takt for construction was published in March 2021 by Jason Schroeder. He shares what he learned in the last nine years he’s been experimenting with takt. And, in true Lean spirit, he is publishing an updated version of the book within six months! Check it out! 

In this PPM blog series George Hunt and I along with some subject matter expert collaborators will reveal the map of PPM. We’ll make the case for PPM. We’ll share and explain the key principles. We’ll highlight the power that pursuing flow has for project outcomes, profitablility, and team health. We’ll show you how takt will change everything you do on your projects. And you’ll learn how to make it happen.

Please join us every Friday. First topic: Beware, Variation Compounds with Dependence

For a glimpse of Project Production Management in action see our video on Touchplan’s Custom Fields feature.

Five Simple Steps to Keep Your Mind Sharp

The brain is like a muscle. In order to keep it strong and healthy, you have to stretch and apply it. People who often challenge and exercise their brains are more likely to stay sharp. Additionally, many studies have shown that there are steps you can take to prevent cognitive decline and reduce the risk of developing dementia. The marketing team at Touchplan has compiled some of the best steps to exercise your brain and keep your mind sharp. 

Be Social 

It has been known for a long time that having social connections helps protect against the negative impacts of aging. In a 2007 study, researcher Valerie Crooks found that women who had a larger social network and daily social interactions had a substantially lower risk of developing dementia, even when she factored in age and hormone use. Joining a group, taking classes, or scheduling regular visits and phone/zoom calls with friends and family all help to build social connections and fight the effects of aging. Healthline has more on the benefits of social interaction for healthy aging here. 

Stimulate Your Brain 

Scientists generally agree that keeping your mind active and challenged is good for brain health. Like all other muscles in our body, we can use the brain repeatedly to strengthen and improve its function. But what, exactly, is the best way to do that? Doing certain brain activities can help boost your memory, concentration, and focus. This makes daily tasks easier and quicker to do and keeps your brain active. Check out this article from Healthline for 13 brain exercises to keep you sharp. 

Exercise 

Everyone knows that moderate amounts of exercise will help your heart and lungs, but there is increasing evidence in support of the idea that exercise will also improve your brain. In a review of 50 scientific studies, researchers Arthur Kramer and Kirk Erickson found that regular aerobic exercise improved brain functioning for healthy people, even if it was just walking two to three days a week. The study also found that patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease who were more aerobically fit had less brain atrophy than those who were less fit. Click here to learn more about the study. Dr. Scott McGinnis of Harvard Medical School also says that he recommends establishing exercise as a habit, almost like taking a prescription medication and reminds folks to be patient as it normally takes about six months to start reaping the cognitive benefits of exercise. More on his research here. 

Participate in the Arts 

Exercising and thinking games may seem obvious to improve cognitive functioning, but even activities such as singing and dancing can help keep your mind sharp. Ongoing research suggests that participating in the arts may improve the health, well-being, and independence of older adults. Activities like participating in community choirs can reduce feelings of loneliness and increased interest in life. Research on music, theater, dance, creative writing, and other participatory arts shows promise for improving older adults’ quality of life and well-being, from better cognitive function, memory, and self-esteem to reduced stress and increased social interaction. The National Institute on Aging has more on the impacts of art on aging here.

There’s An App for That

Living in the digital age we can also look to our phones, on occasion, for ways to keep our minds sharp.  There are several apps like Luminosity and Fit Brains Trainer that can promote mental health.

If you missed our last wellness post be sure to read Helpful Tips to Manage Stress and Improve Quality of Life and be sure to check back every other Wednesday for another #WellnessWednesday blog post!

Construction Industry Optimistic Despite Supply Chain Disruptions

(By Tom Sanders – Senior Economist) MOCA Systems, the parent company of Touchplan, regularly releases “Today’s Construction Economy”, a quarterly newsletter focused on impacts to non-residential selling prices observed over the previous 90 days.  Content is provided by construction industry leaders– general contractors, owners, economists, state and federal leaders – as quoted in reputable national media.  We summarize those observations and offer final thoughts on impacts on selling price in the coming months.  This quarter’s newsletter cites several trends that are impacting selling prices:

  • The significant uptick in the cost of construction materials
  • General Contractors’ hesitance to pass on those costs to owners in the face of diminished new starts
  • The re-emergence of skilled labor shortages
  • The continued lag in the non-residential commercial construction recovery
  • Despite all this, increasing contractor confidence

Our clients are most interested in what this means for the coming months.  The damage to non-residential construction from last year’s pandemic shutdown is beginning to be felt. Jobs, volume, and starts are well off 2019 levels. Supply chain disruptions are having a huge impact on materials availability and prices. Contractors are hesitant to pass along price increases due to reduced orders and nervous owners. The industry is optimistic, though. National recovery euphoria will eventually lead to an uptick in nonresidential volume, but that won’t happen until 2022. Inflationary pressures will force contractors to increase selling prices.

You can download the full report at the link below.

Q2 2021 Today’s Construction Economy

Mental Health and the Risk of Employee Burnout

(Guest blog post by Michel Richer, Content Marketing Manager at Bridgit.)We’ve all been overwhelmed and stressed at work at some point in our lives. It’s that sinking feeling that there’s no clear path to getting back on track. Deadlines slip, communication is lackluster, and ultimately the end product isn’t up to standard.

Burnout is almost unavoidable in most full-time occupations. Understandably so given the current ‘pandemic climate’ forcing shutdowns and putting added pressure on workers to hold onto their jobs. Not to mention the parents that have had to reorganize their entire lives to accommodate school closures and supervising kids into their workday.

Construction is unlike most industries when it comes to overworking employees and workplace injuries. Especially since the industry has been dealing with a skilled labor shortage since the financial crisis in 2008 saw over a million workers walk away from construction, leaving those left to pick up the slack. Research from the Center for Construction Research and Training suggests that over their career, a construction worker has a 75% likelihood of a disabling injury.

While burnout can certainly take its toll on an individual’s psychological and physiological health, the effect it can have on the rest of a construction team cannot be understated. 

Construction project roles will require team members to do physical labor while also using their mental expertise. Adding in longer weeks and extended shifts to make up for a labor shortage only helps to amplify the stress felt by team members. This stress causes team members to be less focused on the job at hand and on a construction project. The end result is an increasingly dangerous working environment. According to a report by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), team members working over 12 hours/day are at 37% increased risk of injury.

The risk doesn’t end there though. The same report indicates that each extended shift within a month increases the risk of an accident on the drive home by 16% and that fatigue has led to a dip in productivity, costing employers $136 billion each year.

COVID-19 has also amplified burnout in the workplace. Indeed, a leading job aggregator site conducted a survey of over 1,500 American workers regarding burnout. The survey found that over half of the respondents experienced burnout in 2021, up 9% from before the pandemic started. 

Here are some other interesting burnout statistics that might make you rethink how your organization deals with it:

  • Burnt out employees are 63% more likely to call in sick (Gallup)
  • Burnt out employees are also 2.6 times more likely to be looking for a new job (Gallup)
  • 70% of employees say employers don’t do enough to lessen burnout for their teams (Deloitte)
  • Almost 50% of millennials have quit a job due to burnout (Deloitte)

Burnout isn’t exclusive to the jobsite either. In Development Dimensions International’s Global Leadership Report it was revealed that 60% of leaders within a company feel exhausted at the end of their workday, which is a sign burnout is imminent. On top of that, almost half of that 60% expect to leave their current company to advance their career – with 26% reporting they would be leaving in the next year.

Any company-wide initiatives will always start from the top down. If your leadership team is showing signs of burnout, it’s likely that your project teams are too. This puts the project, the people, and the company all at risk of unfocused work leading to workplace injuries.

What exactly is burnout though? 

In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) determined burnout was a diagnosable condition. As overall productivity has increased, so has the stress and mental fatigue of maintaining a productive workplace. Their definition of workplace burnout is:

“Burn-out is a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It is characterized by three dimensions:

  • feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion;
  • increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and
  • reduced professional efficacy.

Burn-out refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life.” – World Health Organization 2019

How contractors can combat employee burnout

Flexible schedules and encouraging time off

With team members experiencing burnout more likely to call in sick, one way to combat this is with flexible scheduling and more paid time off. I know what you’re thinking – “isn’t this going to cost my company a lot of money?”. 

While in the short term the answer may be yes, what you’re creating is a working culture that will save money in the long run. Your employees will know that their mental and physical well-being are prioritized and will be more engaged with the company and less likely to seek employment elsewhere. In fact, a survey by Statista indicated that 58% of respondents said flexible working has improved their job satisfaction. Remember, reducing the risk of burnout also helps to reduce the risk of jobsite injuries.

Flexible schedules also allow you to prepare for time off. Calling in sick can quickly put a wrench in project plans, but encouraging your team to schedule time off ahead of time allows you to plan accordingly to avoid project delays.

Track and promote career development

One of the contributing factors to burnout is not having a clear path for career progression. Employees not only want to feel like they are contributing to the company’s success, they also want to feel like the work they’re doing is going to impact their career and help propel them forward within the company.

By tracking your team’s career progression you’re better equipped to provide opportunities to move up the ranks, making them more likely to stay engaged in their work, the company, and ultimately reduce the risk of burnout-related injuries on the jobsite.

Pay attention to things like specific build-type experience and certifications. This can help to isolate gaps in your team’s individual resumes that are preventing them from taking the next career step within your company. Employees will feel more appreciated if they’re given opportunities to further their careers instead of hesitating to ask for them.

Pay attention to utilization rates

Tracking workforce utilization rates can help identify areas where your team is spread too thin on both current and future projects. Being able to identify these areas can help to inform recruitment strategies and better understand the impact that project opportunities will have on your team. 

Workforce intelligence tools like Bridgit Bench provide company-wide insight into utilization to help identify when individuals are being overworked. If you notice a team member is consistently being utilized over 100%, you should take the time to have a conversation with them. Finding out their mental and physical state will help to nip potential burnout in the bud and keep projects not only progressing but most importantly – safe.

While burnout and mental health are only a small part of the larger health and safety picture that doesn’t mean it should be deprioritized. Mental health is at the top of the health and safety stream. Fatigued and disengaged team members will ultimately lead to bigger problems downstream whether it be workplace injuries or decreased retention rates.

For more Construction Safety Week content please check out our additional posts; Private Eyes: Construction Safety Isn’t Just About a Week and Why Safety Third is Exactly What Construction Needs to Make Jobsite Safety First.

Why ‘Safety Third’ Is Exactly What Construction Needs to Make Jobsite Safety First

What are a Superintendent’s primary responsibilities?  Safety, Quality, Schedule.  Prioritized in that order.

We talk a lot about how certain scheduling and communication techniques can drive efficiency into a job, but a project cannot be successful without first holistically addressing safety.    

Think ‘Mazlow’s Hierarchy of Needs’ which basically says that without a sense of safety, higher-order levels of performance and cognition are not possible.  The workforce has to be 100% confident that their individual actions ensure they go home the same way they came to work.  

Do we get anything done if all we focus on is safety?  Absolutely not.  Despite its utmost importance, safety culture can be enthusiastically taken in the wrong direction with the best of intentions.  But make no mistake:  there is a no more worthy expenditure of resources than to sustain and improve safety on a jobsite.  

Mike Rowe and ‘Safety Third’

I’m a huge fan of Mike Rowe’s take on ‘Safety Third’.  Don’t interpret this statement to be a contradiction of the main idea.  He’s not saying that safety isn’t important, but instead that the workforce needs to understand…. not just hear it over and over…but really understand that every time they go to work that they have a personal responsibility for their own safety. No one cares as much about you going home safe as you do.  

Sometimes organizations can twist safety culture by taking an approach that suggests other people are watching out for them.  It’s a trap baited by emotion.  Everyone wants others to know that they care, but is creating a false sense of security the way to do it? I would argue that this approach actually runs the risk of putting people in danger.   

Construction is inherently dangerous and both the individual and the organization have a responsibility when it comes to safety. It gets hot in Texas during summer and with that comes added risk of heat-related injuries. Contractors are required to provide a safe working environment, however, do owners have to spend money on popsicles and air-conditioned break space for everyone?  I’m not advocating against air conditioning, but I can’t help but think that supervisory actions by foremen and superintendents to thoroughly assess fit-for-duty prior to starting work are far more effective.  

What exactly do contractors owe and how do they make sure their safety program is effective?  OSHA regulations are a baseline, and what is even more effective is coupling that with a bit of common sense-driven policy that originates from putting yourself in the worker’s shoes.  Think about it.  If you are the one making policy, examine the impacts from the perspective of the person doing the work with an understanding that they are willfully working in a potentially dangerous environment.  

What does supervisory responsibility for safety look like?  Really, it’s showing you care with your actions. Make sure the toilets and break areas are clean, check daily equipment inspection tags, and yes every once in a while do something nice like a catered lunch to show appreciation for safe work. Just don’t overdo the speeches and ‘freebies’ for popularity points.  Our jobsites are far removed from crab boats in the Bering Sea, but I guarantee every one of them has a few 6’ A-frame ladders in use.  Push awareness to create vigilance, and hold people accountable for shortcomings.  Leave cheerleading to the professionals.

If you are interested in some additional Safety Week content please read Private Eyes: Construction Safety is Isn’t Just About a Week.

Private Eyes: Construction Safety Isn’t Just About a Week

(By Jaqueline A. Falla, Director of Client Services. Elaine Construction Company, Inc.) Springtime’s arrival brings with it longer days, trees abloom, the promise of summer, and, wait for it — Safety Week.  This annual rite of passage is pointedly pinned on the calendar right before the industry’s busiest season and stands as an important reminder about the dangers of construction.  Together, all across this great nation, there will be stand-downs, toolbox talks, demonstrations, and daily reminders of the hazards that abound in the profession.  New guidelines, old adages, and best practices will be shared, but how do companies transform safety from a regulatory requirement to a standard by which one lives?

Just this morning I caught my pant leg on a bench at the end of my bed and nearly went down – hands full of the paraphernalia required for a long day at work.  I’m lucky that I have quick reflexes, but with three of the top ten hazards of a jobsite falling under, you guessed it:  Fall Protection, it’s far better to be careful than lucky.  Let’s take a look at the most common OSHA violations:

  • Fall Protection
  • Hazzard Communication
  • Scaffolding
  • Lock-out/Tag-Out
  • Respiratory Protection
  • Ladders
  • Powered Industrial Trucks
  • Machine Guarding
  • PPE

In reviewing the perils of this profession, I am forced to admit, that time and money play a major role in non-compliance.  Keeping a site organized, free from debris, and tripping hazards, comes at the cost of a conscientious worker, and likely a good labor crew.  While it is true that doing things the “right” way can take more time, and time is money, doing them the wrong way, can cost a life, impact your OSHA rating, your reputation, and your bottom line.  A clean site is the beginning of a LEAN site, where organization and efficiency not only increase productivity but safety.  This is likely to be one of the topics discussed during this week that will bear witness to standards that save lives.

What compels some to follow the rules and others to break them?  Why is safety part of the make-up of one worker, and not another?  I can’t answer that question for you but have a suggestion that might help.  In a 1979 study profiled in the Journal of Psychology, researchers conducted a most interesting experiment.  I love getting myself to do things that I am not necessarily inclined to do, even if it is for my own good, which I think we can all agree, these safety precautions are in fact for my own good, and yours.  Their study exposed a fundamental human truth – we are more likely to do the right thing when we are being watched, than when we think we are not.  The most amazing thing about this is that a real person doesn’t even need to be there monitoring the work.  If you are a parent, you understand that watching your children 24/7 is impossible, but what if you didn’t have to watch them, what if the suggestion of being watched was enough.  This study indicated that by posting signs with eyes, letting workers know that their behavior was being monitored, and imploring them to act accordingly, did just that!  I can hear it now, Darryl Hall and John Oats singing Private Eyes are Watching You – watching your every move, they’re watching you, watching you, watching you.  I hope you can appreciate a good ‘80’s hit, but more importantly, this low-cost solution to compliance that could be the secret to a safe year ahead.  

I should put my money where my Safety Week mouth is and throw out those pants.  Be safe, be smart, be the person that comes home whole at the end of the day.  Safety Week 2021 runs from May 3 – 7, 2021.

Touchplan’s New Master Schedule Alignment Feature – A Product Manager’s Perspective

Touchplan’s new Master Schedule Alignment product enhancement is a groundbreaking capability that empowers construction teams to vastly improve project performance and profitability by easily aligning their external master schedule with their daily jobsite execution plan. We spoke with senior product manager Mary D’Arrigo who worked on the development of the master schedule alignment to learn more about the value it delivers to clients.

What is one of the more significant values customers will see this new addition to the Touchplan software?

The new Master Schedule Alignment feature will save Touchplan customers a significant amount of time currently spent in attempting to manually gather status updates from the look-ahead plan and match them to the Master Schedule. Some Touchplan customers have told us that they spend between 8-10 hours per month in this effort. 

After the initial manual setup required to identify which Touchplan milestones represent specific master schedule activities, the status updates can be done in under 5 minutes. If the master schedule template is updated with the most current master schedule finish dates each time before the Touchplan process is run, the master schedule end dates will appear on the Insights dashboard. This provides an additional level of transparency to Touchplan users without incurring the cost of an external scheduling tool license or granting access to more sensitive master schedule information.

What was your favorite part of working on this product development feature?

I really enjoyed figuring out a simple technical solution to set up, export, and import Touchplan schedule updates. We wanted to make it easy for experienced scheduling managers to create the schedule template and align it with the Touchplan look-ahead plan without altering the master schedule and quickly see differences.

How do you think Touchplan’s Master Schedule Alignment feature contributes to the overall growth of the construction industry?

Being able to quickly identify daily look-ahead plan tasks that are misaligned with the master schedule facilitates Project Managers and Project Executives’ timely collaboration with the Superintendents and field trades to make any necessary changes to the schedule or negotiate fieldwork changes to realign the schedules.

Why, in your opinion, was it important for Touchplan to add this product enhancement?

One of the most requested features is master schedule alignment. We wanted to provide an easy-to-use, flexible, and highly configurable feature that would not require additional cost or training.

How much more data will clients be able to analyze from the Master Schedule Alignment feature? 

When the Master Schedule Alignment is executing, not only with Touchplan share production plan finish dates, but we will also gather the Master Schedule finish dates from the template. This master schedule data is available on Insights as well as in the Project and Plan CSV exports.

Does this product enhancement open up opportunities for additional ones related to connectivity between the master schedule and daily field plans?

This is just the first iteration of Touchplan and master schedule alignment. There are so many more exciting things coming in future months so please stay tuned. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact us.

If you are interested in learning more about the Master Schedule Alignment feature, watch the webinar on-demand.

Revisiting the Five Big Ideas Transforming the Design and Construction Industry: What Comes After the Five Big Ideas? (Part 10)

(Hal Macomber, EVP, Touchplan with George Hunt, Head of Presales / Sales Engineering, Touchplan ) Greg Howell and I proposed the Five Big Ideas Transforming the Design and Construction Industry at a time  (2004) when extraordinary requirements for seismic upgrades were required in California. There was general agreement that then-current practices wouldn’t suffice. The #FiveBigIdeas led four years later to Lean Integrated Project Delivery (LIPD). Many CA healthcare projects have been completed under this model along with countless projects across the country including theme parks, higher Ed, and life sciences projects. 

Today the industry is faced with equally daunting challenges, including

  • Unaffordable housing and infrastructure
  • Decarbonization of the built environment and the industry that puts it in place
  • A vanishing workforce, not just that the industry is unattractive, but we’re not replacing the population (birthrate is < 2) 
  • Underperforming on equity, diversity, and inclusion
  • Cultures to sustain changes
  • A built environment that is resilient to rising sea levels and storms

 To that let’s acknowledge that significant change is underway, including

  • Off-site/Industrialized Construction
  • Digitalization/datafication of everything
  • Power to the edge — we’re enabling the workforce using their phones — and force multiplier — the tools allow the trades to have more capability at their fingertips
  • Consolidation of the industry
  • Influx of technologies aimed at doing more with less people (i.e. 3D printing, drones, robotics)

Our current engineering-like approaches to challenges and change are insufficient for guiding and designing the future in the face of these challenges and change. We need another approach. That approach is systems thinking.

Systems thinking was birthed at the Sloan School of Management, MIT in the early ‘50s by Jay Forrester. He wasn’t alone speaking about the systems nature of manufacturing, the economy, ecology, management of organizations, and other complex phenomena. At about the same time, W. Edwards Deming was speaking about thinking in systems. So too was Russel Ackoff who was teaching Operations Research at Wharton. But it was Peter Senge who made systems thinking popular with The Fifth Discipline, The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization (1990). (See Tools of a System Thinker) 14 years later, Jeffrey Liker writing in The Toyota Way made a fleeting reference to the importance of systems thinking. 17 years later Liker acknowledged he missed the significance of systems thinking in Toyota’s success. He restated Principle 1 as “Base your management decisions on long-term systems thinking, even at the expense of short-term financial goals.”

While systems thinking is multi-faceted, one defining characteristic is that socio-technical systems, those that involve people and technology, have circular causality rather than simple linear causality. In other words, we typically think linearly that A causes B and B causes C. But how about A causes B and B causes A — circular causality? Examples include the rich get richer; the smart get smarter; the complicated gets more complicated. Deming and others describe the challenges of profound change, like moving from command and control to participative management, or from mass construction to Lean construction, as governed by the systems nature of both the current condition and the future condition. When I’ve worked with organizations that are adopting Lean practices, it’s at least as important to decide what you will stop doing as what you will start doing. Otherwise, the current system will prevail. 

George reminds us that many people looked at using Touchplan as additional work on top of what they were already doing. In systems terminology that is the balancing loop “not enough time.” We changed the way that we introduced teams to using it. We looked at our current look-ahead and planning process and made changes so that Touchplan would fit into what they already were doing, not adding additional work on top of them.

We can be optimistic about Putting the Five Big to Work if we approach it from a systems perspective. Otherwise, we are merely layering new practices on top of existing practices. This inevitably leads to a breakdown of the current system. Organizations won’t let that happen, therefore they abandon the change. Embracing circular causality is the path for making profound change. Thinking in systems takes the focus off of the people and puts it instead on the system. It respects the fact that “humans are humans”, which follows along with the “respect for people” principle and the outward mindset.

Where do you start? We suggest starting by viewing design and construction as project-based production systems that are governed by clear theory and practice. Starting in two weeks, George Hunt and I will explore how project production management has reshaped how we approach the design of construction projects. By design, we mean the principles from which we create our production plans and we improve on them. We will engage collaborators as we have in this series to bring you the best thinking we know that is available. 

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For an example of approaching projects from a systems perspective take a look at Touchplan’s Custom Fields feature which helps projects have a centralized focus and a more efficient workflow. 

If you would like to revisit any of the posts from the Revisiting the Five Big Ideas series you can find all of them below.

Helpful Tips to Manage Stress and Improve Quality of Life

As we come to the end of April, we also come to the end of Stress Awareness Month. April has been celebrated as Stress Awareness Month every year since 1992, however this year it feels particularly important. In a recent study by the American Psychological Association, nearly half of parents (48%) said their level of stress has increased as a result of the pandemic. Stress is a natural part of life, but when not managed properly, it can lead to long-term emotional and physical side effects, outlined by WebMD here. As part of our Wellness Wednesday series, Touchplan decided to compile some of the best ways to manage and reduce stress. 

Exercise

Physical activity helps increase the production of endorphins and reduces levels of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. Regular exercise is known to improve self-image and self-confidence. Exercise routines also help maintain mental fitness, improving alertness and concentration, and enhancing overall cognitive function. Scientists have also found that physical activity can also help to improve sleep.  The Mayo Clinic looks deeper at the effects of exercise on sleep here. 

Meditate

Meditation is an age-old practice that has recently become one of the more popular methods of stress relief. Meditation can be part of your daily routine to help cope with and reduce stress. Through learning how to calm your body and mind, physical and emotional stress can melt away. Meditation affects the body in the exact opposite way that stress does — by prompting the body’s relaxation response. VerywellMind has an overview of meditation here. If you are interested in learning how to meditate, Calm is a mobile app with many guided meditations for beginners. 

Eat Well 

Maintaining a proper diet can counterbalance the impact of stress by strengthening the immune system, stabilizing mood, and reducing blood pressure. Some important nutrients for stress reduction are Vitamin C, which reduces stress and boosts the immune system; complex carbohydrates, which induce serotonin production and stabilize blood pressure; magnesium, which helps avoid fatigue and improves sleep; Omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce surges of stress hormones and protect against depression. You can find additional suggestions for more stress-fighting foods here. 

Sleep 

Stress and sleep have a two-way relationship. Stress can lead to sleep loss, and sleep loss can increase stress. Stress often increases how long it takes to fall asleep, affects REM and deep sleep negatively, and leads to increased nighttime awakenings. A great way to reduce nighttime stress is by establishing a consistent sleep schedule. This helps waking up in the morning, sleeping soundly, and reducing the amount of sleep needed. Sleepscore has more tips on improving sleep to reduce stress here. 

While there are many other ways to manage and reduce stress, these are some of the most frequently recommended tips. Stress is an inevitable part of life, and can even be healthy, but it must be managed properly. 

If you missed out last wellness post be sure to read Five Healthy Habits to Incorporate into Your Springtime Routine and be sure to check back every other Wednesday for another #WellnessWednesday blog post!