Search Touchplan website:

Archives: Blogs

Description.

Revisiting The Five Big Ideas Transforming the Design and Construction Industry: Collaborate, Really Collaborate (Part 2)

(Hal Macomber, EVP, Touchplan with Carla Ciepliski, P.Eng. Owner & Consultant, Ternion Results Inc) – Collaboration has played a large role in the progress the industry made with Lean design and construction projects. It started in 1994 when the academic community began a collaboration that they called the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC) to explore revolutionizing this industry. It continues with 27 years of double-blind peer-reviewed conference papers numbering in the thousands, often with multiple authors each. The Lean Construction Institute followed their example in creating opportunities at the local and national levels for people to learn, advance, and share their experiences with competitors and other stakeholders in the construction supply chain. In 2004, as the five big ideas took shape, “Really Collaborating” became the first organizing behavior.

This is the previous guidance for “Really Collaborate” from Putting the Five Big Ideas to Work:

Here are 5 questions to get you started to make collaboration your habit:

  1. Who could help me with this?
  2. What do I have to offer others?
  3. What new ways can we meet on a regular basis?
  4. How can we stay in tune with each others’ changing project work?
  5. What can you do to be more responsive to each other?

Bring this up to your team at your next meeting. Use the five questions to generate actions you will take as a group. Revisit how you are doing each time you meet.

After 10 more years of experience, we learned that it was much more than individual behavior. Collaboration is also about the design of interactions and the system within which people interact.

Collaboration as Action and Mood

Ultimately, ownership lies with each of us as individuals to choose our behaviors in every situation and considering each human interaction we participate in. These are some key observable behaviors that support collaboration:

  • Demonstrating appreciation for the point of view of others
  • Maintaining openness to be changed by what others say
  • Focusing on the common team-oriented goal and being personally committed to achieving it
  • Engaging effectively in productive conversations that balance advocacy and inquiry
  • Show a personal balance in both supporting the task we are trying to complete together AND managing the relationship between ourselves and others
  • Demonstrating trust-building behaviors in the small moments (thinking Brene Brown)

We also know that the pre-existing relationship between individuals is a dominant factor in the degree of success in collaboration. The additional effort individuals must apply in collaboration is directly related to the familiarity that individuals have with each other prior to the collaboration activity.

Processes and Structures Are Essential for Building Collaboration Competence

The greater the complexity and the greater the number of people involved … the greater or more robust the processes and structure will need to be in order to ensure collaboration effectiveness. While singing kumbaya and holding hands may work for creating a positive environment, it won’t help executing the task we need to complete in a productive or effective manner. After all, collaborating can also be defined as ‘Co-Laboring’, or accomplishing a task together.  So, a key component to making “Really Collaborate” work is to leverage the appropriate team-based processes and techniques to create a structure to effectively navigate the collaboration activities. We know of no better micro-processes than Liberating Structures. These are innovative and small methods of improving our interactions with each other.  We use them in our work to bring out the best in each other. You should too.

Use other supporting tools or processes depending on the activity your team is working on. For example, if your team is tasked with generating ideas to address a problem or challenge, you would benefit from some structured ideation techniques such as brainstorming, and brain walking. These techniques are intended to expose individual participant’s mental models visually, to allow for an improved understanding of the participant’s individual thoughts while creating a mechanism to build/expand/grow ideas collectively.

If your team is tasked with making a decision, you will benefit from a structured decision-making system such as Choosing By Advantages Decisionmaking. These sound methods produce alignment to the important factors associated with the decision and transparency for the basis of the decision. Regardless of what task your team is faced with doing, consider what additional structure is needed to help collaborative activity.

Develop the Habit for Collaborating with Others

Collaboration as a skill is always available when we have habituated the action. In other words, we are more successful when it’s an automatic action for us. Daniel Kahneman calls this system 1 thinking or fast thinking. It comes from practicing it purposefully with feedback on how we’re doing in the midst of action. The gold standard for developing that level of acting is deliberate practice. Anders Ericsson coined this term, and seriously studied and experimented with people to push their capabilities beyond what everyone thought was possible. (See The Making of an Expert and Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise.) The rule of 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert’ came from his work. The good news is that you can become highly skilled with a small fraction of those hours just by using your everyday work as the setting for deliberately practicing collaboration.

If you missed last week’s installment please be sure to read Revisiting the Five Big Ideas. For more information on Lean Planning & Best Practice please read 4 Ways to Improve Projects Using Digital Tools. If you would like to learn about collaboration in action feel free to read our most recent case study Building A Partnership for Today and Beyond.

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.

Touchplan’s Master Schedule Alignment feature is a great collaboration tool. Learn more from our webinar.

Revisiting the Five Big Ideas Transforming the Design and Construction Industry – A Blog Series

It was 2004. Sutter Health was faced with upgrading or replacing billions of healthcare facilities to comply with California’s seismic requirements. They were concerned that they wouldn’t have access to the architects, engineers, and constructors they needed because most other healthcare organizations were in the same boat. They set out to distinguish themselves by adopting Lean Construction (LC). They hired Greg Howell and me to introduce LC to their building community.

We designed an event for more than 100 people to introduce the principles and practices of LC. But, we knew that wasn’t enough. LC was about 12 years old at that time. Very few builders were practicing it. Fewer design firms had the experience. We also knew that the commonsense about the general practices in design and construction ran contrary to what it takes to succeed with LC. So we made a bold move. I authored a manifesto calling for the adoption of Five Big Ideas among the community of Sutter’s design and construction partners.

Those ideas are

  • Collaborate, really collaborate
  • Optimize the project as a whole
  • Tightly couple learning with action
  • Conduct the project as a network of commitments
  • Increase the relatedness of the project participants

Sutter and their partners signed the manifesto. We began experimenting based on those ideas and the Lean Construction principles and practices. While it was not all rosy, projects got better and better. By 2010, the Five Big Ideas became the basis for a new kind of contract based on the relationships of the parties designing and building the project. That contract was first known as an Integrated Form of Agreement. It’s now universally known as Lean Integrated Project Delivery (LIPD).

It’s been 11 years since I wrote the paper Putting the Five Big Ideas to Work to provide guidance on how to succeed with those ideas. 100’s of LIPD projects have been completed. So much has been learned. And, one big idea has been replaced! Over the next few weeks, friends, colleagues, and I will update our guidance via a series of weekly blog posts on bringing the five big ideas to life on your projects. Please engage with us as we share what we’ve learned.

For additional information on Lean best practices, check out Data-Driven Decisions Drive Better Project Management on our blog page. You can also see an example of Lean planning in action by reading our case study highlighting our work with Bond Construction at Lahey Hospital.

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.

 

Introducing Touchplan Insights: Data and analytics transparency that empower the entire team

Want daily operations at your fingertips? Touchplan Insights houses the totality of your project portfolio in one place. Our web-based tools sophisticated features surpass all other tech integrations found within construction enterprises – both in terms of scope and mastery.

There are quite a number of software services today that would perform business tasks you need, providing they have all the necessary information to do so. However,  Touchplan Insights brings this close to perfection, with analytical software development that is needed to gain actionable insights that serve as the backbone of future plans. Our software is designed to help people in the construction industry perform specialized tasks with pace and ease.

Touchplan Insights not only improves the operations of your project, but the integration also gives you astounding insights into financial management. Be it a commercial or industrial contractor, corporate owner and government agency, real estate developer and manager, residential builder, or specialty and service construction contractor; Touchplan Insights transparency makes it a valuable tool for all.

Insights Feature is Unique on Its Own!

Touchplan Insights was created to provide a unique-to-you dashboard, giving you control of all your project statistics in one place. These statistics are proven to help with three key features;

  • Risk Identification – Our sophisticated but simple web-based tool is proven to keep you from harm’s way, as it allows you to stay alert and spot bottlenecks from a mile away. It is effective for projects of all sizes: accelerating the process and driving efficiency through informed and collaborative decision making. Your team now knows where to focus its attention and even generate data that can influence future planning.
  • Transparency Across Projects – Touchplan Insights allows a dashboard view that highlights your entire project to the letter without leaving anything out. This feature creates an environment for enhanced project collaboration, productivity and efficiency for the construction enterprise. It banks on real-time data and industry criterion such that each project is separately analyzed and its performances monitored in a single consolidated perspective.
  • Exceptional KPI – Key performance indicators are of great importance to any business at large. However, visibility and transparency are what make all the difference. Touchplan Insights key performance indicator model is up front and center. You can analyze its easy to navigate charts, spreadsheets and trend reports to make accurate and ultimately profitable decisions about your project or business. A comparative analysis is a seamless process through this tool; No more being kept in the dark. Now, you can easily assess the key performance indicators that affect your team successes on every project.

With Touchplan Insights, you can now re-frame decision making.

Beyond Command and Control: Evolving from Traditional Project Planning to a Growth Mindset

The construction industry has only seen a 1 percent increase in overall productivity in the last 20 years [McKinsey]. While many fixes have been suggested, the solution for this fundamental problem needs to begin at the system level—by moving beyond command and control and into a growth mindset.

“Command and control is an ineffective management style,” notes Hal Macomber, executive vice president for Touchplan®. “The practices lead to the results the industry is notoriously known for: projects that are late and over budget.”

The answer is found in integration. By coordinating the often independent practices of master planning with look-ahead planning, the act of daily work planning becomes the gateway to facilitate the engagement with trade contractors at all levels of planning. Consequently, all parties are able to swiftly adjust to the changing circumstances of work in the field, and gains in productivity are realized as teams bring out the best in each other while exercising autonomy.

“It’s trusting the people on the ground with their skill and knowledge to get the work done correctly and report it,” states Macomber.

The Shift: Facilitating a Digital Collaborative Plan

Encouraging the connectivity of these practices veers the mindset away from command and control to a collaborative approach. It begins with the superintendent shifting from “boss” to facilitator and coach. Issues are identified and resolved swiftly, which increases the chances that project workflows can be completed on time. There are a few challenges that must be addressed first before seeing the gains.

Trust is one of the biggest hurdles with any process change. The general contractor must trust that all parties will work for the betterment of the project. Given time, the transparency that comes with a collaborative approach shows everyone how dependent they actually are on each other—and that feeds the positive growth mindset. Additionally when shifting to a digital platform, there needs to be trust that the trades using the technology won’t make errors that permanently compromise the data.

“In a cloud-based software, like ours, if a mistake is made, there are enhanced functionalities that can revert to a prior condition and archivable records that are maintained for two years,” explains Macomber.

The human factor is the other challenge. By shifting behavior away from static master schedule planning to dynamic look-ahead planning with replanning, the planning process becomes intuitive and easy to access. Additional enhancements are gained when shifting to a digital version. Foremen and project managers engage in look-ahead planning sessions to collaboratively schedule the flow of work and specify handoffs between trades within each phase, ensuring trades can arrive at the jobsite able to work right away.

When a company evolves from a command and control mindset to a growth mindset, it can:

  • Improve Communications—Not only does communication within your organization improve, but trade-to-trade conversation dramatically improves. Trades are empowered to talk to each other and ask, “Are you sure you’re going to get that done by Thursday? I’m coming in after you, and don’t want to show up and then have to find something else to do.” A digital tool like Touchplan allows everyone to see the plan, assess where things may be getting held up and make adjustments right from their smartphones or desktops.
  • Increase Productivity—When independent practices are fully connected, trades now arrive to jobsites able to get to work right away. With traditional planning, this is often not the case. A trade shows up to find the team in front is still in the way. Touchplan gives teams the ability to make last-minute planning decisions and adjustments to the workflow. This real-time visibility gives managers the ability to identify issues early and head off any problems.
  • Attract New Talent—With 80 percent of construction companies reporting they have difficulty finding the workers they need, savvy construction firms turn toward tech as a recruiting tool. “The upcoming generations have grown up with technology and expect it in their chosen industry,” notes Macomber.

“The marriage of Touchplan’s intuitive interface with the opportunity to learn and use a collaborative, informative planning system is quite attractive to the next generation in construction.”

Beyond Digital: Going Mobile

From better recordkeeping to real-time collaboration, there are several benefits of moving toward a synergetic planning approach and using technology specifically designed to support it. Touchplan recently introduced TouchplanGO—an app that can be accessed right from your smartphone and grants people the ability to:

  • Get personalized “to-do” lists of all of your tasks
  • Update your progress with a swipe of the finger
  • Quickly see where you may be getting held up

“The launch of TouchplanGO further aids shifting the mindset away from control to growth,” explains Macomber. “We are continuously investing in ways to better support teams connecting, learning and improving efficiencies because we have seen that when the emphasis is on bringing out the best in each other instead of trying to control each other, the greatest gains in productivity and overall business success are found.”

Ready to gain a new level of productivity? Move beyond command and control’s traditional planning to a collaboration approach today.

GET STARTED

Touchplan welcomes new Chief Technology Officer, Dan Feldman

Touchplan is thrilled to announce its latest hire and new Chief Technology Officer, Dan Feldman. Dan is a significant component to further Touchplan’s charge to support construction through the expansion of powerful technology. With more than four decades of experience, Dan has cemented himself as a key member of dozens of organizations that include Kayak, Hewlett Packard Labs, and Bose to name a few. An alumnus of Harvard University with a degree in Social Sciences, Dan’s background has curated his multifaceted abilities to drive software design, implementation, and management, product development, and launch. Other specialties include team and product development, focused at the startup level, as well as his meticulous attention to scalability and high performance – all qualities that Feldman will undoubtedly utilize to empower the team at Touchplan for continued acceleration to support its customers.

“I am thrilled to join Touchplan. Touchplan has built a terrific product and their success to date is impressive. The team is committed to continuing to create value for the AEC community. I look forward to contributing to the company’s mission and to the impact we can have together,” said Dan Feldman.

“Being able to call on Dan’s experience, character, and enthusiasm to propel Touchplan along with our talented product team is truly exciting,” said Touchplan President Michael Carr. “Our main focus has always been our customers, and now we are able to roll out features and product lines even more efficiently, but with the same attention to detail our customers know and love.”

To stay up-to-date on industry trends, growth at Touchplan and more, subscribe to the blog, below.

READ OUR BLOG

Looking Ahead: Cultivating Resilience to Get Back to Building

We recently discussed vital actions every construction project needs to take now to tackle COVID-19, but it is time to look ahead to business post-pandemic. While many industries and individuals are consumed by returning to normal, the reality is that the normal we knew will not simply return, nor should we want that. Instead, let’s focus on the new normal, and how we can return to better. The idea of returning to better is built on two core ideas. The first is that of cultivating resilience, asking what would be good for the construction industry in the midst of this crisis. The second is having mutual long-term prosperity be the organizing principle for relationships with associates and the supply chain.

Cultivating resilience

Business resilience is the ability an organization has to quickly adapt to disruptions while avoiding costly downtime, maintaining continuous business operations and safeguarding people, assets and overall brand equity.

The key consideration when we look specifically at cultivating resilience for this industry boils down to one key question–what can you do and how can you do it?

Consider general contractors which must cut back on jobs or hours during this time. While they may “recover” as the industry comes back online, the question is what are they doing to come back stronger?

In another example, in Boston there is the discussion around working in zones or limiting the number of contractors per floor. In some respects, the new regulations are disrupting workflow and preventing teams from being as efficient as they once were. The way teams worked previously will need to be adapted. This is a time to rise up and do things differently to come back stronger.

What is your plan B?

With these scenarios in mind, there are several items to contemplate. If business does not resume as normal, and not all trades will come back in full force, what does that mean for businesses? Given  the new regulations and limitations of the new normal, you need to have a plan B. Let’s take a look at what that means.

Have plans and responses in place and tested

Better practices must come out of this experience to ensure better preparation for the future. Having systems that are visible and visual is key. Part of this preparedness is building depth and robustness in the processes ensuring that no interruption in flow is seen in the event of unforeseen circumstances. For example, utilizing Last Planner® effectively so that in the event that a superintendent was ill, another can come in and pick up on the project.

Ensuring that there is a workable backlog

When projects resume, they won’t have the flow that they had when they left and some trades will not come back in full force. This creates a great need for trades to have a workable backlog. It also directly feeds into takt time.

Improved takt time capabilities

The term “takt time” comes from the German word “Takt,” which refers to a bar of music or meter. In the context of Lean, the term is used to refer to the pace of production required to match customer demand. Takt time is equal to a product’s sell rate.

Takt timing capabilities need to be honed as these will need to be used more than ever before. Establishing how to effectively observe it will be the biggest challenge to overcome, however is essential in facilitating distancing within the new limitations.

Opportunities for time buffering between trades and reducing touch time will need to be identified. This could happen through crews kitting their own stations, and the utilization of the workable backlog to create touch time by incorporating it into their back up work and next activity.

Working together and using creativity

We need to work together and define new solutions for the future. What we could see more of, which there is an opportunity for in this new normal, is multi-trade off-site construction. Reducing the risk by teaming up. Some companies, such as Boldt, DPR and Skender, have subsidiaries through which they can facilitate this.

Ensuring continued efficiency in this industry is going to require some creativity. This can happen though, among other things, adapting organizational capabilities and enhanced prefabrication efforts. There is an opportunity to revisit cells for production and consider a revamped approach to the assembly line – what if the product remained stationary and crews rotated?

EXPLORE THE NEW NORMAL

Mutual long-term prosperity

The cornerstone of long-term success is the mutual long-term prosperity as the organizing principle for relationships with associates and the supply chain. For too long, the industry has seen skilled people as disposable and this crisis has resulted in too many layoffs over this period.

Let us consider Toyota’s organizing principle:

  1. Doing things to reduce the workload of the current team before bringing new associates on board to minimize the risk of needing to layoff associates
  2. Work with a select number of suppliers, instead of all suppliers, with a view to invest in those firms and those firms to invest in them.

The construction industry is seeing an awakening in people, as everyone realizes how fragile things can be. This shines a light on the opportunity to cultivate a new way of managing relationships.

What is the why?

The first step towards the change is changing perspective. Look beyond the what and how of a project and bring all parties together to discuss the why–why are we building this building? Provide clarity,  find what you need to know, and keep moving toward your goals. Having common goals will bring teams together and facilitate a different outlook on the project.

Moving projects forward

Strong partnerships and relationships will be key in enabling getting the work done in these times. When planning in Touchplan it is about talking to each other in a way that’s more humanistic and collaborative.

Safety first

We need to take care of each other. There are trades who can’t or don’t want to work due to safety concerns. More value needs to be placed on these relationships, and solutions need to be established for these scenarios to mitigate the impact on the rest of the industry and allow for the supply / demand balance.

Mutual respect

Not only does there need to be a supply / demand balance, but firms often need to be reminded that the power structure goes both ways. A mutual respect between firms and their contractors or subcontractors is critical to longevity. Prioritize mutually beneficial relationships.

Get back to building

Building in the downturn is not just about lower costs and improved margins, and it does not need to be considered opportunistic. In these times, it can be seen as an opportunity to support each other when cash flow is difficult and keeping the industry together growing.

It’s time for the industry to level up in a variety of ways and do better together. There are countless ways to foster growth amongst people, teams and jobs now that will help revive the industry as the economy bounces back.

Will you be ready? Get started today.

GET STARTED

How construction project teams can start up again after COVID-19

Construction has officially changed. As you seek out new resources and ways to cope with the world today, thinking about starting up again is equally important. Recently, we highlighted the vital actions every construction project needs to take, regardless of your construction project’s situation. Since then, we’ve continued the discussion about workflow, replanning, and the new state of the industry. One topic that keeps recurring is rather than returning to a “new normal,” understanding that we can go back to a better way of working.

This “better way” can be achieved through collective efforts among design colleagues, trade partners, and field team members to keep teams intact, replanning, and preparing today. Simply put, investing in stakeholder collaboration now is the only way to fully recuperate and advance.

Join in a behind-the-scenes chat with industry veterans and future thinkers Michael Carr and Hal Macomber as they imagine and prepare for the return of the active jobsite, no matter when that time comes.

It’s important to accept that things won’t be the same, and focus on what we can control as we think about returning to the jobsite.

Delays and shutdowns don’t have to impact crucial preparations that were already underway. It’s empowering to get everyone together, albeit virtually, and get everyone’s best thinking to put a plan in place to overcome the obstacles of today and thrive tomorrow.

LEARN MORE

Video conferencing integrations now available in Touchplan

One of the most crucial adaptations right now is keeping communication and collaboration consistent, regardless of where team members are physically located. To help keep your projects up and running safely, we’re introducing two new video conference integrations to choose from: Zoom Video Communications and Jitsi Meet. Now, with video conferencing built directly into the Touchplan interface, teams will be able to stay connected and collaborate even while working remotely.

Using the Video Conferencing Feature in Touchplan

  • The facilitator/admin creates a meeting in zoom or chooses to use the Jitsi peer to peer option
  • The facilitator opens the panel and sets the meeting up
  • Everyone else opens the panel and clicks Join

Zoom Integration

To launch a meeting, open “Plan Actions” in the top right-hand corner and select “Open Video Meeting.” A new panel will open up within Touchplan where you will have the option to paste an existing Meeting URL or “Create a Meeting”. For both options, the hosts and attendees will need a Zoom account username and password in order to access the meeting. As a host, you will also be able to record the meetings for future reference and absent team members.

For new Zoom meetings, you will want to start by choosing “Zoom.us” as your Video Host preference. Once you have filtered the host, you can select “Create a Meeting” below. This will allow you to plan meetings and schedule them in advance to provide the link in chats and calendar invites.

“Create a Meeting” will bring you to the Zoom website where you can “Schedule a New Meeting” and generate the URL that you will provide to open the video meeting and join the call. Once you add the general settings for the name and time of the new meeting you will be able to provide more specific details. Below you will find the default settings where you can add or remove a Meeting Password. You will also be able to control video, audio, and general meeting settings that affect how your attendee’s meeting experience.

For existing Zoom meetings you’ll need to have a Zoom URL You might also be prompted to enter a meeting password if set up by the meeting host. Examples of both below.

Once the meeting has launched and Zoom is open in the meeting panel – you may need to adjust the size of the screen to see the meeting options along the bottom (or click the more button to see any that are hidden). You can reposition this screen by clicking and dragging the top of the box. You will also be able to adjust the size of this panel in the bottom right-hand corner.

GET STARTED

“Peer to Peer” Jitsi Meet Integration 

To launch a meeting, open “Plan Actions” in the top right-hand corner and select “Open Video Meeting.” A new panel will open up within Touchplan where you will select “Peer to Peer” as the Video Host, and then click on “Start Meeting.” This will allow you to start meetings in real-time without having to pre-schedule or provide any links.

You can reposition this screen by clicking and dragging the top of the box. You will also be able to adjust the size of this panel in the bottom right-hand corner.

By clicking on the ellipses in the bottom right corner you will see multiple other settings that can be utilized during this meeting period (Shown Below).

Vital Actions Every Construction Project Needs to Take to Tackle COVID-19 Now

Every country, industry and person is feeling the impact of COVID-19, and the construction industry is no exception. The ramifications from a flailing, “essential-only” economy will only be heightened with an estimated 34% drop in US GDP in Q2 2020. Current health and safety precautions are driving jobsites to engage in social distancing practices or even shut down altogether. And projects that were scheduled to start are seeing those start dates put off indefinitely. Post-virus, the construction community must brace for a surge in resource demands like materials and personnel.

One way to survive during these seemingly impossible times is to keep teams intact, replan and prepare, regardless of your construction project’s situation. It is also a great way to help alleviate the anxiety everyone is feeling. Here are some actionable steps every project can take right now to tackle specific issues COVID-19 is forcing us all to grapple with.

Project Scenario 1: Your Project Ordered a Social Distancing Requirement

Of all the situations, this is likely the most challenging. Why? Since you and your team are still allowed to be in the field, it might seem almost like business as usual, but keeping six feet of separation can be more difficult than you think. If you drill down into the proximity you and your team works within, you’ll quickly recognize that even a single foot seems like a mile. The best way to go about social distancing measures is to reduce on-site crew sizes overall. Consider the following to make keeping a safe space between team members manageable and productive:

  • Assign Detailed Shift Work: Have half the crew work in the day, and the other half in the evening. Adding hours and changing up work schedules might seem overwhelming at first, but it’s better than downsizing the team, or falling behind on the project. Be sure to devise a way team members will understand how plan changes affect staffing across the entire project.
  • Work in Parallel Locations: Get more work going on separate floors at the same time. Similar to assigning detailed shift work, this solution will automatically decrease the number of bodies in one spot, but keep the teams working safely and effectively.
  • Conduct More Work Off-Site with Prefab: Offsite construction will undoubtedly help with on-site crew sizes, and prefabrication will force teams to think about what materials are absolutely necessary, and their sequence. Good demand signals — planning and doing things at the rate which people need them — are crucial for impactful prefab work to ensure seamless production and installation. This will boost trust and reliability in the workflow now and in the future.
  • Explore a Variety of Scenarios: Advise the team to create a few situations so that a hitch in the first plan doesn’t derail the entire job. Thinking ahead with demand signals is one thing, but being prepared to switch the entire process on the fly will solidify minimal disruption, no matter what transpires.

Project Scenario 2: Your Project Ordered a Complete Stop to All Work

Boston was the first city to completely shut down all but emergency construction projects amidst the COVID-19 outbreak. But why did they stop? The unknown risks and lack of information caused immediate action for inaction. There were not enough conversations to derive alternative ideas and plans on how to keep working given the rapid spread of the virus. It’s okay to stop planning temporarily, but discontinuing all work is not the complete answer. How projects and teams adapt, and the action taken to do so, is the best way to jumpstart teams to regain momentum.

  • Visualize Success: Athletes often ready themselves through visualization techniques; thinking through their situation to first understand it and ultimately prepare how to get through it and succeed. The exercise of mentally going through situations will put you and your team in a better position to take action rather than succumb to a complete standstill.
    • Adapt: Think through the project shut down by talking the team through the environment you’re encountering and be prepared to start planning.
    • Take Action: To begin planning, start by making assessments of the challenges and risks that you and the project face. A good way is to get people thinking and sharing together. Now is a perfect time to circle up with team members you may not always get the chance to work alongside. This will help open up the project to new possibilities from voices that may otherwise never be heard.
  • Make People a Part of the Solution: Let your team know that the goal is to find ways to recover lost time. This needs to be a collective effort, so include design colleagues and trade partners along with other field team members. Making sure that the entire team is a part of the solution will increase accountability and provide innumerable ideas. Be sure to also leverage technologies that facilitate collaborative planning with remote team members.
    • Set a Cadence with Tighter Handoffs to Recover Delays: Come up with the right pace for your project by identifying the smallest crew that does the most work and their pace. Have everyone staff for that pace while simultaneously removing any float to establish a better rhythm and flow. The idea is to collapse the schedule so teams can shave time off of the delayed project.
    • Create a Reasonable Plan: The mission is to put together a plan to tighten up the process. Make a plan that’s not overly complex so the team can assess and adjust quickly. Be inclusive but mindful of how many people are invited as a part of replanning to keep things streamlined.
    • Consider Alternative Plans: Try to anticipate any future roadblocks by looking several steps ahead. Ask additional people to review proposed plans to identify alternatives and challenges that you and the original planning team missed. Additionally, be sure to have a way to communicate and track plans electronically so that the process isn’t impacted by the lack of being on-site.
    • Track the Plan and Learn from the Data: Almost as important as the plan execution, is tracking how it’s working. Be critical about the assumptions that were made and the success or areas for improvement. If changes are needed, be sure to alert the team and adjust as you learn. Be prepared to make modifications swiftly so the team can keep moving.

Project Scenario 3: Your Project Has an Indefinite Delayed Start

The project has been postponed indefinitely before you even had a chance to break ground. Don’t let the delay in starting construction impact crucial preparations that were underway. While the expectation is that the project will come back, the timeline is uncertain. During this state of uncertainty, there are still ways to proceed.

  • Prepare for Tomorrow: Encourage design and precon teams take extra time to prepare. Conceptualize alternate situations and solutions knowing that projects will start to materialize again, and when they do a rush for resources like materials and personnel will create a shortage. Increased foresight and contingency plans will also help limit the anxiety felt by owners and banks who are funding the projects, successfully solidifying trust in your teams and organizations. Finally, take the time to utilize solutions you might not typically consider. Teams that engage in unconventional strategies will come out on top.
  • Tap Into COVID-19 Experience: Projects in preconstruction and planning phases have a unique opportunity to learn and plan based on what other teams are encountering today. Most likely, your future team is preoccupied with an existing project; just because they’re on another site, doesn’t mean they can’t impact the plans for future jobs. Explore scenarios the incoming team is facing by having them share their current COVID-19 experience and knowledge. Figure out ways to replicate positive accounts, and how to create solutions for areas that need improvement.

This is a moment for the industry to level up in a variety of ways. Whether it’s putting work in place, learning a new skill, or taking a chance that ordinary circumstances don’t always favor, there are hundreds of ways to boost people, teams and jobs now that will help revive the industry when the economy bounces back.

For more ways to help project teams adapt during this unprecedented time, click here.

How Project Teams Can Adapt During COVID-19

The impact of COVID-19 is being felt on a global scale. While no one can predict its outcome, every project team must introduce changes to their daily routines to maintain health and safety and cooperate in slowing the spread of the virus. One of the most crucial adaptations is keeping communications and collaboration consistent regardless of where team members are physically located.

The only way projects and organizations can work through this period and emerge successfully is through remote-based work strategies and solutions. Some jobsites are experiencing complete shutdowns, some are implementing changes to their workflow to practice social distancing, and others need to adjust their planning and scheduling operations. Normal interactions like meetings in the trailer, in-person discussions and just being within an arm’s reach of crew members are stifled by social distancing efforts. Contingency plans for projects are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. A new era of remote-based work is upon us, and no job is immune.

So, how can you continue working together to keep momentum going and stay efficient in a remote environment? Here are some ways you can act now to keep your teams healthy and your projects up and running amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connect With Your Teams Every Step of the Way

During this shift, individuals may start to feel isolated from their teams and jobsites. Digital communication tools are plentiful to support critical conversations and allow for valuable face time. Try a blend of conference capabilities and planning tools to keep teams active and engaged. Consider conference tools that give teams the power to connect with multiple people both telephonically and with video components. This mimics the experience they’re used to in the field, making the change feel slightly more natural. Investing in planning tools will amplify the conversations, tracking teams’ thoughts in order to build out important contingency plans.

Touchplan is an example of a construction-specific collaborative platform to ensure every team member is sharing their best ideas every step of the way. When adopting new tools, consider things like:

  • Is it web-based and accessible from anywhere?
  • Does it allow you and your team a place to plan, schedule tasks and see updates in real-time?
  • Does it provide analytics or facilitate conversations to better understand areas for improvement?

It’s paramount that teams stay connected to chat, check-in and exchange ideas with one another, just as they would in the field. Make time for conversations and planning to empower teams to continue collaborating and communicating throughout the day.

Build or Join a Community

Our environment and industry is changing by the minute, and it’s important to bring communities together in ways that are manageable for our current reality.

Organizing virtual meetings with colleagues is only half the battle. Take the time to prioritize building relationships and staying connected with other teams and individuals facing similar industry threats amidst this pandemic. Here are some ways to stay connected with them virtually:

  • Discussion groups: share ideas on agreed upon topics, ask questions, and learn from one another
  • Free time to “be together”: breaks and meal times during the work day don’t have to be isolated. Call a co-worker or an industry friend and casually chat as you would in-person
  • Digital happy hour: cap off the week by recognizing the progress made as well as share some needed bonding time

Interested in joining a community? Touchplan will be hosting virtual meetings to dedicate time to share ideas, ask questions, and learn from one another.