Identifying and clearing constraints early and often is key to running smarter projects. Often little things that go unnoticed can lead to big headaches. We’ve all experienced it. A permit is tied up in review because of some missing information. A critical activity is held up while awaiting design clarification… or material delivery… or both. A crew works shorthanded because some team members are double booked.
Continue reading “Save your contingency. Make identifying and clearing constraints the priority.”
One fear of working collaboratively, is that more time spent on front end planning will only serve to increase the cost of the project. Project Managers worry that implementing this on a project will make their job harder and hurt their bottom line. The reality is that when you harness the experience of your subcontractors, you lessen the amount of babysitting you have to do. The time and money put into early collaborative planning creates big savings in both, and empowers your team to get more done. Once you try it, you’ll learn to embrace this style of planning. Continue reading “Let Collaborative Planning Make Your Job Easier”
Good planning is a fundamental tool of a successful construction project. Successful project managers get their project teams to talk and trust each other to act in the best interest of the project. This collaborative planning relies on the expertise of the people directly responsible for doing the work. It allows for a project plan with the best available alternatives.
Continue reading “How to Organize a Smarter Planning Session”
An effective facilitator can be the difference between a productive planning session and a frustrating waste of time. Your job, as facilitator, is to move along the collaboration without taking over and running the meeting. You should facilitate an effective conversation and not dominate the discussion. If you manage the meeting successfully you will keep conversations on track and ensure that all team members’ voices are heard.
Here are 6 steps to help you facilitate better in your next meeting:
Prepare
Go over the specs of the project. Familiarize yourself with the scope of work and objectives. Preparing ahead will help you keep the big picture in focus. You will be in a better position to guide the group in the task at hand.
State Objectives
Begin the meeting with a clear explanation of the goal for the meeting. Whether it is a planning meeting, a strategy session, or a 6 week look-ahead meeting it is important to get everyone on the same page with the goals for the meeting.
Engage the Group
Pay attention to the group dynamic. Are there people talking over others? Is someone not speaking up? Is no one talking? Use your role to start and maintain the conversation. Increase interaction between group members to achieve the full benefits of the collaborative process. Balance the voices being heard and keep people talking.
Maintain Focus
Keep the conversation focused on the task at hand. Large planning sessions can easily devolve into side conversations. If focus is waning in the group, take the chance to reiterate the objectives and put people back on task.
Manage Dysfunction
As a facilitator you will run into unproductive behavior. You will need to address group dysfunction on a case by case basis. You can redirect attention with appropriate humor, or call a break if you are losing the room. Do these things before dysfunction zaps all the momentum out of your meeting.
Resolve Disagreement
Nip fights in the bud. It does not take much for minor disagreements to spiral out of control. If you see a problem, say something.
Why should you add technology to the Last Planner® System? Touchplan makes your life easier by getting rid of your planning headaches. No more stickies falling off the site trailer wall or taking pictures then translating to MS Excel or Primavera. Create your pull plan in Touchplan and take it with you on your Ipad or laptop wherever you go. Last planners to a project have full visibility to project needs, and can continually monitor, update, and maintain tasks and promises in a real-time, collaborative setting.
Continue reading “Last Planner® System and Touchplan”
Good pull planning is fundamental to making the Last Planner® System work. Pull planning relies on the expertise of the people directly responsible for doing the work. It allows the last planners to create a collaborative plan with the best available alternatives. There are two parts to achieving success with pull planning. First is structuring the planning session to make sure you are getting all of the necessary information from your last planners. Once you have created the space for a fruitful planning session, it is time to make sure you create an action plan that is the most effective.
Tips for a Successful Pull Planning Session
- Invite the right people—The pull planning session is for last planners. These are the trade contractors running the crews, and overseeing the work on the jobsite. Your session will not be effective if you are not talking to the folks with firsthand knowledge of getting the work done!
- Identify the scope of the work—Make sure last planners know what work is to be completed during this phase of construction. Let the whole crew know the work going on during that phase. In preparation for the pull plan, be sure to have each last planner study their individual requirements within the scope. It is important to set the right scope for each phase of the project. Make sure it is not too big—Last Planner® is most effective as a short-term planning system.
- Keep the last planners engaged—If any of the last planners are not contributing to the discussion, you will have gaps in your plan. Structure the meeting so that everyone present is empowered to answer the pull planning questions.
- Be a facilitator, not a scheduler—Pull planning works because all the trade contractors collaborate to create the best and most efficient plan possible. Your job is to move along the collaboration without taking over and running the meeting. You should facilitate an effective conversation and not dominate the discussion.
Tips for the Plan
- Be specific—Your plan should identify exactly what work each individual will produce and for whom. It should be very clear when handoffs will happen between crews.
- The flow should be smooth—The handoffs between the crews should happen seamlessly. Your worksite should be a “parade of trades” where crews perform work at the last appropriate moment and the next group is ready to start as soon as possible.
- Steady crew sizes—Avoid the inefficiencies of an understaffed jobsite as well as the dangers of a crowded one.
- Identify—Account for all major constraints to work being planned.
If you are using the Last Planner® System you already know that the first step of implementation is to create a high-level master schedule identifying your project milestones. A successful Lean build begins with a strong master schedule and smart use of milestones. It sounds relatively simple, but what should your team be thinking about during the master scheduling session? What makes a good milestone? Let’s tackle each of these questions in turn and help your team create a strong and effective master schedule.
Continue reading “Tips for Developing a Strong Milestone Schedule”
