Category Archives: Strategic Planning

Make “The Call”

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One of the most common comments heard on most construction sites is, “Whatever we planned for today will change.”  This comment is more than spoken words, it often becomes a mindset of the crew leader.

What is actually surprising is that very few things change that much during the average day in construction.  Sure, the concrete scheduled to arrive for the 11:00 AM pour might be delayed, or one of the contractors arrives to the site an hour late, or even, the quick thunderstorm that suddenly appeared before blowing through in ten minutes, are all examples of changes.  Yet, such changes do not always have the massive impact on production if field leaders are better prepared for “Plan B” when such interruptions take place.

It is the responsibility of every construction field leader to, when a change, or adjustment is required, that a “call” is placed to the appropriate individual.  That appropriate individual for most contractors is their job scheduler.

The impact of a call made to the job scheduler can strengthen logistics, make greater use of company resources, and keep the client’s confidence in the contractor.  Yet, with all that is good about calling the job scheduler immediately after recognizing or experience an unscheduled change, many field leaders continue to be slow to make “the call.”

What are the benefits of calling your company’s Job Scheduler?  Let’s consider a few very critical benefits that can even touch your own job security.

  • Calling the Job Scheduler gets the person with the widest knowledge of needs, available resources, and customer needs in the decision-making process.
  • Calling the Job Scheduler “sooner versus later” provides the Job Scheduler with more time to consider more options that may strengthen the company’s next move.
  • Calling the Job Scheduler reduces the number of people who will all have an opinion about “what we should do,” but have little to no authority to change the schedule.
  • Calling the Job Scheduler can make the schedule change sooner, often mitigating the potential loss of wasted time and increase the potential profitability from a situation that could have been a disaster.

Don’t think for a moment that calling your Job Scheduler is taking them away from what they are paid to do…this is their job.  But what the Job Scheduler does not have are your eyes, field presence, and a feel about the situation.  Similar to an Offensive Coordinator sitting up high in a stadium, while they have a broader view of the playing field, the QB is still engaged and allowed to bring what he “feels” is right for the calling of plays.  It’s not a perfect science but the need for both roles is important.

So too is your role as the Field Leader to keep your Project Scheduler informed and updated on how you are seeing “the field.”  Communicating what you are experiencing is crucial to the Job Scheduler as he takes your input and considers how best to support the next move based on what he has his hands on in regard to information. 

It is the Job Scheduler that often has a better bead on how plants are operating, what other projects can be moved back or accelerated, or if “Option B” is the better choice and will make the best use of the crew involved.  It is the Job Scheduler who more often will have a better feel on how thin the equipment resources currently are, or are there enough operators to make certain changes, and even what is the expectation of the most demanding customer.

Here are some situations that you will want to act clearly and quickly in making a call to your Supervisor  

  1. Assess a Mistake

You are paid to make decisions, so make them!  If you, or your Foreman, see something that is not right, assess the situation.  You should ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Can we fix it now?
  2. Will we need additional support to fix?
  3. How much time will this impact the schedule?

Notice what the first question is NOT?  “Who made the mistake?”  We’ll deal with the “Who” later; for now, you must assess what is to be done and how that will impact the schedule.

If the time estimate is anything more than 30-60 minutes the Foreman should call their Supervisor and give them the update.  Don’t delay and certainly do not wait until you have fixed a problem IF the time lost is still going to make an impact on the schedule.  When in doubt…call your Supervisor!

  1. When a GC Changes Your Scope, Location, or Starting Point

While we work for the customer, they can take us off of our intended schedule of work.  If any Foreman, and crew, arrive to the job site and the GC/Superintendent informs them that they need the crew doing something different than what was scheduled, get clarity as to the request or redirection, the Foreman should contact their Supervisor ASAP.  In some cases, the Foreman may need to join the Supervisor on the call with the Scheduler to determine what needs to be changed in the schedule.

Don’t take the changes put on you or your crew personally, but do take the initiative and contact the Supervisor or Scheduler to address the changing situation quickly.

  1. When Site Is Not Prepared for Our Crew

Probably the easiest to address but again, it appears to take longer than is needed to contact the Supervisor or Scheduler.  When our crews show up to our project site and what was promised, in advance by the GC/Developer, to be prepared for our crews to work…is not ready, then a quick call to the Supervisor is needed.  We simply cannot afford to have wasted time spent on a GC arm-twisting our Foreman, almost sweet talking them into staying and doing something else.  This gums up the entire schedule for that job and others.  And, of course the GC will never remember this episode later when they charge our company with getting something completed after it was the GC who held us up.

  1. When Projected Weather Conditions is Not Good

With more “stay outs” involving our crews working farther away geographically, we must rely on our Foremen to be the “weather man.”  If the weather is forecasted to be a real nasty event then a quick call to the Supervisor, or the Scheduler, needs to be placed for greater assessment.  Depending on the location, the costs involved thus far in the project, and the need of other projects, it’s imperative that such communication must be made.  The “call” must be placed with as great of clarity as possible.

  1. Resource Quantities are Short in Numbers or Are Wrong

This situation cannot happen!  It’s a reflection on so many others including Estmating, Cad-Techs, Yard, the projectd Foreman, and even the Supervisor.  But this situation can happen.  When it does, the Site Leader at the site must assess the shortage and identify exactly what is needed.  Then, the very next action is to contact the Supervisor or Scheduler to update and discuss next steps.  Again, it may be less expensive to keep the crew at the site, working on what can be accomplished, or, it may make more sense to have the crew drive to another site to assist.  Either way, the “call” must be made quickly, allowing the Scheduler more time to consider the next best moves that strengthens the schedule’s success.

None of the five situations are new.  Most of the actions suggested to address the situations are not new.  Yet, such situations still exist.  Therefore, it’s not for lack of education or experience that we continually revisit what should be done, so it must land on the leader’s shoulders, Foremen and Supervisors, to take quicker action.

Making “the call” is not a sign of humility or guilt, it’s a sign that we respect our company’s commitment to complete jobs on-time and at or below projected estimates to turn a profit for our company.  Now, by making “the call” in a quick and timely basis, we are accomplishing a few things:

  1. We can track the nature of the calls to measure what we are still short of perfecting.  Thus we identify opportunities for improvement.  That’s a good thing.
  2. Making “the call” sooner, rather than later, we are increasing those in charge of more coverage and authority to better position our company to make the best of a difficult situation, hopefully resulting in greater profitability. Remember, a profitable company is a lot more fun to work for and with, providing more benefits to everyone.

Don’t be slow to make “the call” when needed.  Be faster on the draw to call your next in line leader, even the Scheduler to get out in front of a mistake or potential delay.  Make such a call may just work in your favor, pushing you, and your workers, to being fully engaged, busy, and productive.

Make…the call!

Brad Humphrey

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[VIDEO] Being Sensitive to Customer’s Hot Buttons

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Every customer is different – make sure you know their hot button issues while your trying to make the sale!

 

REMEMBER: You can watch all of our 2 Minute Drill series at videos.pinnacledg.com, and you can download the Pinnacle Development Group App to watch your training videos on any iOS, Android, or Windows device.
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The Power of SMART Goals

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The evidence is overwhelming; it’s laughable to argue against the setting and managing of goals.  No matter for personal use only, setting goals for a project, or building goals into your department or company, the proof that setting goals does positively impact results is without question.

So then, why do so many “smart” people not make goal setting part of their natural and professional lives?  Briefly, let me share a few that I’ve discovered working with leaders over the years.

  • Goals created were soon forgotten and not managed
  • When the desired results were not reached, there was little enthusiasm to create goals again
  • Too busy to sit down and really think about where an individual or group want to be in the future
  • Hitting our budget is the goal
  • A created goal didn’t have an end point or specific measurement
  • The goal lacked real specifics…just said, “lose weight”
  • Focus is on other things such as quality, safety, productivity objectives, etc.

Like setting a “New Year’s Resolution,” most well-meaning people may set a goal and then slowly fade away from managing the goal before it finally drops off the radar.  But in this article, we’re not talking about losing weight or increasing your road work to run a marathon, as worthwhile as those two effort are.  We’re talking about the difference in just working toward achieving some thing “out there,” and being disciplined to develop a very specifically targeted objective, supported with just as specific action steps, in order to achieve or surpass critical company objectives to beat the competition.  Trust me, your competitor would love nothing more than for you and your work associates to simply bump along, never really injecting the human capital available to you to win the prize of more volume, more market share, more customer loyalty.

It has been generally accepted that the first use of the SMART acronym was first recorded in November 1981 in Spokane, Washington.  Mr. George T. Doran, former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company, published a paper titled, “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives.

It is generally accepted that the SMART acronym was first written down in November 1981 in Spokane, Washington. George T. Doran, a consultant and former Director of Corporate Planning for Washington Water Power Company published a paper titled “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”.

Mr. Doran defined each letter in the following way. 

  • Specific: target a specific area for improvement.
  • Measurable: quantify, or at least suggest, an indicator of progress.
  • Assignable: specify who will do it.
  • Realistic: state what results can realistically be achieved given available resources.
  • Time-related: specify when the result can be achieved.

While there have been numerous adaptations for the individual letters and their meaning, most interpretation of S.M.A.R.T. is mostly intact today.  So, let’s consider a brief expansion for each letter as it might apply to you.

Specific

The very first and most critical effort to writing a meaningful goal is to define it specifically.  To simply write:

“We will improve communication this year,”

is not as specific as writing,

“We will improve clarity and timely updates of customer orders every day at 8:30AM and 4:00PM between the following departments: Purchasing, Production, & Sales.”

Consider that no physician would prescribe any medications without first making the cause of the illness as specific and sure as possible.  So too, should any leader take the writing of a goal with the same specificity in mind and practice.

Measureable

It is in the measuring of a goal where the depth of the goal is found.  There is an old carpenter’s axiom that states, “Measure twice, cut once.”  What is true in building a house or building is true for other industries.  Making your goal measureable gives body and substance to what is needed to achieve.

Returning to our example earlier, let’s add some measureable element to the statement.

“We will achieve a 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders through improving the accuracy of customer requests, our production schedule, and our capacity, for each daily update at 8:30AM and 4:00PM, between the following departments: Purchasing, Production, & Sales.”

You can see in this statement that we have added some “volume” to our statement, turning eyes specifically to a more narrowed measuring of what we will be reaching for each new day.  We have identified a measureable in two fashions: A. There is a 16% increase target for customer fulfillment orders, and; B. There is an improvement in accuracy of customer requests, our production schedule, and our capacity.  This “B.” measureable is directing those involved to include these elements in their two “updates” each day.

Assignable

This element of the acronym is where some leaders fail in sustaining the potential impact of goal setting.  By not assigning key responsibilities to contributors to the success of the goal, there will more often be a breakdown, leading to the decreased activity to reach the goal.

In our ongoing example of goal statement, there actually has been an assignable effort made by pointing out three departments involved with the exchange of more specific communication: Purchasing, Production, and Sales.  Now, no names of individuals were included but this would have to be determined by either the leader over each area or pointed out in the action plan that supports the goal.  While individual names could be added, I’m not sure that this would be necessary if the departmental leaders stood up to address.

Realistic

The real test for any individual or group in setting goals comes when they must determine a realistic endpoint to accomplish the goal.  That is to say, “What do we get when we get there?  What will the accomplished goal look like?”

This is a fair but difficult effort for some goals.  In our earlier example, what might be the “realistic” portion of the goal?  Well, our first realistic test is to reach the 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders.  If we feel that we have the needed resources, the proper coordination, and the commitment to reach this number, then we will lean toward this goal being realistic. 

While making our goals “Realistic” doesn’t always require an editing effort to the actual goal statement, the requirement here is for the goal writer to believe that they have the necessary resources to see the goal through.  If the individual, or team, do not feel they have the needed resources, then this will undoubtedly dampen the enthusiasm for the effort to achieve the goal.

To summarize this fourth element, if we feel that we have the needed resources to accomplish the goal, then the 16% increase in customer fulfillment of orders is realistic for the people charged with achieving the goal.

Time-Related

The fifth and final element to writing a S.M.A.R.T. Goal is perhaps the “gut check” for those who are creating the goal.  Why? Because if a goal is to have any real traction and impact, there must be a time frame that the team feels pressured to achieve.  There must be some imposed element to reaching the goal, and setting the goal to the calendar is one sure way of doing this. 

From “cramming for a test” in college, to preparing for a new child in nine months, there is something about the scheduling of time that tends to refocus, empower, inspire, and pushes most people to excel beyond their wildest expectations.  Recall the effort made by the NASA Engineers when an Apollo Mission to the moon was brilliantly brought to the movie screen.  The Engineers were told to use only what was available on the Capsule and that they only had a few hours to solve an energy and oxygen problem.

As we know now, the Engineers did solve a very short term, and life threatening, goal to save three astronauts, and to bring them home alive.  They accomplished their goal, each digging deep into their knowledge, experience, and creativity to turn the “most successful failure in NASA history” into an inspiration for science for all time.

Now, having accomplished writing of a S.M.A.R.T. Goal, it is important to put a plan of action to support the achievement and management effort.  You will find an Action Plan template that is easy to use.  Whether you have your own action plan document or use the attached one for this article, you will discover that without doubt, putting the goal, especially one that impacts and needs the involvement of more than one or two people, can serve the effort nicely.  The Action Plan provides a regular check-up, helps to place measurement to smaller steps in the process, and keeps the management of the goal in focus.

With so much at stake for your company’s future success, doesn’t it make sense to commit to the writing of goals, S.M.A.R.T. Goals?  Recommit, with more understanding and fire power available, to set your goals more proficiently and clearly before those engaged with achieving the goal.

Be S.M.A.R.T., start developing our goals today!

Brad Humphrey

The Contractor’s Best Friend

 

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