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10 Tips to Solving the Waiting Game

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Waiting is a great profit-robber for contractors of all sizes. Contractors are not overreacting or micro-managing because they want to ensure clarity and see that things get done the right way the first time! The waiting game, which virtually every contractor experiences several times every week if not every day, is a waste that costs construction contractors time, quality, productivity and profitability. 

Is there a waste that is experienced by more contractors than the waste of waiting? While there are always good reasons that an individual or crew might need to wait, our focus on waiting is purely directed at those wasted minutes and hours spent waiting due to a breakdown in communication or planning. Can any contractor eliminate all of their waiting contributors? Of course not! But we can greatly reduce the actual time spent waiting by workers in our organization.

Just consider some of the things a contractor might spend time waiting on:

  • Crew members showing up to work on time
  • Crew members showing up to a jobsite on time
  • Concrete crew waiting on a material truck so they can pour and finish a concrete slab
  • Crew waiting on crane operator to move needed equipment or resources
  • Contractor waiting on a customer to show up and discuss their needs
  • Project manager waiting on architect to finish drawings
  • Superintendent waiting on another contractor to show up at jobsite
  • Material plant manager waiting on contractors to place order

Let’s consider a few causes for waiting experienced by many contractors and their people:

  • Little to no planning
  • Poor or no communication
  • Misunderstanding about need, intent or expectation
  • Too many people “assume”
  • Apathetic or low-motivated workers
  • Little to no accountability
  • Poorly trained workers
  • Forgetful or poorly focused workers

I’m sure that there are another hundred or so causes, but I think you get the idea. But here’s the key to keep in mind: such waiting is costing you money. In some cases, lots of waiting!

Overcome the Waiting Game

So, how can you overcome the waste of the waiting game? Let’s consider 10 proven solutions that you can incorporate immediately.

  1. Deliver instructions with greater clarity as to who is doing what, when, why and where.
  2. After providing instruction, direction or making a request ask the “receiver” what she heard from you.
  3. When placing a request or order to another person or organization over the phone ask that individual to confirm what he understood.
  4. If you are dealing with a “repeat waster” be sure to remind the person of your instruction or request and have him repeat back to you the same.
  5. If placing request or order well in advance, follow-up with an e-mail, fax or written note with a confirmation.
  6. When training be sure to always perform a “watch-do” where the learner watches a demonstration and then performs the same task herself with a watchful teacher looking on.
  7. Plan your projects, tasks and assignments to the level of understanding and competency of the people charged with executing them.
  8. Be aware of the level of focus and motivation in your own workers and prepare to take action that might refocus their attention or put a little fire under their attitude. If this fails, consider discipline or separation.
  9. Be sensitive to the level of focus or motivation of suppliers, other contractors or customers and expend additional energy and communication to clarify and confirm.
  10. Live by the motto, “When in doubt…repeat!” Never ASSUME people get it the first time or that a nod of the head means they understand. “Yes!” doesn’t always mean, “I understand.” 
Strategic Planning, , ,

Tightening Up Job-Site Productivity…and Profitability!

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John has a good pavement maintenance company in the big picture of things.   He’s a hard working contractor who has a normal mix of long term and short term workers.  However, he can’t quite seem to break through the profitability ceiling, or “PC.”  As much as he figures and refigures his estimating efforts he still is falling 3%, 5%, even 9% short of the gross profit that he should be realizing on most jobs.  His frustrations led to his asking me to come along side for the rest of this year to get him over the “PC” barrier.

Too many good contractors are struggling today with getting that next 3%-5% of gross profit.  Some contractors are literally approaching double figures in shortages from what they should be experiencing on their gross profit.  After reviewing John’s work processes that his field guys practiced I’m convinced that he can realize greater gross profit and tighten up his job-site productivity but it’s going to take some good planning, execution, and commitment.

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Serge Bertasius Photography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Pre-Planning For Job-Site Productivity

First, most pavement maintenance contractors, do a horrible job of pre-planning their projects. This is their first mistake.  Pre-planning, especially pre-construction, is a specialized effort among general construction companies and our industry could learn much from the same effort.

Pre-construction, with an emphasis on pre-planning, begins when a field leader takes all the collected information from the estimate and begins to review what he and his crew can do to maximize the production effort.  This means recognizing where trucks, equipment, materials, etc. should be delivered, unloaded, loaded, and stored.  This effort alone costs many contractors thousands of dollars a year in accidents and damaged materials when not done. 

Second, continuing the pre-planning effort, the contractor should then set out the next week schedule by each Friday for the next week of work.  I introduced many years ago the “Next Week Look Ahead” to our industry at our annual conferences.  The contractors who have embraced this tool confidently share that this process of planning will add 2%-4% almost immediately to their gross profit, often more.  The big objection I hear for not doing this is that “the schedule will always change.”  The scheduled does change periodically but by having the plan in place the alternative decisions can be made faster and with more foresight.  There is absolutely no excuse for not planning!

Third, there needs to be an organized process to unload, place, store, and load equipment, tools, materials, etc.  This can also be preplanned by creating something Japanese Management has called “5-S.”  There are five components involved with incorporate 5-S but one effort that is critical for us here is the development of a 5-S Map. 

Develop Your 5-S Map for Job-Site Productivity

A 5-S Map can be used for many purposes that will help to keep things organized and encourage a cleaner and safer job, job-site, more organized trucks, and especially yards and shops.  Consider an aerial drawing of your tool truck where you have most of your equipment and hand tools stored.  Once drawn, you then identify where each item is to be kept.  You can do this by drawing an arrow to the location on the truck where the item is to be kept and then writing what the item is such as rakes, blowers, buckets, etc.

You should have a 5-S Map done on your shop, yard, etc.  Also, I recommend drawing a 5-S Map for how you want to lay out your equipment and tools once you are at a job site.  Some contractors argue with me but soon realize how much they can save by having all the items that they will be using lined out or positioned on a job site for faster retrieval and better handling.

Fourth, the leadership to hold morning and afternoon “huddles” between a crew leader and the crew members is crucial for successful production each day.  This huddle I’m referring to is a short 3-5 minute meeting at the job site that first clarifies what the targets are for the day, confirming who is doing what on the job, and reminding all workers to important information about the job and safety reminders.  This morning huddle isn’t enough, there needs to be a “PM” huddle just before all the workers head home or back to the yard.  The afternoon huddle would review what happened during the day, what can be improved, and what can be done to organize the site, trucks, equipment, etc. to make the next day’s production go faster and smoother.

Finally, the most critical issue to busting through your profitability ceiling is to be a driver of the first four items.  We have enough to battle each day with inexperienced workers or negative attitudes reflected by many of our workers without you not driving, supporting, and enforcing the completion of the four items listed earlier.  

Strategic Planning, , ,