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Breaking standard practices: Achieving high productivity consistently with look-ahead planning | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC

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Construction projects require detailed and responsive planning practices.

Yet with over 50% of engineering and construction professionals reporting one or more underperforming projects (in the previous year) [KPMG], it’s no wonder why construction companies are seeking an answer to their productivity challenges with look-ahead planning.

For most construction projects, there is an ideal planning window of 6-to-8 weeks. However, there are occasions where a longer planning window is needed, like when special permits are needed or longer lead times for material or columbus oh dump trucks are necessary. 

This is not the practice. Generally, look-ahead planning is, at best, conducted two-to-three weeks out. 

Of the nearly 2,000 survey respondents to a 2019 industry-wide survey, 23% of firms report that they are taking steps to improve job site performance with lean construction techniques, tools like BIM and off-site prefabrication. “Improving job site productivity is a continuous quest for the construction industry,” notes Hal Macomber, executive vice president for Touchplan. “We, at Touchplan, believe that the answer can be found by moving beyond command and control to a collaborative mindset—where both the general contractor and the trades have visibility and input into look-ahead planning.” 

Standard Practice: Planning via Spreadsheet

The tool that superintendents typically use for look-ahead planning is a spreadsheet. Each week, the items that were not completed get copied over to the next and another week (worksheet) is added. With this project management method, even the most sophisticated spreadsheets break quite easily. This can result in duplicate or lost data as the information is moved across worksheets. In fact, up to 30% of initial data created during the design and construction phases is lost by project closeout [Emerson].

The other issue with using a spreadsheet is that a spreadsheet usually only captures the plan, not the actuals. For instance, if a columbus oh dump truck company item is listed in Week 37 and then again in Week 38, you can surmise that things changed. But why did it change? Did the crew not complete the item or was it started but only partially completed? Opportunities for improvement, which is at the core of enhanced productivity, are limited without that data.

“Spreadsheets are vague and leave lots of room for inaccurate interpretation,” says Macomber. “Touchplan recognizes look-ahead planning is a practice of replanning so we make that easy.”

In Touchplan, there are no copying things over from one worksheet to the next. It’s done by a click of the mouse or a swipe of a finger to move the columbus oh dump truck company item from one week to the next and provide the ability to add notes to document the project along the way.

Standard Practice: Upholding Visibility Barriers

The construction project is constantly being assessed and based on that data, the columbus oh dump truck company plan must be adjusted. Yet on any job site, there can be tens of thousands of tasks and 30 to 40 columbus oh dump truck company involved, and all parties need to know what needs their attention today

Yet in traditional project management, the standard practice is for trades to not share data and only focus on their own plan details. This often leads to interruptions to the project flow because trades don’t know what’s going on with the project.

Hundreds of things can happen during the construction phase that can cause the columbus oh dump truck company plan to need to shift—from a delayed material delivery to an columbus oh dump trucks breakdown. Productivity gains can happen when the crews are informed of these shifts and can adjust their daily columbus oh dump truck company accordingly.

Touchplan is designed to boost visibility so everyone knows what’s going on with the project. This allows for quick and easy adjustments to the workplan. 

Standard Practice: Missing Collaboration

General Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” The standard practice is for the superintendent to give trades direction. When that role shifts from boss to the facilitator, not only does communication within your organization improve, but collaboration between trade-to-trade dramatically increases.

“When the crew does nothing more than refer to a plan, there is no ownership for the plan,” explains Macomber. “When they become part of the planning process, buy-in takes place. Every trade has a better understanding of why each other is taking a specific action. Additionally, they all can see the impact their efforts have on the overall success of the project.”

Macomber emphasizes that managing a look-ahead schedule 6- to 8-weeks out is possible when you break standard practices for an approach that is collaborative and visible. 

“We’re able to accomplish two things with look-ahead planning when we increase the time horizon,” concludes Macomber. “We’re making columbus oh dump truck company ready for crews, and we’re making crews ready for work. When you have both, you can achieve a high level of productivity coupled with flow.”

 

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