Profitable growth comes from operating within a target capacity and capability range - and continually increasing those ranges. Operating with consistent overload, consistent under capacity, or with consistently high variability is not sustainable.
labor productivity lean constructionImproving craft labor productivity in construction will significantly reduce risk while providing a long-term competitive advantage for the contractor and every team member. This alternate labor budget perspective shows different opportunities.
For specialty contractors the field workforce represents most of their competitive advantage as well as their biggest source of variability. Making improvements to field productivity requires deeply understanding what truly adds value to the customer.
field productivity lean constructionBuilding a great contracting business requires the right balance of leadership and management. While it is possible to separate them the truth is that many of the top leaders are relentlessly disciplined managers.
discipline leadership management wisdomA contractor’s value stream is every step required to take raw materials and information then deliver a completed project to the waiting hands of a customer. Deep understanding of this value stream is the foundation for major productivity improvements.
field productivity lean constructionFor a contractor to maximize their labor productivity, they need to start with clear information provided to the crews doing the actual installation. Good information is the first of the six pillars of productivity and means several things:
design field operations productivity project management virtual constructionLean is a body of knowledge dating back hundreds of years focused on sustainably growing an organization. During the last 20 years the construction industry has been rapidly adopting some of these tools to improve productivity.
field productivity lean constructionLabor is often the biggest cost variable on a construction project. Just over half the field hours are related to actual installation. Understanding how time is spent on average in the field is the first step to improving field productivity.
estimating field productivity labor productivityFor a contractor to truly improve their field productivity, they must start with understanding how the time is spent. Depending on the trade, project, and the labor, study the time spent on actual installation ranges from 50-64%.
estimating field productivityThis outcome-based scoreboard keeps everyone focused on what matters. Avoid metric overload and diffusion of resources. All other metrics throughout all levels of the organization fall into a hierarchy below these with priorities changing over time.
business management business planning cash flow metrics scoreboard succession