Levels of Productivity

Making major improvements to labor productivity for contractors starts at the company level and must be rigorously managed all the way down to the individual steps in each task.

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Levels Of Productivity Company, Projects, Tasks, and Steps

We too often see contractors attacking the problem only at one level and not looking at the entire value stream identifying what adds the most value and what does not.  

  • Company - Do you have the right people in place to identify and eliminate waste?  Does your market strategy and opportunity selection process provide projects where you have the best chance of success?
  • Projects - How effective is your planning process?
  • Tasks - What percentage of your tasks have all 6 Pillars of Productivity met before starting?  
  • Steps - Look at every detail, every screw, every step and see if you can eliminate it.  

Remember that the actual speed of the crafts people installing things IS NOT the biggest problem with productivity.


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Levels of Productivity
Field labor is the often the biggest variable on a construction project - making it the biggest risk and opportunity....

Levels of Productivity
Field labor is the often the biggest variable on a construction project - making it the biggest risk and opportunity....

Degree of Discretionary Time with Growth in Role Levels and Business Size
The degree of discretionary time that someone has in doing their job grows with their role level - for example from crafts person to VP of Operations. For similar roles, that time decreases with company growth as the job roles become more tightly defined.
Coaching and "GPS Feedback" - John Wooden Example
The best coaches and superintendents all have an eye for detail and constant communication. Winning in construction or sports is about ensuring that thousands of details come together correctly. The game (or project) is won far away from the scoreboard.
Lean Principle - 8 Categories of Waste
The first step in improving labor productivity in construction is improving everyone’s ability to see the waste. Waste can then be broken down into 8 major categories. Like colors these are often interrelated.