Productivity Killers:

a. We are understaffed (refusal to work anyone but the best)

b. Excessive turnover of manpower

c. Moving people before they have completed an area or schedule commitment

i. We spend way too much time moving people around on non-productive jobs

d. We work overtime and want the best people to come help on the weekends
i. Guys that come for one day are not going to productive
1. They dont know what needs to be done (someone has to show them)
2. They dont know where anything is (Tools/material/prints)
3. They know whatever they dont finish is not their problem
4. Why do we want to pay 50% more for the same thing they did yesterday

e. We dont have the proper resources on the job

i. They dont have all of the material they need
1. Not enough of basic materials
2. Missing Specialties that havent been submitted and approved
3. Missing fire dampers or VAV Boxes
4. Lack of control valves or hose kits
5. Fabbed material is late or not correct or not delivered or stored in an
effective manor too much time sorting thru pieces.

f. We plan to field measure or hand draw some or all of the work

i. The guy that knows how to measure is a key supervisor or mechanic
ii. He doesnt have time measure or draw and Supervise
iii. Productivity suffers we move before complete then move back when field
measured material is delivered (2 hours lost coming and going minimum)
iv. Fab shop is burdened with unplanned work they pull off productive work to make
field measured pieces this affects both projects final cost.
v. We may be making items in-house that was part of a vendor scope
vi. The drawings and spools need to be better and more complete

g. They dont have the proper tools or equipment

i. We dont want to buy the right labor saving items
ii. We dont have the material handling equipment we need
iii. We do too much with labor and not rent or purchase the right labor saving tool
iv. Not enough scissor or man lifts

h. We make decisions based on the estimate or sales info

i. We need to determine the most cost effective way to do the work
1. Material vs Labor (means and methods)
 a. Which resource is more plentiful?
b. What is the construction schedule?
i. Time is money time saving material or methods?
ii. Customer Satisfaction helping them meet a schedule

ii. We make manpower decisions based on the estimate or remaining budget

1. We should have identified the problem much earlier
2. We are committed to doing the work (no matter what it cost)
3. Cutting labor at the wrong time will exaggerate the problem
a. Moving people to meet the next schedule start date - leaves a lot
work to finish sometime (usually on overtime)
b. Lack of enough people when the work is less restricted by other
trades (missing the most productive time to do the work)
c. Working overtime at the end to finish Usually requires more
people working overtime then proper staffing at the right time and
we paying them 50% more to do less productive work
d. Ties up the best human resources (Foreman/Key personnel) on non-
productive work at the end of a job when they should be used to
prevent the same thing happing on next job.

So if we really want to improve productivity and final labor cost on our projects we (the project
management team CM PM APM SUPT and FOREMAN) need to work together at the beginning of a
project to really understand the schedule, the most productive time and methods to do the work
(usually sooner than later) and develop a plan that magnifies the things that make a difference (consider
all of the items above). We need to review that plan regularly throughout the project and make the
necessary adjustments based on current conditions and schedules. The 3 week projection and eSUB
reports should be a good starting point for the regular reviews. If they reveal we are not as productive
as we should be we need to look hard at our processes and supervision on the job, find the real cause
and adjust, again considering all of the above. What can we change to make it easier to install the work?
That should result in less skills and a lower cost per hour.