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Still waiting for your turn to work? Poor planning vexes construction

Date Posted: August 17 2001

Everyone who has ever worn a hard hat has worked on a project that, for our inability to use a stronger term, was "screwed up."

It's a major source of frustration for skilled workers who want to come in, do their job right, and then go to the next job. When delays set it, the frustration factor can be as important as the pay level in how a worker views his or her job - in fact, some workers would probably take less money to avoid some hassles.

If it's any comfort, it seems as if many of the problems start at the top - with management.

Cockshaw's Newsletter, an impartial construction industry publication, reported in July that "the industry's top tradesmen cannot deliver solid performance if the job suffers from poor management practices!"

So what's keeping productivity low and preventing workers from doing their best work? Here are the top 10 most common administrative delays, according to Cockshaw's:

  1. Waiting for materials - from the warehouse or offsite.
  2. Waiting for tools and equipment.
  3. Waiting for equipment breakdowns to be fixed.
  4. Re-work due to design, prefabrication or field errors.
  5. Interference from other crews (i.e. one craft waiting for another to finish before they can work).
  6. Overcrowded work areas.
  7. Workplace changes (i.e. not enough work in one area so a tradesperson has to lose time relocating).
  8. Waiting on permits.
  9. Waiting for instructions (i.e. questions about the plans, or when an interpretation of a code or regulation is needed).
  10. Other delays, the most common of which is waiting for scaffolding to be put up or taken down.

Do any of those sound familiar?

Cockshaw's recommends contractors improve communications, organize properly to make sure tools and equipment are on site when needed, and schedule an orderly work flow for the various crafts.

"Management - and the supervisory process itself - are the central keys to improved performance and productivity," Cockshaw's wrote. (Information from Cockshaw's Labor News + Opinion, P.O. Box 427, Newton Square, PA 19073. (610) 353-0123).