Construction Brothers

We start out with a brief discussion about the mystery of lost files (due to some tech challenges we encountered today).Today we’re discussing inefficiency–specifically as it relates to the amount of time allocated to a task.

We discuss the art (or the science?) of scheduling in a way that provides just the right amount of time–not too little, not too much.

OVERVIEW OF PARKINSON’S LAW:
Tyler shares about the book in which he discovered a name for one particular source of inefficiency. It’s called Parkinson’s Law, and it can be seen all over the place.

We discuss how this law applies in the world of construction. We discuss the relationship between deadlines and hustle. And then, of course, there’s “fake hustle.”

BACKGROUND OF PARKINSON’S LAW:
We discuss the history behind the term “Parkinson’s Law.” The term was coined by British naval historian and author Cyril Northcote Parkinson. He discusses bureaucratic bloat in the British military and proceeds to name the pattern after himself.

FRED AND THE BUREAUCRACY:
Eddie talks us through a hypothetical scenario of someone creating bureaucratic bloat in order to compensate for either decreased ability or increased laziness. We compare this hypothetical business scenario with the military analysis in Parkinson’s paper.

We acknowledge that a deadline you determined is a deadline you own to a much greater degree. The more you feel like a stakeholder in a deadline, the more motivated you’ll be to establish momentum toward that deadline.

Tyler and Eddie both share about specific instances from our own professional lives where we saw Parkinson’s Law at work. We discuss the causes and the consequences.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DEADLINES:
We challenge listeners to contribute some thoughts about setting deadlines effectively. We discuss the massive inefficiencies that can result if deadlines are abandoned and the bloat of Parkinson’s Law begins to affect your project.

So here’s our megaphone question for you: How, as a person–as a leader, are you helping the industry get better in this regard? How do you properly motivate a group of people to get done the amount of work that’s reasonable for them to get done?

In case you’re interested in more details about Parkinson’s Law:
-BBC article
-Parkinson’s actual paper

Programming Note: We’ll be highlighting some especially interesting past episodes over the next couple weeks as we gear up for some big changes in the podcast. We’re excited!

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Stunned. Tyler is stunned that he is praising Bing.

While scrolling through LinkedIn, Tyler encountered a mention of punching shear. His understanding of that phrase was reasonably solid, but he thought it might be interesting to see if AI could help him understand it just a bit better.

Then he challenged Bing to explain it to him in an even simpler manner–at the level that a child could understand.

Moments later, Tyler had been educated on multiple levels about this engineering concept.

So, the ultimate prompt we’re recommending is “Explain … to me.” See if there are some gaps in your knowledge.

Now go poke your finger through a cookie. That’s punching shear (according to AI-powered Bing).

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Today we’re flashing back to an episode from May of 2022.

We start out with some banter about Eddie’s kids giving Tyler a hard time. Then Tyler signs up for a marathon… Oh, wait, no he doesn’t. What a slacker.

Nate Patrick is facilities project manager for the Pennsylvania State University Office of Physical Plant. Before taking that position, he worked several years as a mechanical design engineer. Nate joins us today in the studio to share some practical tips for contractors, designers, project managers and others who need to coordinate with owners to handle the construction process more effectively.

Nate manages between 15 and 20 projects at a time, ranging from $250,000 to $50 million. At the moment, he’s handing almost twice that load. He says that no two days are the same in his work. As you can imagine, it feels like juggling.

We ask Nate to paint us a picture of what an owner’s life looks like. Here are a few of the insights he shares:
-It’s about continuous reprioritizing.
-There’s lots and lots of data.
-It’s nonstop communication.
-It requires a great deal of coordinating between numerous parties.
-The calendar gets complicated because so many parties are involved–each of which might need you to communicate in a different way.
-It involves a bunch of meetings.

Tyler asks how project managers can be more proactive in communicating with owners. He says that it’s important to have a proposed solution before you share your problem. Thoughtful handling of RFIs is crucial. He also says that action/deadline dates, schedule impacts, and financial impacts should be communicated with each RFI so the owner can prudently prioritize.

We discuss the risk of crying wolf when it comes to prioritizing requests. It’s easy to get too aggressive and trigger vindictiveness in the other party.

Nate says that building trust takes time. It’s something we all have to work on. Here’s his recipe for building trust (which he credits to a source that he has since forgotten):
-Tell someone what you’re going to do.
-Do what you told them you were going to do.
-Tell them that you did what you said you’d do.

Tyler compares this to being a good assistant. Have the tool that the person needs when you know they’re going to need it.

We wrap up with a discussion about the importance of clarifying expectations with all parties at the very beginning of a project.

Nate’s Megaphone Message: Care for people. We’re all people. One of us is not more important than another. We all are a part of this. These projects will not be successful without all of us working together as a team. Respect other people for who they are–for what they bring to the table. They’re not resources; they’re people. Treat them that way. There might be things outside of work that affect the way that people react in a work situation. Show gratitude and respect.

Find Nate Online: Penn State University Website

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Dan Stine is Director of Design Technology at Lake|Flato Architects. You could also say he wrote the book on architecture–or at least the top-selling textbook on Revit. As if that weren’t enough, he teaches graduate architecture classes and is active with Committee on the Environment (COTE).

We start out with a brief overview of Dan’s work with COTE. Then we ask Dan to share about some of the technology he has had the opportunity to explore in his various roles.

Dan discusses Tonic DM, a tool for email management and file-sharing management. Dan explains that he has found the cloud-based service to be stable and reliable. It also assists with the handling of project-management information.

Tyler asks about Revit plugins and other time-savers. Dan says that Enscape has become widely used within his firm. He also discusses Forma (formerly called Spacemaker), which is especially helpful with wind and solar installations.

We explore generative AI software, and Dan mentions that Enscape integrates some AI. He geeks out on some processing core technologies.

Dan shares about UpCodes, a searchable platform for building codes that dramatically expedites code research. UpCodes saves time by integrating amendments based on local jurisdictions.

As we discuss AI, Tyler shares his exploration of Adobe Photoshop’s AI integration, adding lamps and furniture. He was impressed.

Tyler asks Dan to discuss the challenges of integrating new technologies. Dan says that the most important thing is evaluating the software to ensure that it’s worthy of being added to the team’s repertoire. Once a tool makes it through that step, deployment and support becomes easier to systematize. It’s all about ensuring that qualified people are available to instruct and support those who will be using the tool.

Dan shares a bit about the Dell Latitude tablets that he and his team used in a recent video shoot with Tyler. Then he runs through the array of equipment Lake|Flato uses to support its hybrid-work structure. Data-security geeks will be interested to hear the VPN/work-station/server configuration he describes. He shares about Lake|Flato’s hybrid structure and how it is supported by their use of FlowScape virtual office spaces.

Tyler explains how the video editing for the podcast will be changing based on the things he learned during the video shoot with Dan.

Dan’s Megaphone Message: Thanks for creating all the crazy stuff that architects design. He looks forward to developing new means and methods that can lower the carbon footprint of projects. He’s also eager to incorporate some cool technology in that process.

Here’s the video Tyler produced with Dan.

Find Dan Online: LinkedIn - Lake|Flato - His blog, BIMChapters

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Micah Piippo has worked at Google, at a shipyard, and at a plutonium-processing facility. Now he’s a schedule and integration manager with Intel. He helps deliver projects on time.

Micah describes the plutonium facility: “It felt like a James Bond lair.” (By the way, Dr. Brown does, indeed, pronounce gigawats as “jigawatts.” That movie was filmed before we all became familiar with the prefix giga in relation to bits and bytes.)

You can’t get a college degree in construction-project scheduling. There are courses, but Micah says that most of the preparation for this position results from simply asking a lot of questions.

He explains that curiosity is a key requirement for an aspiring scheduler. He sees at least two categories within the scheduling world:

1) the analytical route with a focus on data crunching and

2) the owner’s-assisant route that involves more soft skills. At one point he would have said that construction knowledge was needed, but he says that that’s not necessarily the case right now because the job market is so hot.

Eddie asks if schedulers find themselves getting blame when things go poorly and minimal credit when things go well. Micah confirms that, yup, this is generally the case. He says that he needs to have several jobs where he finds millions of dollars in savings in order to compensate for the couple smaller oversights that result in worksite chaos.

Scheduling is undergoing a shift right now, Micah says. The computer programs used in the past couple decades basically accelerated implementation of the algorithms that had been established in the 50s and 60s. Now, he says, a whole new world of potential is being unlocked.

Micah mentions the two streams or approaches he sees currently:

1. Capture (of progress status): Slap on a 360 camera and (if you’re loaded) Lidar - Software will then assist you in establishing the status of a project.
2. Advance Computer: Employ large-language models, ML curves, and other computer programs capture massive amounts of data to optimize the scheduling process.

The golden egg Micah longs for is full integration of the advanced mode described above with the design process, so the design-scheduling process becomes seamless.

Micah mentions that many owners don’t have advanced scheduling software. Most of the scheduling gets done by a duo consisting of a project manager and superintendent. Owners struggle to see the value in bringing in a scheduling specialist. His favorite thing is when a GC comes in with a vision of how their project is going to go.

When it comes to plan/schedule integration, Micah explains that there’s far more detail in the schedule than there ever needs to be in a plan. The challenge is closing that gap.

Eddie mentions that some of the plan/scheduling-integration claims that companies make really function simply as marketing ploys. These tools and capabilities are often not truly employed when boots are on the ground at the worksite.

Micah discusses what he calls the planning fallacy and explains three steps that are used to avoid them:

1. Reference-class forecasting
2. Pull planning
3. Breaking the large down to the small

Eddie and Tyler follow up with their own thoughts about the planning fallacy, including a recent example about a home-improvement project.

Micah advocates for the creation of a federally managed and openly shared data set of all construction projects. He believes this would dramatically increase efficiency.

Micah’s Two-Part Megaphone Message:

-Find the good in what people are doing, and promote it. You’re at work 8-12 hours a day. Be an advocate for the people who are there beside you.

-Plan long. Think about your decisions and the long-term implications. Your attitude will change, driving your actions differently.

Find Micah Online: LinkedIN - Micah’s podcast, Beyond Deadlines

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Today we welcome Fouad Khalil to the show. Fouad calls himself a reformed architect. About three years ago he eased into offsite construction and founded Modly, a modular construction consultancy that provides the building and real estate sector with market research, feasibility analysis and advisory services. His focus is on helping owners and construction companies integrate manufacturing processes in the construction process.

Tyler asks Fouad to unpack the category of industrialized construction programs (IC). He explains that it has to do with looking at the increased rates of productivity in manufacturing and bringing some lessons from that world into the world of construction.

Efficiency and productivity within construction has remained largely stagnant during the last several decades, while those things have improved dramatically within manufacturing. This means that Fouad pursues improvements in quality, speed, and budget. Manufacturing programs are one way to handle that. He looks for areas where implementation of standards and repetition can gain the most traction.

Tyler asks Fouad to talk us through the series of questions that he asks in order to determine which projects are good candidates for industrialized construction. Here’s what he shares:

Volume: Is the juice worth the squeeze? Does it represent enough potential return to justify the effort? Fouad says that IC works best for serial builders–those who are aiming for consistency across a large number of projects. He gives examples including hospitals, data centers, and fast-food restaurants.

Pipeline: Do I have enough of it spread over time? Will the pace of work be steady enough? If I’m going to do it only once and then not do it again for another six months, that pipeline isn’t robust enough to consider. Some owners want to have several dozen units produced as modules, but they want them all done at the very same time. This is unrealistic.

Repeatability: Is every part of this project unique, or are there enough repeatable elements that my workers’ hands will be able to master routines? The construction world is used to sprints–going all out from start to finish. Fouad explains that factories take more of a long-distance running mindset, often aiming to run steadily at 80% efficiency. With a manufacturing mindset, the profitability horizon might be quite distant. You might need to make 150 modular bathrooms before you’ll turn a profit.

Design: How can we ensure that design and production maintain an active feedback loop so that iterative cycles can be continuously active? Fouad describes the routine of morning and afternoon meetings that his team did with Walmart on their health centers. Sometimes you change the design to make it more buildable. Sometimes you need to redesign the production floor to fit the design.

Optimization: At the production level, how can I improve margins on man-hours and other elements of cost. The goal is for unit costs to drop through a continuous flow of improvements in engineering and production. Projects that appear impossible in the early stages become lean and profitable because of a consistent focus on optimization.

Eddie presents the idea of “demonstrable economy” and discusses an example of how optimizing and productizing applies in his world, and we explore the importance of defining the use of the term “optimized” within a team. If you have various silos optimizing in isolation, the overall outcome may be far from optimum.

Fouad describes the IC process as the space program we need in construction. Through the application of these techniques, we’ll be able to see improvements across the industry. Surprise, surprise, Tyler brings us back to Formula 1 racing. We discuss the iterative process and the feedback loop between the race teams and the consumer world as it plays out in that world.

Fouad’s Megaphone Message: Owners, explore the benefits of setting up a recurring IC program. Talk to your VP of construction and see if the commitment might exist to move forward with this approach. It requires everyone to pull together and work really hard, but the rewards are worth it when the situation is right.

Find Fouad Online: LinkedIN

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A question: Do you see yourself as the only competent one in your world? Are you able to hand things off to team members?

It can be a hard mindset to release because it can feel so risky.

Taking ownership is a good thing, but check yourself. Is there some arrogance there?

Eddie says that “Gram” used to say, “If you want to know what kind of difference you’re going to leave when you’re gone, stick your finger in a cup of water and pull it out.” That feels pretty cold (the statement, not the water), but it’s also true–at least in the long run.

Acknowledge that others can help you, and you’ll be better off if you do.

If this is a struggle for you, print off the poem Eddie read today and post it in your workspace.

Check out the partners that make our show possible.

Find Us Online: BrosPodcast.com - LinkedIn - Youtube - Instagram - Facebook - TikTok - Eddie's LinkedIn - Tyler's LinkedIn

If you enjoy the podcast, please rate us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to us! Thanks for listening!