Elevate Construction

Jason continues the audiobook series with the next section of Elevating Construction Takt Planning, closing out the introduction before heading into the fable. In this chapter, he examines where the industry currently stands with CPM and Last Planner, introduces Scrum as a complement to Takt, and draws from Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings to explain why builders need both a short sword and a long sword in their scheduling arsenal. He also unpacks the critical difference between "true CPM" and "builder CPM", and why defending the latter has kept the industry stuck.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why the current industry mix of CPM, Last Planner, and three-week look-aheads keeps producing the same problems

• The Miyamoto Musashi analogy, using short swords and long swords against waste and variation

• The difference between true CPM and builder CPM, and why defenders are really defending the latter

• Why float calculations, forward and backward passes, and critical paths without buffers do more harm than good

• Practical paths to transition projects from CPM to Takt, including using Takt to govern CPM

If you're defending a broken leg instead of fixing it, the question isn't how well you've learned to limp, it's how much more of your life you want to spend limping.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason continues reading the second edition of Elevating Construction Takt Planning, picking up where the preface left off and diving into the introduction. He unpacks Takt as the visualization of time and space, sets out the six requirements that make a schedule an actual Takt plan, and uses Lord of the Rings and Hobbit allegories to explain why flow must be the one system that rules them all. This chapter also lays out the five core problems with using CPM as a standalone system and why Takt is the accountability partner construction has been missing.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The six requirements every schedule must meet to qualify as a true Takt plan

• Why flow is the "one ring" that should govern CPM, Last Planner, and Scrum

• The five major problems with using CPM as a standalone scheduling system

• What "dragon sickness" is and how CPM encourages superintendents to hoard the plan

• Why Takt is the only system that shows why and where to focus to recover a schedule

If a schedule hides the truth instead of revealing it, who does that actually serve, the project, or the people dodging accountability?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason kicks off a new audiobook series right here on the podcast, reading the second edition of Elevating Construction Takt Planning from cover to cover. In this opening episode, he introduces the Takt Production System, walks through the acknowledgements honoring the change-makers who shaped this work, and shares the book's dedication, vision, and preface. The goal is simple: scale Takt planning fast so that respect for workers, flow on site, and healthy families become the new standard in construction.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why Jason is recording this book now and the urgency behind scaling Takt certification

• Who the key contributors to the second edition are and what each of them brought to the work

• Why most construction projects don't finish on time, and what that costs workers and families

• The LeanTakt vision: flow, scaling information fast, failing forward, education, and results

• Why Jason considers Takt "akin to magic" when paired correctly with CPM, Last Planner, and Scrum

If you've been waiting for the perfect moment to start your own journey, maybe the lesson is buried right in this first chapter, stop waiting.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason sits down with site superintendent Nelson Atagi for a candid follow-up to yesterday's rant about supers and "security guard" behavior. They unpack why cleanliness is the easiest daily win for a jobsite, where the resistance to growth and training really comes from, and how a shift from taker to giver mentality changes everything about how leaders show up. It's a conversation about stability, respect, and treating craft workers the way you'd want someone treating your own kids.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why a clean site is a mental win — and how it mirrors a clean kitchen before you start to cook

• Where the resistance to training and growth really comes from — and what it has to do with the comfort zone

• The taker-to-giver shift and why it changes what motivates a superintendent

• How to reframe safety and orientations as "sending everyone home to their families"

• Why knowing the people you work with changes the way you lead

If we spend more hours with our crews than we do with our own families, what kind of leader do we owe them?

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason answers a listener question head-on: how should field superintendents actually spend their 9–10 hours per day, and why do they keep taking on the trade partners' work? In this unfiltered coaching episode, he exposes the real reason supers run to Home Depot, jump in forklifts, and pump water — it's escapism, rooted in the wrong human needs. Jason draws a hard line between "security guard" superintendents and true field generals, and lays out exactly what real leaders should be doing on site instead.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why superintendents get addicted to doing trade partners' work — and the six human needs behind it

• How to invert the hierarchy so workers are on top and leaders operate in a true support role

• The three builder habits every superintendent should do every single day — drawings, schedule, reflection walks

• Why the industry doesn't have a people problem — it has a process and culture problem

• How to set boundaries, grade trade partner performance, and stop playing savior on site

If you're running around like a chicken with your head cut off, the question isn't whether you're busy — it's whether you're actually leading.

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Are you ready to get schooled on production laws? In this special interview episode, Jason sits down with Hal Macomber (lean guru, chief operating officer at Lean Project Consulting who did first Takt plan in 1999) and Felipe Engineer-Manriquez to unpack the production laws that govern construction. You'll learn why the order matters (overburdening, variation, then waste, not the reverse), Little's Law and small batch sizes (batch of 10 means 9 are idle, batch of 5 means 4 idle, batch of 1 means nothing idle), the law of bottlenecks (establish pace based on what bottleneck activity can do, everyone else falls in line), why variation stacks and compounds with dependence (0.9 reliability to 7th power is really small number, painter at end of long chain can't make up early slow starts), Kingman's formula (cycle time affected by capacity utilization and variation, if 5-day cycle time at 90% capacity with variation might become 8.5 days), how Taiichi Ohno purposely told Americans system focused on waste to maintain competitive advantage when real focus was flow, and the highway lane analogy (right lane high variation, left lane high utilization, middle lanes better because lower utilization can absorb variation).

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why order matters: Muda/Mura/Muri (waste, variation, overburdening)—Hal told Jim Womack "you got it backwards, need to do overburdening first, then variation, then waste"; in construction there's already systemic pressure on people (Deming: worker trying to do best but system operating against them), remove overburden first to get capacity to look at variation, then remove waste to enable flow

• Little's Law and small batch sizes: Batch of 10 means at any point only working on 1 so 9 are idle; drop to batch of 5, only 4 idle; get to batch of 1, nothing idle—same number of people, goes through faster; implication: prepare work (make work ready for people, make people ready for work), when work ready and people ready, you have flow AND high productivity

• Law of bottlenecks: Every system has bottlenecks (capacity aspect—how much effort, how effective); with Takt establish pace based on what bottleneck activity can do, everyone else falls in line; Toyota Camry line ~90 seconds Takt time, only 15% of 100 operations operate at ~72 seconds, many in low 60s, some below 60, improving below-60 doesn't help flow, improving the dozen at 72 seconds improves speed of line

• Variation stacks and compounds with dependence: If reliable at 0.9 (90% PPC), 0.9 to 7th power is really small number; painter at end of long chain (20-25-28 operations) can't be high because of all that variation; superintendents mistakenly think slow start in year 1 of 4-year job can be made up in years 2-3-4—no, variation compounds, painter at end can't make up; Takt is countermeasure (train arrives every 2 days in different spot—no variation, no compounding)

• Kingman's formula: Waiting time = cycle time affected by capacity utilization and variation; 5-day cycle time at 90% capacity with variation might become 8.5 days; need to look at not just cycle time but cycle time with utilization and variation effects; Sellen Industries at Pentagon had 5.5 days but needed 5-day Takt, learned prefabrication to always get done in 4.5 days to absorb variation

"Variation stacks. Variation compounds with dependence. If you're reliable at 0.9, that's 0.9 to the 7th power, really small number. When you see PPC below 50% and people early in process are high, there's no way painter at end can be high because of all that variation. The painter bids the job based on experience, they don't lose money because they know it won't happen as planned."

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason and Felipe Engineer discuss Brooks's law from software development. Brooks worked at IBM, found on thousands of projects that adding more people or spending overtime when behind schedule doesn't make projects finish earlier, data doesn't support it. Short-term overtime (less than 2 weeks) can make gains, but long sustained overtime or adding manpower up and down is detrimental. Why adding people doesn't help: communication channels increase exponentially using formula n(n-1)/2—two people have one channel, three people have three channels, ten people have 45 channels, 200 people on $20M job have 19,900 channels. Context switching: if interrupted while at 100% productivity, you lose 20% of time just switching back to task, interrupt someone writing email, watch delay before fingers start typing again. Multitasking decreases IQ temporarily. Brooks's law noticed dramatically at end of projects when construction adds manpower. Punch list rework takes 4-25 times more effort to fix versus fixing at time it's noticed, remobilization costs huge. Kingman's formula: cycle time multiplied by capacity utilization multiplied by effects of variation equals overall duration. If electricians can do overhead in 3,000 sq ft area in 5 days at 100% capacity with no variation, but overtime drops them to 60% capacity, that's 8.33 days, then add variation from context switching and communication complexity, now 9-10 days. Felipe's advice: "Fret not if you're getting behind. There are things you can absolutely do and the answer is not just throw more people at it."

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Brooks's law from IBM software projects: adding more people or spending overtime when behind schedule doesn't make projects finish earlier, data doesn't support it; short-term overtime under 2 weeks can work, but long sustained overtime is detrimental

• Why communication channels explode exponentially: formula n(n-1)/2 means 2 people have 1 channel, 10 people have 45 channels, 200 people on construction site have 19,900 channels, complexity increases faster than headcount

• Context switching productivity loss: if interrupted at 100% productivity, you lose 20% of time just switching back to task, interrupt someone writing email and watch the delay before their fingers start typing again

• Punch list rework reality: fixing defects after the fact takes 4-25 times more effort than fixing at time it's noticed, remobilization and correction costs are massive compared to doing it right the first time

• Kingman's formula proves Brooks's law: cycle time × capacity utilization × effects of variation = overall duration; electricians doing 5-day task at 60% capacity from overtime = 8.33 days, add variation = 9-10 days

• Felipe's closing advice: "Fret not if you're getting behind. There are things you can absolutely do and the answer is not just throw more people at it."

"The answer is not just throw more people at it. Stabilize the project so you can optimize it."

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason shares Keith Cunningham meme from Tony Robbins Business Mastery: chalkboard shows math on left, "and then a miracle happens" in middle, results on right, professor says "I think we need some more detail around step two." Point: can't say "1 plus 2 plus miracle equals financial success", need optics, measurement, numbers to make good decisions. Same applies to construction scheduling: when variation occurs, can't dissolve logic in P6/Asta/Microsoft Project and fake a plan, that's wishful thinking. Must intelligently adjust following production laws: Little's law, law of bottlenecks, law of effect of variation, Kingman's formula, Brooks's law. Concrete production example from Weston Woolsey at Oakland: smaller batch sizes, smaller crew sizes. Key question: when variation happens on decks, do you just shift deck schedule or shift everything together (columns, walls, decks)? Analyzes through each law, Kingman's formula says keep cycle times consistent in rhythm; law of bottlenecks says isolating deck schedule increases variation so you can't see/optimize bottlenecks; law of variation says changing just deck schedule creates different handoffs, crane schedules, procurement, manpower cycles; Brooks's law says shifting manpower between areas slows production. Learned from Germans (Yanosh and Marco): sometimes better to move everything together in variation and keep workflow/trade flow/logistical rhythm consistent instead of creating little ripples of variation and inconsistent handoffs. Patton: "A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow"—but he didn't say "no plan violently executed." Final message: anything that increases variation will increase project duration.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Keith Cunningham's miracle meme: chalkboard with math on left, "and then a miracle happens" in middle, results on right, professor says "need more detail around step two"; can't rely on wishful thinking in finances or schedules

• Why dissolving logic in scheduling software is like saying "1 plus 2 plus miracle equals success"—must show reality of impacts, then make plan following production laws, widen circle, get help

• The critical concrete scheduling question: when variation hits decks, do you shift just deck schedule or everything together? Most people shift decks alone, but that violates production laws

• How isolating deck schedule fails Kingman's formula: need consistent cycle times in rhythm, but shifting only decks breaks rhythm for columns/walls/decks working together

• Why shifting decks alone violates law of variation: creates different handoffs, different crane schedules, different procurement times, different manpower cycles—moving crews everywhere causes context switching losses

• The German insight from Yanosh and Marco: sometimes better to move everything together in variation and keep workflow/trade flow/logistical rhythm consistent instead of creating ripples throughout system

• Patton's principle correctly applied: "A good plan violently executed today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow", but he didn't say no plan violently executed; everything requires a plan

"Anything that you do that increases variation will increase your project duration."

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason talks about accountability and getting right people in right seats. Fundamental principle: blame process and behaviors, not people, but invite people who don't fit culturally to work somewhere else. Culture is microactions and beliefs (behaviors) of a group. Paul Akers' two second lean journey: half the people left, didn't want to improve. Large companies identify core values and get firm: droves leave. Jason's projects (clean, safe, organized, perfect): 5-10% of workforce and maybe one trade don't want to elevate to those standards. "You are being held hostage by people not bought in." Companies running lean on manpower/staff/PMs/supers make huge mistake, should have one or two or three extra, always hiring/developing/training. If someone's not cultural fit, invite them to work elsewhere, put bench people in those spots. Must quadruple or sextuple training amount. "Expand your capacity before you expand your workload." Jim Collins' Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 (page 16): number one metric is percentage of key seats filled with right people—target 90%. Key seat definition: person has power to make people decisions, failure could expose enterprise to risk, and success would have outsized impact. When to shift from develop to replace (pages 18-19): Are you losing other people by keeping this person? Values/will/skills problem? Window vs mirror (do they blame others or themselves)? Confidence up or down? Bus vs seat problem? How would you feel if they quit today? Examples: removed cancerous foreman and superintendent, project started jamming, finished on time; removed PM and PX on $250M project, new leaders came in, team started hitting dates.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why you're being held hostage by people not bought in, and why running lean on manpower/staff/PMs/supers is such a mistake; companies should have bench people earning value and expand capacity before workload

• The pattern across all lean transformations: Paul Akers lost half his people when he started two second lean, large companies lose droves when they identify core values and get firm, Jason's projects lose 5-10% who won't elevate

• Jim Collins' #1 metric from Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: percentage of key seats filled with right people (target 90%), towers above sales, profitability, cash flow, or any other metric

• Three conditions that make a seat "key": power to make people decisions, failure could expose enterprise to catastrophe, success would have outsized impact on company success

• Seven questions for when to shift from develop to replace: Are you losing other people by keeping this person? Values/will/skills problem? Window vs mirror? Confidence up or down? Bus vs seat problem? How would you feel if they quit?

• Real project examples: removed cancerous foreman and superintendent, project started jamming and finished on time; removed PM and PX on $250M project, new team started hitting dates and project turned around

• The ironclad principle: if you're recruiting, hiring, and training at accelerated rate, being clear about culture, not tolerating bad behavior, and holding people accountable, Jason has never seen companies be short-handed

"Holding people accountable will not leave you short-handed as long as you are recruiting, hiring, and training."

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw

Jason records from Milwaukee doing organizational health consulting. Takt book update: finished writing, now called "Takt Planning and Integrated Control", editor said "got a lot more technical mathy sort of or maybe physics," exactly what everyone's been looking for. Project directors build people, not just projects, most don't show up the way teams need. Project director role: own strategy from start to finish across multiple projects, curate people to build well-functioning teams, ensure teams have organizational health fundamentals (build team first, create clarity, communicate clarity, and reinforce clarity). Project director check-in phases: pre-sell through proposal/interview/award, preconstruction (stay with design/precon/estimating, ensure good plan including Takt), design development (set up team composition, who are the GCs/GRs, review Takt plan/logistics/zone maps, prepare fresh eyes meeting, pull superintendent and PM in early even if on different projects). What doesn't get done well: using Takt for correct overall duration, bringing supers/PMs in early enough so it's their plan, right team size, right trailer layout, right budgets for worker bathrooms/lunchrooms, right logistical support. Daily standard work: scale communication, receive scaled roadblocks, prompt owner communication, ask safety questions, remove roadblocks fanatically, be positive example, rally team, participate in huddles. Weekly: team health check-in, roadblock tracking, safety/financial check-ins, meaningful mentoring for PMs/PEs together, check in with superintendent. Monthly: meaningful check-ins with supers, team health assessment, provide three things, connection, relevance, measurement. Current condition: most leaders never around, don't provide mentoring, don't help careers, supers say "haven't heard from a leader in years."

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Project director core role distinction: not just managing projects, but curating people across multiple projects to build well-functioning teams with organizational health fundamentals

• What gets missed in preconstruction: using Takt for correct overall duration, bringing supers/PMs in early so it's their plan, right team size, right budgets for bathrooms/lunchrooms, right logistical support

• Project director daily standard work: scale communication to teams, receive scaled roadblocks to create flow, prompt owner communication, ask safety questions, remove roadblocks fanatically, rally team with good energy

• Weekly responsibilities beyond technical: team health check-in, meaningful mentoring for PMs/PEs together, participate with superintendent (don't assume they have it under control), assess meetings, teach and coach

• Monthly engagement framework: provide connection (connect with each team member), relevance (communicate why they matter), measurement (give keys to success so they know what winning looks like daily)

• The devastating pattern Jason observed: operations manager walks through office, goes straight to PM's office, shuts door, talks without rallying team, "I've always remembered that example as what not to do"

• Superintendent boot camp reality check: most supers say "haven't heard from a leader in years", project directors should check in at least monthly, even remotely by Zoom

"Project directors build people, not just projects. Leaders build the team first, have hard conversations, manage, coach and mentor their direct reports."

If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊).

Also, here are links to our YouTube Channels:

· Jason Schroeder YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4xpRYvrW5Op5Ckxs4vDGDg

· LeanTakt YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/leanTakt

· LeanSuper YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzQDevqQP19L4LePuqma3Fg/featured

· LeanSurvey YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ztn3okFhyB_3p5nmMKnsw