Elevate Construction

Jason reads from the Elevating Construction Superintendents book, Principle Two: Steadiness and Flow, explains how superintendents should interact with Takt planning. Creative Trades game: seven participants represent contractors (concrete, steel, facade), 35 chips must move through to last contractor. Players roll dice, pass chips forward. Red team finished in 26 weeks with 380 people and material inventory of 10. Blue team finished in 21 weeks with 280 people and material inventory of 5—5 weeks ahead with 100 fewer people and half the material. Secret: red team had normal 1-6 die (variation), blue team had die that only rolled 2s, 3s, and 4s (steady flow). Lesson: flow has very little variation, when variation eliminated, work flows without getting held up by overwhelming rush of rolling 6 or painful crawl of 1. Industry pushes: "advance schedule whenever possible," "bring all materials now," "I am a pusher," "keep pushing everything." These people try to roll sixes, which later causes mess of ones. Movement equals production is false, movement is waste. Throughput example: four factory machines producing at 4, 2, 4, 4 items per hour. Throughput is not 2, it's actually 1.25 or 1.5 because inventory piles up between first and second machines, manpower allocated to manage inventory, space diminishes, waste increases. Cost difference: 26 weeks with 380 workers = $21.7M; 21 weeks with 280 workers = $12.9M, that's $8.8M difference from lack of flow. "Only flow will shorten durations, decrease costs, respect workers, create balance for families."

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Creative Trades game reveals flow beats pushing: blue team with steady 2-3-4 die finished 5 weeks faster with 100 fewer people and half the material vs red team with random 1-6 die

• Why "movement equals production" is dangerously false: movement is waste, pushing creates variation that requires twice as much material, 100 more people, and 5 more units of inventory

• The throughput trap: factory with machines at 4-2-4-4 items/hour doesn't produce 2/hour, it produces 1.25-1.5/hour because inventory piles up, manpower manages materials, space diminishes

• Real cost of pushing vs flow: 26 weeks with 380 workers costs $21.7M; 21 weeks with 280 workers costs $12.9M, that's $8.8M saved by eliminating variation and creating steady flow

• Why superintendents must protect flow: when supers won't hold dates, trades keep more people and materials on site, production slows because workforce manages/moves/fixes/replaces instead of installing

• The steadiness principle: don't roll sixes and ones when you can roll threes, flow will always reduce materials, manpower, mistakes, and time

"Only flow will shorten durations, decrease costs, respect workers, and create balance for families."

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 mental discipline and superintendent standing orders. Research shows we have an exhaustible, not inexhaustible, supply of self-discipline, study where people remembering eight numbers were twice as likely to eat donuts at end because mental discipline was exhausted. Judges after lunch are three times as likely to convict criminals. You can white knuckle habits or change your circumstances—your mind will either fix the problem or justify you having it, won't stay in contradictory gap. To change: get clarity on what you want, know when you're not on track, interrupt the pattern, fill void with good things, get accountability partner. Change space and time to support good habits. Superintendent standing orders: if you have Takt planning, you need Takt control. Superintendent must use Takt plan daily to plan, execute, and adjust work, simulate what changes do to all three flows (workflow, trade flow, logistical flow). Hold schedule start and end dates to reduce variation, don't randomly move trades early just because first wagon finishes in 3 days instead of 5, it ripples variation through everyone's plans. "If a superintendent can't run a clean site, they can't do anything else. Cleanliness plus organization equals safety." Production laws: Little's law (small batch sizes, improve cycle times), law of bottlenecks (optimize and improve), law of effect of variation (variation increases throughput times), Kingman's formula (cycle time affected by capacity utilization and variation).

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why mental discipline is exhaustible, not inexhaustible, study shows people remembering 8 numbers twice as likely to eat donuts because discipline was depleted; judges after lunch 3x more likely to convict

• White knuckling vs changing circumstances: your mind will either fix the problem or justify you having it, won't stay in contradictory gap, so change space and time to support good habits

• The 5-step habit change system: get clarity on what you want, know when you're off track, interrupt the pattern, fill void with good addictive things, get accountability partner

• Superintendent standing orders for Takt control: use Takt plan daily, simulate changes against all three flows, hold start/end dates to reduce variation, don't randomly move trades early

• Why holding dates matters: if first Takt wagon finishes in 3 days instead of 5, don't move second wagon from Monday to Thursday, ripples variation through everyone's plans and slows team

• The clean site foundation: "If a superintendent can't run a clean site, they can't do anything else. Cleanliness plus organization equals safety.", this is where everything starts

• Production laws superintendents must follow: Little's law (small batches), law of bottlenecks (optimize constraints), law of effect of variation (variation increases duration), Kingman's formula (cycle time formula)

"If a superintendent can't run a clean site, they can't do anything else. Cleanliness plus organization equals safety."

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 boundaries and how they differ from emotional responses. Most people use anger to manipulate others and assert control, true maturity means having difficult conversations without getting angry. The key shift: expect nothing from people, but maintain certain standards and appreciate their best while still doing the right thing. When disappointed, instead of emotional responses, ask what failed in the process. Boundaries are different from emotions. they're dispassionate standards you enforce without drama. Jason's trade boundaries: keep site clean and organized, follow safety standards, complete daily reports, and meet basic legal requirements. Contractor grading is a formal boundary system: cleanliness, campus care, safety plans, on-time attendance, scheduled deliveries, and material readiness. Critical boundary: workers will not be forced to go fast to compensate for project failures—they work at steady, safe pace. Superintendent boundaries: wonderful bathrooms, lunch areas provided, quick safety response, clear daily plans, reduced roadblocks, clean site, planned deliveries, and visual management. Time boundaries: trades must research drawings, coordinate with other trades, write their own RFIs, call their own office before asking superintendent. Eric Thomas principle: if you let people disrespect you that becomes your culture. Final principle: "The success of any organization is determined by the worst behavior that you or the leader is willing to tolerate."

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why emotional responses (anger, sadness) are often manipulation tools to assert control, and how mature leaders have difficult conversations without anger by doing the right thing regardless of circumstances

• The boundary mindset shift: expect nothing from people but maintain standards, appreciate their best, and dispassionately enforce what's right, blame the process, not the person

• Jason's non-negotiable trade boundaries: clean and organized site, safety compliance, daily reports completed, basic legal requirements met, these standards protect everyone

• Contractor grading as a formal boundary system: evaluates cleanliness, campus care, safety plans, on-time attendance, delivery coordination, and material readiness

• The critical worker protection boundary: teams will not be forced to work fast to compensate for project failures, they work steady and safe, never rushed into unsafe situations

• Time boundaries for superintendents: trades must research drawings, coordinate with others, write their own RFIs, and call their own office before asking for help, protects your time at the helm

"The success of any organization is determined by the worst behavior that you or the leader is willing to tolerate."

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 the healing power of forgiveness for individuals, families, and teams, unusual topic for construction podcast, but shows up constantly in people's lives. Finished Takt and Last Planner training with Construction Accelerator. Personal story: leader ignored crucial issue to protect innocent people, wasn't transparent, and hid information, Jason standing in bedroom angry. Katie: "You need to forgive. Go call him." Jason: "I don't agree with how this was done, but I forgive you." Burden lifted immediately. Shares two stories from James E. Faust talk: October 2006 Amish school shooting, milkman killed 5 girls, wounded 5, and took own life. Amish forgiveness was immediate. Neighbor wrapped arms around shooter's father: "We will forgive you." Half of mourners at shooter's funeral were Amish. Shooter's family statement: "We are overwhelmed by the forgiveness, grace, and mercy you've extended to us." Second story: 1985 Salt Lake City, Bishop Steven Christensen killed by bomb. Father Mack: "This thing will destroy my family if we don't forgive. Venom and hatred will never end." Dr. Sidney Simon definition: "Forgiveness is freeing up energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, nursing unhealed wounds." Application: co-workers, bosses, owners, foremen, family members who hurt you, unless consequences needed, let forgiveness in.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• When you don't forgive, you only hurt yourself: bitterness spirals, affects work, relationships, children, family—"it just eats and eats and eats away"

• The Amish example of immediate forgiveness: shooter's neighbor to his father "We will forgive you," invited shooter's family to victims' funerals, shared donated money with shooter's widow

• Why waiting for wrongdoers to repent delays your healing: "We forfeit the peace and happiness that could be ours"—folly of rehashing long-past hurts

• Forgiveness doesn't eliminate consequences: "Mercy cannot rob justice"—society still needs protection, justice takes its course, but then we let go

• Dr. Sidney Simon's definition: forgiveness is freeing up energy once consumed by grudges, rediscovering strengths we always had, relocating limitless capacity to understand others

• Construction applications: when individuals partner with teams, work with people who make mistakes, superintendents with owners, PMs with foremen who hurt feelings, let forgiveness in

"Forgiveness is freeing up energy once consumed by holding grudges, harboring resentments, and nursing unhealed wounds."

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

CPM does not obey even one of the production laws, and Takt obeys and encourages all of them. This is probably the single most important information Jason has ever shared. The four production laws prove mathematically and scientifically why CPM will never work and why Takt planning is not magic but eternal truth. Little's Law says throughput time increases when you have too many flow units in process. CPM loads everything at once. Takt limits work in process. The Law of Variation says variation is the enemy. CPM has no rhythm. Takt creates consistency and continuity. Stop pushing manpower, materials, information, and variation onto your projects. You need rhythm, consistency, and continuity based on production laws, not guesses and critical paths that change 17 times.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why CPM gets an F on all four production laws and Takt gets an A plus
• How Little's Law proves you need to limit work in process and reduce cycle time to go faster
• Why variation is the enemy and CPM creates it while Takt eliminates it
• How optimizing bottlenecks increases throughput for the entire system (not chasing random critical paths)
• Why Kingman's Formula shows waiting time equals cycle time times utilization times variation (Takt optimizes all three)

Stop pushing. You need rhythm, consistency, and continuity. This is not magic. This is law. This is eternal truth.

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

You are going to make mistakes, and you need to be okay with that. Striving for perfection is beautiful, but thinking you need to be perfect now is damaging. It makes you hide who you really are, prevents you from asking for help, and makes you less human. Jason shares the major mistakes he made in his career. Installing a duct bank where a sewer line should go and costing $350,000. Flooding a basement with four inches of water. Almost getting fired for being siloed and stubborn with a fixed mindset. The more transparent and open he was about mistakes, the less painful they became and the more people rallied to help him. If you are not okay with making mistakes, you will not take risks, fulfill your potential, or have the confidence you need to lead.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why thinking you need to be perfect now is damaging and makes you hide who you really are
• How Jason shifted from fixed mindset to growth mindset in six months and went from almost fired to training nationwide
• The science of momentum: peak state, find passion, commit, take massive intelligent action
• How to reduce friction and increase addiction to build new habits that stick
• Why being transparent about mistakes makes them less painful and gets the team to rally around you

Everybody makes mistakes. Get used to it. It is how we show up in those moments that matters.

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 Joe Donnarummo to talk about generating curiosity in lean construction instead of intimidation and overwhelm. The skeptical superintendent who has been successful for 30 years will tell you there is nothing wrong with the way he runs work. But the industry is not the same as it was 30 years ago. The tools that made superintendents successful back then do not work today. Are you tired of working 80 hour weeks and dragging projects across the finish line at the expense of your family, health, and quality of life? Finishing a project well is not just about being on time and making money. It is about taking care of careers, preserving families, delivering quality and safety, and creating raving fans.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• How to generate curiosity in skeptical superintendents by tying lean to current state pain points
• Why the construction industry today requires different tools than 30 years ago
• The new definition of finishing well: on time, profitable, owner happy, AND careers protected, families preserved, quality delivered
• Jason's challenge: consider master scheduling systems that create workflow, trade flow, and logistical flow
• Joe's challenge: let the job speak to you and fix something small that bugs you

Are you tired of working 80 hours a week and dragging projects barely across the finish line to the expense of your family and health? There is a better way.

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, Brandon Monteiro, and Adam Hoots dive into the four production laws that govern construction whether you know it or not. Fighting against these laws is like fighting gravity. You cannot win. When you want to cut a schedule, everyone throws manpower and materials at the problem, which is exactly what Satan would tell you to do if he wanted to extend your duration. The truth is you need to optimize bottlenecks, reduce variation, and reduce batch sizes. Companies using Takt planning are cutting 20 percent off schedules just by following production laws. The construction industry has been saying the word production for decades and nobody actually knows what it means.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The four production laws: Little's Law, Bottlenecks, Variation, and Kingman's Formula
• Why limiting work in process reduces cycle time (do not work on all four floors at once)
• How optimizing the bottleneck increases throughput for the entire system
• Why throwing manpower and materials at a problem is exactly the wrong response to schedule pressure
• How companies are cutting 20 percent off schedules by following production laws through Takt planning

We have been saying the word production for decades and nobody has any idea what it means. If you want to cut a project, stop throwing manpower and materials at 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

If you want great superintendents, you have to grow them from the beginning through field engineering. Jason has never seen anyone go from college straight to assistant superintendent and successfully make it to field director. Ever. Being a superintendent is not a builder practicing position. You practice building when you are doing layout, drawings, quality control, and troubleshooting with workers. That is where you learn to be a builder. The superintendent of the future has the technological capabilities of a project manager, the strategic mind of a military general, and the ability to influence people like Dale Carnegie. You cannot get there without fundamental builder training first.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why field engineer boot camp is the granddaddy of all boot camps and the foundation for great superintendents
• Why Jason has never seen anyone successfully go from college to assistant super to field director without field engineering experience
• The marshmallow study lesson: patience and delayed gratification predict future success in life and career
• How to build Superintendent 2.0 with technology, strategy, and influence skills combined
• Why companies need to plug the hole with fundamental builder training instead of just bailing water with poorly trained supers

Stop letting grumpy, poorly trained superintendents who do not know how to schedule hold your company hostage. Build the next generation right from the start.

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

Many superintendents do not know what they are doing, and that is a reality you have to work around. If you are a foreman or trade partner waiting for an incompetent superintendent to map out your destiny on site, you cannot wait. Here is the secret nobody tells you. You are in trouble either way. Whether you blindly follow stupid requests or do it the right way, you are going to get in trouble. So why not be in trouble and make money? Create your own schedule, protect your trade flow, plan it first, build it right, and finish as you go. If you do not have a plan, you will find yourself as part of somebody else's plan. And most of the time, the superintendent does not have a plan.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• The powerful principle: expect nothing, appreciate everything, do the right thing (versus expect everything, appreciate nothing, respond as victim)
• Why you are in trouble either way, so you might as well do the right thing and make money
• How to create your own schedule and protect trade flow when the superintendent has no plan
• Why most owner's reps and uneducated superintendents give terrible advice that destroys flow
• The James Madison lesson: if you do not have a plan, be prepared to be part of somebody else's plan

You are in trouble either way. Do the right thing. Take care of the contractor. Make money. Protect your trade flow.

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