D. Brown Management

Percent Planned Complete (PPC) - Calculation Example

D. Brown Management September 19, 2018

Yoda would be the perfect coach for managing schedules on projects: “Do or do not. There is no try.” This is the heart of Percent Planned Complete (PPC) and the weekly cycle of continuous production improvement.

Continuous Improvement: Plan, Do, Check, and Act (PDCA)

D. Brown Management September 18, 2018

Improving productivity in construction is exceptionally challenging. It must be embraced as a journey and not a destination. It must be made into a game so that people clearly see what winning looks like and fall in love with the process.

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Labor Productivity - How Much Could You Save?

D. Brown Management September 17, 2018

Winners of the construction labor productivity is a game focus on minutes and seconds looking at ways to eliminate waste. There are 480 minutes in an 8 hour shift. Typically only 307 of them are spent installing material. What are 10 minutes worth?

Seeing the Mountain - Levels of Detail

D. Brown Management September 16, 2018

You will find a clear path to the top of the mountain faster as you build your ability to situationally vary the resolution you see the world in. This applies to the construction of a project, the building of a contracting business and to life in general.

Impacted Productivity - Stacking of Trades and Installation Efficiency

D. Brown Management September 15, 2018

Each craftsperson needs about 200 usable square feet for a productive installation. This assumption is included in production units used to estimate and budget projects. Having less than that can impact productivity up to 50%.

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Impacted Productivity - Highly variable Labor Scheduling (Level Your Schedule)

D. Brown Management September 14, 2018

The biggest risk for a specialty contractor is the performance of on-site labor. One of the biggest impacts to labor productivity is having a schedule that requires large variations in labor.

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Production Tracking - Don't Be a Dry Monkey

D. Brown Management September 13, 2018

Put a few monkeys in a cage with a ladder that has bananas on top. One monkey immediately goes for the bananas. Cold water sprays on the others. Don't let anyone on your team be a dry monkey when it comes to production tracking or schedule management.

Impacted Productivity - Dilution of Management

D. Brown Management September 11, 2018

Dilution of management will compound an already impacted construction project. It is important for teams to realize the full costs of impacts as they start to occur.

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Lean Principle - 5S Habits for Building a Productive Work Environment

D. Brown Management September 10, 2018

5S is a foundational concept for creating a productive work environment and continuous improvement. The 5S process is to productivity what eating a healthy breakfast and exercising is to your health - daily consistency will change your life.

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A Typical Project - Understanding Cash Flow at the Company Level

D. Brown Management September 9, 2018

As contractors face many opportunities in the market it is important to keep cash flow management top-of-mind. Growth eats cash and just a few hiccups in execution can put just about any contractor in a very bad position.