Want to have our field people get out the door faster. Some arrive late, and when they do punch in they take their time getting on the road. The field crews can’t get their work done and we can’t make money unless everyone is here on time and out the door almost as soon as they get here. Understanding punctuality is important. Help us!.
Thoughts of the Day: Understanding punctuality is priceless. Getting out the door on time. Time is money. Make sure your people understand that principle. Minimize opportunities for delay. Have a system to minimize delays. Focus on factors that contribute to enhanced performance.
When it comes to running a successful company, the more your people understand about what drives success, the better. And the first order of business is understanding the relationship between time and money.
Importance of understanding punctuality: making people wait around wastes time, money, and resources.
Talk with your people about how tight margins can be. Show them examples of jobs that made a profit and those that took a loss. Discuss why there were different outcomes, focusing on errors and the role of overhead hours vs. billable hours.
Makeup competitions – which teams get out the door the fastest, have the lowest downtime, have the fewest errors on the job. Ask winners to talk about how they did it and train the other teams.
Set up a procedure for the field staff to call in if they’re going to be out sick or if there’s an emergency they have to deal with. Have your field crew scheduler online before the crews arrive, rearranging work assignments by priority if there are any people not coming in or equipment is down.
Set up a check the desk right next to the time clock, where people can get a packet of instructions for the day.
Time is a valuable commodity. If you can’t be trusted to be on time, why would a client trust you with their money? That’s the importance of understanding punctuality. Minimize disruption with floaters to fill in gaps. Assign permanent teams to specific trucks. Ensure vehicles are gassed, equipped, and ready to go once the team is fully assembled.
Make sure all team members know their roles: Team Leader picks up job paperwork, hands out crew assignments, checks equipment. Navigator looks for the most efficient routes to use. Driver checks out the vehicle, double-check equipment and supplies, and verifies the crew is on board.
Have someone stay at the end of the day to gas up, clean, and restock all vehicles. Have someone arrive early in the morning to double-check everything and log vehicles out. Field crews report vehicle issues while they’re out on the road, the office lines up overnight maintenance resources to fix problems. Set a schedule for preventive maintenance matched to vehicle mileage and stick to the schedule no matter how busy things get. If you can’t afford to be down a vehicle, add an extra rotating vehicle to the fleet, or line up a rental service as a backup.
Live by the motto: a place for everything and everything in its place.
Put all tools and supplies away where they belong. Diagram and outfit each field vehicle. Train everyone to use the map every day. Make it easier to spot things that need to be replaced by labeling hooks – the empty ones become clear signals calling for new gear and supplies.
Do everything possible to create favorable work conditions. Clean up clutter. Get rid of hazards. Limit over time and make sure your people get plenty of opportunities to rest up. Address conflicts head on and get rid of them. Over-communicate to reduce time wasted on guesses and gossip. Save time starting in on the next day’s work by giving your people time to wrap up, pick up and organize at the end of the day.
Looking for a good book?
Try: “Construction Crew Supervision: 50 Take Charge Leadership Techniques and Light Construction Glossary” by Karl F. Schmid.
