It was surprisingly chilly on Monday morning as Sam Brooks, Project Superintendent for ProCon Builders, pulled into the parking lot. His dashboard’s thermostat told him it was fifty-two degrees outside, and he took a long swig of black coffee from his Thermos as he surveyed his vacant jobsite through the …
Are You Leveraging the Power of Your Construction Team? READ MORE
In the first part of this series Getting Decisions that Stick, we looked at the psychology of decisions and what information people need to make informed decisions. This article describes ten techniques to help decision-makers make better-informed decisions in PreDesign, Design, and Construction. Such decisions are more likely to “stick,” …
You Cannot Speak of the Ocean to a Well Frog (Getting Decisions that Stick Part II) READ MORE
There is deep recognition in the construction industry that driving higher productivity is key to lowering project costs. While there are external forces at play, such as increasing project complexities, regulations, scope changes, labor shortages, and more, many inefficiencies and cost overages stem from internal productivity issues and resistance to …
In my previous posts, I wrote about the Construction Leaders Dashboard to help newly promoted team leaders become clear about their vision and the EAR Framework to lay the leadership foundations. In this post, I focus on Kick-Ass Meetings (KAM), a straightforward, three-step process that will help Lean team leaders …
Kick-Ass Meetings: The Secret to Epic Problem-Solving READ MORE
When HGA agreed to join McGough Construction on their first contractual IPD project, I jumped feet first into a trial-by-fire arrangement. Our project – McGough’s own new corporate headquarters in Roseville, MN – was a unique one, since McGough served a dual role as both Owner and Contractor. As trusted …
Learnings from the Field: An Architect’s Musings from Her First IPD Project READ MORE
In my previous post How to Excel as a Leader of a Construction Team, I wrote about the importance of having a compelling vision and the Construction Leaders Dashboard, a valuable tool for newly promoted team leaders. This article will look into the EAR Framework as a valuable tool for …
Discover the Ultimate Communication Tool for Lean Executives READ MORE
The design process is an organized method to gather the thousands of decisions needed to design a building, ranging from the big picture vision and architectural image to excruciating details about every system and every surface in every room. Despite having a well-established process honed over centuries, too many projects …
Getting Decisions that Stick in Design and Construction (Part 1) READ MORE
One of my mentors asked me what is the biggest factor preventing me from spending more time forgetting the past (unlearning) and innovating for the future. My instant response was, “Innovation? I hadn’t thought about it.” As an Extrovert with a capital “E”, I next blurted out something about hyper-awareness …
The Secret to Increasing Daily Performance and Happiness READ MORE
Have you just been promoted into a leadership role in the construction industry? Wondering how to excel in your new role? You are most probably sitting in your office thinking about what you are going to do in the next three to five years to really nail this next chapter …
Felipe Engineer-Manriquez is the brain behind the podcast The Easier, Better, for Construction Show, which focuses on Lean IPD in construction and sharing how to make large construction projects easier and better. The following questions are an extract from Episode 11 where we chatted about: Building with Integrated Project Delivery …