Ep.237 - In Defense of Last Planner & Adaptation!

Jason opens with a serious message about Operation Underground Railroad (rescuing children from sex trafficking) before diving into his most comprehensive defense of Takt/Last Planner/Scrum vs CPM. His official stances: CPM is a push system (worst - forces out-of-sequence work, crashes crews, creates chaos). Last Planner & Scrum are pull systems (queue work behind ready work). Takt is a hold system (everyone agrees to hold dates for even flow). You can't see flow when building a CPM schedule, only God could build a CPM network and see problems while constructing it. Follow the money: schedulers make $150-350/hour using a broken system that keeps them employed. Jason makes $0 criticizing CPM and loses friends. Trade partner problems? Mostly GC's fault for dictating schedules, crashing projects, interrupting supply chains. Don't fall for the tyranny of "or",use "and." Adapt systems to project needs like shopping at a grocery store. Complexity is the enemy of execution. Simple systems (Takt, Last Planner, Scrum) scale; complex systems (CPM) create 100,000 useless jobs.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Operation Underground Railroad: $150B spent on child sex trafficking, 30M slaves worldwide, 2M in US—$1,250 saves a child

• CPM = push system: Forces out-of-sequence work, crashes crews, pushes materials forward/back—worst possible system

• Last Planner & Scrum = pull systems: Queue work behind ready work, focus on making ready

• Takt = hold system or flow system: Everyone agrees to hold dates for even flow, best for construction

• You can't see flow when building CPM schedule: Only God could build CPM and see problems while constructing it

• Follow the money: Schedulers make $150-350/hour using broken system, Jason makes $0 criticizing it and loses friends

• Trade partner problems are GC's fault: We dictate schedules, crash projects, interrupt supply chains, treat them like crap

• When to see schedule quality: When you're BUILDING it (like QC inspectors placing concrete), not after with metrics

• CPM metrics = "watch your head" AFTER you hit it: Takt prevents problems from happening in first place

• Tyranny of "or": Don't choose this OR that, use AND, adapt systems to project needs

• Complexity is enemy of execution: Takt/Last Planner/Scrum are simple and scale; CPM creates 100,000 useless jobs

• Software recommendations: VPlanner, Hulu, SmartSheet with PowerBI, Mural for pull planning, Excel for Takt

Jason's official stances, use the right system for the situation. Adapt. Protect workers. On we go.

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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