Contractor Evolution 265. How To Get Crews To Track Their Time (Without Babysitting) - Derrik Shakespear
Mar 25, 2026
Derrik Shakespear, Chief Revenue Officer at AlignOps and construction time-tracking expert, explains why labor is the biggest hidden cost. He covers digitizing time capture, comparing estimates to actuals, spotting silent productivity killers, incentivizing crews without micromanaging, and using time data for better bids and safety.
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Waterproofing Company Turned $1M With Simple Buckets
- A waterproofing company cut non-value time from 40% to 20% after moving off paper and saved $1,000,000 in a year.
- They tracked just three buckets: shop time, travel time, and time in front of a wall, which revealed huge hidden losses.
Construction Lags Massive Manufacturing Gains
- Construction productivity has been flat or slightly down while manufacturing rose ~800–900% since 1950, highlighting a large efficiency gap.
- Derrik attributes manufacturing gains to controlled environments and long-term tech adoption, a model construction can learn from.
Track Machine Hours And Tie Time To Equipment
- Track only what's needed to link labor to output, for example machine hours for equipment-heavy trades.
- Derrik stresses tying hours to machines and simple job-cost buckets so payroll and equipment impact are measurable.