Elevate Construction

Takt is a holding system, not a push system. Holding means flow. When you flow you go fast, much like the Navy SEAL saying slow is smooth and smooth is fast. With lean, holding is smooth and smooth is fast. When the assistant super kept pushing the schedule instead of holding the Takt start dates, it caused friction with trade foremen. After three weeks of coaching, they transferred him to a different project. Within two weeks the entire site was in sync. Six weeks after implementing Takt, Jeff sees an entirely new job site. Clean bathrooms, air-conditioned lunch area, less workers on site due to flow efficiency, clean areas that crews control, foremen spending time with workers instead of tracking down procurement. Early pilot projects are seeing 20 percent time savings. Here is where we leave the characters behind and you become the main character of the book. What you'll learn in this episode: Why foremen have been distracted making weekly work plans from scratch, tracking misaligned procurement, and orienting influx of different workers every week How Takt enables safety by giving foremen the environment and capacity to control the site and protect their workers Why one assistant super was transferred off the project for pushing instead of holding (Takt is a holding system not a push system) The transformation Jeff sees six weeks later: clean, organized, fewer workers, stable procurement, workers who are happy How Olivia scales Takt across all Evergreen projects with standardized systems: fresh eyes meetings, lean contracts, prefabrication as default, worker conditions, orientations When you can get flow, you can get safety. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

Brad and David build the entire Takt plan in just one week. Even if they cannot fully achieve what they worked through, having the full schedule on one page has Brad sold on the new format. The work steps within each Takt wagon transfer directly into weekly work plans for Last Planner or sprint backlogs for Scrum. Make ready work steps go three weeks ahead of the work. Execution work steps go in the current week. The FreshEyes meeting is where the team puts on risk glasses and finds what could possibly go wrong before it actually happens. No compliments allowed. No sympathy voting. Just find all the reasons why the plan will not work. Then brainstorm solutions. Assign action items. By the end, everyone has input, knows the plan together, and feels bought in. What you'll learn in this episode: How Takt work steps transfer directly to Last Planner weekly work plans and Scrum sprint backlogs Why make ready work steps are scheduled three Takt times ahead and execution work steps are scheduled in the current Takt time The FreshEyes meeting structure: overview, risk glasses time, brainstorming, solutions, action items and assignments Critical questions the team asks: procurement leveling, mockups, field measurements, owner-provided items, specialty rooms, climate control, commissioning Why zero dollar change orders contract the trades to the new plan before presenting to the owner The only stupid idea is the one that no one brings up. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

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Cleanliness is always a key indicator of project success. When David walks One Care, he sees dirty porta-potties with graffiti, rushed and frustrated workers, and an uncoordinated frenzy. The water bottle demonstration proves the point. Pouring straight takes 10 seconds because air (roadblocks) keeps stopping the flow. Creating a vortex takes 5 seconds because the water flows in one direction and leaves space for air to rise. This is not a people problem. This is a flow problem. Last Planner and Scrum cannot succeed when the goal changes every day and the supply chain is unstable. The train analogy works better than the river. Takt trains flow through the building with a cow catcher clearing roadblocks ahead, moving at the right speed on level tracks toward the next station at a consistent rate. What you'll learn in this episode: Why dirty porta-potties with graffiti are a clear signal that project workers are not happy and the project has fundamental issues How the water bottle vortex demonstration proves that flow and pace allow roadblocks to surface faster than pushing everything at once Why masterfully implemented Last Planner and Scrum cannot win when the goal changes every day and supply chains are unstable The train analogy: Takt trains with freight cars, cow catchers for roadblock removal, tracks as operations, rails as prefabrication Why CPM creates frenzied chaotic rush and Takt creates predictable supply chains that allow short interval planning to succeed No matter how proficient the team is, they cannot thrive when the target is always moving. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

The traditional lean analogy about lowering the water level to see rocks is wrong, and it gives lean a bad name. Lowering the water level leads to slash and burn management. The real problem is not that you need fewer resources. The problem is that the water is moving too fast and the chaos prevents you from seeing the rocks even when they are right in front of you. What you need is stability and the right pace so the water is calm and clear. That is what Takt planning does. It schedules the right flow and pace into the project so the team can actually see and remove roadblocks instead of being addicted to the rush of chaos. What you'll learn in this episode: Why the rafting analogy reveals the flaw in traditional lean thinking about reducing resources How going too fast creates chaos that prevents you from seeing roadblocks even when they are protruding Why teams get addicted to the rush of feeling busy, productive, needed, and important even though it is all waste The difference between lowering the water level (slash and burn) versus stabilizing flow and adjusting pace How Takt planning creates rhythm and stability that allows teams to see rocks and go around them The rush comes from being near the danger, but ultimately it is all waste. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

Jason opens the fable section of Elevating Construction Takt Planning with a personal story about a Southwest Airlines crew going out of their way for his kids, a reminder of what great culture looks like. Then he dives into the story of Olivia, a rising director at Evergreen Construction juggling eight projects, a struggling $150M hospital build, and a high-stakes interview for a $185M mega-project. As deadlines slip, safety reports stack up, and an interview unravels in real time, Olivia is left with the pieces of a puzzle she can't quite fit together — and a chance conversation that might hold the key. What you'll learn in this episode: Why even highly skilled teams with Last Planner and Scrum in place can still unravel How stretched leadership and poor stability show up first as safety incidents and slipped deadlines Why blaming people misses the real system-level problem behind the chaos The subtle connection between traffic flow and construction flow that sparks Olivia's curiosity How a single disrupted setup can cost a team the room before they ever present When every individual on the team is capable, what is it about the system that still lets them down? If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

Jason continues the audiobook series with the next section of Elevating Construction Takt Planning, closing out the introduction before heading into the fable. In this chapter, he examines where the industry currently stands with CPM and Last Planner, introduces Scrum as a complement to Takt, and draws from Miyamoto Musashi's Book of Five Rings to explain why builders need both a short sword and a long sword in their scheduling arsenal. He also unpacks the critical difference between "true CPM" and "builder CPM", and why defending the latter has kept the industry stuck. What you'll learn in this episode: Why the current industry mix of CPM, Last Planner, and three-week look-aheads keeps producing the same problems The Miyamoto Musashi analogy, using short swords and long swords against waste and variation The difference between true CPM and builder CPM, and why defenders are really defending the latter Why float calculations, forward and backward passes, and critical paths without buffers do more harm than good Practical paths to transition projects from CPM to Takt, including using Takt to govern CPM If you're defending a broken leg instead of fixing it, the question isn't how well you've learned to limp, it's how much more of your life you want to spend limping. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

Jason continues reading the second edition of Elevating Construction Takt Planning, picking up where the preface left off and diving into the introduction. He unpacks Takt as the visualization of time and space, sets out the six requirements that make a schedule an actual Takt plan, and uses Lord of the Rings and Hobbit allegories to explain why flow must be the one system that rules them all. This chapter also lays out the five core problems with using CPM as a standalone system and why Takt is the accountability partner construction has been missing. What you'll learn in this episode: The six requirements every schedule must meet to qualify as a true Takt plan Why flow is the "one ring" that should govern CPM, Last Planner, and Scrum The five major problems with using CPM as a standalone scheduling system What "dragon sickness" is and how CPM encourages superintendents to hoard the plan Why Takt is the only system that shows why and where to focus to recover a schedule If a schedule hides the truth instead of revealing it, who does that actually serve, the project, or the people dodging accountability? If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

Jason kicks off a new audiobook series right here on the podcast, reading the second edition of Elevating Construction Takt Planning from cover to cover. In this opening episode, he introduces the Takt Production System, walks through the acknowledgements honoring the change-makers who shaped this work, and shares the book's dedication, vision, and preface. The goal is simple: scale Takt planning fast so that respect for workers, flow on site, and healthy families become the new standard in construction. What you'll learn in this episode: Why Jason is recording this book now and the urgency behind scaling Takt certification Who the key contributors to the second edition are and what each of them brought to the work Why most construction projects don't finish on time, and what that costs workers and families The LeanTakt vision: flow, scaling information fast, failing forward, education, and results Why Jason considers Takt "akin to magic" when paired correctly with CPM, Last Planner, and Scrum If you've been waiting for the perfect moment to start your own journey, maybe the lesson is buried right in this first chapter, stop waiting. If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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

Jason sits down with site superintendent Nelson Atagi for a candid follow-up to yesterday's rant about supers and "security guard" behavior. They unpack why cleanliness is the easiest daily win for a jobsite, where the resistance to growth and training really comes from, and how a shift from taker to giver mentality changes everything about how leaders show up. It's a conversation about stability, respect, and treating craft workers the way you'd want someone treating your own kids. What you'll learn in this episode: Why a clean site is a mental win — and how it mirrors a clean kitchen before you start to cook Where the resistance to training and growth really comes from — and what it has to do with the comfort zone The taker-to-giver shift and why it changes what motivates a superintendent How to reframe safety and orientations as "sending everyone home to their families" Why knowing the people you work with changes the way you lead If we spend more hours with our crews than we do with our own families, what kind of leader do we owe them? If you like the Elevate Construction podcast, please subscribe for free, and you'll never miss an episode. And if you really like the Elevate Construction podcast, I'd appreciate you telling a friend (Maybe even two 😊). 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