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Difficult conversations

When two trades are fighting over the same space

By Review.LivePublished 3 min readHow we write

Two scissor lifts are parked nose to nose under the level 2 corridor ceiling at 7:05. The sprinkler foreman and the ductwork foreman each hold a look-ahead that says this week is theirs, their crews are watching, and one of them has already phoned his office.

A technician in a helmet, harness and high-visibility vest works from a lift platform among cable trays and red sprinkler pipes.
Photo: Valentin Lacoste on Unsplash

Space fights start when two plans were each right on their own and nobody checked them against each other: two look-aheads, one ceiling. Your job is not to pick the more persuasive foreman but to decide by facts both can see: the coordination drawings, the schedule and what each trade physically needs. A decision made that way, and written down, survives the next argument. Planning the order ahead, as in sequencing trades in tight spaces, prevents many of these fights; this lesson is for the morning it did not.

  1. Take the argument away from the crews: ten minutes with both foremen, and other work for the crews meanwhile.
  2. Put the facts on the table: the coordination drawings, both look-aheads and the milestone the area feeds.
  3. Ask each foreman what they need — hours, lift positions, elevations — and what else their crew could do this week.
  4. Decide by the facts: which system has the least room to move, what the schedule needs first, and whether the space can be split by zone or shift.
  5. Write the agreement: who works where, from when to when, and what the other crew does meanwhile. Both foremen read it.
  6. Check it at the start of the next shift, and tell any other trade the change affects.

With both foremen

  1. You:Both your plans say this week. Neither of you is wrong — nobody checked them against each other, and that's on us.
  2. Sprinkler foreman:My mains have to be ready for inspection on the 14th.
  3. Ductwork foreman:My trunk line can't move. It's the biggest thing up there.
  4. You:Then ductwork takes gridlines 3 to 6 today and tomorrow, sprinklers take 1 to 3, and you swap on Thursday. I'll write it up now.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the louder foreman, or the bigger contract, win.
  • Telling them to "work it out", with no record of what they agreed.
  • Forgetting the third trade that follows in the same ceiling.

Action list

Settle it, then prevent the next one

  1. Take the two foremen aside and give the crews other work
  2. Bring the coordination drawings and both look-aheads
  3. Try a split by zone or shift before picking a winner
  4. Write who works where, and when, in one paragraph
  5. Tell the next trade in that ceiling
  6. Compare every trade's look-ahead side by side each week

Check your understanding

Why write down an agreement both foremen have already said yes to?

Show the answer
Because each will remember it a little differently by Thursday, and their offices were not there. A short written agreement settles what was decided, tells the next trade what is coming and gives you the record you need if the lost time later becomes a cost question.

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