Setting a daily quantity target the crew agrees with
At Monday's coordination meeting the superintendent asks the curb foreman how much of the east-side curb and gutter his crew will form this week. "As much as we can," he says. By Wednesday the crew is a day behind, and nobody can say which day was lost or why.
Set the day's target with the crew at the start of the day, from the rate it has actually reached and today's conditions; post it, and check it at a fixed time while there is still time to act. A number handed down from the estimate is a hope; a number the crew helped set is a promise it works to keep. The Lean Construction Institute's definition of a reliable promise fits: the person promising has estimated the time the task needs and commits freely, without privately doubting they can deliver. Tracking the weekly rate is a separate lesson: labour productivity with installed quantities.
- Start from the crew's rate: last week's average from your own counts, not the estimate's rate.
- Adjust for today: the layout, access and weather, the people actually here, and whether material, tools and information are on hand.
- Ask the crew at the huddle: "Forty metres today: can we do it, and what could stop us?" Change the number when they give you a reason.
- Post it with its counting rule: the target, the unit and what counts, such as formed, braced and checked to line and grade.
- Check at a fixed time, such as 15:00, while there is still time to clear a blocker or move people.
- Record the result and the reason in the daily report, and take blockers that are not the crew's to the superintendent that day.
Common mistakes
- Using the estimate's rate as the target for a crew that has never reached it.
- Announcing the number instead of asking for it.
- Raising the target every time the crew hits it.
- Blaming the crew for a short day before finding the cause.
Action list
Tomorrow morning
- Look up the crew's rate for last week
- Adjust it for tomorrow's conditions
- Ask the crew for the number
- Post the target, unit and counting rule
- Check at 15:00, while there is time to act
- Write down the result and the reason
Check your understanding
Your crew hits its target four days running, then falls short on Friday. The project manager wants next week's target raised by 10%. What do you check first?
