Leading a crew through a hard week
At 6:40 on Monday the concrete pump dispatcher calls: Friday's booking has fallen through, and the only slot this week is Wednesday at 7:00. Two of your nine carpenters are off sick, the deck inspection is booked for Tuesday afternoon, and rain is forecast for Thursday. The crew is still tired from last week's overtime.
A hard week goes wrong in predictable ways: people unsure what matters most guess and rush, and people on long days get tired. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety counts long hours and short breaks between shifts among the causes of fatigue, which impairs judgement and concentration, slows reaction time and increases risk-taking. Your job is to make the week smaller: a few priorities, honest news and a safety standard that does not bend.
Running the week
- Tell the crew the whole picture on Monday: what changed, what the week must deliver and when it ends. Say it at the morning huddle before rumours do.
- Name three priorities and what will wait. Post them where everyone passes and repeat them each morning.
- Plan the long days in advance: who stays late, on which days, and who gets a short day after, within company rules, any collective agreement and the hours-of-work rules where you work — see overtime decisions.
- Hold the safety line out loud. Start each day with its hazards, and say that anyone may stop an unsafe task without being blamed for the delay.
- Clear tomorrow's blockers this afternoon — material, access, drawings, inspections — so nobody waits.
- Watch for fatigue and act on it: short tempers, missed steps, near misses. Move a tired worker to lower-risk work, or send them home. If someone is struggling with more than tiredness, point them privately to your employer's support resources, such as an employee assistance program.
- Recognize specific effort the same day, by name and in front of the crew.
Common mistakes
- Saying "we're fine" when the crew can see you are not.
- Answering every problem with overtime until the whole crew is exhausted by Thursday.
- Doing the work yourself and leaving nobody watching the whole site.
- Thanking "everyone" on Friday when two people carried the week.
Action list
For your next hard week
- Brief the crew Monday: what changed, what must happen, when it ends
- Post three priorities and what will wait
- Set the long days in advance, with a short day after
- Say every morning that anyone can stop unsafe work
- Walk tomorrow's work every afternoon
- Thank people by name, the same day
Check your understanding
On Wednesday, a carpenter on his third long day in a row fixes a guardrail and leaves one clamp loose. What should you do, and why?
