Production tracking is just one part of an overall system for managing projects. The magic is developing a culture of continuous improvement across the whole team. Some lessons learned when it comes to effective production tracking:
- Start small testing and refining the process on one project or just a few tasks.
- Build trust across the field leadership and crews. This is a tool for them to help them get better including learning to troubleshoot production. It IS NOT a “monitoring” mechanism.
- Focus on crew productivity rather than individuals. Teach teams how to organize people for maximum impact.
- Focus on maximizing daily and weekly productivity; not just single tasks. Daily Production
- Develop tools, training and a habit of the team doing “What If” analysis to find the best way to execute before starting. It is cheaper to figure this out on paper or virtually than it is physically.
- Make sure your culture supports consistent use of the best installation standards you have learned across all crews. And provide room for smart EXPERIMENTATION to find the next best standard. PDCA
- Use selective overtime to meet daily production goals where applicable.
- Use small rewards that are very short-interval (daily & weekly) and supervisor driven. Combined with an overall performance compensation system this will build morale and sustainable results.
- Technology is amazing but make sure your field supervisors can create an effective tracking tool including motivating the crew using a piece of sheetrock, spray paint and construction crayon. People; then effective processes and then tools.
