Understanding the Construction Field Day

For a contractor to truly improve their field productivity, they must start with understanding how the time is spent.

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Depending on the trade, project, and the labor, study the time spent on actual installation ranges from 50-64%.  

Field Productivity: Understanding the Construction Day from the Field Perspective. Increase actual installation to 70% means almost 10% increase in production.

Remaining time is spent on non-installation activities including material logistics, movement around the jobsite, breaks, layout, mobilization to the work area, etc.  

These labor studies include craft labor and direct supervision at the foreman level.  

An average amount of rework and typical jobsite conditions are all factored into these studies.  

These form the basis for the labor units all contractors use to estimate projects.   

Assuming our quantity take-offs are accurate, this is why multiple contractors can be so incredibly close in a competitive bidding situation.

Projects are then budgeted with these labor units and we manage projects to meet these budgets.  

BOTTOM LINE

There is a significant amount of non-installation time built into the labor units the whole industry uses. Just increasing the actual installation time by a few minutes will make a contractor significantly more competitive and profitable.

Create the Perfect Field Day

 

 


Understanding the Construction Field Day
Field labor is the often the biggest variable on a construction project - making it the biggest risk and opportunity....

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Understanding the Construction Field Day
Field labor is the often the biggest variable on a construction project - making it the biggest risk and opportunity....

The Six Pillars of Task Productivity in the Field
Contractors can guarantee labor productivity on their projects by leading their project teams to focus relentlessly on ensuring that these 6 Pillars of Productivity are supporting each task on the job site.
Impacted Productivity - Stacking of Trades and Installation Efficiency
Each craftsperson needs about 200 usable square feet for a productive installation. This assumption is included in production units used to estimate and budget projects. Having less than that can impact productivity up to 50%.
Problem-Resolution Cost Pyramid - Earlier is Always Better
An easy way to visualize the cost of problem resolution at different stages of construction is with this pyramid. The cost of the problem is the cost of the problem (1X). Finding it ahead of time minimizes the costs and maximizes customer satisfaction.