Why Do Your Workers Stand Around?

why your workers stand around on the job -- and what you can do about it

Working with an organization in Germany recently, I noticed the same worker phenomena that I have seen for years in the United States. There were three workers standing around watching one worker finishing concrete. I responded almost before my brain could slow me down, "Just like government workers."

The company representative that I was standing with laughed a little and said, "Ya, we have same saying in Germany. Unfortunately, these are private contractor workers." This got us both into an interesting conversation about employee utilization.

Taking a bit of time to dissect this, perhaps "global" employee issue, I proceeded to use the old Japanese problem solving technique called the 5 Whys. Here we go…

Observation: There are three workers standing around watching one worker…working.

 

Why? #1: Why are the three workers standing around watching?

Answer: Because the three workers have completed their work.

 

Why? #2: Why are the three workers not assisting the working employee complete his work?

Answer: There are not enough tools to finish the concrete OR there is not enough room.

 

Why? #3: Why are there not enough tools for the three workers to assist in the finish?

Answer: The contractor did not plan for there to be that much work to be finished OR did not anticipate the other three workers to finish their work early.

 

Why?#4: Why did the contractor not consider the amount of work to be completed?

Answer: Because he does not fully understand the productivity rate practiced by his employees.

 

Why?#5: Why does the contractor not fully understand his crew's productivity rate?

Answer: Because he does not measure productivity rate or is too busy bidding more work.

 

Well, you can see by this transition that the contractor is primarily responsible for his three workers standing around while their fourth crewmate is working. While we could certainly take the five "whys" in a different direction, let me address this standing around issue.

Why do we sometimes see workers standing around, watching another worker complete work? I think there are several reasons.

  1. There was no pre-planning to insure that all the workers were effectively utilized.
  2. There are too many workers on the crew. (Thus, we're carrying extra labor.)
  3. Estimator grossly over-estimated labor or quantities. (This happens more than you know.)
  4. There really are not enough tools. (Back to poor planning.)
  5. Work culture is too lax; little to no discipline.
  6. Something out of the ordinary might have genuinely changed on "that job." (This does happen but not often.)

There are probably more reasons but the six above will suffice for our purposes. Let's then address each point briefly.

No Pre-Planning

Review some of my past articles and you'll find several references to the need for pre-planning through a tool called the "next week look ahead." The NWLA specifically addresses the number of workers you will take, what they will be working on, and what amount of work is to be completed. There is really very little excuse today for NOT pre-planning each project, no matter the size.

Too Many Laborers

The crew foreman who says, "I always have six guys," is the same crew foreman who will shoot your job profit. Knowingly taking too many workers to a job is slow financial suicide; not knowing productivity rates to determine the number of employees to take to complete a job is construction ignorance. The first cause should result in someone getting fired! The second cause should be proof enough that business "101" is needed.

Grossly Over-Estimated Labor/Quantities

Estimating is difficult if it's done correctly. Even the best contractors who I know realize the detail orientation that must be practiced to arrive at the exact cost projection needed for each job.

While some estimates will be way out of line, most contractors are pretty darn close. If anything, they may be too tight due to wanting to win more jobs in this tough economy. However, if there is a pattern of "Over or Under" estimating work, you should address the reasons for such estimating inconsistencies and correct accordingly.

Not Enough Tools

Assuming the contractor has enough of the right tools, this is pure and simple a planning problem. Now, having the right amount of tools, with many damaged, is a different problem. Equipment and tool maintenance is a huge problem that busy contractors often do not prepare to execute. If you do not have such a preventive maintenance (PM) program in place you need to develop one ASAP or you will be out of luck before you know it.

One other quick point of reference here, take the time to budget. You company budget should address how much will be spent on purchase of new equipment and tools AND how much will be spent on the maintenance of the same.

Work Culture Too Lax

Discipline is sorely missing from many construction businesses today. The entire work ethic in general is not what it once was. Therefore, it is critical that contractors be more assertive in clearly setting expectations for how to work. Without creating a new list of rules and regulations, contractors need to conduct regularly scheduled meetings with all of their employees to remind them of what is needed, when things are needed, what is the expected work habits on the job sites. Teamwork needs to be defined and should include what it means to assist co-workers, that no job is completed until every thing is done right, no matter who completes the actual task. Goals should be used with crews to keep the crew's focus on moving ahead, always reaching for that next accomplishment.

Something Out of Ordinary Happens

There are surprises. Perhaps a customer has changed directions on your project or an area you thought you had to work in is now going to be used by another contractor. Any of these changes can cause momentary change to your planned for labor count. However, if we are more often seeing extra workers on a job than is required, trust me, this is either due to poor planning or inaccurate estimating.

While we need to be prepared for the unexpected, this often means having an Option A or B ready to go when such surprises do take place. And the surprises do take place!

Be swift and clear about addressing the "too many employees" problem, if you have one. Such a presence also leads to greater employee morale issues. The one worker doing the work is always resentful against the "blokes" that are just standing there, looking, often smoking and taking their jabs at the guy doing the work.

Create a lean work team. Having just one less worker is often more productive than having one too many.

Brad Humphrey is President of Pinnacle Development Group. For more information about Brad's company go to www.pinnacledg.com. You can also join Brad each Wednesday by going to www.thecontractorsbestfriend.com.

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