So much time and money is wasted when crews are not well organized. I'm guessing it happens at your company. I've seen very few companies where it doesn't.

You know what I'm talking about:

• The crews leaving the yard 45 minutes after arriving for work.
• People mulling around a job site.
• The crews calling in needing equipment or material.
• The crews not knowing what to do when the weather turns or an area isn't ready for them.
• The crews not showing any sign of urgency.

Now, I'm not casting stones at your leadership style but I do have a tip that will eliminate much of the problem. It can be summed up in one word.

COMMUNICATION

The simple solution that wipes out much of the waste is the use of a daily huddle. Well, preferably two daily huddles. Huddles work with one-man crews and large crews. The approach is the same, as is the importance.

The name comes from, quite obviously, football. Everyone comes together to call the next play, goes out and kicks some butt, and then huddles up again.(Side note: Dad raised a bit of a football freak. He went to University of Oklahoma and brought me up on them - and talked me into going there.)

One of my favorite tricks to pull when I first come across a construction crew is to ask them whether they had been told what they were to get done that day and how many man-hours they had to complete their work. Invariably both answers are NO.