Replies

1. 
   DanT | Jul 08, 2003 06:48pm | #1

   Well, since you said you would appreciate any opinions.  You probably go what you are paying for.  Why would your builder need you to figure out his schedule?  Why would his help be so inexperienced?  Is this who you want building your home?  DanT

1. 
   Philter | Jul 08, 2003 07:08pm | #2

   Ditto here.

   Hire more "builders"?

   You need ONE builder with a good crew of carpenters and go get what you are paying for.If it is to be.... 'twil be done by me.

2. 
   BossHog | Jul 08, 2003 07:56pm | #3

   Kinda hard to say from here. We have no idea if your schedule was appropriate and they're just slow/lazy or if your schedule was totally unrealistic and you're a tightwad.

   Why exactly are you giving a "detailed schedule" to your builder? Is he inexperienced himself? Is he the GC, or a subcontractor? Who determined how long each task would take? Are you paying them by the job, or by the hour?

   That, coupled with your description of a "crew of 5 mostly inexperienced helpers" sends up a red flag that something isn't right here.

   I was walking around the house, looking for things to rewire. [Tim Allen]

3. 
   JerraldHayes | Jul 08, 2003 08:51pm | #4

   JMARCUS007, I like DanT's response especially when he says "Why would your builder need you to figure out his schedule?" and "Why would his help be so inexperienced?" Really! It sounds to me like you didn't hire hire a "builder" but maybe hired a carpenter to supervise some laborers. And even then what qualifications or experience with building and remodeling do you have that makes your scheduling skills superior to theirs?

   I'm going to bet that your doing this project on a time and materials basis aren't you? Given that it may very well be that without your being around the productivity slacked off some but I will again bet you that your schedule was unrealistic. I actually do some productivity and project management consulting nowadays and I am amazed with the two extremes I often see in schedules. They are either unrealistically superhero-level too tight or tasks are excessively over padded with "safety" or "slack".

   If you could provide me/us with the details (the breakdown) of what you had scheduled and the actual hours that your crew worked I might be able to give you a better evaluation.

   I've also have to say that I think that your crew makeup of one skilled carpenter supervising 5 mostly inexperienced helpers was a real poor choice. While I don't really know the conditions or parameters of your project you probably would have served your purposes far better with a lead carpenter-two journeymen-and one helper crew makeup. "5 mostly inexperienced helpers",...really what were you realistically expecting to happen?

   You might also want to read through this discussion Crew Size & Productivity here on Breaktime and if your really ambitious maybe some of the topics discussed in my company's web forums too (http://www.paradigm-360.com/PMForum).

   Another thing too re:"...I'm thinking I need to fire the builder and the slow crew members, keep the hard workers, and get going with a few new builders ASAP,.." Just having hard workers working hard may not solve you scheduling problems at all. In that simplistic form that's just a myth. Work flow really needs to be "designed"' or at least thought of in terms of achieving "flow".

   It's sort of funny in a way and maybe Boss Hog remembers from a year ago some of the good discussion we had here on this but the topic of scheduling and productivity seems to pop up every summer.

   ---

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   "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

4. 
   geob21 | Jul 08, 2003 10:22pm | #5

   Sounds to me like you have 6 employees.

   If they aren't cutting it fire them.

   If they are employees I hope your paying their FICA and workers comp. It's amazing how after firing  construction workers  injuries and investigations suddenly happen. Most that are willing to work around the laws know them all too well and will give you a pull by the short curlies when you mess with them.

   ______________________________________________________

   If you were arrested for being a quality builder would there be enough evidence to convict you?