Project Management

Ep.94: Bringing Military Leadership to Construction with Cody Ross

March 2, 2020 00:36:40

One thing Tim hears frequently in his travels and consulting with remodelers is the desire for fewer layers of management, replaced by more leadership.

One of the best places to learn and develop leadership skills is the U.S. Armed Forces.

Cody Ross served in the U.S. Marine Corps. from April 2005 – December 2014 as a combat engineer, doing everything from infantry to building bridges, and has found his experience translates well to remodeling and construction.

In this episode, Cody talks to Tim and Steve about using military leadership techniques and procedures to positively affect the construction process and to deliver a better client experience.

Cody is the project manager at Irons Brothers Construction Inc., in Shoreline, WA. He’s been with Irons Brothers for four years, and has successfully managed the company’s largest project to date in scope, size, and sale price.

He’s identified five big leadership takeaways from his time in the military that apply to remodeling and construction — organization of the unit, commanders’ intent, small-unit leadership, planning backwards, and the end-of-week stand down. Cory breaks them down and explains how they translate to remodeling projects, including:

The importance of staying in your lane
Describing your ideal end state
Recognizing who’s best suited to make decisions
Time management techniques
Streamlining meetings for efficiency
The importance of contingency planning
How delegation of authority develops accountability and responsibility
Handling under-performing trade partners
Using BAMCIS* for further planning in remodeling
The five-paragraph order
And more …

*BAMCIS is a tool that stands for Begin the planning, Arrange for reconnaissance, Make reconnaissance, Complete the plan, Issue the order, and Supervise.

Ep.93: Women in Leadership on Site with Dejah Léger

February 24, 2020 00:32:02

We talk a great deal about ways to beat the labor shortage, including the importance of training and education in keeping good employees. We’ve also discussed how to promote the trades as an attractive career choice.

There’s a third component — finding the right people. And that may mean changing your thinking about what, or who, you’re looking for.

Dejah Léger came into remodeling with no experience, but was “trained from scratch,” she says. Due to her motivation and ability to learn quickly, she was promoted to lead carpenter within a year.

In this episode, Dejah talks to Tim and Steve about her experiences changing careers to become a carpenter and project manager, the challenges, and why women are a big asset on the job site.

Dejah is a lead carpenter/project manager at Irons Brothers Construction in Shoreline, WA. The first project she led was a major kitchen remodel, and she has continued to lead multiple jobs since then. Her role as the only female lead carpenter in Shoreline is a huge advantage on many levels. It points to the many reasons women should be recruited to be bags-on, even if it means large initial investments in training.

Dejah’s remodeling career started when one of the company’s owners recruited her at her daughter’s baseball game. Her coworkers trained her on-site, she studied everything she could at night, and Irons Brothers sends their team to training and trade shows. She talks about what it’s like being a woman in a male-dominated industry, changing careers, and the advantages it gives her in the field, including:

Establishing authority and leading on site
Why the labor shortage leveled the playing field for her
Communicating with clients
Creating relationships with subs and vendors
Finding safety equipment that fits
Training on her own
The physical aspects of the job
Using her graphic design background to understand plans
Why to recruit more women
And more …

Getting past preconceived notions of what a carpenter or project manager has always been is the first step toward recruiting and retaining good team members — and that includes women.

Ep.92: Using RFIs Effectively with Jason Brookshire

February 17, 2020 00:25:33

We’ve discussed adapting commercial construction systems and applications for use in the residential world. Implementing them is often met with resistance — but there are definitely processes that work well and add value.

Requests for Information are standard in the commercial construction world, but aren’t widely used in residential remodeling.

In this episode, Jason Brookshire talks to Tim and Steve about why he finds RFIs to be important to his work in residential remodeling, and how to implement your own system.

Jason has been the production manager at McBride Remodeling in Petoskey, MI, for more than four years. He has more than 15 years of experience as a commercial development superintendent in markets around the country.

In his work in commercial construction, Jason used written RFIs when clarification was needed in the scope of work from architects, owners, or other parties. At McBride, RFIs are used by lead carpenters and those in the office, creating better information flow. It cuts down on phone calls and clarifies communication. RFIs go through their cloud-based project management system. Jason talks about the advantages of using RFIs, including:

Building in accountability
Getting the details you need — when you need them
The type of information typically clarified
Getting staff buy-in
The time it saves
Who gets involved
How to use them
Simplifying change orders
Training your trade partners
And more …

The accountability and speed built in to the process are vital to growing companies, to streamline jobs and protect profits. If you’ve got questions about implementing RFIs in your company, Jason says you can get in touch with him at Jason@mcbrideremodeling.com.

Ep.91: Talking Safety with Mark Paskell

February 10, 2020 00:33:58

Just because you’ve never been visited or cited by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration doesn’t mean you’re following safe business practices. Even if you or no one on your crew has been injured, it doesn’t necessarily mean your job sites are safe — you might just be lucky.

Most OSHA standards apply to the residential building and remodeling industries, and require employers to protect their workers by establishing safety programs and providing training.

In this episode, Mark Paskell talks to Tim and Steve about how to create a safety culture and the benefits of running safe job sites and protecting your team.

Mark is president of The Contractor Coaching Partnership Inc. in Sterling, MA. He founded the company in 2007 to coach and mentor residential contractors on business, systems, sales, and safety. Mark became an authorized OSHA Outreach Trainer in 2012.

Creating a culture of safety is the first and biggest thing a business can do, says Mark. It has to start at the top — owners and managers need to be on board and involved, not just those in the field. Residential standards are as stringent as commercial standards, but there’s less of a focus on meeting those standards on sites. Mark talks about the things residential remodelers and builders should focus on, including:

The differences between OSHA 10 and OSHA 30
The most cited violations
The top job-site hazards — and how to minimize them
Hiring safe sub-contractors
What personal protection equipment your crew should wear
Misconceptions about safety and OSHA you may be making
Putting money into the budget for safety training
Investing in people and equipment to attract and keep employees
Why safer crews complete better jobs
How much time to invest in training
Safety meetings: how often you should have them, and what to cover
Why you should invite OSHA to your company
And more …

You can download materials to help you with your safety training at the OSHA website.

Ep.90: Moving Company Culture to the Job Site with Dennis Engelbrecht

February 3, 2020 00:40:29

Between 1950 and 2010, the use of the term “company culture” has doubled — Tim looked it up. But for a lot of people, it’s still a bit of a mystery. You hear about having a good culture, but it can be hard to quantify.

Often, remodeling companies can have a great culture in the office, but it doesn’t always make it out to the field staff on the job site. Sometimes the office and the job site have two separate cultures, so the team as a whole doesn’t share a company culture. Complicating matters, as you grow, your culture will change too — in ways you may not expect.

In this episode, Dennis Engelbrecht, discusses company culture with Tim and Steve, especially how to create and maintain a positive culture in the field and get everyone on the same page.

Dennis is a consultant with the Family Business Institute, of Raleigh, NC. He’s devoted his life and career to creating, improving, building, and coaching entrepreneurs for greater business success. Dennis directs the CEO Roundtables Program for Contractors, which he founded to expand upon a group one of his early clients participated in.

Company culture is a collection of a set of beliefs and behaviors that affect the workplace, Dennis says. When trying to set up a good culture, it starts with the company’s leadership. It’s not a defined set of rules, but how everyone acts. The challenge is establishing and maintaining the culture you want, one that creates a workplace people want to be in. Dennis tells you how to create and direct a good company culture, on the job site and in the office, including:

Why the owner needs to visit job sites
The crucial role of your project manager or lead carpenter
How to involve your trade partners on the job site
Keeping egos in check
The power of a simple greeting
The first question to ask on the job site
Praising in public, criticizing in private
How to manage for success
Sharing information
Changing the culture — if you’re not the business owner
And more …

Your company’s culture on the job site and off can give you a competitive advantage in finding and keeping good team members — a key strategy in beating the labor shortage.

Ep.88: Women in Production Management with Heather Tankersley

January 20, 2020 00:34:52

The remodeling and construction industries are dominated by men. Even such necessary things as safety equipment are a bad fit for the few women who are working on the production side in residential remodeling or construction.

But things are slowly changing. More women are showing up on job sites, and working in production and operations management.

In this episode, Heather Tankersley talks about her experiences as an operations manager with Tim and Steve. She discusses what it’s like to be in a management role as a woman in construction and the differences between her experience in commercial and residential projects.

Heather is co-owner of Tankersley Construction in Rancho Cordova, CA, with her husband Steve (check out his episode). Founded three years ago, it’s quickly become one of California’s leaders in residential construction by taking commercial construction principles and applying them to small- and mid-sized homeowner projects. Before working at Tankersley Construction, Heather managed complex projects for some of the largest electrical contractors in the United States. Heather’s prior project experience includes new student housing at Sacramento State University, new classrooms for UC Hastings, medical facility expansion at Folsom State Prison, and multiple VA and healthcare projects throughout Northern California.

While still working full-time in her previous job, Heather worked with Steve to develop the new company’s processes, and they found the need for an operations manager role. She filled in. Heather manages the pre-construction phase. When the job is handed off to the project managers, Heather oversees the schedules and the progress of each individual job. She talks about what she’s learned and what her prior project management experience has helped her company, including:

How she got into the industry
Being comfortable with asking the three “whys”
Developing organizational skills
The need for good people skills
Her protocols for keeping information up-to-date
The platforms and applications she uses
Dealing with gender biases
Organizations supporting women in construction
Finding mentors
The advantages of being a woman in residential remodeling
And more …

Heather says remodelers should look to recruit commercial project managers — male or female — by using the appeal of the more personal, relationship-driven work of residential remodeling.

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Ep.86: Hindsight is 2020

January 6, 2020 00:28:49

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d do differently when starting your remodeling business if you only knew then what you know now, you’re not alone.

Tim and Steve do, too.

In this episode, the guys talk about what they’ve learned in their time at Remodelers Advantage and from their podcast guests that they wish they knew when they were running their own businesses.

They each identified the five biggest takeaways that make remodeling businesses stronger, more profitable, and built for growth. Learn what they think is important and why, including:

The power of job descriptions
Being financially transparent
Protecting profit through data
Making business decisions based on numbers, not feelings
Learning to sell, not just take orders
Getting to a zero punch list
And more …

Including the five states Tim still has to visit, as well as sincere thanks from everyone at the show for giving us your time, ideas, and feedback. If you’ve got an idea for a topic or guest, drop Tim a line at tim@remodelersadvantage.com.

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Ep.84: Residential vs. Commercial Construction with Steve Tankersley

December 23, 2019 00:27:28

There can be a bit of a disconnect between folks working in residential and those in commercial construction, and a way of thinking that they’re just completely different. But there are ideas and methods of production that can be used successfully in both.

Steve Tankersley is a third-generation builder whose earliest memories are of being on a jobsite with his father. He earned a bachelor’s degree in construction management from Sacramento State University while working as a carpenter for one of Sacramento’s largest residential remodeling companies. After graduating, Steve was an estimator and project manager overseeing multi-million dollar projects ranging from churches, schools, and hospitals to power plants, train stations, and apartment complexes.

That’s when Steve first envisioned applying large-scale commercial project management philosophies to small- and mid-sized properties, commercial and residential.

In this episode, Steve talks about what each side of the industry can learn from the other with Tim and Steve.

Steve and his wife, Heather, founded Tankersley Construction in Rancho Cordova, CA, when he realized that to truly be part of a company he loved, he needed to create it himself. It has quickly grown into one of the Sacramento region’s largest remodeling companies. Tankersley Construction has won multiple NARI awards for their projects, recognizing excellence in design, management, scheduling, and safety.

About half of Steve’s work is in residential and half in commercial. There are separate management models for each, with different layers of management. He talks about what is the same, what is different, and how to get the best of both worlds, including:

Superintendents vs. project managers
Who works where — and when
Project management and client management
Critical-path scheduling
Using LEAN in construction
Starting at the end, and scheduling backwards
Taking the safety culture of commercial into residential
Getting selections done
And more …

Including how Steve applied what he learned in multi-phase commercial projects that help keep remodeling clients on their own schedules.

Ep.83: Secrets of the Final Completion List with Ed Hoksbergen

December 16, 2019 00:25:36

If you’re getting to your final walk-through and finding work that’s not done, or not done right, your schedule gets fouled up and your budget is busted. To tie up all the loose ends before they can cost you more time and money, you’ve got to be a step or two ahead of the problems.

A final completion list can help. Ed Hoksbergen uses a 100-point system to ensure a project is complete and up to his company’s standards, and to turn over a job with a zero punch list.

In the episode, Ed discusses using a final completion list with Tim and Steve, including how to set one up and what it can do for your jobs and warranties.

Ed has been the production manager at Encore Homes in Middleton, WI, since 2012. He joined the team as an assistant superintendent in March of 2002 in the multi-family division, and was promoted to I superintend in 2004 in single-family division. Since incorporating this quality assurance form and checklist, Encore has seen their 30-day and one-year punch lists greatly reduced and — in some cases — found nothing on the punch list at the one-year walk-through.

The QA score sheet used to grade a project manager on the completed job. Ed says the form is set up to be done six days prior to closing a project. It’s used to ensure all work is up to Encore standards and to turn over a completed job with a zero punch list. A project manager scoring 96 percent or better is awarded a bonus at the end of the job. Ed talks about how to set up your own completion list, including:

Assessing the quality of the work
Looking at the details
How to close out the job
Educating the client
How to sell it to your team
Determining what’s in or out of a PM’s control
And more …

A completion list can help you boost the quality of your work while helping you deliver jobs on time.

If you would like to follow Tim’s adventures on the road….

Every month TIm Faller shares his “From the Field” Newsletter with additional tips, thoughts and tales of his travels across North America, working shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best production teams in the business. If you would like to subscribe to Tim’s Newsletter, CLICK HERE!

Ep.82: Key Performance Indicators for Carpenters & Project Managers with Rick Swanquist

December 9, 2019 00:31:12

Many problems plaguing production departments end up costing time and money. While it’s clear that there are issues, many remodeling companies can’t pinpoint the causes.

One way to find out what’s really going on is to establish Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs. KPIs allow you to measure how well your production process works. But what should you measure, and how can you do it?

In this episode, Rick Swanquist answers those questions as he joins Tim and Steve to discuss how he uses KPIs to really know what’s going on in his production department, and what it means to his company.

A veteran of the construction industry, with nearly 15 years of project management experience, Rick has been with Main Street Design Build in Birmingham, MI, since 2015. Rick was hired to be a project developer at Main Street, quickly working his way up to project manager, and spent the first two years of his tenure managing projects. He has been a production manager for two years at Main Street. Rick’s passion is scheduling and managing subcontractors and in-house carpenters to see a project through to its completion.

When beginning to institute KPIs in your company, you need to figure out what they’ll be. Rick defines a KPI as a goal that is practicable and repeatable through objectives defined by metrics, that have timelines and targets with methods for predicting and measuring them. The data is collected throughout each project and evaluated at the end. Rick talks about what he looks at, how to set goals, and keeping his team accountable through KPIs, including:

What can be measured
How to evaluate KPIs
The 13 KPIs he uses for carpenters
The KPIs for project managers
Using the project autopsy to measure performance
How long-term measurement ensures accurate assessments
How the estimate works in the mix
Keeping the process open and transparent
Establishing a baseline for expectations
How KPIs can boost morale and healthy competition
The client satisfaction score
And more …

All the KPIs, taken together, allow Rick to see how his team is performing and to identify and solve problems in production quickly.