schedules

The Importance of Gender Inclusion with Emma Kraft – [Best of The Tim Faller Show]

April 8, 2024 0:33:18

We welcome guest Emma Kraft to the show to discuss the struggles of bridging the gap in a male-dominated field as both a woman and a daughter.

Emma Kraft is the President of Kraft Custom Construction, Inc., located in Salem, Oregon. The company was started by Emma’s father, Robert Kraft, in 1982. In 2001, he made a conscious decision to down-size the company and focus on completing fewer, higher revenue-producing projects. Kraft is a design/build company that does remodeling, additions, and historic restoration work.

Tim, Steve, and Emma talk more about:

Biases against women in construction
Some of the challenges exclusive to women
How others can help bridge this gap
And more…

A New Twist on the 4-Day Work Week with Erich Van Cleave – [The Tim Faller Show] S5 E17

March 4, 2024 0:26:27

The four-day workweek is becoming a popular trend for companies, especially with the younger generation joining the workforce. While there are arguments for and against this idea, today’s episode features Erich Van Cleave discussing how his company has given a unique twist to the four-day workweek. Tune in to discover how this approach can benefit both employees and the organization.

Erich Van Cleave is the owner of Van Cleave Construction, Remodeling, & Design, located in St. Joseph, MO. Erich founded the company in 2006 where he wore all of the hats, including a tool bag, producing around $250k their first year. Today, Van Cleave has a team of 15 offering design build and construction services producing just north of $3m. The average tenure for our team is just over 7 years.

Erich, Tim, and Greg talk more about:

Implementation of a four-day workweek
Benefits and challenges of the change
And more…

The Whiteboard: Onsite Visual Communication with Tim Faller and Greg Woleck – [The Tim Faller Show] S5 E15

February 19, 2024 0:30:52

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, it’s easy to overlook the power of traditional communication tools. Take the humble whiteboard, for example. It may seem outdated, but it’s actually a highly effective tool for remodeling companies. Tim and Greg discuss why whiteboards could be a good choice for any team looking to communicate effectively. By using a whiteboard, scheduling becomes a visual experience that can be shared with clients on job sites.

Tim and Greg talk more about:

Uses of a whiteboard in remodeling and other industries
Personalizing your whiteboard to your company
And more…

Scheduling From Sales Through Completion with Eric Bain – [Best of The Tim Faller Show]

January 29, 2024 0:32:30

Scheduling has been a challenge for everyone over the last few years. Scheduling individual jobs is a challenge by itself but adding the sales design process, the job set up, and then the job itself makes the challenge grow exponentially.

Getting the sales design process scheduled is a growing trend in an effort to more accurately predict the start dates for clients. This process involves gaining the buy-in from designers, sales, and production which can be a daunting task. Our guest today is navigating these waters with success and is here to share his experiences with our listeners.

Eric Bain is the project manager of Innovative Construction and oversees projects as well as handles client relations. He previously worked for the City of Vail where he sharpened his site inspection, landscaping and heavy equipment skills.

Tim, Steve and Eric talk more about:

Working alongside sales and design teams
Utilizing a master schedule
Dealing with issues regarding supplies
And more…

Design and Production: Can we really get along? with Morgan Thomas and Candice Rania – [Best of The Tim Faller Show]

December 18, 2023 0:45:36

On this episode of The Tim Faller Show, Candice Rania and Morgan Thomas join the show to answer the question: Can design and production get along? While the production and design teams have the same overall goal of completing a project that will delight their clients, they do it differently. Morgan and Candice talk about their struggles with time constraints, delays, and change orders and how they developed new processes that involve team reviews with proposed estimates to ensure each department has the proper budgets and limit unexpected client costs.

Morgan Thomas started at Leff Design Build in Sonoma County, California 5 years ago as a project manager and was then promoted to her current role as the production department manager. She is excited and proud of her team’s input to the project’s budget, which she thinks has created an improved sense of ownership among her coworkers. Candice Rania is the pre-production manager at Leff Design Build and works closely with Morgan.

Tim, Steve, Morgan, and Candice talk more about

Integrating production and design and how that creates a better customer experience
Evaluating current methods and creating new processes can lead to better businesses.
And more…

Change Orders: Getting the Coding Right with Trevor Robertson – [The Tim Faller Show] S5 E7

November 20, 2023 0:31:17

On today’s episode of the Tim Faller Show, we welcome Trevor Robertson from Innovative Design Build, who will talk about how he uses change orders and how they are coded for cost accounting. Trevor is the Project Manager who oversees the process and communicates the changes with the accounting team. He will also discuss how he handles errors in the change orders.

Trevor Robertson is the Project Manager at Innovative Design Build located in Atlanta, Georgia. From a young age, Trevor enjoyed building, fixing, and creating. As he grew up, he realized just how powerful being able to turn a concept or idea into something tangible is. With years of experience under his belt, he joined Innovative Design Build in 2018, where he is still working today. His professional superpower is planning, then replanning when the plan changes!

Trevor, Tim, and Steve talk more about:

How do you code materials, labor, etc.
How are change orders created and entered into the system?
What are the results of this process?
And more…

Rebuilding the Pre-Construction Process with Dan Zimmerman and Dan Purnell – [The Tim Faller Show] S5 E5

November 6, 2023 0:46:15

One of the most challenging parts of construction is getting the preconstruction part of the job right. Today, on the Tim Faller Show, Dan Purnell and Dan Zimmerman join the show to talk about how they rebuilt this process at Alloy Workshop. Dan and Dan go through some of the red flags they saw before redoing the preconstruction process and how the change has helped the company.

Dan Zimmerman co-founded Alloy Architecture & Construction, located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Along with his business partner, Zach Snider, he has been at Alloy throughout all the growing (and shrinking) pains. At Alloy, they’re 100% committed to completing 90% of selections before a signed contract.

Dan Purnell is the Director of Production at Alloy Workshop. As Director of Production, the company has seen a turnaround. They had previously seen project duration slippage and GM slippage on all of our projects. They’ve focused on creating a comprehensive pre-production process so all selections, purchasing, etc., are complete before mobilization. This has shown much better performance regarding schedule and GM% slippage.

Tim, Dan, Dan, and Steve talk more about:

Step by Step on how Alloy rebuilt the preconstruction process
Results from the change
And more…

Gross Profit per Day with Dan Purnell – [The Tim Faller Show] S5 E1

October 9, 2023 0:34:37

Today, the Tim Faller Show welcomes Dan Purnell as a guest. Dan will be discussing how his team at Alloy Workshop utilizes GP/Day. He explains what GP is and how Alloy Workshop uses it as a measuring tool. Moreover, Dan differentiates GP/Day from other metrics and its impact on the department.

Dan Purnell is a Project Developer at Alloy Workshop located in Charlottesville, VA, and is a member of the Production Manager’s Roundtables. It was established in 2011 when Dan Zimmerman (AR) and Zach Snider (GC) decided to form Alloy Workshop as a design/build company in Charlottesville. Since taking the project manager role, the company has seen a turnaround. Alloy was previously seeing project duration slippage and GM slippage on all of our projects. Dan and the Alloy team really focused on creating a very comprehensive pre-production process, so all selections, purchasing, etc., are complete prior to mobilization. This has slowed much better performance as it relates to schedule and GM% slippage. Dan and his team also reduced to an average of 2% GM slippage and getting grippage on our project duration now. This shift leads them to look at different metrics to track profitability and how that can help us make business decisions.

Dan, Tim, and Steve talk more about:

What difference does GP/Day make?
Any dangers with GP/Day?
And more…

The Locus of Control with Jef Forward – [Best of the Tim Faller Show]

May 30, 2023 00:39:01

The Locus of Control is a concept that highlights one’s ability to control the outcomes and events in their lives. When applied in a business, The Locus of Control can increase productivity, and breed ownership and support.

The Tim Faller Show welcomes back guest Jef Forward, to share his experiences surrounding the locus of control in his remodeling business.

Jef is the founder and co-owner, with his wife, Monica, of Forward Design Build Remodel in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Over 23 years, the company has grown to a team of 30+ engaged, positive, and supportive employees, and their path towards continued success is heavily focused on team and leadership building.

Tim, Steve and Jef talk more about:

Background and overview of The Locus of Control
The five dysfunctions of a team
Building a trustworthy team
Reaching goals
And more…

Using QR Codes for Field Communication – [The Tim Faller Show] S4 E17

March 20, 2023 00:28:55

Today on the Tim Faller Show, Nick Sandifer details a new way to communicate in the field to help his team navigate the small details in elaborate projects. Nick and the Sandifer team use QR codes to help communicate better on the job site. The QR codes allow the project manager to view the electrical fixtures, architectural plans, and other information about the project. Nick discusses the effectiveness of the QR codes that lead to fewer phone calls from the team because all the data is in the QR code.

Nick Sandifer is the owner of Sandifer Design Build in Jacksonville, Florida. Nick is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Real Estate Finance, Appraisal and Feasibility. He started his building career with a large national builder, Centex Homes. Later he worked as a project manager for local custom home builder Benchmark Luxury Homes. His experience working for both national and local custom builders has allowed him to focus on the schedule and the details.

Nick, Tim, and Steve talk more about…

Benefits of using QR codes
Changing plans while using the QR code
The work that goes into making the QR codes for all the projects
And more…