Unfortunately, more times than not, construction crews show up for work and they encounter problems that prevent them from efficiently doing their job. It could be errors on drawings, not having the material or tools, construction equipment issues, etc.

This is the classic situation that results in the age-old problem of “workers without work or work without workers.” This nonproductive time leads to schedule delays, cost overruns and unhappy customers. The good news is by improving your planning and scheduling methods, costly waste in the example above can be greatly reduced or eliminated entirely. Learn how short interval scheduling (SIS) can reduce waste and improve performance.

What is waste and what is going on?

Toyota, within its Toyota Production System (TPS), categorizes waste into seven forms: transportation, inventory, motion, waiting, over-processing, over-production and defects. Waste is typically a result of the lack of a proven, standard process that will produce the desired results. Variation leads to waste, and the more variation, the more waste.

When construction crews consistently are not getting what they need when they need it, there is either no process in place or the process is out of control. Implementing an effective short interval scheduling (SIS) process can go a long way to reduce or eliminate waste.

What is short interval scheduling?

Short interval scheduling is a process that addresses the dynamic nature of executing work in the field, continually evaluating dependencies and other constraints to keep work flowing smoothly. It requires detailed planning to ensure the crews have what they need when they need it, and sets forth safety, quality, productivity, cost and completion expectations before the work begins.

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