As a Lean Construction company, Grunau looks toward new and innovative ways to increase efficiency. The Orlando branch has launched a pilot program that simplifies reporting hours and units completed. This system will help employees both in the field and the office measure projects on a weekly basis.
Traditionally, foremen would report hours completed on a project. This is a simple way to measure the progress, but it doesn’t show details on where the employees were working. This is also a harder way to estimate costs and to track where the project stands.
New Pilot System
The new system examines where the employees are working, the codes and units in addition to the hours spent in that area.
You have to begin reporting on the project right away or it is too late, said Josh Truebe, Project Manager in Orlando, FL. You can’t know where you stand otherwise. When you track your unit progress, it is easier to adjust and helps production rates.
Grunau attempted this type of reporting years ago, but it was too complex and time-consuming. As technology progressed, it simplified the process. What used to take hours, searching through written time logs, now is compressed into one Excel spreadsheet. That’s where Ted Angelo, Grunau Executive Vice President, thinks the company can improve the process.
“The one thing that has been true for me is this: complexity destroys your ability to measure,” said Angelo. “If you don’t make it simple, you don’t get the information back from the field.”
Angelo hopes that this new report will help project managers monitor how well a job is doing and create action plans associated with the data analysis.
