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Over
the past several months I've made it a practice to stick my
nose inside the perimeter fencing of various job sites around
the country, and I've found the experience most informative.
I don't think it will surprise you when I report that while
I recognized some regional differences (the result of climate
and topography for the most part), what became apparent to
me in due course was that most of them showed a similarity
in their layout and the general way in which they operate.
In
retrospect, I'm not sure I would have come to that recognition
quite so quickly were it not from the handful of sites that - for
lack of a better term - I would characterize as "haphazard."
Though nothing more than casual snooping with no specific
goals or guidepost on which to base my conclusions, I'm willing
to bet that the impressions I take away are pretty good reflections
of the actual state of affairs on these projects.
On
one hand, these snooping exercises are the product of curiosity,
but I've found the technique useful in a variety of circumstances
throughout my life, such as when my wife and I, moving to
a new town, were looking at schools for the kids. It dawned
on us at some point that what we were looking for was not
to be had by reading anybody's literature or being regaled
by the wonders of this curriculum versus others. The issue
came down to a matter of the product - what were the kids at
a particular school like - and the only way to assess this was
to look and listen to the kids themselves, not the teachers
or administrators.
Similarly,
in my military career, I found it valuable to visit other
outfits to see what they were up to. Partly I would be looking
for new ideas, but more importantly I was gathering impressions
as a basis for developing a report card on my own unit. Even
where I came away from one of these visits confident that
"we" were in better shape than "they" were, inevitably I returned
home with a clearer vision of our own strengths and weaknesses
and with ideas for improvement.
Take
the Nickel Tour
This
leads me to recommend that you consider the practice of nonspecific
snooping for inclusion in your bag of tricks, and if you are
receptive to the notion, allow me to make a couple more suggestions
for carrying it out.
First
of all, review your own practices and procedures and then
snoop your own operation. Ask yourself, "Do I like what I
see?" and then, "How close do we come to doing what our procedures
call for?"
Then
go on a snooping expedition to other job sites, cautioning
yourself not to be judgmental or too bound up in details but,
rather, to take in the big picture. What is your overall impression
of the site itself? Is it well laid out and organized? Is
there adequate signage? Would you be able to make your way
confidently and safely through it?
What
about the workers? Are they busy? Are they properly attired?
Do they seem to know what they're doing? Are they following
standard safety procedures? Do they exhibit the characteristics
of a team? Are supervisors present and doing their jobs?
How
about equipment? Are the bulk of the machines operating or
are they idle? Do they appear to be in good repair and well
maintained? Do their operators use them effectively and efficiently?
There
are tens, or hundreds, or even thousands more indicators
you can find on any work site, all of which would add to
your overall impression. My guess is that you could catalog
them all and study them for a week and still not know much
more than you would from what your first impression told
you. What is important is that you take your impressions
back to your own operation and see not only how you stack
up, but also what improvements you can make based on the
experience. What's interesting is that every time you do
one of these snooping expeditions, you find yourself viewing
your own operation with new eyes - the key to continual improvement.
Like to have
a chance to win a Garmin E-Map mapping GPS? Then
send me your feedback on this editorial. All those who finish
the following sentences and submit them to jtrotti@forester.net
by February 28, 2003, will be eligible for the drawing. Please
type the word "E-Map" in the subject line.
You can tell
that the contractor is in trouble when you look at his job
site and see __________________________
and
You can tell
that the contractor has his act together when you look at
his job site and see _____________________
Send
John an Email
GEC
- March/April 2003
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