Part 4: Leveraging Frontline Leadership
In the fog of improving planning and procurement technologies, the industry could be overlooking the need for effective construction foremen and their role in leading construction crews to successful work-scope execution. While the profile of what constitutes an effective foreman has evolved with the introduction of these advanced technologies, these individuals can still collectively make or break project performance goals. While project managers and construction managers lead efforts to develop safe, effective, and efficient construction plans, frontline supervisors (foremen and general foremen) are responsible for translating those construction plans into productive practice at the workface. With the US construction industry facing a projected significant decline in skilled labor resource availability (McKinsey & Company, June 2020), it would be prudent for both project owners and supporting contractors to shift more focus toward frontline supervisor development and onboarding to maximize their ability to achieve and/or exceed performance expectations.
In Part 2 of the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series (Preparing Frontline Supervision for Success), Melius presented joint research data and analysis from the Construction Industry Institute (CII) and the Construction Users Roundtable (CURT) associated with improving frontline supervision in industrial construction (CII RT-330 and CII RT-370). This joint CII/CURT research presents a framework for organizing efforts to support and develop a stronger pool of frontline supervisor resources that may translate into short-term and long-term project performance improvement. The focus of Part 2 of the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series (Preparing Frontline Supervision for Success) was on the Recruitment & Onboarding element of the Melius Project Labor Management Model (see Figure 1 below) and frontline supervisor improvement opportunities associated with these processes. Likewise, in Part 3 of the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series ("Engaging Project Culture") the focus was on proactive project Culture development and critical developmental elements (antecedent, behavior, consequence) that drive desired behaviors and a workforce culture of caring. Culture is another of the four (4) “critical to quality” elements of the Melius Project Labor Management Model (Figure 1 below).
Figure 1. Melius Project Labor Management Model
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Here in Part 4, “Leveraging Frontline Leadership,” the focus is on engagement of Frontline Supervision (particularly foremen) through prioritizing Foreman Availability (at the Workface) and establishing performance feedback loops that focus on maximizing foreman performance. The first step of this engagement is making it a priority to maximize Foreman Availability at the workface and setting achievement expectations and targets.
In Figure 2 below, project results from typical projects over the past decade that foreman availability has been statistically measured are shown.
Figure 2 – Foreman Availability 2012-2022
One will notice only just recently, as AWP has become widely established, the counter-intuitive results of foreman availability being high but direct activity being poor begin. At Melius, we believe this is symptomatic of the effective foreman profile evolving with the ever-increasing establishment of AWP. In a recent CII committee meeting, a major contractor executive characterized the traditional foreman as more of a “hunter-gatherer,” running down required information and resources for the crew. With effective AWP implementation comes less need to operate in that mode. The focus instead turns to selecting and preparing motivational, well-organized leaders who are comfortable with technology. Without those qualities, today’s foreman is not as effective. In fact, the most recent data shown above in Figure 2 may suggest that having ineffective foremen in the work areas is detrimental to crew performance. What does all this mean? In a nutshell, effective AWP implementation has changed the profile of an effective foreman. At this point, the industry has not caught up on the leadership selection, preparation, and onboarding side.
Once the project has effectively selected and onboarded field supervision, prioritizing Foreman Availability becomes an antecedent or motivation for driving the desired behavior.
Productivity is impacted by both efficiency and effectiveness elements of managing project labor as presented in the Melius Project Labor Management Model. As stated in Part 1 of the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series (Overcoming the Labor Challenge) Effectiveness in this context can be defined as how well Project Management utilizes project labor while it is on-task. Efficiency can be thought of as how well Project Management maximizes the amount of on-task time available.
Managing these two elements begins with Project Management in the pre-project planning phase but they are both more actively managed by Frontline Supervisors day-to-day during project execution. Providing Frontline Supervisors with clear and concise Effectiveness and Efficiency performance data through effective feedback loops can have a significant impact on how well Frontline Supervisors are able to manage overall productivity performance.
Traditionally, productivity performance feedback provided by Productivity Factor (PF) data offers a composite dataset based on estimated performance expectations. This composite dataset does not allow differentiation between Effectiveness and Efficiency elements of performance. This is where supplemental performance data can be of significant value to project teams. Joint CII/CURT research (CII RT-330 and CII RT-370) presented by Melius in each part of the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series places emphasis on the amount of time that project foremen spend available to their crew at the workface as a beneficial Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for Frontline Supervisor resources. Melius is a strong advocate of this philosophy and has developed statistical observation metrics to provide accurate “Foreman Availability” data to project teams as a supplement to traditional performance data. However, Melius also believes that it is equally as important to ensure that Frontline Supervisor preparation provides project foremen with effective tools to maximize their ability to positively influence performance at the same time their availability to their crews is maximized.
At Melius, we have a standardized methodology of directly measuring (on average) the amount of time that project foremen spend directly available to crew resources in the field. This measurement is a complementary component of Melius’ traditional “Activity Analysis” Labor Utilization Efficiency observation measurement process (commonly referred to as “Work Sampling,” “Time-on-Tools,” or “Wrench-Time”) about which CII Research Team 252 (CII RT-252) found the following:
“…wrench time could be increased on average by about 15 percent with the use of activity analysis processes and tools described in Implementation Resource (IR) 252-2a, Guide to Activity Analysis, and IR252-4d, The Construction Productivity Handbook.”
Melius Foreman Availability data is collected and organized in such a way as to be presentable by shift, time of day, project area, discipline, etc. to be meaningful at large or small group levels. Examples of how this data is typically presented are shown in Figure 3 below:
Figure 3 – Foreman Availability Data Feedback Loop Examples (graphical)
Foreman Availability data collection is typically coupled with periodic and targeted “Foreman Time Distribution” data collection. Foreman Time Distribution is a metric that is quite similar to CII/CURT survey methods, which provides Frontline Supervision with a method of directly reporting additional statistical performance data related to duties that might be negatively impacting their ability to maximize their time at the workface. Figure 4 (below) shows an example of Foreman Time Distribution data and tools.
Figure 4 – Example Foreman Time Distribution Metric
Foreman Time Distribution (coupled with the statistical Foreman Availability metric) is a comprehensive feedback loop that provides project foremen with statistical data quantifying their crew availability at the workface as well as providing them a method of statistically reporting duties that may be affecting their ability to be available to their crews at the workface. Project Management should not burden all foremen with the Time Distribution exercise at once as that would be counter to what you are trying to achieve. Instead, strategically select a few at a time to collect the data. Maybe one discipline or one area, or even a couple of foremen considered the “best” among their peers, the idea is to see how foremen are spending their time without burdening all foremen at once. Combining the foreman availability metric with time distribution data will give Project Management more useful information to manage the foreman function on site than anything that can be derived from Project Controls data.
Melius historical industry data (more than two decades of global performance measurement) suggests that there may be a strong correlation between Foreman Availability at the Workface and Activity Analysis performance with indications that there are additional correlations between improved Foreman Availability at the workface performance and improved safety, quality, and overall productivity during construction execution. A strong indicator of these correlations can be seen in the findings of the “Syncrude Emissions Reduction Project (SERP) Joint Workface Study,” which was a Construction Owner’s Association of Alberta (COAA) award-winning (2012 Workforce Development Leadership - Large Organization) case study co-sponsored by Syncrude, Jacobs and Building Trades of Alberta, which used Melius’ Activity Analysis and Foreman Availability at the Workface measurement processes as a basis. This is the only known study that looks at foreman availability both before and after it was improved.
Combining the foreman availability metric with time distribution data will give Project Management more useful information to manage the foreman function on site than anything that can be derived from Project Controls data.
The SERP Joint Workface Study corroborates joint CII/CURT survey data and analysis findings from CII Research Team 330 (CII - CURT, RT-330, 2018) and CII Research Team 370 (CII - CURT, RT-370, 2021) associated with “Improving Frontline Supervision in Industrial Construction.” Melius historical industry data adds direct observation measurement data that statistically supports the joint CII/CURT survey data that has led both CII and CURT to advocate for efforts designed to increase frontline supervision (particularly foremen) availability to their crews at the workface. Figure 5, below, is survey data from the joint CII/CURT research effort specifically dedicated to assessing how frontline supervision typically spend their time by task vs. what might be considered optimal. This research data was previously shared by Melius in Part 2 of the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series (Preparing Frontline Supervision for Success).
Figure 5 – How Frontline Supervisors Spend Their Time by Task
This joint CII/CURT survey data and analysis from Research Team 330 and Research Team 370 presented the hypothesis that construction performance could be improved by increasing the amount of time that frontline supervision spend supervising craft labor activity at the workface. Melius historical industry data (particularly the SERP Joint Workface Study data) moves the needle of that general hypothesis into a working theory that is statistically corroborated by direct observation measurement.
In this article, Melius has placed significant focus directly on the project foreman role but has also presented performance support and feedback solutions that are specifically designed to engage and leverage this critical project resource. The team at Melius believes that current construction industry challenges and those to be faced soon will be most effectively overcome with well-trained, well-motivated and well-informed Frontline Supervision placed in the best possible position to succeed. What are your thoughts on the current and coming challenges we face in the construction industry? Do you feel that we as an industry are doing enough to ensure that our workforce is prepared to overcome today’s challenges and those they will face in the future? Please feel free to comment on what Melius has presented here as well as throughout the “Bringing Focus to Project Labor Management” series.