During the first ever episode of the Construction is Hard Podcast, the crew discusses how Inconsistent Workforce Management is the norm across construction. It’s not standard to do labor planning for all projects, but it should be.

On this episode of the Construction is Hard podcast, Brian & Gary crack open the basics of the Workforce Management business practice uniquely tailored to self-perform and MEP contractors. With technology evolving in construction, the business practice is evolving too.

It’s common in construction to find labor coordinators in a stressed position, and that’s usually because they don’t have the right platform. Without technology in place, the people and processes take on the weight. Learn about Gary and Brian’s history in Workforce Management, and how they landed at RIVET to focus on specialty contractors in need of a tool fit to the task.

A deep dive into the first pillar of Workforce Management pillars: Forecast. Forecasting is a hot topic — it seems like everyone is chasing it. Brian & Gary break down forecasting and discuss misconceptions related to mixing up project planning with long-term forecasting.

We’re on Pillar 2 of the Workforce Management Business Practice. If you’re short on labor, but also behind on maintaining your workforce Roster in a software platform, you’re not set up for success in your field operations. Brian and Gary guide MEP and Self Perform contractors on a successful foundation for Rostering.

What is Scheduling? Brian and Gary go deep on the differences between project and workforce scheduling, who should be doing scheduling, who should be scheduled, how to avoid playing musical chairs, and why it all comes together in a platform fit to the task.

Join Brian, Gary & special guest Toby Mitchell from Classic Electric & Consulting on the fourth pillar in the WFM Business Practice: Communications. We define Communications as the active push of information to pertinent parties. Why hasn’t construction adopted better forms of communication? It’s perplexing. The reason: there haven’t been platforms to create the right foundation, creating a “Central Nervous System” so information can be sent the way it should be.

Why are we talking about Information? Imagine printing out a colored CAD drawing. All the systems are different colors – the power is blue, the fire alarm is red, etc. But then you send the black and white version of the drawing out to the field to save money. The fifth pillar of Workforce Management is Information because prioritizing it can transform your organization from controlled chaos to controlled transparency. Join Brian, Gary & special guest Toby Mitchell from Classic Electric & Consulting breaking down field information, a source of truth and controlled transparency.

Join Brian and Gary on the sixth pillar in the WFM Business Practice: Productivity. We define Productivity as “units of work placed or produced per man hour.” And it’s not to be confused with Earned Value Analysis, that’s a management and planning technique that measures productivity. Measuring it against your Labor Plan can alert you to profit fade before it’s too late.

You’ve implemented the six pillars of Workforce Management. Now what? Sticking to it with a Workforce Management platform, ensuring strict processes and guardrails are in place across the organization to keep things running smoothly. Join Brian & Gary for a conversation all about Discipline.

In the season one finale, Brian & Gary go deep on R.O.I. — return on investment. When you marry Workforce Management principles with a tool fit to the task, you open doors to achieving profits and efficiencies that couldn’t have possibly existed before. Learn the differences between Hard R.O.I. and Soft R.O.I., and how changing up your reporting style can make everyone’s life easier.