That time a foreman told me to ignore the schedule and just 'get it done'

I was on a site in Phoenix last summer and the foreman told me to push the pour date up by a week, saying schedules are just 'suggestions' - which I still think is a terrible way to manage risk on a foundation job. How do you handle guys who treat the critical path like a wish list?

2 comments

2 Comments

ivancoleman10d ago

Schedules on paper never account for what actually happens on the ground. That foreman probably saved the job from sitting idle for a week while you waited on permits or inspections. I've seen crews lose their whole summer waiting for a green light that never came. Sometimes the critical path is just a best guess and the real skill is knowing when to bend it.

veraramirez10d ago

OH for SURE. I had a homeowner once who refused to let us start demo until the official permit was taped to the window, and we ended up sitting around for two weeks while the city sat on the paperwork. Meanwhile a different crew down the street started without a permit and finished the whole job before ours even broke ground. Paper schedules are just a dream until you actually have to work with reality.