That one comment from a subcontractor made me change my whole scheduling approach

I had a concrete sub tell me last month that my schedule was 'optimistic fiction' (ouch, but fair). He said I never pad enough time for weather delays or material shortages, which I totally ignored before. So I started adding 20% buffer to every task that depends on outside factors, like deliveries or inspections. It already saved my butt on a job in Austin where rebar took an extra 10 days to show up. Has anyone else gotten a hard truth from a sub that actually improved their process?

2 comments

2 Comments

reese_garcia6d ago

Yeah but now my subs all joke that my buffer time is just my "naptime on the clock.

quinnbailey6d ago

I gotta disagree a little bit though. I've always seen buffer time as a legit part of the workflow, not just slacking off, since it stops you from burning out or rushing through things and making dumb mistakes. If your subs are joking about it being naptime, maybe they just haven't seen how much smoother things run when you actually take those short breaks.