Preparing your schedule before go live

Marge Haley:

Welcome back to “The Better Way”, the Buildertrend Podcast designed to teach you how to make meaningful changes to your company with construction software. I’m your host Marge Haley. And in today’s episode, I’m joined by Tim. Tim Curran, welcome.

Tim Curran:

Thanks Marge. How the heck are you?

Marge Haley:

Oh, I’m great. Just so happy to be here. Tell me a little bit about yourself.

Tim Curran:

Yeah. How much time do we have?

Marge Haley:

All day.

Tim Curran:

Good. Yeah, so I have been at Buildertrend for about a year, but before that, I’m not new to the podcast game Marge. I actually worked for the Husker Sports Network. So was responsible for producing Husker athletic events for the radio syndicated all across the state and even nationwide for football. So mostly was behind the scenes, which is probably a good thing. When I have a microphone in front of my face, I tend to vamp, I tend to kind of go off track. I like to sidebar as I think our listeners will find out here as this podcast gets going. And I even found myself overseeing our town hall in front of, I think what 900 people, 1000 people, all the companies together under one umbrella, wearing a nice, bright red spangly jacket, because I know, I thought that people would enjoy it. It’s a crowd pleaser. So hey, I always say I don’t like being the center of attention, but somehow someway I’ll find a microphone back in front of my face before too long.

Marge Haley:

Excellent. Well, thanks for being here. I’m a little disappointed you’re not in the red spangly suit coat that you wore for our town hall last week.

Tim Curran:

Yeah. I think the biggest thing with that is that I saw the pictures back from the event and that button on that suit jacket was about to burst. It was quite a humbling experience. Good motivation to get me back in the gym. And you know me, I don’t like being the center of attention, so couldn’t be me. I didn’t want to draw attention to myself.

Marge Haley:

Yeah. On opposite day. Anyways, we’re going to go ahead and get started here. For this episode of the podcast we’re going to talk about scheduling. Tim, tell me from your experience of working with our builders, tell me a little bit about if a builder just wants to get their foot in the door and start scheduling their projects out, what’s step one? How do they start?

Tim Curran:

Yeah, absolutely. Well, besides the need to go to the project management tab and the actual schedule itself, really I’d like beginning, traditionally with the month view and just having builders go and build out their schedule items from scratch, not even worrying about templates, not worrying about data entry, just getting a schedule going, starting with the permitting process, building that out, framing, all that good stuff, assigning things to people, going to the hourly view. Just keeping things at the 101 level. So you get the mechanics down. I think a lot of times where builders stumble is we do have a wonderful data entry team and they might use a schedule from another software and they say, “Hey, can you just put this in Buildertrend for us?” Well, we can, but I think a good place to start is just simply starting out, building a schedule from scratch. And then from there you can copy those schedule items onto a template, which you can use later. So, getting comfortable with the bare bones mechanics, the 101 level of scheduling is absolutely where I would start if you’re a builder.

Marge Haley:

So you’re saying create good habits first before you build that into a template and use those bad habits over and over.

Tim Curran:

It’s just like making your bed in the morning, which I don’t do very often, but it’s starting out the day right.

Marge Haley:

Yeah.

Tim Curran:

Just start with the little things.

Marge Haley:

Absolutely. Good deal. So, you’re saying to start from scratch when you start a new job. Talk about some of the items that builders should put in their schedule to start those good habits right away.

Tim Curran:

Yeah. So, if you’re doing a new home build, for instance, you’re probably going to want to start with the permitting process. You’re going to want to start with site work, then there’s footings, there’s foundation. Builders will pretty much have an idea of what schedule items they want on there, but really what should be a schedule item? Anything that really requires maybe like a sub onsite or your internal laborers, right? Things that require days to kind of put together. I see a lot of builders will put items like “Order Windows” or “Bob, can you get my coffee please?” Maybe not that one so much, but anything that’s more like individual task-related, that’s kind of a one-off doesn’t necessarily need to be a schedule item. That could be a To-do instead. So, things that are framing, those longer kind of schedule items that require either subs onsite or your internal team, that’s what you’re going to want to have be a schedule item, not necessarily the little nitty gritty, do this, do that. That’s much better suited for To-do’s.

Marge Haley:

Got it. So, you’re saying items that have a start date and an end date.

Tim Curran:

Correct. You put it more succinctly than I did. I like to kind of vamp and riff, but yes, that’s precisely it.

Marge Haley:

Yes. And the task would just be that it needs to be done by that day.

Tim Curran:

Right.

Marge Haley:

Right.

Tim Curran:

Something that’s actionable. Ordering is the most common that I see, or deadline dates, right? Things like that. But because you can link up To-do’s to deadline dates. So, if I need to get the final punch-out or install such-and-such electrical fixture, I can actually make that To-do and link that up to a schedule date, right? And so, if the schedule item is shifting around, that To-do will shift around as well. So, that’s going to declutter your schedule a lot. So that’s probably best practice. Don’t clutter your schedule up with these little one-off items that don’t need to be on your schedule.

Marge Haley:

Got it. Okay. So you mentioned items like framing as schedule items. Now that seems a little granular. What about a higher level view? Is there anything in Buildertrend that we can use to see that higher level view of the Schedule?

Tim Curran:

I’m glad you asked Marge. We do have phases in Buildertrend and a lot of times they’re broken down into the phase of the job. So maybe you have a prep and prelim type phase. Maybe there’s an excavation and foundation phase. You can also create your own custom phases. You don’t necessarily have to break it down to that level, but phases are a great way to kind of lump together individual schedule items under a broader phase. And then when you actually share the Schedule, let’s say with your homeowner, you can give them the phase level breakdown as opposed to the individual schedule item view. Why would I do that instead? Well, let’s say the owner’s out walking their dog. They see the electrician was supposed to be here today. What gives? You don’t necessarily want to give your owner too much information. They can be a little bit nosy.

So you might want to just keep it simple. Give them just the phase because they’re still going to understand what’s going on and when and it’s not death-by-information. I mean you’re still understanding, okay, the architectural work is going to be done roughly around here. I know the foundation’s going to be done roughly around here and you’re not giving them too much information. Just the broader scope. That’s what phases are great for.

Marge Haley:

Got it. Interesting. And so you talked about sharing this with your homeowners. When is the best time or when have you seen builders really go live with their schedule? They’re sharing it with their team, they’re sharing it with the subs onsite, they’re sharing it with the homeowners. Is there a timeframe or is there a certain point that we should consider a go-live date?

Tim Curran:

Yeah, most traditionally it’s right when you dig. So in that permitting phase is typically when I see the most changes happening to the schedule. Now of course changes are happening all the time, which is okay. And that’s construction. It’s very fluid. But really until you actually start digging and begin that construction, that’s when I would turn your schedule live as we call it. And then any adjustments that do need to happen, you can notify your subs that are active if there are changes happening. Your owner certainly, if you think they need to be kept in the loop. That’s traditionally when I see the Schedule going live. And then also we might get into this a little bit later, but that’s when the baseline comes into play, too. But basically right when you dig, it’s a good time to go live with your schedule.

Marge Haley:

Awesome. Well, you brought up baseline, so let’s just get into it. Builders tracking consistent delays or changes on the Schedule, by using a software like Buildertrend, how can they track those, understand them and then plan better for the future?

Tim Curran:

Absolutely. So the baseline report is a great way to track any adjustments that are happening to your schedule. When you go live and best practice when you set the baseline, is you’re going to probably just want to set it once. Because if you reset that baseline, it’s going to wipe out that data that you had. So let’s say you start digging, you start the construction of the job, you go live, then you set your baseline. Then when you go to that baseline tab, they’re on your schedule. You’re able to track your workday slippage. Am I over or under? Usually it’s over in my experience. There aren’t a whole lot of people finishing ahead of schedule, but hey, if you do, that’s great. So really you’re looking at your job duration metrics.

Then the great thing with the baseline as well is that you can actually record reasons for why this shift is occurring. Was it a delayed product delivery? Was it because your sub didn’t show up when they said they would? Things of that nature. And so you can record all of that, have it on a baseline report that’s also exportable as well, if you need. So the baseline best practice, you’re going to be setting it the same time you turn your schedule live, then you’re tracking any adjustments you’re making to the Schedule. And now you have a beautiful baseline report for your use.

Marge Haley:

Got it. Awesome. So that’s a huge win for using software. By doing this in Excel, they’re not going to track changes. And if it’s a consistent change, then we can plan better in the future and have more happy customers, right?

Tim Curran:

Well, that’s the goal, that’s the goal, right? More happy customers. That’s what my job is all about.

Marge Haley:

Yeah, exactly, same. Okay. So working in the customer success department, I hear oftentimes builders wanting to tie their financials back to their schedule, right? Because they’re getting paid on the Schedule. They’re paying out on the Schedule. Tell me about Buildertrend’s opportunity to link financials with the project management piece.

Tim Curran:

Absolutely. So, a purchase order, as well as an invoice, is something that can actually be linked up to a schedule item, much like a To-do with that deadline date. So, if I have a really good template, let’s say I have some purchase orders, right? And I know I want to pay my subs every single time their schedule item is done. So, let’s say that I have a framing purchase order. I could actually go in, link that to my schedule item for framing. So, my sub knows this is the completion date. This is when they can expect to be paid.

So, if I have that all templated out, right? And a nice structure and same with invoices, depending on your draw schedules, however you might do that. That’s a conversation you can definitely have with your customer success coach based on what your process is, but never forget the power of just simply linking things up instead of using arbitrary deadline dates every time. Linking up your schedule item due dates on a PO or on an invoice can be done to your schedule items. And in fact, you can even create a schedule item right from the PO as a little cheat code, if you haven’t created the schedule item yet. So, it’s kind of a nice little handy dandy tool. So, those are the little things I think that builders often overlook because it’s more on the 301 level of Buildertrend. They’re not necessarily thinking about it. It’s just a simple thing that’ll save you so much time on the backend that there really isn’t a reason why you shouldn’t be doing it.

Marge Haley:

Absolutely. So you’re saying that someone in the field changes the Schedule, right? The project manager is in charge of the Schedule. They shift the Schedule. That means the due date for the invoice will shift for the homeowner then?

Tim Curran:

Correct. That’s absolutely correct.

Marge Haley:

So that sounds like we’re saving time and energy.

Tim Curran:

Right. And you’re happier. Buildertrend’s happier, right? You’ll have more time to go, I don’t know, hang out with the kids, whatever it is you do.

Marge Haley:

Right. Exactly.

Tim Curran:

Your schedule dates are all linked up correctly, but it is a simple thing and it’s going to make your life a lot easier.

Marge Haley:

Absolutely. And that’s what we’re here for, making you build better and easier and faster. So Tim, last question. What is one thing that all builders should know about the Schedule that some of them may not know?

Tim Curran:

Really going to dive deep into our Buildertrend knowledge. Okay. Here’s a funny thing and it’s so simple, but it’s often overlooked. I look at a lot of builder’s schedules and I think a lot of people realize, number one, you can actually mark down the hours that this is going to occur. So if I have an HVAC job on my schedule, I see that schedule item quite a bit on a lot of my client’s schedules, but maybe no one’s assigned to it. And maybe there’s no specific time. So they can actually use that little hourly check box and then give that a start-time that this is supposed to occur and an end-time as well.

So those are just the little things that give your guys in the field or your active subs, more detail because I think sometimes schedules, it just seems like they’re used as a place where, “Oh, framings kind of going to happen this time roughly.” Who knows really when, why, or how. I like giving people more information. Sometimes it can be overkill, but I really like giving more information and also just marking things complete. Those are just the little things that you can do, getting into that detail, making sure that there’s an assignee, that you have a reminder set, if need be, and that you’re actually giving these specific hours that schedule item is going to occur, because that just gives you a little bit more detail. At least that’s the way I like to see it done.

Marge Haley:

I love it. More or less, you’re giving one place for everyone to look to know where they need to be, when they need to be there and who needs to be there for that appointment.

Tim Curran:

Right. I mean, it’s a lot of pressure. You were trying to tell me to give builders a secret, hidden information, knowledge. And I just talked about setting the hours on the schedule. So I don’t know. Now the one thing too, if you’re looking for a little cheat, speaking of the baseline, I do think a lot of builders don’t realize there is that baseline view you can activate on the Gantt, which will actually show you where your original schedule item was supposed to be at, versus where it’s shifted to now. That little toggle you can turn on.

Marge Haley:

Yeah.

Tim Curran:

You can also do things like set default views. For instance, if you want your homeowner to open up their schedule in their Customer Portal and see just the Gantt, you can actually set that up in your default. So Marge, if you’re trying to just pick my Buildertrend knowledge here, we could sit here all day, right?

Marge Haley:

All day.

Tim Curran:

Just all day.

Marge Haley:

All day.

Tim Curran:

Right.

Marge Haley:

Talk scheduling.

Tim Curran:

But those are just a couple quick hitters that our builders could keep in mind.

Marge Haley:

Absolutely. Well with the Schedule being the backbone of our program, starting now, starting today to get it set up is going to be the right thing to do. You’re setting your Buildertrend future up for success. It’s one of our main features that can really provide a lot of return on your investment with our program.

Tim Curran:

Absolutely. I totally agree. And there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t be using the Schedule. It’s a great communication tool. It’s also just nice to pull it up and have a reference point.

Marge Haley:

Absolutely. All in one place. That’s the name of the game here. Awesome. Well thanks Tim. And thanks for listening. Be sure to rate, review and subscribe to “The Better Way” wherever you get your podcast. Our next episode is a deep dive into turning sales into active jobs in minutes. You won’t want to miss it.