Note 04 · Picks and crew time
From pieces to planned picks
Erect 10 tons using different piece weights and pick groupings. Follow the effect on picks, crew time, and labor.
Planning the work
From project information to field production.
Working notes on steel erection planning, work packaging, crane operations, production measurement and project controls.
Series 01 · Project levelBuilding the production model
12 of 12 notes published
- Chapter 01Structure the work
- Work packages
- Tons and picks
- Labor productivity
- Production units
- Chapter 02Build the operating plan
- Crew-days and duration
- Manpower and crane loading
- The traveling factory
- Rules of credit
- Chapter 03Test, measure and improve
- Our bottleneck
- Practical 4D + 5D
- Track and adjust
- Estimating, backlog and portfolio planning
Series 01 · Project level
Building the production model
Each note continues the same argument: project information becomes useful when it is connected directly to how the work will be performed.
Series progress
12 / 12
Structure the work
Organize the project, define the production units and separate changes in the work from changes in the operation.
Organize the dashboard around the work
A dashboard becomes more useful when its structure matches the way the field experiences the project.
Read note →The field works one pick at a time
Two work packages can contain the same tonnage and require very different amounts of effort.
Read note →Tonnage can lie to you
Picks per ton describes the work mix. Man-hours per pick describes how the crew is moving through it.
Read note →From pieces to planned picks
Before production rates can build a schedule, the model has to reflect how the steel will actually be installed.
Read note →Build the operating plan
Convert the classified work into duration, resources, schedule logic and measurable completion gates.
Build duration from crew-days
Classified work and production rates give us crew-days. Crew-days connect the operation to duration and planned labor.
Read note →Load the schedule from the operation
Work-class crew-days time-phase the sequences. The resulting schedule generates the crane and manpower loads.
Read note →The erection operation is a traveling factory
The raising gang may establish the pace, but throughput depends on the entire erection operation moving work toward completion.
Read note →Define the rules of credit before tracking begins
Spread the labor budget across the work packages, then define objective completion gates for earning it.
Read note →Test, measure and improve
Find the constraint, validate the plan, respond to actual performance and preserve what the next estimate needs to know.
Finding the bottleneck in our operation
Every operation has a bottleneck. The entire team must organize around and elevate the constraint controlling throughput.
Read note →Use 4D to test the plan and 5D to measure progress
Use the model to test the erection plan, then connect visual progress to what the work has earned and spent.
Read note →Track and adjust
Turn claimed progress into earned hours, compare it with actual man-hours and use the trend to focus the team’s attention.
Read note →Feed the work back into the next estimate
Carry field results back into estimating, then connect the jobs ahead to the resources needed to build them.
Read note →Interactive production examples
Put the notes to work
Start with a 10-ton pick example, watch crews move through the building, then connect the 3D model to its schedule and progress.
Note 07 · Crews and handoffs
Move the factory through the building
Move the raising gang and follow-on crews through six work areas. Compare faster erection with more welding capacity.
Note 10 · Model, schedule and progress
Connect the model, schedule and progress
Select an erection sequence in the model and Gantt schedule. Compare planned timing with accepted completion gates, earned labor and actual hours.
Explore how it was built
AI Research
Exploring practical uses for AI in construction and erection planning. Historical records and interactive models help us examine how work was built, communicate the sequence, and ask better questions about today’s construction challenges.
Live model · Sample schedule
Open the interactive model →
Turnover Model
Watch steel erection and concrete placement unfold together. Scrub through the schedule, follow the crews, and see where one trade hands work to the next.
An AI-assisted exploration of how schedule data can become a shared 3D view of the work, with handoffs identified by level and grid location.
Interactive 3D · Schedule handoffs · Concrete flowIllustrative sample project. Select a date or play the sequence.
These are learning studies with linked sources and stated assumptions. Simplified animations and calculations do not replace the original investigations or project-specific engineering.