Sharing with the lead carpenter

If you use the lead carpenter system, you need to share information with your lead carpenters. Unfortunately, the salesperson or owner doesn't usually give the lead enough time to review project information before actual construction begins.

Here are some tips on how to hand off the necessary information.

Schedule a meeting. Set up a time, preferably two weeks before job start, for the salesperson, lead carpenter, and production manager to meet and formally transfer the job. Make this part of your standard operating procedure on all projects.

Use an agenda. Make a checklist of the information you need to cover to avoid losing any vital data during the transfer.

Have the field binder ready. The binder should be prepared in advance. Have enough copies for all the participants of the meeting.

Let the salesperson run the meeting. This meeting is designed for the salesperson to transfer information. Do not allow the lead or production manager to focus on construction.

Keep it on track. Limit the meeting to shorter than an hour. That is ample time to transfer the job and avoid wasting time. —Tim Faller, Field Training Services, www.leadcarpenter.com.