00:00You know that feeling, right? Being on a construction project that just feels like, well, organized chaos, where you make these great weekly plans, but by Tuesday, everything's already off the rails.
00:12Today, we are going to talk about a metric that is an absolute game-changer, percent plan complete, or PPC.
00:19It's a really simple number that is helping teams turn those unpredictable projects into smooth, reliable systems of production.
00:26A very warm welcome to all of you. Here at Unified Consulting Solutions, our goal for this session is simple, to give you a clear, practical understanding of PPC, and more importantly, how you can actually use it to drive some incredible improvements on your own projects.
00:44I promise, by the end of this explainer, you'll see why this one little number is the very first step toward predictable project delivery.
00:51All right, let's look at our roadmap. We'll kick things off by talking about the big challenge we all face, what we call the predictability problem.
00:59Then, we'll introduce percent plan complete as the perfect tool to tackle it.
01:03We're going to get into the nitty-gritty of how to calculate it, and, this is crucial, the system you need to actually make that number go up.
01:10After that, we'll see the huge impact reliability has, and finally, we'll map out your path forward. Sound good? Let's go.
01:17So, first things first. Let's start with a question that honestly has haunted our industry for decades.
01:25Why on earth are construction projects so famously unreliable?
01:30I mean, just think about your own experience for a moment.
01:33How many projects truly finish on the date they were first promised?
01:38And how often does that carefully crafted weekly plan just fall apart almost immediately?
01:42Now, this isn't just a gut feeling we all have. It's a deep, systemic issue, and it's rooted in the traditional ways we've always managed our work.
01:53And you know what? The data backs us up completely.
01:56Research shows that chronic schedule overruns—we're talking 15 to 25 percent—are basically the norm in our industry.
02:04We plan for one thing, but we consistently deliver something else.
02:07And that gap? Well, it's not just a minor inconvenience.
02:11It's a massive source of waste, of cost, and of so much frustration for everyone involved.
02:17And here it is.
02:19This is the heart of the problem. 54 percent.
02:22That's the average plan completion rate on a typical project.
02:26Just let that sink in for a second.
02:28It means on any given week, you basically have the same chance of completing your work as you do of winning a coin toss.
02:34It's a 50-50 shot.
02:35So how can we possibly expect predictable projects when our own process reliability is that low?
02:41This is exactly where we need a major shift in our thinking.
02:45Instead of just throwing our hands up and accepting the chaos, we need a way to measure it, to manage it, and to improve the reliability of our workflow.
02:52And that, my friends, brings us to percent plan complete.
02:56So what exactly is PPC?
02:59Well, it's a beautifully simple metric.
03:01All it does is measure what percentage of tasks in a weekly plan were actually completed, just as promised.
03:07Now, this is important.
03:09It's not a measure of how hard people are working or of productivity.
03:12No, it is a measure of predictability.
03:15It asks one simple question.
03:17How reliable are the promises we make to each other?
03:19And this is precisely why tracking PPC is so fundamental.
03:24You know the old saying, you can't improve what you don't measure?
03:27By making the reliability of our commitments visible to everyone, we suddenly create the focus and maybe a little bit of healthy tension that we need to drive real, lasting improvement.
03:36Okay, so we've covered the what and the why.
03:40Now it's time to get practical and talk about the how.
03:43How do we actually go about calculating and tracking PPC on a live project?
03:48And you're going to love this because the formula couldn't be easier.
03:52You just take the number of tasks that were completed exactly as you planned for the week,
03:56and you divide it by the total number of tasks you committed to in the first place.
04:00That's it.
04:00No complex spreadsheets, no fancy algorithms, just honest accounting of our commitments.
04:04Let's make this crystal clear with an example.
04:08So imagine this is your team's weekly work plan.
04:11You all committed to doing 10 things.
04:14Now, at the end of the week, you review it together.
04:16Seven of those tasks got done as planned.
04:18Fantastic.
04:19But three of them didn't happen.
04:21The drywall delivery was late.
04:23You had a manpower shortage for debris removal.
04:25And the client rescheduled the walkthrough.
04:27So your PPC is simple.
04:29Seven divided by 10, which is 70%.
04:31But, and this is the most important part, look at that last column, reason for variance.
04:38This, right here, is where the real learning begins.
04:41And that brings me to a crucial point.
04:43PPC is really a diagnostic metric.
04:47Think of it like a thermometer for your project's planning health.
04:49It tells you if you have a fever, but it doesn't cure you.
04:53To actually improve that score, you need a proven system.
04:56And that system is the last planner system.
04:58Now, to really get the last planner system, we first need to understand the difference
05:03between a push and a pull system.
05:06Traditional construction is all push.
05:08The master schedule says, pour concrete on Tuesday, so the concrete truck shows up Tuesday
05:13morning.
05:13It doesn't matter if the rebar team is ready or not.
05:15This creates so much waste.
05:18Lean systems, on the other hand, use pull.
05:20The concrete is only called for.
05:22It's pulled when the team on the ground sends a signal that they are actually ready for it.
05:25This simple, common-sense shift from pushing work to pulling it is absolutely revolutionary.
05:31The last planner system is the practical framework that brings this pull concept to
05:36life on a real job site.
05:37It's really a series of connected conversations.
05:40It all starts with high-level phase planning.
05:43Then we zoom in with look-ahead planning, where we get work ready for the coming weeks.
05:47That flows into a reliable weekly work plan, which is where we get our PPC score.
05:51And finally, we manage it all through daily huddles and a continuous cycle of learning
05:55from what went right and what went wrong.
05:58Now, remember that reason for variance column we talked about?
06:01This is where we feed the learning engine.
06:04When a commitment is missed, the culture is not to blame someone.
06:07Instead, we use a simple but incredibly powerful technique called the five whys to find the real
06:13root cause.
06:15So, for example, a concrete delivery was delayed.
06:18Why?
06:19Well, the truck didn't arrive.
06:21Why?
06:22The supplier said the materials weren't ready.
06:25Why?
06:25Because they hadn't received the rebar order.
06:28Why?
06:29Because of design changes.
06:31And why was that?
06:32Ah, the design changes delayed the order confirmation.
06:35See what happened there?
06:36We went from blaming a truck driver to uncovering a systemic problem in our design communication
06:41process.
06:42Finding and fixing these root causes is how you systematically drive your PPC score higher
06:47and higher.
06:49So, what happens when you truly commit to this system of measuring and improving your reliability
06:54week after week?
06:56Well, I can tell you the results are nothing short of transformational.
06:59I mean, just look at this difference.
07:02You go from that 54% coin flip reliability on traditional projects to a consistent 75, 80,
07:08even 90% on projects that are properly implementing lean and the last planner system.
07:13This is not a small incremental improvement.
07:15It's a fundamental shift from a chaotic, reactive environment to a stable, predictable one.
07:19It really does change everything.
07:21And honestly, the impact goes so far beyond just hitting the schedule dates.
07:26When people start keeping their promises to each other, trust just skyrockets.
07:31Collaboration replaces the old blame game.
07:33That constant stress of running around, putting out fires, it gets replaced by proactive problem
07:37solving.
07:38You create a culture where people can actually do their best work.
07:41And that leads to better financial outcomes, better safety, and just genuine professional
07:45satisfaction.
07:47Okay, so hopefully you're feeling a bit inspired.
07:51The big question now is where do you go from here?
07:54How can you actually start making reliability the foundation of your projects?
07:58Let's just bring it all together with a few key takeaways.
08:02First, and most importantly, unpredictability is not something we have to live with.
08:06It's a form of waste, and we can eliminate it.
08:09PPC is your starting point.
08:11It's that simple, powerful metric to make your reliability visible.
08:14But remember, measuring isn't enough.
08:16You need the last planner system as the engine to improve your workflow.
08:19And when you do, a high PPC transforms everything.
08:22Your schedule, your costs, and your team's morale.
08:24So the path forward is simple.
08:25Start by measuring your PPC next week, and then just start asking why when things don't
08:30go as planned.
08:31I want to leave you with this final thought.
08:34For too long, construction management has really been about crisis management.
08:38It's exhausting, it's inefficient, and frankly, it's no fun.
08:41There is a better way.
08:43It's about shifting our entire focus from reacting to problems to proactively managing
08:48our commitments to one another.
08:49That right there is the very essence of building a reliable system.
08:53Thank you so much for joining us today.
08:56I really hope this has given you a valuable insight into the power of Percent Plan Complete.
09:00Here at Unified Consulting Solutions, we are incredibly passionate about helping teams
09:04make this exact transformation.
09:06We warmly invite you to continue the conversation and join a growing community of lean practitioners,
09:11which is led by Dr. Mari Muthukay on LinkedIn.
09:13You'll find the link waiting for you in the description below.
09:16And for all of you who want to dive even deeper, the key research papers and books that have
09:22shaped this entire way of thinking are listed right here for you.
09:25Thank you once again for your time.
09:28Now go out there and start building more reliably.
09:30You'll find out there and start building more reliably.
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