The EBFC Show

Samir Emdanat, President of vPlanner, shares the story behind vPlanner and the decades of project experience, Lean thinking, production planning, and problem solving that led to its creation. Together, Felipe Engineer-Manriquez and Samir explore why traditional construction schedules can become fragile, why the Last Planner System requires more than simply moving sticky notes backward from a milestone, and how teams can use real-time production data to make better decisions. Through stories spanning General Motors, early BIM and 3D workflows, Sutter Health, Integrated Project Delivery, complex healthcare commissioning, takt planning, and the evolution of vPlanner, Samir explains why improving construction starts with understanding the production system before automating it. They also dig into PPC, commitment levels, reasons for variance, visual planning, supply chain activities, Kanban-style workflows, and why trends often tell leaders more than averages. If you are a construction leader, superintendent, project manager, scheduler, Lean coach, production engineer, owner, architect, trade partner, field engineer, or anyone interested in Last Planner System, Lean Construction, takt planning, collaborative planning, or improving construction scheduling, this episode will challenge how you think about plans, metrics, software, and production systems. 📌 Key Takeaways You’ll Gain: Why traditional CPM schedules can create fragile construction plans How Last Planner System differs from simply scheduling backward Why value stream mapping improves collaborative planning How vPlanner grew from solving a complex healthcare commissioning problem Why construction teams should understand a process before automating it How takt planning can improve construction and commissioning workflows Why PPC trends matter more than PPC averages How commitment level and percent required complete reveal different aspects of plan reliability Why teams should track reasons for variance and learn from missed commitments How visual planning helps field teams understand complex production information Why digital planning and physical visuals can work better together How supply chain and procurement activities belong in production planning Why Kanban-style workflows still need construction logic and sequencing How early IPD projects helped advance collaborative planning and production systems Why software should support team behavior instead of replacing good planning How better construction metrics help teams see problems and react faster Follow for more conversations on Lean Construction, Last Planner System, Construction Scrum, leadership, production systems, takt planning, Integrated Project Delivery, AI in construction, collaborative planning, and practical strategies that make construction easier, better, and more human. 🚀 --- Today's episode is sponsored by the Field Verified. Elevate your construction career and enhance your company's performance by mastering the crucial aspect of building enclosure management with Field Verified's specialized training. Address the major challenge of managing building enclosures, a common source of construction failures. Get hands-on learning experience with real-world construction scenarios and mock-up installations for skill-building with leadership and team-focused strategies. By joining our course, you gain access to a proven program that not only covers technical aspects but also better practices for effective construction management. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your approach. Visit https://fieldverified.com for more insights, or contact us at 480-719-5090. 

In this conversation, Adam reflects on lessons learned from Buddy Brumley, the Old Dawgs Community, and years of experience building projects in the field. Together, Felipe Engineer-Manriquez and Adam Hoots discuss why many Lean principles have existed for decades, why communication matters more than terminology, how curiosity transforms leadership, and why the best construction metrics often can't be found on a dashboard. Through stories about superintendents, project teams, jobsite toilets, production systems, and listening to craft workers, they show that construction improves when leaders genuinely care about the people doing the work. If you are a construction leader, superintendent, project manager, Lean coach, production engineer, owner, architect, trade partner, field engineer, scheduler, or anyone interested in building better teams and better projects, this episode will challenge how you think about leadership, trust, and measuring project success.   📌 Key Takeaways You’ll Gain: Why respect for people is the most important Lean Construction principle Why traditional construction KPIs often measure the past instead of predicting the future How trust becomes a leading indicator for project performance Why standing a project reveals more than walking a project How curiosity creates stronger construction leadership Why psychological safety improves production and collaboration How Buddy Brumley's legacy continues to influence Lean Construction Why clean job sites and clean toilets reveal healthy project culture How emotional intelligence improves superintendent effectiveness Why listening to field teams creates better production systems How small acts of care transform construction culture Why Lean Construction begins with people before processes Follow for more conversations on Lean Construction, Construction Scrum, leadership, production systems, takt planning, Integrated Project Delivery, AI in construction, and practical strategies that make construction easier, better, and more human. 🚀   --- Connect with Adam via The Lean Builder Podcast at https://theleanbuilder.com/ Website at https://constructionachesolutions.com/  LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamhoots/ Old Dawg Lean Thesaurus: Making Lean Simple! Book at Amazon https://amzn.to/4oUbwgj   Connect with Felipe via Social media and Free Lean and Scrum Training Resources at https://thefelipe.bio.link  RSM Podia Course Link: https://store.theebfcshow.com/rsm Subscribe to never miss new videos here: https://click.theebfcshow.com/youtube    Watch The EBFC Show Podcast https://click.theebfcshow.com/YouTube-Podcast   --- Today's episode is sponsored by the Field Verified. Elevate your construction career and enhance your company's performance by mastering the crucial aspect of building enclosure management with Field Verified's specialized training. Address the major challenge of managing building enclosures, a common source of construction failures. Get hands-on learning experience with real-world construction scenarios and mock-up installations for skill-building with leadership and team-focused strategies. By joining our course, you gain access to a proven program that not only covers technical aspects but also better practices for effective construction management. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your approach. Visit https://fieldverified.com for more insights, or contact us at 480-719-5090.   

In this episode of The EBFC Show, Ines Verdun shares her experiences about takt planning, Integrated Project Delivery, Lean Construction, production engineering, and how contracts shape production flow in construction. Ines Verdun is a civil engineer with expertise in construction management and project delivery. She holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from UC Berkeley College of Engineering, where she was an active member of the IPD Team at Cal Construction, focusing on Integrated Project Delivery methodologies. She also earned her Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Universidad Politécnica Taiwan Paraguay and works as a Production Engineer at The Boldt Company in San Francisco.   In this conversation, Ines shares her journey from Paraguay to UC Berkeley and The Boldt Company, where she experienced firsthand how Lean Construction works inside a real construction project. Felipe and Ines explore why takt planning is not just a scheduling method, why IPD helps teams collaborate differently, and how the role of a production engineer connects the schedule, field, office, trade partners, and project goals.   The big idea: contracts shape production flow.   If you are a construction leader, project manager, superintendent, scheduler, Lean coach, production engineer, trade partner, architect, owner, or anyone interested in better project delivery, this episode will help you see why Lean tools work best when the contract, leadership, and team behaviors support shared accountability.   In this episode, we cover: Why takt planning is a system, not just a schedule How IPD supports Lean Construction and trade partner collaboration Why traditional contracts can make Lean behavior harder The difference between takt planning and CPM scheduling How production engineers connect the field, office, and schedule Why trade partners need shared goals to improve project flow How risk and opportunity conversations support better project outcomes Why leadership and transparency matter in Lean project delivery How AI may accelerate construction management and project delivery   Subscribe for more conversations on Lean Construction, Construction Scrum, takt planning, Integrated Project Delivery, production systems, project delivery, leadership, and the future of construction.   #LeanConstruction #TaktPlanning #IntegratedProjectDelivery #ConstructionManagement #TheEBFCShow   🎧 Listen now, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more insights that make construction easier and better! 🚀   Blogs: How Integrated Project Delivery Enhances Takt Planning Implementation Mission Bernal Care Complex Case Study https://leanconstructionblog.com/how-integrated-project-delivery-enhances-takt-planning-implementation-mission-bernal-care-complex-case-study.html   Definitions: Takt Planning / Takt Production System Takt Planning is a flow-based planning system that organizes design or construction work by location, trade, and rhythm so teams can move through the project in a predictable sequence without overcrowding, stopping, or starving downstream work. A Takt plan is a collaboration that results in a detailed one-page, one-process flow schedule focused on throughput, production, and creates flow. It works best when paired with Lean behaviors, daily coordination, constraint removal, and field production control.   Takt is not just a schedule. It is a production system that asks: What is the repeatable rhythm of work, where does each team go next, and what needs to be ready so nobody is waiting, stacking, or reworking?   Critical Path Method Scheduling (CPM) Critical Path Method Scheduling is a logic-based scheduling method that maps activities, durations, and dependencies to identify the longest sequence of dependent work that determines the overall project completion date. Activities on the critical path have little or no float, meaning delays to those activities can directly delay the project unless the team resequences, adds resources, reduces duration, or changes the plan. CPM shows the chain of tasks that drives the final milestone. It answers: What must finish before something else can start, which activities control the end date, and where do we have float to absorb change?   Simple Contrast CPM tells us what sequence controls the finish date. Takt tells us how work should flow through locations at a reliable rhythm. In construction terms: CPM is milestone and dependency control; Takt is production flow control.   The EBFC Show Podcast: Lean Construction Pioneer Iris Tommelein https://www.theebfcshow.com/lean-construction-pioneer-iris-tommelein/ --- Connect with Ines via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/inesverdun/   Connect with Felipe on social media and access FREE Lean and Scrum Training Resources at https://felipe.engineer/ Felipe’s PPC App https://ppc-coach.ebfc.ai/ Subscribe to never miss new videos here: https://click.theebfcshow.com/youtube    Watch The EBFC Show Podcast https://click.theebfcshow.com/YouTube-Podcast   --- Today's episode is sponsored by Field Verified. Elevate your construction career and enhance your company's performance by mastering the crucial aspect of building enclosure management with Field Verified's specialized training. Address the major challenge of managing building enclosures, a common source of construction failures. Get hands-on learning experience with real-world construction scenarios and mock-up installations for skill-building with leadership and team-focused strategies. By joining our course, you gain access to a proven program that not only covers technical aspects but also better practices for effective construction management. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your approach. Visit https://fieldverified.com for more insights, or contact us at 480-719-5090.       

Most construction projects run on beliefs nobody questions. Victor Ortiz breaks down 10 misconceptions that keep teams late, over budget, and stuck in blame. From treating projects as anything other than production systems to relying on schedules that only report failure, this episode challenges how construction actually operates.   If you lead projects or work in the field, this conversation will change how you see control, planning, and team performance. --- Most construction teams don’t realize they’re running the wrong system.   You walk a job that’s slipping. People blame each other. The schedule gets updated. Nothing improves.   Victor Ortiz has seen this for 25+ years. He worked with Glenn Ballard and Greg Howell in the early days of lean construction. He’s coached projects across data centers, hospitals, and heavy industrial work. He also just received the LCI Northern California Lean Rock Star Award.   In this conversation, Victor breaks down 10 beliefs that keep projects late, over budget, and stuck in conflict. You’ll hear why treating a project like anything other than a production system guarantees poor results. Why schedules report failure instead of preventing it. Why selecting the lowest bid creates more cost, not less. And why adding people to a late project makes it worse. Victor also shares real stories from the field: A nuclear project that stockpiled miles of pipe with nowhere to install it Design teams making decisions without builder input Trade partners sitting silent because no one asked them to lead If you run projects, manage teams, or push lean adoption, you’ve seen these patterns. This episode gives you the language to challenge them and the logic to replace them.   Victor’s full breakdown of all 10 misconceptions blog is linked below.   🎧 Listen now, and don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more insights that make construction easier and better! 🚀   Blogs: Ten Misconceptions in Traditional Construction Changed by Lean https://www.theebfcshow.com/blog/ten-misconceptions-in-traditional-construction-changed-by-lean/ Stop Losing Schedule Days: 30 Years of Last Planner System Failures (and How to Make Sure Your Project Isn’t Next) https://www.theebfcshow.com/blog/stop-losing-schedule-days-30-years-of-last-planner-system-failures-and-how-to-make-sure-your-project-isnt-next/   --- Connect with Victor via Email at [email protected] LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/victor-ortiz-671301/   Connect with Felipe via Social media and Free Lean and Scrum Training Resources at https://thefelipe.bio.link  RSM Podia Course Link: https://store.theebfcshow.com/rsm Subscribe to never miss new videos here: https://click.theebfcshow.com/youtube    Watch The EBFC Show Podcast https://click.theebfcshow.com/YouTube-Podcast   --- Elevate your construction career and enhance your company's performance by mastering the crucial aspect of building enclosure management with Field Verified's specialized training. Address the major challenge of managing building enclosures, a common source of construction failures. Get hands-on learning experience with real-world construction scenarios and mock-up installations for skill-building with leadership and team-focused strategies. By joining our course, you gain access to a proven program that not only covers technical aspects but also better practices for effective construction management. Don't miss this opportunity to transform your approach. Visit https://fieldverified.com for more insights, or contact us at 480-719-5090.   

What if the estimates we fight so hard to defend are actually the very thing slowing us down? In this episode, Felipe sits down with Vasco Duarte --- Agile coach, author of #NoEstimates, and host of the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast --- for a candid conversation about why traditional estimation may be creating more illusion than clarity... and what to do instead. Vasco brings serious field credibility. He led initiatives at Nokia involving 500 people, 100 teams, across four continents. And he saw projects fail not because the work was impossible --- but because leaders trusted the plan more than the evidence unfolding in real time. This conversation hits home for construction and project management professionals who operate under pressure, contracts, and commitments. Key Takeaways - 📊 Throughput beats upfront estimation --- forecasting based on actual delivery rate consistently outperforms speculative planning. - 🔁 Scope is the real lever --- when time and budget are fixed, scope becomes the only honest variable. - 🧠 Reality always wins --- complex work behaves stochastically. Plans that ignore this get punished. - 🏗️ Pull planning isn't new --- software and construction independently discovered the same backward-planning principle. - 🤝 Scrum is human work --- frameworks don't save teams; people do. This episode isn't anti-planning. It's anti-delusion. Whether you're running a job site or leading a software team, this conversation will challenge how you think about forecasting, commitments, and control. 👍 Like and Subscribe Connect with Vasco Website: https://about.me/duarte_vasco Connect with Felipe Social media & free Lean and Scrum training resources: https://thefelipe.bio.link Registered Scrum Master (RSM) Course: https://store.theebfcshow.com/rsm Subscribe on YouTube: https://click.theebfcshow.com/youtube Watch The EBFC Show Podcast: https://click.theebfcshow.com/YouTube-Podcast Thank you Field Verified for Sponsoring today's show! Elevate your construction career and enhance your company's performance by mastering the crucial aspect of building enclosure management with Field Verified's specialized training. Managing building enclosures remains one of the most common sources of construction failure. Field Verified addresses this challenge through hands-on learning with real-world construction scenarios and mock-up installations, combined with leadership and team-focused strategies. By joining the program, you gain access to proven technical practices and better construction management strategies that improve both performance and reliability in the field. Visit https://fieldverified.com for more insights or call 480-719-5090 ---