I always thought digital takeoffs were slower until I tried Planswift on a 40-unit townhome job and finished the takeoff in half the time. Has anyone else switched workflows and found a tool that actually sped things up instead of slowing you down?
Last month I was checking on a project in Austin and saw a framing crew finish a whole wall section in like 45 minutes because they had their materials staged at the exact right spots before starting. I spent three years thinking speed was about working faster, but it's really about cutting out the walking and searching. Has anyone else noticed a huge gap between how you plan the job vs how the crew actually moves around?
We had a crew of 12 waiting on a 50-yard pour for a slab in Austin, and the dispatcher kept saying '15 more minutes' for three straight hours. The mix ended up too hot to work with and we had to reject the whole load, cost us a full day and $800 in standby labor. Any of y'all had a dispatcher lie to you like that and just not say anything?
My foreman Dave on a job in Austin kept saying grease the threads or you'll regret it. I figured it was just old guy habit, so I skipped it on about 30 couplers for a retaining wall. Three weeks later we had two couplers seize up during tensioning and had to cut them out with a torch. Cost us a whole afternoon and $400 in wasted material. Has anyone else had luck with anti-seize on these things or is it just a waste of time?
I was on a job site in Nashville last week and saw this young guy struggling with a grade stake. It took me right back to 2019 when I first started and my foreman Bob pulled me aside after a morning meeting. He didn't yell or anything. He just walked me over to the blueprints and traced the sewer line with his finger from the plan to the ground. Took maybe 10 minutes. That one talk saved me from making a $3000 mistake on a footing layout a week later. Has anyone else had a mentor moment that actually stuck with you like that?
I read it in a JOC article last night and had to double check the date. Aren't we like 10 years past the point where that should be normal?
I was doing a small retaining wall job in Akron last month and had to choose between renting a skid steer or a mini excavator for the digging. The excavator rental was 350 a day and the skid steer was 280, so I cheaped out and went with the skid steer. Big mistake - I spent an extra 3 hours digging out the footer trench because the skid steer couldn't get the reach I needed. The guy at the rental place even warned me but I thought I knew better. I ended up having to hand dig half of it anyway, which killed my profit on the job. Has anyone else made a similar equipment choice that backfired and cost more time than it saved?
My uncle has a small crew up in Lancaster and everyone told me not to take a job with him. Said it would ruin the relationship. Been 18 months now and honestly it's the best gig I've had. He's harder on me than the other guys but he also taught me how to read a grade rod in two days when I was completely lost. Maybe it's just me but if you can set boundaries it works fine. Has anyone else had a good experience working with family?
Hey guys, looking to move a couple of large excavators and a dozer to a new site across state lines next month. Getting quotes right now and trying to decide between Freedom Heavy Haul and Titan Transport. Has anyone used either of these recently? Titan is slightly cheaper but I haven't heard much about their reliability. Would love to hear your experiences before I sign a contract.