2. Focus on unproductive time.
Research by the Construction Industry Institute shows that craft workers typically spend less than half of their time on tasks. The remaining time is spent on unproductive activities, such as waiting for equipment and materials, waiting for instructions or waiting for work areas to be ready. If, for example, workers spend only 30% of their time on direct work, your greatest opportunity for productivity gains is to focus on the 70% of worker time spent off task. In other words, reducing the amount of time workers spend off task will produce greater benefits than attempting to improve their efficiency during the time they spend on task.
