How to give every crew a checklist that updates the job

How a checklist moves the job

In Krew Point, the office makes a to-do list for a job, or adds a saved checklist to it. The crew checks items off on the phone as they finish them.

Each check updates the job. The office sees 7 of 10 done and a bar, on the job and on its card on the calendar. When the last item is checked, the job shows All done.

Nobody has to call to ask, and nobody has to remember to report.

Write items your crew can check off

A good item is one thing, with a clear done. “Finish up” is not an item. “Haul off the old shingles” is.

• Start each item with what to do: install, haul, sweep, test.
• Keep it to one thing. If an item has an “and” in it, it’s probably two.
• Say what done looks like: “Install the ridge vent,” not “Check the roof.”
• Put the items in the order the work happens.
• Keep most lists between 5 and 15 items.

Add an item for photos where proof matters, like “Take photos of the flashing.” The crew adds them to the job from the phone.

Save the lists you use again

Most companies do the same kinds of jobs over and over. Write the list once, save it, and add it to every new job of that kind.

• A re-roof: tear off, dry in, flash, shingle, install the ridge vent, clean up, take the final photos.
• A water heater swap: shut off, drain, remove, set, connect, test, haul off the old one.
• A kitchen install: set the boxes, level them, fasten them, hang the doors, adjust the drawers, touch up, walk through.

Then change the list for the job in front of you. Add the customer’s odd request. Take off what doesn’t apply.

See where every job stands

In the office, each job’s calendar card shows its count and its bar. A job at 3 of 12 on day four needs a look. A job at All done is ready for the final walk-through.

Comments with @mentions keep questions on the job too. If an item is stuck, the crew lead mentions the office on the job, and the office gets an alert.

It helps most on the days you’re not there. Out on a bid or home sick, you can still open the calendar and see which jobs are moving and which ones are stuck.

Mistakes that make crews stop checking

A checklist only works if the crew uses it. These are the usual reasons they stop:

• The list is too long. Forty items for a one-day job reads like paperwork, so nobody checks any of them.
• The items are for the office, not the crew. Keep office steps, like ordering parts, off the crew’s list.
• The list never changes. If the crew skips the same item every time, take it off.
• Nobody looks at it. If the office never mentions the count, the crew figures it doesn’t matter.

Ask your crew leads what they would put on the list. They know the order the work really happens in, and they’ll use a list they helped write.

End with the punch list

The final walk-through always finds a few things. Put them on the job’s punch list, so they get checked off the same way. Open punch items show up on the office’s Home, so none of them get forgotten.

Start small

1. 1

   Pick your most common job

   The one you do every week is the best place to start.

2. 2

   Write its list with your best crew lead

   Ten items or so, in the order the work happens.

3. 3

   Use it on the next three jobs

   Fix what doesn’t fit, and take off what nobody checks.

4. 4

   Save it, then do the next kind of job

   One saved list at a time adds up fast.