Project Scheduling for Supervisors

Construction supervisors must be reasonably familiar with the overall project, and very familiar with their portion of the project in order to lead their crew efficiently and effectively. Depending on the size and complexity of a project, planning may be as early as day-to-day of as far out at a month ahead of time. Once work is planned, it must be scheduled to ensure resources are optimized.                                                                                                                                    

This session will help you develop the skills required to plan your own time and the work of crews with the larger project goals in mind. You will discuss topics related to personal time management, scheduling methods and schedule formats. Taking this session will help you begin developing the planning skills needed to ensure production is on time and within budget.

Up-and-coming and mid-level Supervisors.

Chris Erbus, Operations Manager, Graham Construction

Chris Erbus is the Operations Manager with Graham Construction. Chris started work in the construction industry as a carpenter and quickly learned he enjoyed managing teams on various types of projects. While completing his apprenticeship, Chris studied at Red River College and completed the Building Construction Technician program, Drafting/CAD and is a graduate of WCA’s Building Supervisors for Tomorrow program. To date he has completed his Gold Seal Certification as Superintendent and his LEED Green Associate accreditation.

Working on many high-profile jobsites and marquee projects, including True North Square, Ikea and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has helped develop Chris’ skills at schedule development and planning, which is now one of his areas of expertise. He believes the delivery of a successful project, on-time, incident-free and with a high level of quality, hinges on how well-planned it is. He also believes in constant improvement and the need to embrace change, new technology and techniques. Chris helped roll out the Last Planner® System in PCL’s Winnipeg District, has contributed to the development of PCL Manitoba’s Superintendents guide and has worked on other internal Lean initiatives.

Teaching and mentoring is a large part of what Chris does and he enjoys helping others develop their passion for construction. Chris is a judge each year at Skills Manitoba and the Red River College Carpentry competitions to help promote excellence in the trades. Community involvement is also important to Chris and he is involved with the United Way GenNext and regularly volunteers at Winnipeg Harvest. Leading by example is one of his core values.

With Building Supervisors for Tomorrow (BST), up-and-coming and mid-level supervisors gain the knowledge and confidence to move into management roles. BST puts an emphasis on practical knowledge, providing participants with the additional skills and resources needed to excel at new challenges on the job site.

Effective construction supervision requires a wide variety of skills, such as people skills (communication, teamwork, conflict resolution, coaching), technical skills (planning, meetings and delegation), and management skills (human resources and authentic leadership).

This comprehensive program provides it all, and is delivered in manageable segments by industry experts with extensive hands-on experience in construction’s ICI sector. Participants have the flexibility to attend modules in any order. Once participants have completed all 10 courses, including Leadership for Safety Excellence delivered by the Construction Safety Association of Manitoba, they will be awarded a Building Supervisors for Tomorrow (ICI) certificate.

For more info, check out this brochure: BST 2023-2024 Schedule