Sunday, March 25, 2012

[papercreters] Cleaning up our act.

I recently helped out on a Habitat for Humanity build.

This particular build was very frustrating because the project manager did a poor job of organizing the worksite. Materials were all over the place. Trash was everywhere. Nobody could find what they needed. Much time and effort was wasted simply trying to find things instead of getting work done.

To add insult to injury, the building inspector stopped by and got frustruated because several issues (these were valid important items) had not been addressed because work had proceeded much more slowly than anticipated. Again this was a result of disorganization.

Later, even the neighbors started to complain about the worksite looking like a disaster area.

I got frustrated enough that I overstepped my authority and simply started drafting volunteers to clean up the worksite and organize everything. It took an entire day out of the construction schedule, but it was amazing how much more efficiently and quickly work proceeded from that point forward on the project. The quality of construction also improved. The clean worksite inspired everyone to perform their best work instead of sloppy work.

That experience has got me thinking a lot about papercrete, and how messy it is.


I pose the following questions:

What is the best way to organize a papercrete construction site to make work the most efficient, and most safe?

What can be done to improve the appearance of the site during construction to be a good neighbor, but also to give a good impression to building inspectors as well as any other visitors.

Do you clean your equipment at the end of each day? If you did, would it function better?


I've seen a lot of photos of a lot of papercrete construction sites.

Many, but not all, look like a bomb was dropped on the site and someone is still trying to pick up the rubble. You have probably seen photos like this too.

Are you a messy worker?


I suggest that one of the best ways to work with less effort while accomplishing more, and having fewer problems is to organize your construction site cleanly and efficiently.

Designing how your construction site is layed out may in many ways be just as important as the design of the building.

What are your thoughts?
What do you think are the best practices?

Do you have any photos that demonstrate what works really well for you?

Do you have any photos of problems you are having that you would like some suggestions on how to organize your worksite better?


Do you wish you could find a way to work cleaner?

Let's not hide from the mess. Let's face the mess and find ways to clean it up.

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