The New Rules of Schedule Health and Field Validation

Ever tried explaining construction scheduling at a party? It never lands the way you think. In this episode of Beyond Deadlines, we dive into the awkward reality of describing what planners and schedulers actually do outside the jobsite—and why most people glaze over. Along the way, we break down how pros can better communicate their value, the rise of AI in project controls, and the career-shaping opportunities opening up in data center construction.

When scope blows up mid-project, most teams panic. Heather Bemis doesn’t. In this episode, she shows how to regroup fast, structure chaos, and keep your team moving forward. Without letting meetings turn into therapy sessions. If you're dealing with surprise constraints or shifting goals, this one's for you.

Your new project is drowning in Primavera files, ad-hoc Power BI dashboards, and a jungle of activity codes no one can explain.

On this week's episode with Michael Lepage, CEO of Plan Academy Inc. we discuss how Construction Planners and Schedulers can go beyond data entry and be seen as leaders.

Getting a job at a top company can change your career trajectory.

Aside from the top pay and perks, there are many opportunities within the company, you'll be able to work and network with other talented people, and it can make your resume stand out.

Besides working on exciting projects, these companies can expose you to new systems, processes and technology.

The process of applying and interviewing can be exhausting.

To reduce the pain, below are a list of tips I compiled.

Delivering automation is one superpower that can upskill your career.

Construction has so many processes, tasks, and workflows that could be automated to some extent or fully.

Weekly data being entered into spreadsheets.

Monthly progress in the exact same format but different numbers.

Verification of change of one spreadsheet to the next.

Downloading data from one piece of software to upload it to another piece of software.

I guarantee you can come up with at least ten things you do at work that could either be partially or fully automated if you sat down and thought about it for a couple minutes.

But where do you start?

I put a guide together to help you out.

Here are five common mistakes that can lead to a program's downfall. These pitfalls include misconception of the scheduler's role, lack of technical knowledge in management, ignoring other systems, tools and processes, contractual solutions as a panacea, overemphasis on PowerBi / Tableau reporting. Construction professionals can easily avoid each of these if they are aware of them.

The battle over time frames is about to begin.

Imagine this. You're a construction planner on a mission to conquer project deadlines and tame chaos. Having to analyze plans over different time frames, from lightning-fast 30 seconds to marathon-like 3-year timelines, is an epic challenge. Strap in, because we're about to witness the ultimate clash of efficiency, strategy, and speed.

Do you find that your organization is consistently delivering projects late to your clients? You aren’t alone. In fact, one study by KPMG found that only about 25% of projects finish within 10% of their originally scheduled deadlines. Many companies believe their scheduling issues are a result of numerous factors such as not having the latest AI-powered scheduling software or fancy Power BI dashboard, missing the mark on resource loading, or the contract didn’t have the right CPM specifications.

Unfortunately, all of these answers are wrong! Being able to hit your schedules boils down to one simple word — culture. That’s right, culture. Companies that don’t identify planning and scheduling as a critical component of their businesses’ success are destined to fail. By shifting this mindset within your organization, you can start improving the timeliness of your projects.