It’s essential to identify and create an efficient workflow.

Job sequencing is essential to efficient landscape operations, especially maintenance. After each visit, a customer expects an attractive, complete job; hence, you need an organized, sequential approach to achieving a quality service.

Job sequencing is the arrangement of the task to be performed or processed in a particular order. Simply put, it’s the best order to perform the work on jobs. Sequencing of job-site tasks is often neglected. Often, we leave this critical part to chance or to each crew’s way of doing things, which isn’t always the best. Don’t leave this to chance!

Well-defined, consistently executed job sequencing is where the most gain in profit can be achieved. The basic questions to ask are “Who does what and in what order?” and “How can we perform the tasks in the safest and most efficient manner?” Each time a crew arrives at a job site, it needs a workflow plan that helps it move through a job site sequentially, so the entire service area is properly serviced. If the crew doesn’t take a sequential approach, it might struggle with the tasks or punch list. Take mowing, for example. If there’s excess turf growth, wet conditions or equipment problems, a crew might run out of time. While the mowing might be completed, the crew could leave the job without having done a complete service or having seen the whole property.

Effective sequencing can minimize the impact of these occurrences by providing an organized approach to servicing a job site. Following are the main areas to consider when arriving at a job site and performing the work efficiently.

• Set up every job when you first secure it.
• Designate where the crew should park.
• Provide a site map showing boundaries, areas of focus, the order to perform the tasks, directions, parking spots and trash bins.
• Know where to unload and load equipment and material.
• Know entry points to projects.
• Know pedestrian and vehicular traffic patterns, lunch spots, office locations and rest areas.
• Be aware of safety considerations, and mark them with cones or signage.
• Be aware of weather conditions. Is the ground too wet or frozen?
• Be aware of accessibility for people and vehicles.
• Be aware of special conditions, such as construction activities or other working trades.

Following are action steps to consider when evaluating your current situation. Follow your crew to a job, and watch where they park the truck and who does what.

• How are your crews servicing the job sites?
• What are they missing?
• Where are they doing double work?
• Where are they covering the same ground twice?
• Where can you improve the sequencing process?
• What equipment could speed up things?

There’s an organized approach to methodically sequencing job-site processes. If you develop and implement a job-site sequencing system, you’ll see significant improvements in efficiency, capacity, quality, customer retention, morale and profitability.

Sequence your crews. Your clients and crews will thank you.

For a list of Haskett’s suggested tasks and sequencing for mowing and detail service visits, check out this LM Web Extra.