When field conditions and office planning aren’t aligned, productivity and schedules suffer. Seasonal factors only increase the risk. Contractors need a clearer way to connect planning decisions with real jobsite conditions.
How Scheduling Can Bridge the Gap Between the Field and Office, a session at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026, focuses on this exact challenge. The session will be led by Jim Potter, Project Controls Manager at HDR Inc., drawing on his early experience in excavation as well as his career that has focused on constructability, logistics and scheduling, to help companies address disconnect.
Contractors will learn how to improve coordination between office and field teams while building scheduling processes that help less-experienced personnel get up to speed faster.
“Field personnel are still the most valuable source of information you have for scheduling and estimating projects. However, estimators and office personnel aren’t always in sync.”
Jim Potter
HDR Inc.
WHY SCHEDULING MATTERS
On one project, Jim recalls a shift in season changed the cost of work entirely. Because the schedule hadn’t fully accounted for field conditions, the estimate had to be revisited. He was able to articulate the cost increases to the customer. His knowledge of both field and office helped him navigate this project and communicate well to the customer.
Too often, schedules reflect best-case assumptions, and don’t always reflect how work will actually be built. When key steps and seasonal impacts are overlooked, costs increase and expectations fall apart
Effective scheduling forces contractors to think through the job as it will happen in the field before problems surface.
FIELD EXPOSURE IS KEY
Some contractors make the choice not to employ a scheduler or only hire ones on jobs that require a scheduler. The problem is that many schedulers never make it out into the field to verify information or ask the right questions about a project. Putting a schedule to “check the box,” meet requirements or to get paid is a poor scheduling practice.
Field exposure reveals details and temporary work that are often missed during early planning. For example, all temporary items, like temporary shoring or shielding on a bridge, have a time frame when they need to be installed and may not always be included in the plan sets. If it’s not accounted for, a contractor can get burned.
“Field personnel are still the most valuable source of information you have for scheduling and estimating projects,” Jim says. “However, estimators and office personnel aren’t always in sync.”
MAKE SURE THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED IN SCHEDULING
On top of field experience, Jim will share why contractors should make sure all relevant parties are involved in the planning and scheduling. An engineer and estimator can have one idea for a timeline and plan, but they might not be on the same page as the superintendent and project manager who will be on the ground doing the work.
“Who's in the room when you're putting that schedule together and bidding?” Jim asks.
There is also often a lack of field experience with recent graduates. A junior-level scheduler might forget or not know about temporary measures associated with a project.
Jim will explain how to find these cross-connecting pieces, someone who can speak and understand both worlds, or how to develop a person into someone that can.
LEARN MORE AT CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026
Attend this session to dive deeper into why scheduling is the communication tool needed to help bridge the gap between field and office.
Attendees will learn how to:
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Align field and office teams to reduce scheduling disconnects
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Involve the right people during bid-time scheduling decisions
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Use schedules as active tools during construction to drive better outcomes
“I’ll be talking about scheduling in particular,” Jim shares. “But it’s really about planning out a job and all the things you should be thinking about for each one of these projects.”
Don’t miss your chance to learn why scheduling and planning can save you from potential upcharges and issues down the line during this session, How Scheduling Can Bridge the Gap Between the Field and Office, at CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2026.
Register today to save 10 percent off show admission with code WEB10.
Photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK/LUNGKHAEK
