Proper planning saves time and money, makes the work easier and more pleasant for your crews, and expedites the work. It can eliminate friction, jealousy, and confusion. Good planning can free you from many of the details of the work, thus giving you time to carry out other important duties. Also it eliminates "bottlenecking" (remember that the neck of the bottle is always at its top).

As the petty officer in charge of a crew, you are responsible for crewmember time management as well as your own. You must plan constructive work for your crew. Always remember to PLAN AHEAD! A sure sign of poor planning is crewmembers standing idle each morning while you plan the day's events. At the close of each day, you should confirm plans for the next workday. In doing so, you may need answers on the availability and use of manpower, equipment, and supplies. Keep the following questions in mind:

1. Manpower. Who is to do what? How is it to be done? When is it to be finished? Since idleness may breed discontent, have you arranged for another job to start as soon as the first one is finished? Is every crewmember fully utilized?

2. Equipment. Are all necessary tools and equipment on hand to do the job? Is safety equipment on hand?

3. Supplies. Are all necessary supplies on hand to start the job? If not, who should take action? What supply delivery schedules must you work around?

Have a definite work schedule and inspection plan. Set up daily goals or quotas. Plan to personally check at intervals the work being done and the progress toward meeting the goals. Spot check for accuracy, workmanship, and the need for training.

Seabees must be trained to do a wide variety of jobs. The rotation method, OJT, and classroom work require you to plan training time. Allow time too for handling personnel problems and military duties. Your planning must include time for records, reports, and other paper work necessary for the control of personnel and materials under your charge.

ORGANIZING

As a Seabee Petty Officer First Class, you must be able to organize. This means that you must analyze the requirements of a job and structure the sequence of events that will bring about desired results.

You must develop the ability to look at a job and estimate how many man-hours are required for completion. You will probably be given a completion deadline along with the job requirements. Next (or perhaps even before making your estimate of man-hours), plan the job sequences. Make sure that you know the answers to the following questions. What is the size of the job? Are the materials on hand? What tools are available, and what is their condition?

Before assigning work, carefully consider the qualifications of your personnel. Are they experienced, or do they need training? Is anyone scheduled for leave? Will you need to request outside support? After getting answers to these questions, you should be able to assign your crews and set up tentative schedules. If work shifts are necessary, arrange for the smooth transition from one shift to another with a minimum of work interruption. How well you do so is directly related to your ability to organize.

COORDINATING

A supervisor must be able to coordinate. When several jobs are in progress, you need to coordinate completion times so one can follow another without delay. Possessing coordinating skill is also very helpful when working closely with your sister companies. Coordination is not limited to projects only. You would not want to approve a leave chit for a crewmember and then remember a school during the same time period. Nor would you want to schedule a crewmember for the rifle range only to find the range coaches unavailable at that time.

PRODUCTION

The primary responsibility of every supervisor is PRODUCTION. You and your crew can produce best by doing the following: (1) planning, organizing, and coordinating the work to get maximum production with minimum effort and confusion; (2) delegating as much authority as possible, but remaining responsible for the final product; (3) continuously supervising and controlling to make sure the work is done properly.

SAFETY

Safety and production go hand in hand, since the only efficient way to do anything is the safe way. When your personnel are absent because of injury, your shop equipment is down because of damage, or completed work is destroyed by accident, production