Various surveys of former smokers find that the average smoker tries to quit six times before succeeding, and that it can take 30 or more tries before quitting for a year. It’s easy to slip up and have a cigarette or two, and smokers shouldn’t view these multiple quit attempts as failures or major setbacks. They’re just part of the process of eliminating an old habit and building a new one.
Habits are powerful forces. According to a 2011 article published in Sage Journals’ Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, about 45% of the things we do each day are habits. You don’t expend mental energy on them. You’re on autopilot. And that leads to efficiency.
There are good habits and there are bad habits. It’s human nature to do what we are used to doing, what we have always done in the past. When it comes to construction, some site builders resist adopting offsite methods because doing so may require the builder to change deeply entrenched work and business habits.
However, the great thing about offsite construction is that you can start smart and kick the site-building habit incrementally. In fact, the industry has been evolving in this direction for many years. In the 1700s windows and doors were made on-site; any builder today would dismiss that as insanity.
Another example is offsite-built roof and floor trusses. In the northern US everyone uses them, while in the South, rafters are still fairly common. However, builders that use trusses do so because trusses are stronger, faster to use and cost less. They wouldn’t think of building another way. The truss habit is steadily evolving, market by market.
How do we kick the old habit of building on-site for the new habit of building offsite? Let’s refer to The Habit Loop, a model developed by Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit.
Duhigg posited that a habit is a tiny system made up of three elements — a cue, a routine and a reward. A good example is that pack of doughnuts on your desk or in your truck. When you feel stressed (cue), you eat a doughnut (routine), which comforts you (reward). The reward feels good, so the next time you feel stressed you grab a doughnut.
What do doughnuts have to do with construction? The answer is that offsite design and construction processes (as well as the staffing needs) are all different than what builders are used to. They can feel uncomfortable and risky, because there’s always the possibility of failure.
No matter how good the new way sounds, if you try it and something starts to go wrong (cue), you feel discomfort and go back to the old way of doing things (routine), so you can get your bonus, or your feeling of job satisfaction (reward).
But to make any change, you must embrace discomfort and uncertainty. Some amount of failing is expected as you find your way to the new processes and systems of offsite construction.
The good news is that offsite construction is a better way to build. Not only because of its efficiencies, but also because the old way just isn’t going to be available for long. The people you need to be able to build the old way aren’t going to be available. And then what? You are just delaying the inevitable.
What can you do to make a new habit more likely to stick? Habits are more likely to become established when you are working towards a goal, so perhaps the best way is to establish a clear and strong goal. A good one would be to use offsite construction to deliver your homes or projects.
Habits are a part of life. Good habits or bad habits are only changed or enforced when you are aware of them. Make offsite construction your new good habit!
If you liked this article, you can follow Ken Semler on LinkedIn, where he offers daily insights and commentary about offsite construction.
