BACKGROUND
From Superintendent to COO: Scaling Scheduling Discipline at two ENR Contractors
For nearly 30 years, Josh Schlechty has built his career on one core belief:
“Everything ties to the schedule: financials, RFIs, manpower, all of it.”
Over the course of his career, Josh has successfully implemented SmartPM at two highly successful ENR-ranked construction firms, transforming how scheduling, accountability, and risk management are handled at scale.
When he first discovered SmartPM, he recognized it as the first platform capable of scaling his scheduling philosophy across entire organizations, not just individual projects.
CHALLENGE
Scaling Scheduling Discipline Beyond One Leader
Throughout his career, he has witnessed a reliance on traditional scheduling processes:
- Lengthy PDF schedule reports
- Manual spreadsheet tracking
- Inconsistent schedule quality across teams
- Limited executive visibility into project risk
- Reactive problem-solving instead of predictive control
Many hours were spent on each project every month in order to analyze schedule updates in order to identify risk trends.
“Before SmartPM, I was either working late at the office or jumping on my computer after my family went to bed. Using SmartPM, I can do in 10 minutes what used to take me 2 hours or more.”
As the company grew, Josh identified a larger issue:
Scheduling excellence depended too heavily on individual experience — not a scalable system.
Additionally:
- Third-party schedulers resisted accountability
- Teams struggled to detect early compression risk
- Overtime and late-stage schedule recovery were common
- Lessons learned were not consistently transferred between projects
He recognized the need to:
- Standardize schedule quality
- Create transparency without micromanagement
- Predict risk early
- Scale his scheduling philosophy company-wide
Under his leadership, SmartPM became more than a project controls tool; it became embedded in the company’s operating culture.
Even after Josh departed, SmartPM usage continued expanding, clear proof that the transformation outlasted the champion.
A Repeatable Model at Frampton Construction
When Josh joined Frampton Construction as Sr VP of Ops (he has since been promoted to COO), he found SmartPM already purchased, but underutilized.
“The technology was there, but the processes around it weren’t.”
The challenge:
- SmartPM lacked ownership
- No consistent training or expectations
- Limited executive integration
- Scheduling maturity similar to early-stage adoption
One of Josh’s key mandates was to elevate project controls maturity, starting with rebuilding structure, confidence, and adoption.
SOLUTION
SmartPM as a Leadership System — Not Just Software
1) Proving Value Before Mandating Adoption
SmartPM was validated using completed project schedules.
“When I was evaluating SmartPM, I gave them every schedule from baseline to the end of the job. If it reflected what really happened, I was in. I reviewed it and said: Damn, this is good!”
This built immediate executive trust.
2) Training-First Adoption
Josh personally led:
- Model setup and grading walkthroughs
- Live dashboard reviews
- Monthly executive participation
- Gradual transition to team ownership
“I trained them… then I fade away as they get better. I didn’t want it to be just top-down.”
He embedded SmartPM reporting into monthly financial reporting, making schedule performance a leadership KPI.
3) Moving from Reactive to Predictive
Josh worked directly with SmartPM leadership to enhance predictive analytics, including:
- Monthly start/finish accuracy tracking
- Planned vs. actual workload analysis
- Early compression detection dashboards
“I know what happened in the past. I want to know what’s going to happen next.”
This shifted SmartPM from historical reporting to forward-looking risk intelligence.
RESULTS
Quantifiable Financial Impact
Across multiple projects, Josh reports repeated six-figure cost avoidance by detecting issues before escalation.
Reduced Overtime & Quality Risk
By identifying compression trends early:
- Extended overtime cycles were avoided
- Fatigue-related quality issues were reduced
- Client satisfaction improved
- Constraints were identified & escalated sooner, resulting in quicker resolution.
- Proactive communication & early escalation of constraints drove faster resolution.
“If a job is completely compressed at the end, it might get done — but the quality suffers. SmartPM lets us prevent that.”
Executive Efficiency Gains
- Schedule review time reduced from 2+ hours to 10 minutes per project
- Cumulative months of executive time saved
- More time spent on proactive leadership
“That’s time back with family. That’s time not waking up at night worrying about what I missed.”
Sustainable Cultural Adoption
Sustained Impact in Previous Role:
- SmartPM became embedded in company operations
- Adoption expanded after Josh departed
- Executive leadership continued using SmartPM in reporting
“If it was just me using it, it would have died off. I ingrained it into the culture.”
Scaling the Model in Current Role at Frampton:
- SmartPM now integrated into monthly financial reporting
- Second-project adoption rate ~75%
- Scheduling maturity accelerating year-over-year
CONCLUSION
Josh Schlechty’s success with SmartPM is not just a technology story, it is a leadership story.
At two ENR ranked contractors, he has demonstrated that:
- Scheduling discipline can scale
- Predictive analytics reduces financial risk
- Executive visibility drives accountability
- Culture change is possible when data becomes operational
SmartPM did not replace experience. It amplified it at scale.
