Tim Thompson
Thompson Building Associates
Columbus, Ohio

Our hours are 7:30 to 4:00, with a half hour for lunch. This works well for us because we do primarily insurance restoration, and many of our clients on small jobs like to see us in the morning before they themselves go to work. We also miss the heaviest rush hour period. The early quitting time allows our employees to be home earlier to take care of errands, for which they might have to ask for time off, as well as for family time. We allow flexibility depending on weather or personal needs.

Ron Cowgill
D & R Services
Glenview, III.

We used to work Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30. Two years ago we switched to a Monday through Thursday, 10-hour-a-day schedule. This was for several reasons. First, the crews go directly to the jobsite, and most live one hour away. This schedule saves on fuel costs and prevents them from being stuck in traffic — especially on Fridays. One day less of cleanup also saves us money. Overall, it's made us more efficient. We thought we'd have client resistance, but they like having a break from crews at their house. Also, if we're under a scheduling crunch, the guys can come in on Friday to catch up and still have a weekend.

Michael Fast
MRF Construction
Tacoma, Wash.

We work 10-hour days Tuesday through Friday. It's one less day that we have to open and close the office, where we save one to two hours of productive time. On Monday, the project manager and I plan the jobs, so when the subs and production manager get to the jobs on Tuesday, the materials are there and they can hit the ground running. Also, most holidays for school children fall on Mondays, and the crews can use that day to go to the doctor or run errands.

L. Keith Lay
Southland Remodelers
Oakland, Tenn.

We work five days per week. Sometimes, if the homeowner permits, we'll work on a Saturday. We are specialists in home exteriors. We usually start at 7:30, but if it's too cold, we'll delay until 9:30. The foreman gets to decide when to start and end. If there is a delay, he calls the crew in the morning. Sometimes in the summer, if a crew is scheduled to go on vacation, they may want to put in extra hours to finish the job before they leave. The crew and foreman have parameters to meet, but they do not punch a clock or meet at the office in the morning.