I stood on a building site and just watched. Didn't say anything. Just watched my team work.

Chippy walks to the work area. Starts framing. Walks back to the trailer for a drill. Walks back. Realises he needs screws. Walks back again.

I drew lines on a site plan every time someone moved. By end of day, it looked like a bowl of spaghetti.

What Is Spaghetti Mapping?

This is spaghetti mapping — one of the simplest Lean tools you can use. You take a site plan, stand and watch, and draw a line every time someone moves. By lunchtime, the pattern tells you everything about how efficiently your site is set up.

Every walk costs $2–3 per minute. Zero value added. Multiply that by your whole team, across the whole project, and the numbers are staggering.

The Fix

• Tool stations at the work face — everything needed within arm's reach
• Think about tasks before you start — plan what you need before walking
• Shadow boards — everything has a home, same layout every job

One of our supervisors now sets up identical tool stations every morning. The walks dropped. Output went up. Nobody worked harder — they just walked less.