✦ 100% Free Course
First Planner System®
Free MasterClass
Master the First Planner System® with 6 focused video lessons by Jason Schroeder. Learn what it means to finish well, preconstruction planning essentials, building the team and the plan, supply chain & environment , and how to prepare trade partners properly.
Course Content
All 6 Lessons
Course Lessons
6 Lessons · All Free
1
Lesson 1 - Finish Well
What it means to finish well
2
Lesson 2 - Pre-Con Essentials
preconstruction planning essentials
3
Lesson 3 - The System
The System
4
Lesson 4 - Team & Plan
Team & The plan
5
Lesson 5 - Supply Chain
The Supply chain & the Environment
6
Lesson 6 - Trade Partner Prep
The Trade Partner Preparation process
Lesson 1 - Finish Well
What It Means to Finish Well
Most supers get this wrong – Jason defines what it actually means to finish a project well and why this foundation is missed from day one.
Lesson Resources
Lesson 2 - Pre-Con Essentials
Preconstruction Planning Essentials
Win before you build the core practices that set up every successful project long before books hit the site and decisions become expensive to reverse.
Lesson Resources
Lesson 3 - the system
The System
Start right, build calm a full walkthrough of the system itself. See how the five phases interlock to produce a properly planned project from proposal to mobilization.
Lesson Resources
Lesson 4 - Team & Plan
Team & The Plan
From chaos to clarity how to assemble the right pre-con team, get them aligned, and turn scattered intent into a plan that everyone owns and executes.
Lesson Resources
Lesson 5 - Supply Chain
The Supply Chain & The Environment
Plan ahead tame what you don’t control. Manage supply chain, vendors, and the site environment before external forces derail your unprepared project.
Lesson 6 - Trade Partner Prep
The Trade Partner Preparation Process
The hidden system how to prepare trade partners properly so when work starts, everyone arrives ready, aligned and set up to flow from day one.
Lesson Resources
Master Pre-Construction with Takt Planning, Steering & Control
Access the complete visual hub for the course, including the video syllabus, learning assets, and quizzes all organized in one place.
inTakt Your Takt Planning Solution
in Takt is a purpose-built takt planning tool designed for construction professionals.
With its intuitive interface and powerful features, inTakt streamlines the takt
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and adapt to changes on any device.
Recommended Reading
Course Textbooks
These books provide deeper insight into the systems and principles taught in the course. They help builders understand how to design production systems, create flow, and lead projects with clarity and stability.
More Resources
Everything you need to implement the First Planner System® tools, visual boards and additional learning resources.
Toolbox
Templates, checklists and planning tools to implement Lean construction methods on your projects.
Miro Board
The complete course organized in one visual space video syllabus, learning assets and quizzes
Canva Visuals
Download ready made visual assets, infographics and planning graphics to support your First Planner System® implementation.
More Training
Continue developing your skills with additional trainings, including the Takt Simulation and other advanced topics. These sessions help reinforce the concepts from the course and support real-world application on construction projects.
Takt Planning Training
Boost the Efficiency of Your Construction Project with the takt Production System®
Takt Simulation
Our Takt Simulation is designed for construction professionals, project planners, site supervisors, contractors, architects, engineers, students, and anyone looking to enhance construction efficiency and project management skills.
Project Scheduling Support & Lean Implementation
Boost the Efficiency of Your Construction Project with the Takt Production System®
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the First Planner System® for Students.
What is the First Planner System®?
The First Planner System® is Jason Schroeder’s preconstruction planning framework. It sits upstream of the Last Planner System® and ensures projects are set up to succeed before construction starts not rescued in the field later. It moves through five phases: win the project, build the team and set parameters, adapt and enable design, develop the plan with builders, and prepare to start strong. The result is a properly-planned project from proposal to mobilization.
What does "finish well" actually mean?
Finishing well means six things at once: a safe project, a healthy team, happy owners, successful trade partners, high quality, and results within 10% of the original profit targets. Most superintendents miss this definition from day one and end up chasing the wrong outcomes. Lesson 1 Finish Well unpacks why this foundation gets missed and how to set it correctly from the start.
What is "the hidden system" for trade partners?
It’s the often-skipped process that makes sure trade partners arrive on site ready, aligned, and set up to flow. Most schedule blowups trace back to trade partners who weren’t properly prepared in pre-con, wrong scope, missing submittals, no buy-in on sequencing, no clarity on handoffs. Lesson 6 Trade Partner Prep walks through the full preparation process so when work starts, everyone shows up ready to build.
How does the First Planner System® connect to Last Planner® and Takt Planning?
They form one production pipeline. First Planner® plans the project properly before construction starts. Last Planner® drives collaborative weekly execution once it’s underway. Takt Production® creates rhythmic flow across zones and trades. Together they’re the Integrated Production Control System™ (IPCS™), three connected layers that take a project from proposal all the way through reliable, flowing execution.
How do I plan for supply chain and site risks?
By planning ahead for what you don’t directly control. Lesson 5 – The Supply Chain & The Environment covers how to manage vendor lead times, material availability, site conditions, weather, permitting, and other external forces that derail unprepared projects. The point is to surface these risks during preconstruction, build buffers and mitigation into the plan, and stop them from becoming field-day emergencies later.
About
The First Planner® System
The First Planner System® is Jason Schroeder’s preconstruction planning framework for setting projects up to succeed before construction ever starts — rather than rescuing them in the field later. This free 6-lesson MasterClass teaches builders what it means to finish well, the essentials of preconstruction planning, how to build the right team and the right plan, how to manage the supply chain and site environment, and how to prepare trade partners so everyone arrives ready to flow from day one.
Sitting upstream of the Last Planner® System and the Takt Production System®, the First Planner System® is the front end of the Integrated Production Control System™ (IPCS™) — three connected layers that take a project from proposal to mobilization and into reliable, flowing execution. Beyond the free course, Elevate Construction and the LeanTakt team provide consulting, project support, and training for construction companies across the United States, equipping Executives, Superintendents, Project Managers, Project Engineers, Field Engineers, and Foremen with proven Lean construction planning systems.
Whether you’re starting with the free First Planner System® MasterClass or looking for hands-on help to plan your next project properly, we help construction teams nationwide win before they build, reduce delays and rework, and deliver projects with clarity and stability. Start learning the First Planner System® for free today, or connect with our team for training and project support.