Most of the folks involved are facilities engineers, facilities technicians, or their vendors. These are the people who keep the physical plant running. Their work is extremely complicated, and they have to do detailed work within small "windows" of time. They can't stop in the middle of a project and run to the hardware store. If you have ever done that, this tip will strike a chord with you.

One of the "cool tricks" these folks use to minimize the amount of time actually needed to do a job is called "staging." For example, they will do a mockup of the item they are working on and walk through the procedure. When they are done, they know every tool and part they will possibly need. When they start the job, they are then able to go right through it.

I use this same trick to pack a suitcase. I set the case on the floor, and then decide what I need for each day. I lay this stuff out next to the suitcase. When I think I have everything, I just "walk through" the items sitting out right in front of me. This is a vast improvement over my old way (just start filling the suitcase). Since I began using this method, I have been able to bring less and never forget one item.

You can apply this technique to any project. While it may seem like an extra step, it's really not. How many times have you wasted time questioning what you did? Or reworking what you did? In the suitcase example, have you ever packed, only to unpack and repack?

Whenever you are doing a job that has many steps or is new to you, you will most likely save time by staging.