Proper planning saves time, effort, and money for the Navy and makes the job easier for all concerned parties. The following pointers will help you in planning day-to-day work assignments.

UNDERSTAND THE TASK CLEARLY. When you are assigned a task, whether in writing or orally, the first thing you should do is make sure you fully understand just what is to be accomplished. Dont be afraid to ask questions. Find out the answers from those in a position to supply the information you need. Make sure you know the priority of the project, required time of completion, and any special instructions that must be followed. When the task is assigned orally, take detailed notes. Dont leave anything to memory; you might forget important information or instructions. A good supervisor carries a notebook at all times.

KNOW THE CAPABILITY OF YOUR CREW. You should always consider the capability of your crew when planning for the accomplishment of each assigned task. With this in mind, you can determine who is to do what and how long it should take to finish the job. Realizing that idleness tends to breed boredom and discontent, plan to have another job ready to start as soon as the first one is finished.

ESTABLISH DAILY GOALS. Each work-day, encourage your crew to work together as a team to accomplish these goals. You want your goals to be such that your crew will be kept busy, but make sure they are "realistic" goals. During a contingency, people will make a tremendous effort to meet the deadline. But these people are not machines. When there is no anticipated urgency, they cannot be expected to continuously achieve an excessively high rate of production. In your planning, you should allow for those things that do not contribute directly to the accomplishment of the assigned task, such as in-house technical training, safety stand-down and other administrative matters.

SELECT PROPER METHODS, EQUIP-MENT, AND SUPPLIES. When you are planning an assigned task, you should consider every possible method that could be used to accomplish the task. If there is more than one way of doing a particular job, make sure the method you select is the best way. After selecting a method, analyze it to see if it can be simplified with a resultant saving in time and effort.

When you are planning for surveying operations, a vital step is the selection of proper required equipment and supplies. Proper selection of surveying equipment may greatly affect the end result of a survey. Forgetting to bring certain equipment or supplies to the jobsite is one of the most common mistakes made by supervisors. Nothing is more frustrating than to arrive at the jobsite only to discover that "someone" forgot to bring a tripod for the transit. The best way to minimize this embarrassing situation is to prepare an equipment and supply checklist for each job assignment and double-check the list after gathering all the items to make sure nothing was omitted. If more than one job is planned, include sufficient equipment and supplies to accomplish all jobs.

The same planning steps apply to drafting assignments. Certain drafting assignments are difficult to accomplish without proper equipment and supplies. As you gain experience, you will devise methods that will enable you to improvise with the equipment and supplies you have on hand.

After a task has been properly planned, it is necessary to supervise the job carefully to ensure that it is completed properly, safely, and on time. Some pointers that will aid you in supervising work teams are outlined below.