Ready, Set…Hang On?
As exciting as it can be to win a new project, wise construction business owners know it’s best not to leap into action. Pausing and organizing a productive pre-construction meeting can make all the difference. Has your sales lead shared key nuances with project workers? Is everyone clear on the client’s primary expectations? What is required for profitability? How will challenges be communicated and resolved? These are the questions a thoughtful pre-construction meeting addresses, so that projects get off to ever better starts.
At The Sound of The Bell…
When everyone starts on the same page, and has an understanding of expectations and communication protocols, team members can keep their eye on the prize, even when unforeseen hurdles occur. Organizing and facilitating an effective pre-construction meeting takes time and effort, but doing so makes a huge difference to projects, and with consistent use, pre-construction meetings are a key to thriving businesses. Of course no one wants to go to the trouble of bringing workers together to waste time, so preparation is key. An effective pre-construction meeting focuses on presenting the general scope of work so that everyone understands “what was sold”:
Whoever sold the project needs to clearly communicate what the “big picture” looks like before getting into the weeds of the project. Often pictures are worth a thousand words, but pictures taken with our smart phones don’t always display the needed information. It’s always important to take pictures of the more complicated areas — don’t leave it to our crews to figure things out when they get to the site.This first step is key because it should really focus on what was in the individual’s head (who had the most early interaction with the project) when he or she was lining it out to win. So whoever it was — the contractor, an estimator, a business development individual, etc. — should be fully engaged to share “what he or she was thinking.”
In addition to making sure everyone working on the project shares the same big picture, a pre-construction meeting is also a good place to dig into the nuances of client expectations. What does the client really want? Take time to review client expectations, and don’t assume that everyone already “gets it”:
While your crews may perform similar work from job to job, the one distinguishing difference will be the customer. Again, whoever has had the relationship with the customer needs to debrief the crew leaders on what sort of customer they will be working with — are they high maintenance, nit-picky, laid-back, etc.This part of the agenda should also invite discussion of any unusual or more difficult items. It’s the “out of the ordinary” issues that most often get discussed — but that doesn’t mean you can forget the more mundane efforts needed. Finally, whatever expectations the customer has or you as an owner have for the project need to be shared and clearly understood.
Laying out ground rules and expectations about how and when project communications happen is another good agenda item for the pre-construction meeting. Keep in mind that over-reliance on email can really slow projects down. So too of course can compliance failures, so take the time upfront to walk through documentation requirements. Finally, the pre-construction meeting is a great time to engage the crew leaders in discussing the project’s building process, resolve outstanding questions and finalize the “look ahead/job schedule.”
Conducting well-organized pre-construction meetings goes a long way to solid teamwork on the project. Of course, successful contractors also have strong project management practices and take the time to debrief upon completion.Harvesting the lessons learned on each project, including the actual profitability informs strategic decisions about how to best compete and grow forward.
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