3. Engage in Pro-Active Contract Management.

Most field and project management problems can be avoided by a simple system: Read, understand and follow the contract to the letter. Contractors forget that 50 percent of their bottom-line comes from managing projects per their contracts. Don’t follow the contract and all you can do is hope your customer will pay you for what you think you deserve. Install these simple and unbreakable systems to mange your contracts pro-actively. 

Contracting is about contracts and doing the required paperwork. Start every project by reading the contract. Make a list of all the requirements it details. Review the list before you start and discuss it with your customer to make sure there is a clear understanding of these contract requirements. After you agree, always follow the contract. Don’t be wimpy and avoid conflicts. Put them out on the table as they surface and discuss them with your customer as required. Train your customers and tell them in advance how the project will be run. For example, if the contract calls for approval on change orders before extra work is to be started, make sure you get it in writing. And if they want you to proceed and workout the change order costs later, remind them of what the contract says and it is your intent to follow it to the letter. (Don’t be wimpy!) 

Your contract also spells out what notice is required for several issues or actions that occur on every project. For example, note how many days are allowed to submit a written request for change orders, conflicts, disputes, payment, shop drawings and delays. Make sure you invoice per the contract. How long does your customer have to pay you or respond to your written requests? If you follow the contract, you avoid most problems that ruin a good job and customer relationships. Remember, if it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen and you probably won’t get paid what you deserve.               

4. Promote Pro-Active Jobsite Management.

Be very pro-active and manage your projects aggressively. The faster that you build, the more money you’ll make. Full time supervision will always provide a positive return on your investment. I see weak contractors run their jobs by sending a foreman or superintendent to the jobsite once or twice a day to manage their crews. This doesn’t work and will cost you more money than you think you’re saving. With full time supervision, jobs will finish 25 percent faster and with better quality.  

I see custom home builders in my neighborhood run jobs themselves by making a jobsite visit in the morning and then later in the day. Fourteen months later, they are still finishing the home. While the house next door under construction gets built in six or seven months with a full time superintendent on the job every day. Guess which job costs less to build, makes the contractor more money and keeps the customer happy? 

Make sure you give your field superintendents and foreman the authority to make decisions and commit the company. They must be trained, qualified, knowledgeable, professional, accountable, responsible and honest communicators. Give them the tools to get the job done. Every foreman and superintendent must have a fully equipped home office so they can fax or e-mail their daily reports into the office everyday. Supply them with a cell phone with e-mail and a camera, fax machine, computer, digital camera, copier, printer and e-mail access. This will allow them to work on the job all day and then when they get home send in the daily paperwork you want. 

5. Take Time for Pro-Active Project Planning.

Most field superintendents and project foreman only think ahead a few hours or days. How many times have your crews run out of materials before the end of the day? Have they ever run out of nails, bolts, screws, mastic, power cords, sand, visqueen, lumber, tools or anything they regularly need? Why does this happen? They don’t have a system to insure they must think ahead.  

We use a simple field system to guarantee our field foreman and superintendents think at least two weeks or a month ahead. First, we require every foreman and field superintendent to draft a two or four week “Look-Ahead” schedule every Friday and fax it into the office before Monday morning. This insures they think about what is going to happen on their jobs over the next few weeks. On Monday, they review it with their crews and ask what else they might need to keep their jobs on track. They discuss what tools, equipment, manpower, subcontractors, materials, approvals or inspections will be needed in the upcoming weeks ahead.