Construction Business Planning: How to Shoot Par in Your Business

If you could shoot par in your construction business, you would finish your jobs on time, make your customers happy and earn a considerable profit. Your estimator would price the work at exactly what it costs to build the job, your project manager would do precisely what the contract specifies and your foreman would bring the project in on budget without any punch-list items or callbacks. In order to shoot par in golf, you must have the right tools and technique. Developing a perfect golf swing requires a great deal of practice, repeating the same swing to ensure consistent results. In construction, you also need the right tools, standardized techniques and replicable systems in place. For example, your five foremen should run their jobs, form concrete slabs, finish slabs, order materials and maintain equipment in exactly the same manner.

How can you shoot par every time?
Managing construction projects involves many moving parts that are out of your control. You can’t control the weather or ensure a fair developer, competent engineering, prompt payments and supplier deliveries. But if you don’t control how your foremen manage their crews and perform work, then you will face a multitude of unforeseen problems. In order to shoot par on your projects, maximize the controls and systems you have in place, make sure they are implemented and then manage the process to confirm that it is ongoing. Professional tour golfers work with a coach weekly, practicing the same shots for hours on end to standardize their swing. Without regular coaching, even great golfers lapse into bad habits and stop shooting par. Your job as the owner is to follow the example of professional golf coaches.

What field systems will guarantee you shoot par?
When my group coaching members meet, we compare notes about best business practices. After working with hundreds of successful contractors, it becomes obvious why the leading performers stay at the top of their game. Outstanding contractors ensure success by implementing these best practices in their field operations:

Develop a Top 10 List
Gather your field superintendents, foremen and crew to make a list of your top 10 field task systems that, if installed properly, will guarantee perfect workmanship. For example, a concrete contracting company must have standard field systems for the following tasks: forming concrete footings, forming concrete slabs, installing bolts, etc. With your top ten company field standard systems in place, your superintendents and foremen can then be held accountable. Your job as owner is to enforce and continually train these standards. Make everyone clearly understand there’s no choice as to whether these systems are followed. Boil the message down to the basics: If your foreman worked at McDonald’s, would he get a choice how many pickles he put on hamburgers? With each department in your company, including estimating, project management, accounting and administration, follow the same top 10 list idea.

Hold Structured Weekly Meetings
Top companies devote time to being organized, while the worst companies never have time to hold meetings and continue to put out one fire after another.Every week, hold a company field foreman/superintendent meeting to discuss all jobs. Review and ask each foreman and superintendent how he managed his jobs last week, contrasting the actual results with the budget. Next, have them explain what they are planning to accomplish during the next week—it will require them to plan ahead to achieve weekly project goals. Also, have them turn in project paperwork, including four-week “think-ahead schedules,” timecards, receipts, meeting minutes, safety meeting reports, equipment usage tracking reports and field change orders. Shooting par consistently takes extreme focus. You must duplicate what successful companies do: Develop standardized systems to guarantee results and improve your bottom line.