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Having the Right Builder Can Help Protect Your Home Investment

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The Question is, How Do You Know If You Have the Right One or Not?

In our last post we discussed how expensive home construction can be and the importance of knowing your builder.

If you’re not careful, building the home of your dreams can become a nightmare.

The number of times I’ve heard people say that building their new home was the worst experience of their life is too many. This is not how construction projects should be remembered.

So, as a construction customer, how can you avoid this from happening to you?

I recommend using the 5-step BUILD process.

This simple system will help you avoid construction catastrophes.

  • Being aware that there are problems when it comes to construction. If you’ve never been involved in a construction project, they can look pretty smooth from the outside. Not so much. Part of the problem is that the professionals that do this every day know this and are prepared for it. Construction customers on the other hand can be surprised when this happens.
  • Understanding what the problems are and what to do about them. If you know about the problems and are prepared it makes the process much easier to handle. There’s nothing quite so upsetting as when you’re expecting one thing and it’s not what you get.
  • Information and Instruction. This step requires some research or guidance from someone who knows construction. This Information includes things like knowing what the processes and procedures of construction are or simply knowing what questions to ask. You can search the internet for the basic information but if you don’t know construction, it can be hard to tell what you can trust and what you can’t. This is where it is helpful to find a trusted professional.  
  • Learning can give the inexperienced construction customer confidence to ask questions of a professional builder. Being Informed and Instructed will help you Learn about the construction process so that you won’t be afraid to ask your builder questions.

A big part of the problem is that most builders either don’t realize customers are intimidated by them or they don’t care.

  • Delivery of the DREAM is the final step of this process. This should be the goal of both the customer and the builder. It’s where all the scary, hard work and time pays off. The customer gets the home of their Dreams and the contractor makes a profit.

To achieve that dream it’s important to have a builder you can trust.

Bridging this gap between construction companies and customers is why here at Solution Building we’ve developed the 5-step BUILD process. This will help construction companies Be aware, Understand, get Information and Learn. Implementing this process pays off for both the customer and the builder when the Dream is Delivered.

This system includes a Business BUILDing Toolbox for Construction Companies full of document templates and instructions for things like:

  • Proposals
  • Contracts
  • Change Orders
  • Payment Applications
  • Profit Comparisons
  • Job Costs
  • Saving Account Transfers
  • OneNote systems and processes

There are also individual and group training courses available as well as custom designing and building of business systems for individual companies.

If you know of a builder or construction company that you think could benefit from this 5-step BUILD system, have them contact us for a free 30-minute construction company consultation.

Learn How to BUILD the Construction Business of Your Dreams

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The Final Building Blocks in the 5-Step Foundation of Your Business

Dreaming big has always been my nature. Early in my life I had some really big dreams. The problem arose when these dreams didn’t come true. That’s when disappointment and a sense of failure set in.

This discouragement is why over 60% of US construction companies fail within the first five years. People’s business dreams aren’t going according to plan, and they don’t know what else to do but quit.

When I found myself struggling with feelings of failure, I concluded that my dreams must have been wrong. That’s when God got my attention with a smack upside the head…literally.

God wants us to dream big. Mark 11:23-24

The thing that I realized after this wakeup call was…God wasn’t going to do this for me…He was going to do it with me. And I had to get off my “but” and stop making excuses. If I wanted to BUILD this dream business, I needed to get to work.

BEING aware of the problems and UNDERSTANDING them is where the turnaround for your business starts.

BEING aware and UNDERSTANDING are the first two steps in the 5-step process for BUILDing a better business. The next step is receiving the INFORMATION needed and getting INSTRUCTIONS about IMPLEMENTING this INFORMATION into your business. The I in BUILD is hard because it requires asking for help, and most construction guys don’t like to ask for help.

B = Being aware of problems

U = Understanding problems and how to fix them

I = Instruction and Implementation of systems and processes

This brings us to the L in BUILD…LEARNING.

LEARNING is the step that will take the longest and can be the hardest, but it’s also the most important. It is the one that leads to the biggest change. It’s a change from the way you have always done it. Most of us don’t like change. We’re comfortable wallowing here, doing things the way we always have.

Change will go faster if you have someone help you through the process.

LEARNING to build a building isn’t instantaneous. You don’t show up on a job site your first day knowing everything about building. You come back the second day and LEARN more and the third and the fourth. And years later you have LEARNED how to build.

Just like pouring concrete, framing a wall, pulling wire, soldering copper, shingling a roof, or installing flooring…after repeating the process over and over it becomes a part of who you are…you could do it in your sleep.

Building a business is the same. You can’t just wave a magic wand and have your business running like a well-oiled machine. It takes time and effort just like building a building does. This also becomes a part of who you are.

One of the greatest feelings ever is to step back and see a finished building project knowing that you did that. You built that.

You can get that same feeling about your business. If you put in the effort to learn the systems and processes, you will be able to step back and know that you built that business of your DREAMS.

This is the D in 5-step BUILD process. The DELIVERY of the DREAM. This is where all the hard work pays off.

If you would like some help BUILDing your DREAM business and receive a free 30-minute consultation of your construction company, simply take this short survey.

You Need the Right INFORMATION to BUILD the Construction Company of Your Dreams

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Next, You’ll Need Some INSTRUCTION on How to IMPLEMENT This INFORMATION

Most of us in the construction business started out with a vision in our minds of what our dream company would be like. We see those successful companies out there and there’s no reason we can’t do the same thing. After all, we’re really good at building things.

The problem is more times than not…those companies are struggling with the same kind of things that you are. Everything always looks better from the outside.

Dreams usually aren’t founded in reality; it is after all…a dream.

Without knowing the struggles inside those other companies, we begin to doubt that we have what it takes to run a successful business. Then the dream turns into a nightmare. Maybe we’re just kidding ourselves. What made us think we could do this anyway?

This is where a lot of companies give up, close the doors and go back to working for someone else feeling like a failure.

In that time of doubt, you know something is wrong, but you just don’t know what. BEING AWARE that there is a problem is the first building block in BUILDing your dream business.

You don’t need anyone’s help with BECOMING AWARE there’s a problem.

This is where the next block in the foundation of a successful construction company needs laid. The second building block is UNDERSTANDING those problems. It would be nice to have some help with this block.

This is the realization that building a successful construction business includes more than just construction. It requires a plan for the business. In time you can figure out what you need to build a successful business, but it can take a long time and can be expensive. What you need is INSTRUCTION from someone who’s graduated with a master’s degree from the ‘school of hard knocks’.

Having been in construction for more than forty years I have just such a degree.

The third BUILDing block is INSTRUCTION. Just like going to school to learn from teachers is helpful, having someone with more experience in business operations to INSTRUCT you is also helpful. It’s important that you are INTRUCTED with the right INFORMATION. You need the right INFORMATION to help you solve the problems specific to your business.

Asking for help can be a hard thing to do, but it’s easier and faster than trying to do it alone.

The amount of information it takes to run a successful construction business can be overwhelming. Asking someone for help can be scary, not to mention time-consuming. Ultimately, it comes down to you making a decision. You can decide to keep doing things the way you’ve always done them or…

You can decide to do something different and change things.

After being INSTRUCTED and INFORMED you need to LEARN how to use the INFORMATION you’ve received. LEARNING is the block we’ll lay in the next post.

I don’t think your dream was to start a company and have it fail.

It’s up to you to keep that from happening.

If you’d like some help with finding solutions to the problems your company is facing, you can get a free 30-minute construction company consultation with me by filling out this survey.

Wouldn’t You Like to BUILD Your Construction Company into Your Dream Business?

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This Requires an UNDERSTANDING of your Problems and Having Solutions to Fix Them

Last week we talked about the high number of construction companies that fail and some of the reasons this happens. None of these companies were started hoping that they would go broke and go out of business.

So why is it that construction companies fail so often?

We discussed some of those reasons last week. They included things like – a lack of funding or poor cash flow, poor production performance on projects and not having a good business plan.

These problems are more on the business side of things than doing construction. Most people in construction just want to do “construction”, they don’t want to do “business” stuff.

If you want to BUILD your dream construction company, you need a plan…a Blueprint for BUILDing a Better Business.

This plan starts with Being aware that there is a problem. Most people who own or manage construction companies know that something’s not right, but don’t know what it is. They know how to build buildings but not businesses.

Being aware that there’s a problem is the first step. The second is, Understanding what those problems are. Understanding what their business needs help with. Understanding that just like building a quality building isn’t a simple task…neither is building a successful business.

To help us Understand what construction companies are struggling with, we have developed a short survey. In exchange for your time filling out this survey we will give you a free 30-minute construction company consultation to help you Understand the problems your company’s dealing with.

We’ve talked about the first two steps to BUILDing a better construction company, the B and the U.

  • BEING AWARE of the problems
  • UNDERSTANDING what those problems are

There are three more building blocks needed to finish building the foundation of your dream business.

They are –

  • INFORMATION on how to fix those problems and INTRUCTIONS for implementing those solutions into your business
  • LEARNING how you use these processes and systems in the daily operation of your business
  • DELIVERY of the DREAM – This is where your dream business becomes a reality. It is where all the hard work begins paying off.

In upcoming posts, we will dig deeper into the I, L and D of BUILDing a Better Business and how these building blocks are the foundation that successful construction companies are built on.

If you own or manage a company that is involved in construction, don’t forget to fill out the survey and get your free consultation! Also, if you know someone in the construction industry that you think would benefit from a construction company consultation, please send them a link to this post or the survey.

Link to the survey – Understand Your Problems Survey (surveymonkey.com)

What Do You Need to Know to Run a Successful Construction Business?

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It Has More to do With Business and Less to do With Construction

There’s something exciting about the thought of starting your own business. It seems like a great idea initially. The problem is that most people don’t realize what it takes to operate a successful construction company.

We’ve all seen construction companies get started and then go out of business.

 According to the Small Business Administration…

60 percent of US construction companies fail within the first five years of operation.

These companies reportedly blamed several factors for their failure, including labor shortage, politics, insurance, taxes, natural disasters, and subcontractor incompetence. While these things may be a part of the problem, if we look a little deeper, we’ll see…

The real factors that brought about construction company failures are internal and within the owner’s control.

The reasons are more likely poor planning, inaccurate scheduling, hiring the wrong people, inability to innovate, poor management, and bad or no business system.

The good news is, that the next generation of construction businesses can learn from their forefathers’ mistakes and avoid failing for the same reasons. 

Owning or managing a construction business is a hard thing to do. And to do so successfully is especially hard.

The solutions to problems that can put construction companies out of business may not be easy. It takes a lot of planning, production management, hard work, and discipline to keep the business running successfully. But at least…

Most issues faced in a construction business are controllable.

Finding out what challenges are likely ahead can help construction companies be prepared.

Here are some reasons construction companies fail –

Lack of funding and/or poor cash flow – One of the reasons construction companies fail is not enough funds or unwise use of funds.

The ultimate dream of any professional in the construction industry is to earn more by owning and running a business, rather than collecting a paycheck working for someone else. But keeping a business operating at a profit is never as simple as just doing construction work.

There are processes and systems that need to be in place for collecting from customers and paying the bills. Construction requires tools, vehicles, and equipment, and these aren’t cheap.

It’s critical to maintain positive cash flow, have a budget for bills, and money saved for emergencies.

Overlooking these things can quickly lead your company to failure.

Poor project performance – One bad project can lead to a construction company’s closure.

Project performance is more than the physical construction work. The internal business systems for proposals, change orders, project management, invoicing, etc. are often not thought off when thinking about construction projects.

Construction projects are about good results. This includes starting and completing projects on time and within budget. Meeting contract requirements and customer expectations.

Failure in any of these areas may mean the closing of your company.

Failure to plan – Just like good planning can lead to a successful construction project, the same is true for building a successful business.

In project planning, you define goals and processes according to the customer’s requirements. You are intentional and clear on where the project is going and how you’re going to get it there.

A good builder will do the same when it comes to their business.

Consistant clear communication with customers, production teams, and suppliers is one of the important pieces of a good business plan.

The likelihood of companies going out of business without a plan increases exponentially.

There are a lot of risks lurking on a construction site that can cause a project to go poorly. The best way to avoid these risks is through awareness, understanding, and preparation.

The same is true for your company. If you become aware that there’s a problem and understand it, you will be more likely to avoid it. Instruction and learning can lead to building your dream business.

The road to success in the construction industry may be long and rough, but it’s worth it.

Become more successful through improved processes, systems, and management; take it one step at a time, and soon enough, you can achieve your ultimate business dreams.

Let us know what your biggest construction business struggles have been in the comments below.

How Implementing a Plan Can Help Us Build a Successful Business

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The Five Remaining Areas of the “Job List” Building Block

Back in December we started discussing the importance of building your business on a solid foundation and why people in the construction industry avoid doing it. Then we talked about how a reporting process like the “Job List” can be an important building block in a construction business foundation. Last week we looked at how the “Job List” can help us plan for the future.

A business won’t stand long if it’s not built on a solid foundation.

So far, we’ve discussed how…

  • Creating and recording project numbers can help you focus your attention on the right kinds of projects.
  • Tracking project bid amounts will give you a clear picture of where you are in relationship to meeting your financial goals for the year.
  • Tracking dollar amounts of signed proposals will give you the rest of the picture of where you are financially in relation to where you want to be by the end of the year.
  • Tracking dollars collected from projects will give you a clear comparison of your signed amounts with your collected amounts.
  • Percentage of jobs signed will let you know if your pricing is too high or too low.
  • Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid will let you know how you’re doing in relation to reaching our financial goal for the year.
  • Percentage of dollars collected per signed simply lets you know if you’ve collected everything that was bid.

Now let’s look at the final five areas of this document and how they fit into a solid business foundation.

Average dollar amount of projects bid – This number (cell I-30) is just like what it sounds like. It’s the average dollar amount of all the projects you have done proposals for. It can be helpful to know what this information is. It can help you determine if you should make changes to the sizes of proposals that you should be doing.

Average dollar amount of projects signed – This price (cell J-32) lets you see what the average dollar amount of your projects is and how it compares with the proposed amounts. Like the average bid amount, this number let’s you know what size of projects you normally do. You can then make changes to what proposals you focus on.

Average dollar amount of projects collected – Like the percentage of dollars collected, this number (cell K-34) lets you know if you’re increasing or decreasing the dollars you collect after proposals are signed. This can be a critical piece of information about how accurate your proposals are.

These next two areas are instructive when it comes to production planning as it relates to achieving your revenue goals.

Projected timeframe for doing signed projects – This information (cells I-23 and J-23) tell you how long it should take you to do the work of the proposals that you currently have signed. This is determined by dividing what your gross revenue goal for the year is by 52 weeks. Then dividing the current total signed amount (cell J-22) by that weekly revenue target number gives you the number of weeks needed to do that work.

Projected date work should be done – Like the projected timeframe, this information (cell K-23) converts the projected time it should take to do the work of the currently signed proposals to a date. This is achieved by adding the number of weeks (cell I-23) to the starting date (cell H-23). This then gives you a target date on the calendar that the work should be done to stay on task and achieve your dollar goal for the year.

I find these last two pieces of information the most revealing and helpful when it comes to staying on target.

This information can increase the sense of urgency and focus, and this is something that is critical to building a successful construction business.

I hope you’ve found this series on the “Job List” as a foundational building block helpful. If you would like more information about this or other business systems and processes, go to SolutionBuilding.net or reach out us in the comments below.

How Does the “Job List” Help Us See the Future of Our Construction Company?

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That’s a Question We’re Going to Continue Answering in This Week’s Solution

Previously we discussed the importance of building your business on a solid foundation and how it can prevent your business from falling down around you. We talked about the different parts of that foundation and their purpose.

Next, we talked about construction companies that are avoiding these foundational building blocks because they are out of their comfort zone. It’s amazing how people in the construction industry will use all sorts of power tools and equipment but are afraid of paperwork.

Then we began breaking down the “Job List”…one of those foundational building blocks. In that post we looked at how it can tell you…

  • Which types of work were consistently the most profitable
  • How you were doing at meeting your financial goals for the year
  • When you should have the signed projects finished to stay on track
  • How well you’re doing at getting proposals signed
  • What the average price of your projects are

We began with how the “Job List” can help with creating and recording project numbers, tracking project bid amounts and tracking dollars of signed proposals.

Now let’s continue looking at how the “Job List” can help us plan for the future.

When we look at the total project bid amount and the total signed amount we can see where we are in relation to our financial goals for the year. (See the previous post for more details on this).

Next is…

Tracking dollars collected from projects – This collected amount (column K) is exactly what it says it is. It is where we enter the amounts collected from each project weekly. This total gives us a comparison to our signed amount (column J) and let’s us see if our projects have increased or decreased after signing.

Percentage of jobs signed – This percentage, 60% (cell I-24) is the percentage of proposals that have been signed. This is cell B-22 (15) divided by cell C-22 (9). This information lets us know how we’re doing with our pricing. If the number is below 15%, we’re not selling well. If our number gets too high, above 50%, we may not be charging enough.

Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid – Knowing this percentage helps us as we’re looking forward, to know how we’re doing in relation to reaching our financial goal for the year. Based on the percentage of 53% (cell J-26), knowing that if our goal for the year is $400,000.00, we need to have done twice that many dollars of proposals.

Percentage of dollars collected per signed – Just like tracking the amount of dollars collected is pretty straight forward, this percentage of 93% (cell K-28), is the same. This simply lets us know if we’ve collected everything that was bid. If not, there may be some outstanding receivables, or we may have made changes during production that reduced our receivables number. It’s also possible for this number to be more than 100% which means that there were changes made during production that increased our receivables.

There are still five more areas of information that the “Job List” provides but to keep this post from getting too long today, I’m going to stop here. I know that this feels like a lot but it’s not nearly as overwhelming as it seems.

Just like there’s a lot to constructing a building, the same is true for building a successful business.

The five remaining areas are –

  • Average dollar amount of projects bid
  • Average dollar amount of projects signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects collected
  • Projected timeframe for doing signed projects
  • Projected date work should be done

Of these next five areas I think the last two are the most revealing.

I’m looking forward to bringing this “Job List” topic to a close in the next post.

The Final Step in Raising the Construction Contractor Accountability Bar

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This is How the Construction Contractor Evaluation Works in the Real World

It’s time to bring this process of evaluating construction contractors to a conclusion. Like most things needed to run a successful business, this process of evaluating and holding the construction industry to a level of excellence isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be.

This doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort.

We started this series by pointing out the fact that there is a problem and that construction contractors have a worse reputation than used car salesmen. Second, we discussed why a system for rating company’s and individual’s performance would allow us to move average toward excellent. Next, we looked at what the process would include and what would be rated. Last week, we concluded with how a numerical rating would allow for accurately scoring the performance of those being evaluated.

This evaluation system will give us some clear and concrete information to help us make better decisions regarding construction projects.

  • The first thing it will do is give our production team a clear understanding of what is expected of them.
  • Second it will give each company and/or individual a report for each individual project.
  • Third it will give production teams a rating to see how they compare to the standard of excellence.
  • Fourth it will let us as the general contractor see how we rate in comparison to our standard of excellence.
  • Finally, it will give us a process for comparing companies and individuals when we are going through the process of determining who will be doing specific construction projects.

Here are some examples of the evaluation process in action.

This process will start by providing companies and individuals with the evaluation process so they will know what’s expected of them. It’s unfair to have something expected without knowing what those expectations are. The contents of what is included in these expectations can be found in Part 3 and Part 4 of posts.

Let’s start by rating Painting Company A on the project that they just finished.

These are the areas to be scored, with each specific sub-section scored independently and averaged will give the score for each area.

_____ Time management – 54

_____ Attention to detail – 67

_____ Communication – 51

_____ Quality of work – 75

_____ Respect for the budget – 76

Overall project average – 65 meets standards

You can see that this company scored lower in a couple of areas and higher in others, ultimately scoring in the mid-range of meeting standards. When this company receives this report…there needs to be some attention given to the areas with the low scores.

The next thing we’ll look at is how the accumulation of scores given to subcontractors can give us, as the general contractor, a way to see how we rate in comparison to our standard of excellence.

Let’s say we’ve done a small bathroom upgrade that included a plumber, an electrician, a painter, and a carpenter. Here is each subcontractor’s overall project average score.

Plumber’s project average – 77

Electrician’s project average – 71

Painter’s project average – 65

Carpenter’s project average – 76

General Contractor’s project average – 72

This score of 72, while it falls within the area of “meets standards”, it’s below where I expect us to be. If we’re doing our job right and meeting our expectations…we should be scoring closer to 85

It looks like we have some work to do.

Finally, this system will provide us with a way to make the best choice when deciding between multiple subcontractors. For example, if we are looking for a painter to do a job, we can compare scores from previous projects or overall averages.

Painting Company A’s project average – 65

Painting Company B’s project average – 69

Painting Company C’s project average – 76

As you can see looking at these averages, there is a clear front runner. What you can’t see is what specific section scores make up these averages. For example –

Company B scored high in the areas of Attention to detail and Quality of work but scored low in Time management and Communication. While Company C scored a constant average in all areas. With this information, we, as the general contractor, can determine which painting company would be the best fit for the upcoming project.

There is no question that the construction industry has our work cut out for us to get the bar raised to excellence. Rome wasn’t built in a day and getting the bar raised that high won’t be either.

Remember, Rome was built by laying one brick at a time.

I hope this series of posts about the construction contractor evaluation has been enlightening and helpful.

We hope to have the finishing touches on this Construction Contractor Evaluation system done before much longer. When it’s ready we plan to make it available at Solution Building. Once it’s ready, get your copy and…

Join me in raising the construction industry bar.

Why We Need Numbers to Help Construction Contractors Achieve Excellence, Part 4

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How Else are We Going to Know How High the Bar Actually is?

Over the past several weeks we’ve discussed how low the bar is regarding the construction industry and the need to raise it. We talked about how most people working in construction aren’t even aware that there’s a problem. Then we looked into how an evaluation system could improve those standards. Last week, we broke down what construction contractor excellence should consist of.

This week we’re going to look at the hard part of the process…putting numbers to performance.

The number of goals made or correct answers given provide a numerical value of a person’s accomplishments. Evaluating performance is harder, it’s about expectation and perception.

The variation of perception is one of the main reasons this process gets left undone.

What’s acceptable to me, may not be acceptable to you and vice versa. This is why a system for giving a fair evaluation is important.

The rating part of the process –  

  • This is an objective form of reasoning used to analyze and evaluate companies, contractors, and individuals in each of the five (5) different rating categories.
  • Evaluations must be based on the company’s or individuals actual performance, not the comments or opinions of others.
  • The evaluation must reflect the combination and culmination of events during the entire project. Single events of outstanding or faulty performance should be considered in context of the overall project.

The following tendencies need to be recognized and avoided in order to keep the ratings as objective as possible.

  • “Halo Effect” – rating the company or individual the same in every category based on a general opinion of their performance. Each category must be evaluated separately and objectively.
  • Bias – rating a company or individual based on whether or not the person doing the evaluation likes or dislikes the company or individual being evaluated.
  • Undue credit for length of service – rating a company or individual based on their length of service instead of the quality of their performance. In other words, thinking that they must be exceeding industries standard because they have been doing this work for 15 years.
  • Loose ratings – giving higher ratings out of a desire to please and remain in a positive light with the company or individual.
  • Tight ratings – rating companies and individuals below standards due to the person doing the evaluation being a “perfectionist”. If all the companies and individuals are rated too low, it reflects on supervision!

We need a consistent and simple way to score each of the five (5) areas of accountability that we discussed last week; time management, attention to detail, communication, quality of work and respect for the budget.

Each area was divided into various sub-sections that scored independently and averaged together make up the score for each area being evaluated. These five (5) scores then averaged together give us the overall score of the evaluation.

The following notes offer a further explanation of ratings and describe standards of performance. They should be taken as general illustrations of the standard expected rather than as comprehensive definitions. Evaluators should use their judgment in determining other factors which should be taken into account in particular situations.

Here is the numbering system for rating each area –

  • FAR EXCEEDS STANDARDS 4.7 -5.0 –

This is the highest level of performance. Few companies or individuals will score at this level. It is only attained by top performers, if ever. This performance rating is characterized by an exceptionally high quality of superior craftsmanship done in a timely manner. They constantly seek out and assume responsibilities above and beyond expectations and contribute new ideas or ways of improving operational and/or procedural matters.

  • EXCEEDS STANDARDS 4.0 – 4.7 –

Evaluations in this range are very desirable. Companies and individuals who score in this range demonstrate above average performance in their position. Performance approached that of excellent in craftsmanship and production. Require a degree of supervision that is less than typical of most companies and individuals. They make significant contributions to production and periodically seek out and assume responsibilities beyond expectations.

  • MEETS STANDARDS 3.0 – 3.9 –

Performs in a responsible and comprehensive manner, however, improvement should be expected on future evaluations. Requires a higher degree of supervision than should be needed. Performs work in a professional manner and makes acceptable contributions to production.

  • NEEDS IMPROVEMENT TO MEET STANDARDS   2.0 – 2.9 –

Companies and individuals scoring in this range are considered marginal. Performance of is barely adequate. Requires extensive direction and review to keep projects moving forward. Companies and individuals scoring in this group should be informed that if there isn’t improvement they will NOT be used on future projects.

  • FAILS TO MEET STANDARDS 1.0 – 1.9 –

Companies and individuals should never score this low. Performance in this range is nowhere near acceptable standards. The performance is low and chances for improvement are unlikely. Every project that this company or individual is on is sending a message to customers that job performance and quality are not important!

Once each of the areas has been rated based on the performance on the project and the overall average has been determined, that number is multiplied by 20 to give us the overall score.

These scores then will be as follows:

            94 – 100     FAR EXCEEDS STANDARDS

            80 – 93       EXCEEDS STANDARDS

            60 – 79       MEETS STANDARDS

            40 – 59       NEEDS IMPROVEMENT TO MEET STANDARDS

            < 40          FAILS TO MEET STANDARDS

Today’s post along with the three previous ones will provide a construction contractor evaluation system that will begin raising the bar to a level of excellence.

Like most things, this can seem a little overwhelming, but so did your first construction project when you started it.

Just start building the wall one brick at a time and before you know it…it’s done.

The key to building anything is having a good plan and following it. This construction contractor evaluation system is a part of such a plan.

Here at Timber Creek Construction, we’ve been looking for a process to hold ourselves and our production team accountable. Implementing this plan is how we’re going to do just that.

The Next Step in Raising the Bar of Construction Contractor Accountability, Part 3

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How Do We Get the Bar Raised to the Level of Excellence?

Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve talked about the need to raise the bar of what is expected of construction contractors and how at Timber Creek Construction we’re working on a process to accomplish that.

I used to believe the ultimate goal was achieving perfection. Then I was informed by my wife that striving for perfection was a bad thing because perfection is impossible. The fact that perfection is unattainable leads to disappointment. I struggled with this for a while before determining that…

EXCELLENCE is the goal, not perfection.

Growing up I was taught that there is a level of excellence to be achieved in everything we do. There was no need for a “system”, excellence was just the standard…not so much anymore.

As a general contractor it is my responsibility to provide customers with excellence.

In order to raise the industry standard of excellence, there needs to be an effective way to communicate these expectations with customers, sub-contractors, and individuals working on construction projects. There needs to be a system to evaluate how well these expectations are being met.

Last week I ended the discussion stating the need to rate each construction company and/or individual doing construction, based on their performance and actions for each project.

Here is what we will be included in the process. This is what will be expected from us and our production team in an effort to achieve excellence.

  • The purpose of this evaluation system is to share what the standards are for our construction company and what is expected of contractors and individuals. This evaluation system is designed to hold ourselves and others accountable for our decisions and actions as they relate to construction projects and the industry as a whole.
  • The use of an evaluation system is sometimes misunderstood by the person or company being evaluated. This procedure is designed to assist you and/or your company in making the best possible choices and decisions regarding construction projects.
  • This system is intended to be positive and constructive for each contractor, individual and company. Sometimes evaluations are perceived as negative; however, the intent is not to find fault, but rather to develop better contractors, individuals and companies.
  • Most contractors and individuals want to do good work, which is what our company and customers want. This does not mean only working harder, but also working smarter. The objective of this evaluation is to reinforce the appreciation of performing above and beyond industry standards. It is to assist in improving performance and quality.

Here are the areas of accountability that will be evaluated and what will be included in each area.

Time management – spend time wisely

  • Show up and start projects on or before the time and/or date determined and scheduled.
  • Be productive with the use of time while at the job site and/or working on the project. Make the amount of time spent working worth the travel time. Don’t spend more time traveling than working.
  • Work consistently on the project once it is started, unless there are extenuating circumstances such as waiting on materials, other contractors or weather.
  • Have the project completed on or before the deadline for completion.

Attention to detail –

  • Do the work as described and explained in the Scope of Work.
  • Keep the job site organized and clean throughout the duration of the project
  • Follow the “Construction Contractor’s Golden Rules”
  • If you open it, close it.
  • If you turn it on, turn it off.
  • If you unlock it, lock it up.
  • If you break it, admit it.
  • If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.
  • If you borrow it, return it.
  • If you value it, take care of it.
  • If you make a mess clean it up.
  • If you move it, put it back.
  • If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.
  • If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.
  • If it’s none of your business, stay out of it.
  • If it will brighten someone’s day, do it.
  • If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, DON’T do it.

Communication –

  • Let everyone you are directly involved with or is connected to your portion of the project know what to expect.
  • Make or return calls in a timely manner.
  • Send and sign proposals, contracts, change orders, scopes of work, budgets, etc. in a timely manner.

Quality of work –

  • All work is expected to be done above current industry standards, striving for a level of excellence.
  • If work is unacceptable and needs to be redone, make this a priority as needed to help keep the project on schedule.

Respect for the budget –

  • Be aware of and stay within the budget, both labor and material. If situations arise where changes need to be made that are going to deviate from the budget, let all affected parties know before proceeding.
  • Manage materials to minimize waste. Return unused materials to supplier or general contractor to be used on future projects.
  • Honor payment agreements and don’t ask for draws ahead of schedule.

I know this seems like a lot of information to digest, but it’s really pretty simple. And although it’s basic, it might not be easy. Because if it was easy…everybody would already be doing it.

This is what it’s going to take to raise the bar to the level of excellence, which is our goal, after all.

Next week we’ll discuss the evaluation part of the process and how it will be shared with those being evaluated.

I know, you’re on the edge of your seat looking forward to next week’s post.