Learning how to respond to problems is very important in any business. In the Construction industry, reacting to problems correctly is essential, in order to keep workers and the worksite safe. Building projects, whether they’re new buildings or a kitchen renovation, can suffer from a range of issues. Knowing how to handle them can help you keep things running smoothly.
Delays
Problem: Your customer can only wait so long before they need the building work finished so they can get back into their home or office. You need to be able to keep the work proceeding as quickly as possible.
Solution: Your job site manager should draw up a schedule for the project that has blocks of time for each task. Communicate with your customer about any construction delays. Tell them what the delays are and what the outcome will be. Delays are sometimes inevitable, due to nasty surprises during the work, like finding unexpected materials while renovating, or delays in materials arriving. Your team needs to know how to address them as quickly as possible, such as knowing alternative suppliers, or following a guide to managing asbestos.
Unexpected Construction Costs
Problem: Lots of things can push up the costs of construction when you get started, especially finding issues like bad soil, termite damage, or dry rot.
Solution: If you find one of these problems, you either need to stop the project or commit to some emergency spending. Before you start the project, you should encourage your customer to set aside budget to respond to unexpected costs. Make sure you give your customer a clear picture of the problem, so they don’t argue about whether you need to pay for the extra time. If you overlook a part of the job and quote an amount that is too low, then this is your problem, not your client’s. If you need it, a third party can help to resolve any dispute.
Builder Mistakes
Problem: Sometimes, a subcontractor believes that he has a better way to complete a part of the work. Unfortunately, this sometimes means they deviate from your blueprints, and you end up with work that the client hasn’t approved or doesn’t like.
Solution: The sooner you can find the mistake, the better. Fixing it could be a simple fix, such as repositioning a window. Whether or not a fix is simple, find out why the change was made in the first place. Maybe there was a good reason. If there is not an acceptable reason, you need to either find a way to fix it or a way to encourage your client to like it. If your can’t put right the change, your client may accept it in exchange for something extra. For example, agree to put in a built-in bookcase that was out of budget before. If needs be, you could also pull out and rebuild the alteration.
Construction problems are common, but by being prepared, you can respond appropriately to most of them and stop the project from being derailed.
- DISCLOSURE – This post has been written by an outside source.
