How to run a more efficient trades business
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What can you do on the worksite to help your trades business and team produce at its best?
After asking a number of tradespeople, they agree that, apart from hiring good people, the best way to guarantee a quality end result is to use well-defined procedures and implement systems.
To create those procedures and systems, some of their suggestions include:
1. Take time to plan.
This will bring you the biggest payoffs. Too many tradespeople jump straight into their work without firstly getting organised. Take the time to read through the plans, look at the specifications and the work schedule, you will be surprised about what you pick up. There might be tools that you need to grab, materials that you’ve forgotten, or even a clash that you hadn’t considered. Proper planning will save those headaches.
2. Pre-Construction Meeting
Bring everyone together in a pre-construction meeting. A meeting with the builder, carpenters, estimators, architects/draftspeople before the construction begins will help you develop a strong relationship between everyone and highlight possible issues even before you start. It might also bring some new ideas to the table that will save you time and money.
3. Continue to Plan
Dedicating half an hour per day to planning will help you stay ahead of the workload. Nothing worse than the jobsite slowing down to a halt because of a delay in materials, or not being able to access subcontractors when you need them. Your initial plans will need updating as you get into a job, keep on top of them.
4. Pre-Completion Meetings
Pre-completion meetings will help you (and your client) identify what needs to be finished before the job winds down and your tradespeople move onto the next site. Compare the (nearly) finished product with the initial plans and specifications, as well as the variations along the way, check everything off from the list(s). Then walk around the site with your client for final sign-off.
Quick Tips
- Carry a notebook.
- Get your crew on board. Nothing harder than when the crew are working against you, not with you.
- Use software to keep track of everything. For example, Eaco is great at tracking jobs, tasks and who is doing what. See: http://eaco.me/
- Keep the site clean. 10 minutes a day to clean up will save big headaches at the end.
- Get good tradespeople. Hire quality subcontractors through www.servicecentral.com.au
Got more to give? We would love your feedback and comments on this article.
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