Solid Advice – Page 5 – Tri Bay Construction

22Aug

Good Enough is Not Enough

roganmarketing Design-Build, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

As each project progresses, we continue to learn valuable lessons that will make the next experience more efficient in this rapidly changing environment. We will continue to set ourselves apart from other General Contractors and not “do what other GC’s do” because it is “good enough” or because “everyone does it that way.”

If you utter the words “that’s good enough,” you will not work with us for long unless you are willing to change that mindset. Going the extra mile for our clients and subcontractors is our brand. Maintaining integrity will always be our first priority.

The day when we know everything there is to know about construction is the day we hang up our toolbelts. There is always a better, more efficient, cleaner, quieter, more innovative way to do what we have done for many years. We will strive to find ways it will benefit you, the client. Willingness without action is fantasy.

Our current state of society, particularly the construction industry, can be seen as a negative environment, or we can have another perspective and see it as the motivation to work differently and to utilize different tools and methods; to overcome new challenges. We can use it as motivation to be:

Creative

Imaginative

Innovative

Let’s not lose that human trait that many of us have, and that is to help one another. The Tri-Bay difference is to help others’ dreams be achieved and to support- one another through each of those experiences no matter what is happening around us.

As the fourth quarter of 2022 is upon us, ask yourselves, “Am I a component of a strong foundation that is holding together the whole? Or, am I an island that is operating separately from the whole and contributing to its ultimate deterioration. When you take from its strength without giving anything in return you are adding to the weakness of the project.

Where do you fit in this equation?

22Aug

Developing a Collaborative Team

roganmarketing Design-Build, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

We would like to continue our discussion about the relationship between the Owner and the General Contractor (GC) and take it a step further. While each individual relationship is equally important:

GC/Owner;
GC/Subcontractors;
GC/Suppliers/Design Team

We hope to develop a collaborative team relationship between all parties involved in a construction project from beginning to end:

Owner/GC/Design Team/Plan Review
Inspections Jurisdiction/Lenders if applicable/Building Owners in the case of tenant build-out space/subcontractors/suppliers.

While all team members may not have individual contact with each another, it is imperative, for a smooth project, that all members understand that each member plays an equal and timely part in the completion of each project. A successful outcome is accomplished by communicating concerns or needs to the proper entity and getting all to the finish line more efficiently and with less interruption. The more team members understand each other’s roles, the more collaborative the effort becomes. We operate from the standpoint that no one entity in a construction project is an “island.”

Efficiency depends upon the understanding that anything any single entity does will affect all the other subsequent members. Visualize a construction project as a giant wagon wheel with a hub in the center, where the GC’s role in a project is the hub. When information does not go through the hub and multiple spokes do not receive the same information, the wheel is knocked out of balance and begins to wobble. The importance of the hub cannot be overemphasized. The Field or Project Superintendent, who is on the site daily, can be considered the center of that hub.

What cannot be seen and is so often a source of field issues are the ball bearings (administrative support team) that surround the project superintendent and assist them in keeping the wheel turning smoothly.

The hub members play a two-fold role; one without the other can be disastrous for all the other spokes in the wheel. If the Project Superintendent is not utilizing their support team, what can occur are gaps in deliveries, missing subcontractors, missed inspections, etc., resulting in unnecessary schedule delays.

If the support team is not up to speed on the projects’s progress, and providing the Superintendent with what they need while anticipating what comes next, similar issues can occur.

Equally important as the communication within the hub is the communication from each spoke of the wheel to the hub. For example, if the Owner desires a change and speaks directly with a worker when it is time to get paid, there will be conflict. When it is time for inspection, there will be conflict. When it is time to move forward, there will be delays. For example, suppose the framers, while performing their portion of the work, do not consider all components and associated subcontractors of the project that come after framing. In that case, their work may have to be removed and built again.

Let’s face it, our world is very distracting, and despite many methods of communication, the interaction between individuals on a personal level is disintegrating. We receive snippets of information from the media via text messaging; unfortunately, many get used to this environment. Snippets of information, incomplete sentences, and non-interaction between all members of the team (spokes of the wheel) on a construction project create expensive and time-consuming problems that are avoidable in almost every case.

These are just some of the more glaring challenges making the construction industry a contentious environment right now. Delayed projects create an atmosphere of frustration and often animosity between all parties involved. Finding a viable solution, somewhat palatable to all parties, is an arduous task at best. Today, signing a contract with a liquidated damages clause for project delay could be suicide for a small company.

We strive to bring each team together, create a collaborative environment from beginning to end by communicating often and precisely, and keep the wheel turning with minimal wobble and the hub well-greased. At the project’s completion, the Inspection team is satisfied that everything was built with public safety in mind and that the following occurred:

the owner received what they contracted;
the owner is satisfied with the value they received for the money spent;
the subcontractors are satisfied and able to put their name to the project and hopefully have established working relationships with other trade members;
the GC is satisfied that everyone performed up to expectations and their reputation can be proudly attached to the project;
and the most significant and valuable result for all is that, relationships bolstered, no one was hurt in the course of work and money was made. And every team member would be willing to work together again on the next project. The best reward for this GC is to hear, "We can't wait to work with you again on our next project."

27May

Owner and General Contractor Relationship

TBC Design-Build, Solid Advice, Tri-Bay Benefits

Our last issue brought together the concept of the close link between collaboration, trust, and integrity. We talked about teamwork and the ability to admit mistakes, integrate each part into the whole, and find collective solutions to the challenges that inevitably arise on a construction project.

In this blog, we would like to focus on the Owner and the General Contractor (or Design-Builder) relationship and how important transparency, trust, and honesty are in that relationship. This relationship is often the foundation on which a successful project is built.

Today’s economic climate demands an acceptance of reality and a willingness to work within that reality and compromise. Until our supply chain issues are resolved or at least brought to some sort of normalcy, knowing when a product or material will actually arrive has become a mystery making finite schedules, definite completion dates, and liquidated damages clauses in contracts a desire ( a wish) more than a possibility or a reality.

This environment is treacherous for both the Owners and the General Contractors/Design-Builder. Owners lease space that must be occupied by a specific time or there are financial consequences; lenders want to know a finite cost and a finite date to structure their loans. General Contractors MUST minimize overhead costs on every project as the profit margins are small in such a competitive industry.

Today, the reality is that subcontractors and suppliers are putting very short limits on their cost proposals, some as little as seven days. Some suppliers are less transparent and will provide a cost proposal, and then when the product arrives, they announce a cost increase and will not deliver until the material is paid in full.

Others include several month lead times for materials, often longer than the project’s duration. These are just some of the challenges we all face in the construction industry and the shortages of skilled labor and rising wages for some of the skilled labor in highest demand; one example is Block Masons.

These are just some of the more glaring challenges making the construction industry a contentious environment right now. Delayed projects create an atmosphere of frustration and often animosity between all parties involved. Finding a viable solution, somewhat palatable to all parties, is an arduous task at best. Today, signing a contract with a liquidated damages clause for project delay could be suicide for a small company.

Especially when there is no way to know:

when materials might arrive
if the entity supplying the material is telling the truth (they may not even know!)

But giving a contractor an open calendar for completing a project could be suicide for the Owners. The solution must come in:

communication
mutual understanding,
and a very carefully phrased compromise regarding scheduling in the Owner/Builder contract.

Since every construction project is unique, requiring various types and quantities of materials, it is challenging to compose a one size fits all scheduling clause. This is also true of material escalation clauses, and there is no standard escalation clause that can be used for all contracts on all projects.

In the past, a GC was often able to absorb a small percentage increase in one or two items throughout the project’s duration without any impact on the Owner or subcontractors. In our current climate, 10-15% increases have been commonplace in multiple disciplines, from project conception to actual material delivery. A GC cannot absorb all those unexpected costs and remain in business. An owner, however, can recoup those costs over time through the business that will operate in the new facility or from lease income. If a GC absorbs those costs, they will never be recovered, as the GC does not have a stake in future business revenue for that property.

Our hope at Tri-Bay Construction is that our relationships are based on a mutual understanding that we are all in business for a profit and cannot work solely for the benefit of others, receiving nothing for our efforts.

A mutual agreement about realities, compromises on both sides, and open, transparent communication throughout the process are mandatory for a construction project to go smoothly (with the usual bumps in the road) from Owner to GC, to Subcontractors, and to material suppliers.

Subcontractors often bear the brunt of our current climate. Unfortunately, they are usually in the middle, between the suppliers who cannot guarantee cost or delivery dates and the General Contractors who demand production. The ripple effect has amplified what has always existed in construction when a defined scope was not ready for the next trade. Instead of losing two or three days because of rescheduling one subcontractor, the losses are now often two to three weeks.

Doing what you say you will do is even more critical and increasingly valuable. The balance for subcontractors in juggling workers for multiple projects has become ever more complicated and delicate because there is so much work and not enough workers. The tendency is to schedule very tightly, sometimes too tightly, so when there is a delay in one project, it can cause a delay in multiple projects. Established relationships with subcontractors have become even more valuable to General Contractors. In today’s climate, this costs a little bit more.

It is on the onus of Owners and General Contractors to understand each other’s concerns, challenges, and reasons for particular demands or requirements and then try to work together to meet the needs of both parties. In the words of our attorney, there will never be a perfect contract that covers everything, but we do our best to cover as much as possible.

If both parties are more educated about the other’s business needs, the more likely a compromise can be reached. From earlier learning, a written contract exists solely for the event that something goes dreadfully wrong, then each party will know what to do next. If the parties are willing to see the boat from both sides, the contract will never be looked at again after it is signed.

The contract’s purpose becomes the “boundary of integrity” for both sides if the following happens:

Reach a compromise,
both parties agree to sign the contract
and then place their signatures on the paperwork (agreement).

If there is integrity in the individuals who signed the contract, there can be confidence and trust in the relationship.

Trust should be established early in a relationship. The more open and transparent two people are with one another, especially in business, the stronger that relationship grows. While every relationship has inherent risks, the stronger the foundation, the less likely the contract is ever needed after the initial execution.

Today we wonder if our Steel, Aluminum, Copper wire, Windows, or Doors (to name just a few) are coming on a specific date or will they be delayed again for some contrived reason or just an “I don’t know” from the supplier. Today we have no idea how long Plan Review might take in any given jurisdiction, so we are hiring third-party plan reviewers (at a cost to the Owners) in an effort to expedite the process. We do not know if a cost escalation between the time we estimate a project and the issuing of the permit will cause the Owner to cancel the project.

The number of phone calls and emails to assemble a complete estimate has doubled. The time it takes to collect all the proposals required to produce an estimate has also doubled because subcontractors and suppliers are extremely busy. Estimate requests or Requests for Proposals (RFPs) often sit unanswered for weeks unless followed up regularly. These and many other factors have significantly increased Commercial and Residential Construction costs. There are no exceptions to rising costs in our current economy.

The end-user (us) has had to bear the rising costs of food, fuel to get the food to us, Grocery worker’s wages, farmworker shortages, and farmer’s costs to run the farms. GCs also must bear the rising costs of materials, labor, fuel, equipment, and the cost of money itself to run our business.

An Owner should never go to sleep at night wondering how his General Contractor is “getting over on him,” and a Design-Builder/GC should never go to sleep at night wondering if the Owner he signed a contract with is going to pay him according to the agreement.

Are you ready to talk about your next project where we promise a relationship built on mutual respect and transparency? Let’s talk.

29Mar

Nothing But the Truth

TBC Pre-Construction, Commercial Construction, Solid Advice

Let us help you build your project from idea to concept to drawings to completion.

Know the procedures of a construction process from beginning to end. They are more than just buying a steel building and pouring a concrete slab. They are more than square foot guesses.

Successful construction projects require years of experience navigating the jurisdictional mazes, building a team that fits the project, full transparency from beginning to end, full team participation, and knowing where the gaps might arise.

When you come to Tri-Bay Construction with a project in mind, we will ask you a series of questions BEFORE we even talk about the project.

We will gladly discuss the entire procedure with you, even if you wind up moving forward with another contractor.

We want you to be knowledgeable when embarking on the journey of a construction project.

While knowing what the procedures are and the length of time they could (usually) take is disappointing for many, we want you to have realistic expectations from the start. Overpromising and underdelivering always leaves a bad taste and seems more common today than ever before.

The truth is neither good nor bad; it is a reality. Often people seek the answers they want to hear and not the facts. By the time the truth is revealed to them, it is costly and irreversible. The bitter taste comes from knowing they heard the truth but chose a different route.

Let us help you avoid that road.

Learn More About Tri-Bay

29Mar

Collaboration

TBC Pre-Construction, Commercial Construction, Solid Advice

Previously we have discussed Integrity and Trust and the importance of these principles in relation to a construction project during these challenging times. Today we will link “collaboration” to trust and integrity.

As with many words, there are many definitions and understandings of the word “collaborate.” To many, it simply means “working together.” To others, it might include “working together toward a common goal.” That sounds like “teamwork.”

At Tri-Bay, we take that a step further. We believe there is a distinct difference between “teamwork” and “collaboration,” which, we believe, is often used interchangeably. Teamwork can be seen as combining the individual efforts of all the team members to achieve the desired goal. In contrast, we see “collaboration” as all team members working together to collectively complete a project or achieve a goal.

What does it take to work collectively? We should first identify some of the skills required for collaboration.

Communicating clearly may be the first on the list and may be the rarest quality to find.
Communicating clearly requires the humility to ask for an explanation if something is misunderstood or not understood.

Asking for assistance is a must in clear communications.
Responding promptly to other team members acknowledges mutual respect for each other's time.

One must also respect the diversity of skills on the team. Everyone is invited to the team for a specific skill and the expertise required to complete the project. There is no one member of the team more important than another. Every team member needs something from other team members. This is especially true in construction and quite often not practiced. For example, if you have a civil engineer for the site development design but do not have an Architect for the building, you will likely have a parking lot without a building.

If you have an Architect but no structural engineer, you may have a structure that will crumble in the first strong wind if you build it without proper structural design. These are extreme examples.

The smaller details are what usually cost money to repair if only revealed while the work is in progress. A few minutes of discussion between members of the design team eliminates most of these costs in the long run.

Another trait that is not so common these days is taking responsibility for mistakes. A mistake is just a sign that there is a better way to do something or a better location for something. If we collaborate in the design process, we will find these things as they happen instead of combining individual members’ efforts and finding them much later, or not at all. It is then far too late to correct the error without an additional cost.

To follow are examples of what should have been collaborative “teamwork” but was actually individuals combining their information.

On a project, during the construction phase, a fresh air vent was found within a foot of a restroom exhaust vent.

On another project a window was discovered behind a steel column.

We believe the same is true in the construction phase. When a subcontractor treats himself as an island, or worse, when a Project Manager or Field Superintendent allows subcontractors to treat themselves as islands, the results are often expensive and time-consuming. Weekly progress meetings on the site with ALL the subcontractors currently working on the project.

This includes other team members who will be on the project in the following weeks, keeping them in the loop. When the whole understands the needs and the integration of the individual parts, the result is an efficient, well-organized, less costly, and quality project that owners desire. From designers to subcontractors, the entire team is satisfied with their work and proud to sign their names on the project.

Many in the construction industry are still involved in public and private Design-Bid-Build projects where the low bidder is the winner. These projects have no collaboration between designers and contractors and often no collaboration between owners and designers. Our experience has continued to show, especially in these highly competitive times of labor shortages, that owners do not get the best value for their money in that scenario.

The low bid cost comes with frustration, delays, unreliability, mistrust, conflicts, and stress. When this happens, it results in change orders that drive the project’s cost to a level that is higher than the highest bidder on the project. We do not see any winners in this scenario. Building a collaborative team that can travel with you through the entire process is the way to eliminate the previously mentioned outcomes.

There seems to be a problem in our industry that has never been entirely solved. A gap often exists between the financiers, government jurisdictions, real estate brokers, and General Contractors. The lenders want detailed values before they approve a loan for a project; owners need to know they can borrow enough money required for their project but cannot provide the detail the lenders want. The Owners seek out a contractor and give them the size of a building and nothing else and want to know how much it costs.

To build a conceptual estimate from scratch and no details require hours of research and work. Real estate brokers want to hear square foot costs and also, most times, have no details. The problem is that every construction project is unique, some more than others. Each one requires both common components and unique components. Until there is a design or a road map, those costs are general, at best. It is easy to throw a square foot cost on a project with no detail. Its accuracy is the question. How far off is that square foot cost.

We build a team based on your specific project and then ask you to participate in the design. We find that these are the most satisfying projects for everyone involved. Providing a square foot cost without any details doesn’t serve anyone. It can give a false sense of hope for the client, inaccurate numbers for the lenders & real estate brokers, and ultimately are the beginning of a contentious relationship.

At worst, it sends the owner seeking the square foot cost they want. (And they will find it)