Schedules and Material Ordering is Changing Due to the Pandemic
Schedule building and material ordering are vital to a project’s success. Before the pandemic we were experiencing record deliveries in construction, which increased labor demand. Now we are adjusting to a different set of circumstances. COVID has affected every part of our job costing and scheduling. Distrupted supply chains, depressed travel routes, factory delays and safety precautions are more common. So, contractors must be prepared to communicate with their clients more than ever to avoid confusion and costly mistakes that won’t be as easy to remedy. While the CDC Guidelines have been a good starting point we have had to develop policies regarding schedule and material handling.
Materials
Many jobs today have materials coming from all over the world. Appliances from China and stone fabrication from Italy are only a couple of the material dependencies our domestic market has. COVID has decreased factory production in many parts of the world while increasing demand on delivery services. This has the potential to cause a perfect storm of project delays. Shipping times are doubling in most cases and tripling, with some orders dropping out all together. Clients may need to adjust their plans with this in mind.
Good contractors will have knowledge of the production and can provide matching alternatives in domestic markets. As tariffs have pushed some production to resettle in US markets the right vendor should be on top of this. This means they will have done the work to have back up suppliers for things like stone work, electrical and plumbing fixtures and appliances. Even LVT flooring vendors, many of which source from abroad, should start looking domestically. The point is, if your contractor is not being honest about material delays you may have bigger problems.
Administrative Company Control Policies for Materials
Here are our company policies regarding materials and schedule updates.
Material pickups from large stores and vendors are the second highest risk and danger point to our team. The amount of converging vectors are incredibly high at these points. In order to reduce this risk, it is determined that better ordering protocol and single operator pickup will reduce this risk and must follow biosecurity entry protocols in order to bring materials onto a job.
Administrative Controls –
– New protocol ordering and picking up materials for Lead Carpenter and Project Managers, letting materials rest on site for at least 48 hours to decontamiate.
Engineering Controls –
– Biosecurity gate for check in on materials.
– At Vendor pickup Biosecurity measures taken.
Scheduling
With extended lead times in mind, communicating with clients early and often is even more important. We are in constant communication with our vendors so we can alert our clients to these roadblocks BEFORE they have started their selection process. Scheduling is the next piece greatly affected. If you already have a job set up, have you ordered your materials? If you haven’t you may be looking at significant delays in schedules. This will push out trades, increase the time you and your team are working on the job site. This, in turn, will increase your liability and your costs.
Get ahead of these issues by communicating with your subcontractors and clients. If a trade has to be pushed back because of new safety guidelines and materials, tell your clients why and for how long. Be specific and have alternatives!! Give them dates and prepare your vendors in case the client needs to make a change that will help the price and overall schedule length. Touch base with your subcontractors regularly to get updates on availability, as they are changing daily. In these times you are the expert and clients will rely on you if you have a clear plan and execute it quickly. It’s important to not back your clients and subs in to a corner, while at the same time communicating clear goals in uncertain time.
Safety?
If we are in the time of COVID isn’t everything about safety? Yes they are and these measures increase job site safety. Material ordering and scheduling are two of the most important functions of a contractor. These times have increased that exponentially and made back end administrative work and communication are even more important. We have seen that open and regular communication keeps on site mistakes to a minimum.
Having a pulse on the supply chain and your subcontractor availability will keep your business serving clients. Start thinking about where you can add value to your clients, and yourself by providing comparable alternatives. Better administrative control is the beginning of all of these changes as well as increased safety. Being mindful about scheduling and materials is helping you client and increasing job site management in a good way There will be changes, but keeping your team safe, your schedule flexible while having a few material back ups will go a long way in winning and completing projects currently.