果冻传媒

Why Self Build Should Be On Your Bucket List

Written by 果冻传媒

Follow us

img

Share this story

Lean ebook cover
Want to hear about effective Construction Project Management eh?! Well, you have come to the right place. Here’s my top 10 tips:
  • As I keep telling everyone, get that Detailed Programme to Completion (DPC) properly compiled after discussion with the sub-contractors for their input.
  • 鈥淪wan around the site, wearing a suit and ties and looking important鈥 – that鈥檚 just my daft phrasing of this Tip. What I actually mean is that we need to dress appropriately so that we can be identified at a distance. By the 鈥渟wanning around鈥 what we are doing is making ourselves available and accessible to the skilled tradesmen on the job. If they feel they can just yell us over they鈥檒l point out problems and difficulties we get to know long before they become serious problems that require loads of paperwork and re-working.
  • Institute a culture of 鈥淒e-Snag as you go鈥. This is helped by the 鈥渟wanning around鈥 because the trades know any faulty work of theirs is going to quickly be picked up, so they tend to put it right without even having to be told!
  • Check progress against the DPC at least once a week and up-date your master copy (yes, GenieBelt does this for you automatically) ;).
  • Put a copy of the DPC up where 鈥渢he lads鈥 can see it and invite them to do their own up-dating (hint, in their smartphones through GenieBelt!). Most of them are probably on price-work and you鈥檒l be amazed how they can accelerate work all by themselves if they think they can get two weeks extra work in that year to pay for the family holiday!
  • The construction clients will probably have one of their Directors turn up on site. Try to establish a relationship with them and get their mobile number. Any difficulties with their project manager for the job, or from their architects, consultants, etc., a quick call to your new mate and he鈥檒l soon sort them out for you! He鈥檚 the one who is paying them!
  • Site meetings? We do need them, but don鈥檛 have them too often! They cost a lot in travel expenses and wages for non-productive time. Better sense if you just 鈥渟ummon鈥 the people who need to speak with each other when there is an issue to be resolved between them.
  • This is a bit of a subtle thing! Somehow, by some magic, the management team – client, consultant, main contractor, sub-contractors – will identify one of their number as the 鈥淭eam Leader鈥 Just hope it is you! If it isn鈥檛, be sneaky and quietly manipulate whoever it is before the meetings!
  • Make a pretty good judgment of the skills and abilities of the managers or ganger men from the subbies. Good? Skilled? Experienced? If so then swallow your self-importance! They know far more about what they are doing than you ever will! Ask them!
  • This is the real shocker! The Site Meeting has a problem issue laid in front of it but can鈥檛 find a solution. Stick your head out of the door and yell for the ganger man mentioned in #9. It isn鈥檛 just you, but he probably has greater expertise and technical knowledge in his trade speciality than all the architects and engineers there! Then it will be down to you to translate from his 鈥淕runt鈥 to the normal English the rest of them use! Job solved!

Dive deeper into .