Creating Potential and Delivered Value for Contractors

We are contractors and the contract is a tangible representation of potential value. That value is delivered when the right information, materials, and equipment come together at the right time in the hands of the right craftsperson for installation.

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D. Brown Management
February 10, 2025 3 minute read

 

 

Once your strategic decisions are made about your markets, operations, and talent, the business of building is largely about winning work and building work. This will be the focus of most of your people and management systems. 

"Eighty-Five Percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and processes rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering the individuals to do better." - W. Edwards Deming

 

Identify priorities, bottlenecks, and constraints in your business by focusing on two critical milestones—the contract and field installation. Use this simple checklist for each to start your continuous improvement process. 

The Contract (Potential Value)

  1. Identifying and choosing the right opportunities to pursue (BizDev & Executives)
  2. Defining the right scope, design, and schedule to deliver maximum value to the project owner (Precon / Engineering)
  3. Accurate quantity take-off (Estimating)
  4. Accurate costs including materials, equipment, subcontractors, and crews (Estimating)
  5. Accurate unit production rates given the conditions (Estimating)
  6. Right terms and pricing for the risk (Executives)

 

Field Installation (Delivered Value)

  1. Right field workforce—trained for the task(s) including field leadership
  2. Right tools and equipment
  3. Right information
  4. Right materials
  5. Clear work area
  6. Stretch goals

Achieving this in the field comes down to Effective Tasking, The 6 Pillars of Productivity, Short-Interval Planning (SIP), and ABC Daily Planning. 

 

 

Evolution of Project Delivery Methods
Project delivery methods for contractors will become increasingly more integrated from project owner through all key parts of the supply chain, which is a return to models used in the early 1900s with some modernization improvements.
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