Scheduling and the impact of COVID

03/24/23 • 32 min

We appreciate any and all feedback so feel free to send a text.

Construction Challenges Podcast:

Introduction: Managing construction projects have never been more challenging than they are today.

We struggle to manage projects for numerous reasons, and in todays episode, we intend to list five reasons and have some dialogue around each.

The complexity between projects: multiple phases and tasks must be completed sequentially. Each task can be affected by the following:
1. Labor shortage
2. Weather
3. Resources
4. Quality
Dependency between tasks. Activities are dependent on other tasks, and if one item is not completed on time, it will have an impact on the activities that follow.
Resource Allocation: projects require the coordination of various resources
1. Materials
2. Labor
3. Equipment
4. Time
Communication and Collaboration:
1. Communication between tasks and owners.
2. How well do we communicate between trades?
3. How far in advance do we schedule activities, and are we confirming that the schedule is accurate and the job is ready?
Unforeseen Issues: You will always encounter unexpected issues. It is the nature of the business, and you should anticipate them and be ready to pivot and make new decisions. I suggest having your Plan B ready if you need to deploy it.
1. Pre-Construction delays
2. A need to ask for more information delays the project
3. A need to bring in an engineer to approve something done in the field to the drawings.

Vendor of the week: Foster Heating & Air

Conclusion: To overcome the challenges you will face on projects, you must have several tools and techniques ready. Project management software, Critical Path Analysis, and Contingency Planning to name a few. Effective project management will require cooperation between all stakeholders, and you must be agile enough to make changes when things don’t work. If you remain rigid in the face of adversity, your business might survive, but it is at the expense of your people.
#construction #homebuilder #customhomebuilder #projectmanagement #superintendent #success #personaldevelopment

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Carolyn can be found on LinkedIn at:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-mcmahon-937b89158
Joshua can be found on LinkedIn at:
www.linkedin.com/in/joshuamcmahon15
Email for feedback, questions, complaints, etc:
[email protected]
Daily Journal: https://amzn.to/41p9aKE

We appreciate any and all feedback so feel free to send a text.

Construction Challenges Podcast:

Introduction: Managing construction projects have never been more challenging than they are today.

We struggle to manage projects for numerous reasons, and in todays episode, we intend to list five reasons and have some dialogue around each.

The complexity between projects: multiple phases and tasks must be completed sequentially. Each task can be affected by the following:
1. Labor shortage
2. Weather
3. Resources
4. Quality
Dependency between tasks. Activities are dependent on other tasks, and if one item is not completed on time, it will have an impact on the activities that follow.
Resource Allocation: projects require the coordination of various resources
1. Materials
2. Labor
3. Equipment
4. Time
Communication and Collaboration:
1. Communication between tasks and owners.
2. How well do we communicate between trades?
3. How far in advance do we schedule activities, and are we confirming that the schedule is accurate and the job is ready?
Unforeseen Issues: You will always encounter unexpected issues. It is the nature of the business, and you should anticipate them and be ready to pivot and make new decisions. I suggest having your Plan B ready if you need to deploy it.
1. Pre-Construction delays
2. A need to ask for more information delays the project
3. A need to bring in an engineer to approve something done in the field to the drawings.

Vendor of the week: Foster Heating & Air

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Previous Episode

Customer Service - Warranty

We appreciate any and all feedback so feel free to send a text.

Customer Service Podcast

Introduction: When we build a customer a new home, we provide a safe place for others to live. We must focus more on building an experience and a home.

When we go out to dinner, are you just going to eat? We are paying for the environment, great customer service, food, and an experience we look forward to telling our friends about.

Vendor of the week: Next Level Stairs LLC out of Petersburg Va.

Customer Service is essential in homebuilding. When you consider that building or buying a home is a significant investment and that customers want to feel comfortable with their purchase.

The home-building process is complex and can be overwhelming for customers. We must have a simple process and extremely warm handoffs between each department.

Who is customer service? Production? Sales? Support staff? Warranty Department?

What are five ways that we can improve our customer service today?

Communication
1. Updates
2. Schedule
3. Process communicated
Responsiveness
1. Treat service with urgency
2. Provide a response to help (don’t fall in the trap of blaming)
Honesty
1. Don’t ever lie or try to BS your client
2. If you don’t know, write it down and let them know you will get back to them.
Alignment
1. Ensure a playbook is adopted
2. Everyone on the team is on the same team
3. Don’t blame one another, it just makes it worse
Follow Through
1. Do what you said you are going to do
2. Ensure you are scheduling and maximizing the time you are asking your customer to take off from work.
3. Paperwork to document the items
4. Signed off paperwork
5. Close items only once it is signed and documented

Conclusion: Overall, good customer service can help build customer trust and loyalty, leading to positive word-of-mouth referrals and a strong reputation in the industry.

#production #warranty #success #homebuilder #customerservice #improvement #process #playbooks #construction #coaching #projectmanagement

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Next Episode

Building Our Dream Home: A Journey of Challenges and Humor

We appreciate any and all feedback so feel free to send a text.

We wanted to share the process of buying land, securing a construction loan, and some of our lessons learned thus far.
The process is not for the faint of heart! We are into the selections and sending our plans out for bids while working the banking numbers behind the scenes.
1. Finding land
2. Making offers on land and being beaten out
3. Making an offer and going through the counteroffer process
4. Being under contract on land
5. Working with a bank to purchase the land, construction loan, and conventional loan
6. Sending our drawings and specifications out for bid
7. Trying not to stress out about the costs of each estimate
#construction #customhomebuilder #homebuilder #process #success #goals #dreambuilder

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