Programme - What programme?

“We’re on a pretty tight programme for this package”

“This item is on a critical path”

“We desperately need this on site”

“Is there anything you can do to get this delivered quicker?”

“Its simple stuff isn’t it? Why can’t you get it to us quicker?”

“We can’t live with your lead times”

This is the language I’m accosted with week-in, week-out as I come to close contracts on new projects.

I can hear the panic in the voices of the Contract Managers’ I’m working with. Faced with horrific damage charges from their clients if they overrun the programme dates, the last thing they want is their name associated with the late opening of a new public building, a new office block, a new housing complex – dates which have been published in the media for months, if not years, in advance. Depending on the client, these liquidated damages can be tens of thousands of pounds a day for every day they overrun. So along comes a lot of scaremongery and intimidation in an attempt to bully me into promising better lead times.

As the sales representative selling the rainscreen cladding or bespoke eaves profile, my products are generally one of the last on the building fa?ade to be installed, hence the rush and panic.

“Hang on” I start to think to myself “We first quoted this project years ago, why is it in such a rush now?”

So…… turning the questioning around to the contractor:

“How long have you had the programme?” (Answer: 1 year)

“How long have you known about this product requirement?” (Answer: 2 years)

“How long have you known about the project?” (Answer: 3 years)

“How long has the client/architect known about the project?” (Answer: 4-5+ years)

Then how, how, how, how, how has this turned into a last minute rush and uncontrolled panic??!

Why, why, why, why, why were we not having this conversation six months ago?

I really don’t get it.

While the time frames above are made up, what I’m trying to say is; the requirement has been there for a long, long time!

“It’s the construction industry” I’m told, “Get over it”

“What else can we do? The main contractor has only just dropped it on us.”

It’s the same story I hear everywhere. So what ends up happening is a highly bespoke, complex rainscreen system gets rushed through design, rushed through approval, rushed through manufacturing, rushed through finishing, rushed to site. Of course, as we all know, when things are rushed, things get missed, parts are despatched in the wrong order, our client doesn’t check drawings properly, panels are installed in the wrong place, and it becomes a complete migraine for everyone involved. 

Surely, we as the construction industry can get a bit more organised? I don’t believe this is the fault of any one particular party. 

While I don’t have any revolutionary answers, I do believe there are a number of things we can do to improve:

1                Create more awareness around lead times

This responsibility lies fairly and squarely with us salespeople. Yes, I know it’s all stated in the quote, but please do everyone a favour: make sure everyone actually knows it in detail and has taken it in!  This is especially important if your product is bespoke in nature and requires design involvement.

If your route to market is through specification, then you owe it to your Architect clients to make sure all tendering Main Contractors are aware of the design and manufacture period of your product – particularly if it is significant to the project. Don’t stop there though, once the main contractor is awarded, ensure you make contact with the project delivery team to convey the same information.  Keep on chasing them to make sure they get the package placed in good time! (Don’t worry about making a nuisance of yourself – they, the sub-contractor and people in your own organisation will thank you for it later!)

2                Be willing to release early design orders

There is nothing worse than trying to actually design and model something bespoke that has never been done before under the constraints of a construction programme.

This is where Main Contractors can really help themselves. The increase over the past few years of Pre-Contract Service Agreements (PCSA’s) has been brilliant in eliminating a lot of the above problems. By the time the MC is ready place the contract, design is complete, everyone knows exactly how it will be installed, what the interfaces are, and how long it will take to make.

Many QS’s that I come in touch with don’t like this approach as it gives a company a so-called unfair competitive advantage, and they can’t play sub-contractors off against each other to screw them down (and the other silly buying games that are played), but so what??! It reduces the huge risk of running over on the overall programme, and hence removing the risk of LD’s – a lot cheaper in the long run!

3                Get organised and place orders early

I recently had a conversation with a QS from a main contractor (who will remain nameless), where I was trying to push him to get the eaves package placed with a sub-contractor. His comment was “but it’s not on the critical path yet”.

When I responded “well, why wait till it is?” 

The answer was “because everything else is!”

He could have got his head into our package and got it placed well in advance and all relevant resource would have been allocated, but he couldn’t because he had so many other pressing packages to place before it.

To all the buyers out there: don’t be afraid to get orders placed months and months ahead of when the official lead-time stated in the quote starts. All manufacturers are busy (if they’re not – strongly question why!), and everyone needs a mobilisation phase. If the quote states 12 week lead-time; leave it till 12 weeks before you need it, resource may be tied up and they are unable to start straight away. Place your orders well in advance, all the resource you need will be allocated, ready and waiting to jump onto your project as soon as it’s needed!

This goes for everyone in the chain – End clients: get the Main Contractor on board as early as possible, Main Contractors: get the sub-contractor on board as early as possible, sub-contractors: get the manufacturers on board as early as possible!

Maybe I’m living in dreamland here, but something has to change. To say the whole industry is unorganised would be too much of a sweeping statement, and a dishonour to the truly well organised companies out there, but it does seem that 90% of the projects that I get involved in end up running to a mad panic towards the end.

I have lost count of the number of times we have been told “ignore that programme, it’s well out of date”. Or there has been huge pressure to get materials to site by a particular date, and there they sit for months because the building isn’t ready for them (this is another subject for another day..). Then, you guessed it – they get damaged on site and have to be re-made! (more rush and panic)

So to conclude this rant………. I don’t really have a conclusion! I guess some of my clients will read this and think – ‘you’re a fine one to talk, you’ve been late on deliveries before’, ‘you’ve kept us waiting’, and yes we aren’t perfect, and recognise the need to improve – we all do. If you’re reading this – I’d appreciate your thoughts.

Of all the people I meet, whatever their role in a project, everyone simply wants a project they are proud of working on at the end. Very few people are deliberately trying to screw people over or pull a fast one.  Lets trust each other and work collaboratively, much earlier than we have been.