“Didn’t we order this a year ago?”
If you have ever been involved in a construction project, it is no secret that delays happen. Improper planning, poor coordination, lack of review, inadequate scheduling, murphy’s law, whatever! At the end of the day, effort without results means nothing. The world of construction is all about taking ‘AIM’; Anticipate, Implement and Manage.
Brace for impacts
While most seasoned builders and developers have refined their scheduling tactics and construction logistics to avoid as many delays as possible, anything can happen, like a global pandemic, turning those decades of scheduling experience into a clean slate. I like to refer to the COVID pandemic as BC^2/AC^2; Before -Covid/After-COVID. At this point, most industries have had time to acclimate and adjust their course of business to navigate today’s new challenges, yet the “blame COVID” excuse continues to linger. Over the course of the past couple of AC^2 years, various industries have become volatile and unreliable. Lumber, copper and other vital construction materials have fluctuated in price so drastically, people were forced to either wait out their orders, causing more delays, or buy them at record highs, causing financial deficits. What happens if you order floors or roofing and by the time it arrives it is not enough or damaged? Do you exceed standard 10-15% waste ratios and carry over excess material, or do you order more as needed at a higher price and likely longer lead time? Navigating the risk analysis and impacts for each trade can be mind-numbing. However, there are some ways you can prepare for anticipated delays through proper planning without getting burned or compromising your client’s timeline.
Navigating new terrain
Understanding that there are global supply chain issues, labor shortages, heightened inflation and general lag, there are many ways in which the construction industry has evolved innovatively. In an interview with award winning luxury developer, KOSL Building, we asked them about how they have been impacted and navigate supply chain hurdles. “You start from the end”, explaining that they analyze what trades and materials usually have long lead times and those that have now joined that cohort. Elaborating that they have setup a storage facility to mitigate these issues because of so many unknowns. “Appliances can take over a year now, therefore we place our orders as early as pouring a foundation. All of a sudden, they are ready in 3 months because someone canceled an order, or they came in early. Rather than figuring out arrangements, we have a practical solution so that the product is in hand and ready to use at our pace.” He notes that due to the volume of projects KOSL has, they often purchase materials in bulk, affording them the opportunity to remain on budget while having the excess ready in storage for the upcoming project. Concluding with “Everyone always prides themselves on customer service, until it is time to fulfil that obligation. We are in a performance-based industry and our customer service is top of mind, making our efforts relentless regardless of extraneous situations.” Upon discussing these issues with several vendors, whether it be plumbing suppliers, lumber yards, window and door distributors or any other supply-oriented business, the response was generally the same; we are all very busy, this is the new norm. Supply simply cannot keep up with demand and the list of backorders continues to extend, sometimes even getting lost in the database, further compounding the issue. While construction-based industries continue to remain extremely active, they are still working on getting a handle on productivity.
Adapt and perform
The ongoing hurdles of construction delays are not going away anytime soon. However, practical planning and proactive measures are the most certain way to offset unnecessary setbacks.
What are your mitigation strategies? Comment below!
