Tuesday, March 15, 2011

In The Essence of Time...

Do you like puzzles? Do you like really big puzzles? You might just have what it takes to be a Builder. That's what we do. We put large puzzles with lots of pieces together. Some are complex and some are simple - it just depends on the client who defines the puzzle.

Everyone is in a hurry. With technology changing daily we find ourselves bombarded with new goods and services which usually end up being incorporated into our projects. The pieces of the puzzle keep changing! With constant change there is a tremendous need for a project timeline. Somehow we have to keep all these parts and tradesmen on schedule!

Professionals know their time constraints. If you are working with highly reputable people (we subcontract all of our work) they know exactly how long their function will take. Why not work to assemble timelines with them so that owner, architect, structural engineer, builder, other trades and even the landscapers can schedule around the project? Sounds like a pretty good idea to me! We use a variation of this flow chart along with some other tools to communicate to the project team what we see as the project schedule.

But wait a minute - there are a bunch of pieces required to make a room look like this! Let's take all the known pieces that we will need, and work to define the pieces that are yet to be selected and incorporate them into our schedule so that we don't have any surprises. Nothing worse than working through the process only to find out that you haven't ordered something on time! Can you spell WORK STOPPAGE? Changes in selections will upset the flow of the schedule, but that is the perogative of the owner - they are the only contributor to the process that get the final vote.

To increase the predictability of our tradesmen performing on schedule we have found through the years the very best craftsmen in the business - these are the guys and gals that we use project after project to create such magnificence! Our relationship ensures their availability, and helps us feel secure in knowing with whom our clientele is interacting.

Complicated or rather simple by comparison a well structured timeline keeps everyone on task. After all, most people are in a hurry and when you are in a hurry who wants to slow down?

1 comment:

  1. Bob,
    I love what you are doing and how much these articles can help clients. There is so much to know and as you pointed out, it is ever changing. Blogs like this are an asset to all of us in the business. Thank you for all your insight. Keep it coming.
    Best,
    Christy

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