Project management is not a science. That’s why different contractors will have different ideas about how to structure the crew and the job to get the best results.
At Blue Jay Exterior Renovations, we believe that a dedicated project manager should visit active jobs on a daily basis. Here are 5 ways that daily site visits help us to deliver the best results possible for our customers.
5 reasons we visit our projects every day
1. quality control
The most obvious reason to stop by the site is to make sure that the job is being installed correctly. Even if the crew is experienced and has a great track record, they are still human beings that are capable of making a mistake. Whether it’s a particular design accent, a new installation detail from the manufacturer, or a specific request from the customer, every project has unique factors that might be missed.
Consistent site check-ins also allow us to keep on top of the work being done without making the crews feel like we are watching over their shoulder (because we are there every day anyway).
2. crew morale
You might think that daily site visits would be annoying for the crews. But in our experience, installers appreciate the site visits as much as the customers do!
It helps that we often arrive with drinks in hand (Double Doubles on cold days and cold Gatorade on hot ones), but our frequent check-ins show the installers that the rest of the company is invested in the project.
What message does it send to the installers if a project manager never comes to the job? How much does that project manager really care about the project if they are never there? If the project manager doesn’t really care, why would the installers go the extra mile on the job?
3. customer communication
Daily site visits go a long way towards making Blue Jay’s customer communication the best in the industry. In some cases, we get to see the customer in person every day and discuss progress on the project. Of course, projects almost always go very well when this is how we are able to communicate with our customers.
Even when our customers are not at home during work hours, our daily check-ins help with communication. When a customer emails or calls with a question after hours, we are far more likely to know the answer when we’ve been to the project that day. This allows us to respond with an informed answer, rather than waiting until the next day.
We believe that this is part of the reason that most contractors don’t do a good job of communicating with their customers.
4. pro-active problem solving
No two siding renovations are ever exactly alike. This means that on just about every project, the crew will have installation questions for the project manager. These could be simple yes/no type questions (like “Do we caulk this gap or not?”) to somewhat more complex ones (like “These nails won’t fire through the stucco. How should we fasten the wood strapping?”)
If you talk to installation crews about how other siding contractors handle these problems, they’ll tell you stories that will make you cringe. There are contractors that ignore these questions for days, until the installer has to make the decision on their own just to get paid for their work. There are project managers that say “You’re the siding installer, you figure it out.” And there are contractors with a “just get it done” attitude that will always solve the problem as cheaply and as quickly as possible, never mind the consequences.
Consistent, daily project manager visits allows the crews to rely on us to work together to solve problems as they arise, and address issues pro-actively before they slow down the work. If the solution is one that needs extra material, or input from the homeowner, they know that we will take care of it. This allows our crews to keep working, which keeps them happy and the project on schedule.
5. working to get better
We are proud to deliver the best customer experience on siding renovation projects for homeowners in Edmonton. Even so, we are always looking to improve our projects for our customers: just because we are the best doesn’t mean that we can’t get better!
One of the best ways at our disposal to improve our projects is by visiting our active jobs. When we are on site, we see the challenges that our installers meet on each job. If something comes up just once or twice, it might not be a huge problem. If it comes up more often, then perhaps we should look at a solution to eliminate the issue.
One example of this is Blue Jay’s use of a disposal bin or bag on every project. (Did you know that many siding contractors don’t provide a bin, and expect the installers to haul away the debris in their trucks and trailers?) Even on smaller projects, we always provide a disposal container for the installers so they can keep the site clean. If there is no container, the wind blows debris all over the site, which we noticed by visiting sites on windy days.
summary
It’s a lot of extra work for us to visit each of our jobs every day that they’re active, but it’s absolutely worth it. Daily site visits allow us to keep better track of our projects, higher standards of installation, and best-in-class customer communication.