Hidden Cost of BMP Maintenance
Are you handing off to your contractor, or holding their hand?
If you are managing a large construction project you have experienced the rhythms of compliance. Long term rhythms include the initial installation, the active maintenance phase, and the stabilization phase.
Within the active maintenance phase, there is the weekly/bi-weekly rhythm of staying on top of corrective action items, housekeeping, and proactive maintenance. This rhythm can become routine, which can be a good thing if the process is smooth. Who can argue with having good habits?
When you analyze this element of your compliance program, we suggest calculating the time you spend managing your BMP contractor. Often there is a hidden cost which goes unnoticed: Your valuable time.
A clean and effective weekly hand-off process would clearly communicate to the contractor the items you’ve approved, the questions you have, and the specifics needed each visit (like location, quantity, and type of BMP). Because of the frequency of this rhythm getting the process dialed in can pay off. Saving 30 to 60 minutes a week can allow you to tackle other challenges on site and allow you to accomplish more. You just want to build stuff, right?
Of course, what you do as a superintendent has an impact, but the BMP contractor also plays a role. Do you find yourself repeating instructions? Do you have to help the contractor find locations? Do you need to explain the outcomes you want? Have you ever given clear instructions and found later that something didn’t happen to your standards? Are the invoices clear or confusing? Can you trust them to make decisions in your best interests?
Very likely you are a pro at what you do, and it is also likely that you are experienced at managing subs and tying up loose ends every day, but we suspect that even with all your experience, maybe because of that experience, you’ve come to enjoy working with pros. Your BMP contractor is just one of many that you manage, but wouldn’t it be nice to work with one you can trust? One that doesn’t need continual hand holding? Here at DTEC, we hope you are ready for this new kind of experience and we hope you’ll give us a try so you can regain some of your valuable time.
