What is one of the worst mistakes you could make on a construction project? Give up? Hire an under-qualified subcontractor. When this happens the rest of the project suffers and sometimes even causes project failure. So how do we avoid this problem?
The best advice is to come up with a project specific qualifications list for hiring vendors for the project. These qualifications are above and beyond the project specifications. Project specifications are the written requirements of the scope of work and the general contractor can use that as a means to qualify subcontractors; but going above and beyond that with additional qualifications helps to weed out those who tell you they can do the job and those who can actually do it right. Additional qualification items and practices could look like the following:
- Listing of similar project experience
- Discussing philosophy of project management and staffing
- Request past project Owner references
- Check out the company’s website – This could help answer the previous items
- And don’t forget to discuss their company safety policy!
Projects that focus on hiring contractors based on best value based on qualifications and not just amount of bid sets the project up for success.
Horst Construction News 