Understand the Building Owner’s Point of View

Cal Shreiner, First Vice President and Head of Capital Construction Management North America for Prologis, drew on his 36 years of experience in all phases of construction management to give roofing contractors insight into the mindset of commercial building owners. He defined Prologis as “the leading owner, operator and developer of industrial properties in the world.” The company is active in 21 countries on four continents, and its $43.9 billion in assets under management equates to 569 million square feet of active properties. In his session titled “The Roofing Contractor From the Perspective of the Building Owner,” he defined the type of service necessary to meet and exceed the needs of building owners and their lease holders.

He also outlined the qualifications an owners’ representative looks for when hiring a roofing contractor. “When we look for a roofing contractor to do work for Prologis, first and foremost they must be customer service oriented, not only to us, the building owner, but also to the customers leasing the building,” he said.

The company looks for high-quality contractors with a proven track record. “They do not have to be the biggest contractor in the market or region, but we want to use the best. Sometimes the smaller ‘mom and pop’ contractors in some of the markets we work in are the best contractors,” he said.

He defined the best contractors this way: They show up at the project when they say they will, and perform high-quality work with very few callbacks. “In other words, say what you are going to do, and then do what you say,” he said. “It is imperative that we do not disrupt the customer’s business operations — the companies leasing the building from us.”

The contractor must be willing to work with the building owner and the customers leasing the building to schedule the work, even if this means doing the work at night, on weekends, or over holidays.

“We expect a team effort from the contractor and the manufacturers when resolving issues,” Shreiner said. “At the end of the day, I don’t want there to be any finger pointing.”

According to Shreiner, the goal is to limit the risk for everyone — the building owner, the contractor and the manufacturer — with a state-of-the-art preventive maintenance and inspection program. “We protect the contractor and the manufacturer and we expect them to protect us,” he said.

“In conclusion, we want our contractors and manufacturers to be successful. If you guys are profitable and successful, you’ll take care of us, your customer. We want to be your partner.”

For a link to the on-demand video webinar of Cal Shreiner’s presentation, visit www.RoofingContractor.com.