When you think of a great dining experience, what comes to mind? You probably start thinking about the great food. Then, there is probably a friendly staff offering professional service. The presentation of the food and the ambiance play a part as well.
In last month's article, I dealt with the white-collar segment of construction industry theft represented by embezzlement. Now, let's turn our attention to the more common problems associated with the theft of tools, equipment and materials, which can be thought of as construction's blue-collar crime wave.
Many contractors are not good at hiring and managing when it comes to managers. Managing managers requires different measurements and skill sets from managing field employees. Manager success is based on skills and a scope of work that goes beyond day-to-day job functions. While it is impossible to learn how to become a better manager of managers just by reading a magazine article, this information can possibly help you avoid some of the common mistakes contractors make.
For most construction companies, it is not too difficult to find people with bodies who are able to nail shingles. The difficulty is finding the right people - people who are as committed to excellence as you are.
Until recently, my salespeople and I haven't been wired for success. Sure, my team has always been successful at communicating the benefits of a new roof to our consumers and getting them involved with our company, but we weren't operating at top speed. We weren't connected.
Great leaders understand that significant change takes the energy and talent of other people. Tell stories that illustrate how your listener fits into the picture.
A typical problem with the majority of construction jobsites is a lack of qualified persons (QP) to determine if any point of anchorage is capable of resisting the kinetic terminal impact force (TIF) of all of the potential anchorage points. By "capable," I mean the ability to resist TIFs without failure. The term "failure" in the OSHA standard is defined as "load refusal, breakage, or separation of component parts."
Rarely do you find anyone in the construction business who hasn't been victimized by "shrinkage" of tools, equipment and inventory. Most estimates peg construction theft to be a $1 billion industry. Pilferage is estimated to add a percentage point or two to the cost of new homes and small commercial buildings.
There are numerous issues affecting our industry and our world, and it is often difficult to choose which one to target in this column. This month I could boil it down to no less than two. So, in the spirit of springtime and the return of baseball, here is a double-header for you.
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