Sub-contractors are an essential part of any large-scale construction project, offering specific expertise honed through many years’ experience, and giving main contractors more flexibility when it comes to the types of project they take on.
By learning from each project, sub-contractors are continually improving their skills and processes, enabling them to deliver high quality work in a specialised field.
Although price obviously plays a part in deciding which sub-contractor to choose, finding the right one comes down to more than just going with the lowest bid. Almost everyone in the industry has found to their cost that going with what looks like the cheapest option can, at best, leave you facing additional costs and delays later in the project.
So, what are the key areas you should be looking out for when taking on a sub-contractor, to ensure you’re working with a dependable firm who won’t expose you to unnecessary risk, or compromise on quality?
Looking at references and previous projects are critical when evaluating a potential sub-contractor, providing you with important evidence of the scope and scale of work that has been completed.
Having a team that’s worked on projects of a similar nature gives you the confidence to know that your job is in safe hands. Breadth of experience is also important, as the more projects successfully completed, the greater the likelihood that sub-contractor has faced unforeseen circumstances and found an effective work-around. Weather, access issues, site storage, shortened completion timeframes – whatever the arising issue, you want to be sure that you won’t be left high and (not) dry.
In the current market, we’ve heard of a number of companies exaggerating their experience or service capabilities to try to win work so making sure you are confident about the evidence being given is important.
As a result of over 70 years of combined experience in the field, and in response to the changing needs of customers, our services have evolved to offer a ‘full envelope’ service in addition to providing the individual aspects; offering building protection services from insulated and specialised render systems, lightweight steel framing (SFS), terracotta, metal and fibre cement rainscreen cladding systems, to insulated panel systems and timber cladding.
By using the full envelope service, our clients benefit from a more streamlined approach, with one point of contact and one team overseeing all aspects of the project. Keeping packages of works together means potential problems can be anticipated and resolved quickly, minimising delays and ensuring the programme is kept on track.
One large-scale project where we managed the whole solution was at Riverside Leisure Centre in Chelmsford, working with main contractor Kier Construction Eastern. Commenting on the successfully completed project, Ian Gifford, Operations Director at Kier Regional Building Eastern said: “Kier Construction have been working with Eden Facades for over five years on various projects, and in that time they have proved to be a trusted partner who are able to match our high standards. The work carried out at Riverside Leisure Centre has given the building a sleek modern exterior to match the updated interior. In addition, the insulation, render and cladding used have ensured that the complex meets and all the thermal standards necessary for a commercial building and achieved a BREEM rating placing it among the eco-friendliest buildings in the country”.
Engaging suitably experienced façade sub-contractors sounds obvious but is imperative when it comes to the safety and success of your project.
If a quote seems too good to be true, in our experience it usually is. Purposefully leaving elements out of an initial estimate to keep the cost artificially low, only to be added in later, is unfortunately something that we come across amongst less scrupulous sub-contractors. And price-squeezed markets are making it more prevalent.
Missing elements could be a deliberate tactic, or an oversight due to lack of commercial experience, but either way, not factoring in the appropriate level of detail has ongoing consequences for the project.
We ensure that our quotes are as thorough as possible by asking our clients to provide us with as much detail as they can in the early stages of their enquiry. This should include plans, elevations, detailed drawings and specifications, as well as expected timings, delivery, storage and access requirements.
By applying the same diligence to every quote we prepare, regardless of the size of project, we know there won’t be any hidden surprises in our costs, which is one of the things we know our clients appreciate about working with us.
We set high standards and have found that having clear procedures for site managers and office- based staff to follow means we can make better, evidence-based decisions. We use an online QA system for all our projects, automatically keeping the office in touch with what’s happening on site, whether that be health and safety documentation, notes, or photographs of the works in progress.
Keeping open communication with our team on site, as well as with main contractors and suppliers, minimises the chance of delays and ultimately saves you time, money and stress.
We appreciate that cost can be a driving factor when it comes to making a decision about which sub-contractor to work with. But we also know that our clients value the experienced, professional and conscientious approach that our whole team takes to ensuring your project is as hassle-free as possible.
If you’d like to talk to us about your next project, get in touch on 01268 744199 or email office@edenfacades.co.uk.
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