Creating the foundation for a successful project

Ever get to the end of a long project that you and your team worked tirelessly at, having put in extra hours on the planning and drawing stages, meticulously worked on it in your shop, and then taken it out in the field only to find that it was done wrong? We’ve never gone through that, but I hear it can be really demoralizing.

In all seriousness, while it can be painful, we have made our share of mistakes which has helped to create our project management system as it stands today. I find that when it comes to fabricating and installing a successful project, the devil really is in the details. Project management, from our point of view, creates the foundation that your project is built upon. If you get it right, the project almost seems to fall into place. If you get it wrong, well … see above.

Our project management starts (like most companies) once the sale or contract has come through. From there the estimators or salespeople get with the project manager to hand the project off. This is where the fun starts. We have broken our project management system into a few parts:

• Expectations: These are huge! When is this project supposed to be installed? How are we installing it? What are and what aren’t we responsible for? Even though some of these details might be in the estimate, we have found that it is always a good idea to make sure that everyone is on the same page when launching a new project. I like to pick up the phone and speak with the project manager from the client side to discuss these details in the very beginning.
• Shop Drawings: These help to set the expectations above. These also ensure that everyone is literally on the same page. Hopefully our client is thinking about how our trade will interact with others on the job site, but they can be busy (and sometimes a little forgetful). If we can think of any pitfalls ahead of time, we try to bring these up early in the process so we don’t wind up having to redo work. If we can help our client avoid these issues then everyone wins in the end. Our drawings are meticulously revised and re-revised to reflect both what we are making and what we are interfacing with. When you are juggling dozens and dozens of projects at any given time, the more you can document the better!
• Field Survey: Here is where the whole thing can really be won or lost. We often find ourselves having to measure incomplete buildings and then having to coordinate with the superintendent and project managers on what the actual finished dimensions will be. Documenting these conditions is key as well as understanding what the finished building will look like when all you’ve seen is the framing. Building this into our plans is key as well as including some wiggle room or allowances for finishing materials that may or may not be exactly the dimension that the client told us they would be.
• Scheduling: As anyone who has worked in construction can tell you, projects rarely finish on time, at least according to the early schedules that are published. For awning and canopy manufacturers, we are one of the last trades to go in so staying on top of an ever-changing schedule is key especially as it comes to managing the schedule for your own shop.
• Paperwork: Once a project is ready to hand off to the production team, we create a set of drawings and paperwork that works its way through the various processes in our shop (measuring, welding, sewing, and install). If all the above has been done well, it makes the production phase through to the install phase feel much easier and allows the pieces to fall into place.

This is not to say that production and installation are not without their own challenges. Obviously having good quality control measures as well as processes to work through will make this part of the project run smoothly as well. But from our experience, if the foundation can be laid properly from the start, the chances that the project will be a success are much higher than if you are producing something based on false information or incorrect expectations.

Ethan Halpern is the president of California-based American Awning and Blind Co., and a member of the Professional Awning Manufacturers Association Board of Directors.