Create Order at Your Job Site

Looking to curb job site chaos? Remodeler Steve Klitsch keeps his jobs organized by following a few simple steps that ensure better business and work flow.

“One way to ensure high productivity and order is to first have an accurate job schedule—regardless of job size,” says Klitsch, owner of Creative Concepts Remodeling, Inc. in Germantown, Md. and member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI). “Building a kitchen may be much different than building a living room addition. Consider the different trade skills involved and plan ahead.”

Planning ahead is only the first part of keeping an orderly job site for your employees and subcontractors. Consider the following project timeline as an organizational gauge for remodeling success:

From the contract signing until two weeks prior to job start
Whether the job calls for installing ceramic tiles and granite countertops or sink basins and dishwashers, be sure to give your subcontractors enough time to plan for the job in advance. Although electricians and plumbers may only need about two weeks for shorter installations, a skilled carpenter building the frame for an addition will likely need a couple of months to plan, Klitsch says.

“A lot of these subcontractors have three- and four-man crews of their own, which requires a lot of schedule coordination,” he adds. In addition, they are likely working on other jobs outside of this—making efficient scheduling and following up all the more critical.

Mason Hearn, president of Home Masons, Inc., near Richmond, Va., follows up with his trade partners two weeks before their scheduled job, not only in the interest of briefing them, but also to make sure they are still on board for the work and holding a spot in their schedule. A call is also made t to the trade partners the day before they are expected on the job. 

First day of job
Klitsch suggests having a written project timeline in place that ensures accountability of all employees and subcontractors. He recommends posting it in a visible area the first day not only to keep the job on pace, but also to show your clients that you are organized and have the confidence and skills to run the project at hand.

“For larger projects, we come up with a spread sheet with pencil on graph paper,” he says.
Once the work course is set, Hearn recommends introducing the client to the project point person, or what he calls the “lead carpenter.” This person is responsible for all job site communications between the client and the lead project team.

“While contracts are important, it is many times more critical to ‘walk the walk’ in regards to site policy such as clean up,” says Hearn. “The lead carpenter of every job must personally manage our own crews as well as our trade partners to demonstrate the importance of such policies.”

A point person will also want to designate an area for material storage and deliveries, which will ideally be a covered space that will protect it from the elements.

“I usually suggest the garage; I have never had anyone say no,” Klitsch says. In the absence of a garage, a tent can also serve as an adequate shelter—and making sure suppliers wrap all deliveries in plastic in advance is helpful.

During the job
When it comes to deliveries, Klitsch recommends staging them in logical shifts, because not every piece will be used at one time.

In addition, require contractors to be responsible for bringing their own tools and equipment.
“If the subcontractor is assigned a job and needs a tool that he or she has forgotten, then the subcontractor should have to retrieve that tool on his or her own time to complete the assigned work,” Klitsch says.

Often times such problems can be averted by establishing a reliable network of trade partners that you use regularly for site work. This way, you always know what to expect in terms of timeliness, loyalty and, most importantly, cleanliness, Hearn says.

“We always insist on job site order and cleanliness throughout a job,” he says, noting that his crews have their own mini-vacs and zip wall systems to keep the dust and debris at minimum. “We do it not only to keep the homeowner happy, but because it shows that we have a respect for their homes.” He adds that an orderly jobsite is safer, more productive and the homeowner feels better about the quality of work and progress on an orderly site, and everyone—workers and homeowner—seem to have a better attitude.

Crews can show clients additional respect by only using company-provided tools; never use any provided by the client or homeowner. This also legally protects contractors in the case of any mishaps.
“If you are not using your own equipment and something fails, you may not be able to file a claim,” Klitsch says.

After job completion
Once the job is successfully completed, follow up on your orderly practices of job site cleanliness and make sure that you leave the home in the same shape that you found it, Hearn suggests.

And when packing up the company-owned tools and equipment, make sure all usage is properly documented in the tool maintenance log, if your company has one. To keep order on future job sites, Klitsch recommends taking a tool inventory about once month and checking it against any corresponding logs. This way if any maintenance or repairs are needed, you can prepare for it before the next job.

“Even if you only have a handful of employees, take a few hours one afternoon, spread all the tools out and see what’s what. It will make keeping order on your next job site easier.”