Business News
4 Essential Steps for Being a Collaborative GC Partner on Your Next Construction Project
By Matt Verderamo
One of my mentors always tells me: “In business—especially architecture, engineering, and construction—communication is the differentiator.” A lot of GCs handle problems the exact opposite way: • They don’t trust their Subs • So they don’t communicate key information • Because they don’t want them to use it against them Which then leads to those Subs: • Not trusting the GC • Concealing their own information • And constantly trying to find ways to “get one over” on the GC It’s really an ugly cycle. But I’m here to tell you from my 7 years as a Subcontractor, that it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve worked with some really collaborative GCs. Ones who not only trusted their Subs, but went as far to say, “we are nothing without our subs.” It all starts with good, honest communication at the beginning of the project. The projects with these GCs consistently produce better Owner/ Architect/GC/Sub relationships, more positive jobsite culture, and deliver better projects. Here’s the simple but essential 4-step approach collaborative GCs use to make it happen: 1. Have a Pre-Project Kick Off If you want to build a collaborative team, the first thing you need to do is get that team in the same room together. The pre-project kick off meeting is a great time to do that:
1. Invite the architect, owner’s rep, and key subs. 2. Set aside a few hours, and buy everyone pizza.
I had one GC do this for a $100MM Community College project. From day one, it made me feel like an important part of the project who knew all the stakeholders. By 8 months into the project, those stakeholders started becoming friends. As a result, our team—and the other team’s in that meeting — had a real connection to each other. We all worked great together. It works really well, and it gives you an opportunity to set some really important expectations. The next 3 steps are all Agenda items you can use in this meeting. 2. Share The Project’s Mission Once you have everyone together, the best thing you can do is share the project’s Mission. In the example above, the Mission of the project was to produce the best Health and Life Science Building in the Maryland Community College System. The GC clearly identified that the students were the priority: make this building great for them. And it totally made all the Subcontractors in the room feel like we were a part of something deeper than our scope of work. Compare this to the normal Mission your Subs would have of “making money” and you can see why having a deeper mission leads to more collaboration and better outcomes.
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csengineermag.com
NOVEMBER 2023
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