FEATURE LESSONS LEARNT
round increased costs. Our client did help by increasing rates through lengthy discussions and evidence supplied. “We tightened areas of our service to reduce costs; for example, by sending multigrade operatives to complete varied tasks as opposed to running several trades and vehicles, and scrutinising every material quotation for best price. However, these were nowhere near enough to run the contract back into the profit side and luckily our strong growth over our trading history and other ongoing contracts enabled us to get through the contract.” The idea of tightening one’s figurative belt is key and shared by Owen. “Get yourself nice and tight,” he advises. “That's all we’ve done. We’ve looked after everyone as best we can but I’ve had to let two people go as a result of dropping turnover from losses on jobs. “These hardships really concentrate the mind to devote more time to planning and cutting out any errors. You have to go leaner when you're making a loss: stop wasting materials, go hard on your labour but incentivise it for them. We’re encouraging employees to finish a job in four days instead of five and then they have Friday off. It helps their mental health and gives them time with their families but it also means the business saves money by dropping travel costs by 20%.”
Change is inevitable so learning how to adapt is important to business success. For Darren McKelvey, Director at McKelvey Construction operating in England’s capital city as well as in Northern Ireland, that means embracing innovation. Specifically, he points to three key factors to grapple with for long-term success: “Modern methods of construction will enable us to deliver projects more efficiently, assist with off site elements and reduce the environmental impacts of construction.” “Embracing new technologies in terms of construction management will enable you to more effectively deliver projects and, with regards to building services technologies, provide future oriented buildings.” “Adopt sustainability to extend the service life of buildings by considering potential circular economy aspects, renewables and passive methods.” Additionally, McKelvey’s firm decided to confront the skills shortages head-
Longevity advice for FMB members
Owen: Protect your reputation by being honest.
Waters: Deliver a good job and the clients will come back. Word of mouth is far better than advertising. Griffiths: Analyse what you do well and where you need to improve. Expand on your strengths and address any weakness with an action plan. McKelvey: Learn from your mistakes and gain experience. Persevere. These will be the foundation for future success.
34
Master Builder
www.fmb.org.uk
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator