Jacob Austin (00:00:17) - Hi everyone. Jacob Austin here, owner of QS.Zone. And welcome to episode 31 of the Subcontractors Blueprint, the show where subcontractors will learn how to ensure profitability, improve cash flow and grow their business. Today's episode number 31 is going to be about quality. Quality control is a massive part of any successful construction project, and quality control problems can have a major impact on you as a subcontractor, causing delays, causing potential rework, even maybe safety hazards. It can also be the source of unwanted deductions, so a contractor can actually reduce the payment that he's making to you on the basis of poor quality, on the basis that defects are left in a piece of work, or if for whatever reason, the product or specification has been changed or varied, perhaps you've gone in with what you think is an equal alternative product without clarifying what you're going to provide, and that can lead the contractor and sometimes even the client to pick up on it and reduce the price that you've been paid for your work. But it's also a cause of a lot of frustration, particularly when large day work bills are coming in for remediating quality issues, and particularly if there ends up being contra charges between subcontractors for a follow on trade to come back and make good something that someone else is left in a poor state.
Jacob Austin (00:01:39) - So I'm going to talk about what I see as a few contributory factors, a few of the contractual remedies, and some pointers for what you can do about it. Quality control in the last ten years, I think is really increased across the industry, and there's some really useful technologies out there that can help both to monitor quality, record what you've done and demonstrate your compliance. And particularly when we're talking about fire compliance, these are really big client hotspot issues and things that can turn into potential latent defects, costing an absolute fortune to go back and sort out at a later date. And unsurprisingly, quality issues can start right at the start of the project. Also the best time to mitigate potential issues. So let's start with the estimation, the expectations of the contractor specifications and setting the bar. Now, we've probably all been there at one point in time. I know I've spoken to some site managers in the past who regularly took the approach of oh well, this is what I did on my last project. So this is what we're doing here.
Jacob Austin (00:02:38) - Now. When you get an inquiry document, you should be getting a specification which outlines what you need to do on that particular project. And it shouldn't just be the case of this is what I did last time, I'm going to price it as this. You need to check and read and make sure that you're pricing the specific requirements for that project. And sometimes you will get that inevitable bill of quantity sent over on an email. Put your price together for this. And particularly if you've got some, junior has knocked up a quick bill of quantities with some inadequate descriptions, you can be entering into a minefield of issues by submitting a quote. This is the time for you to establish what you're going to do. So if you do get a vague bill of quantities to price, the onus here is on you to qualify what you're doing. Set out your stall from the start. Make it clear what you've priced so that when the contractor reviews your finished work on site, there's no surprises.
Jacob Austin (00:03:31) - Of course, this is the time as well, to make sure that you're getting the price right, to make sure that the specification needed is reflected in your quote. And if the workmanship standards are particularly onerous, you need to make sure that your labor allocation is sufficient. Some quality issues come from those corners that get cut on site to try and make rates pay. And sometimes if you've gone in particularly tight, you might be forced to use some subcontract labor that might not be up to the job. And getting the work for the wrong price is a big contributor to that. Having the right money in your bid to be able to afford the right, good quality operatives, to be able to afford the time that it's going to take to meet the specification. That is one key to get enough on the right foot and ensuring you can deliver the quality that you need to. Pre start meetings. This is a great place to discuss and understand the obligations you're going to meet, and if you're unsure on the quality required, this is the time to raise it.
Jacob Austin (00:04:29) - Discuss how the job's going to go. And this is the final step in the negotiation before you hit site. So this is your last chance to clarify what you're going to provide, what you're going to achieve, and what's expected of you. These meetings are vital for setting a stall out at the start. Avoiding them can lead to misunderstandings later, lead to mismatches in expectations, confusion over roles and responsibilities, and then down the line. Rework and lost time. Lost money. So I can't reiterate enough. Have a good pre start meeting, ask all the questions and give yourself the best chance of getting off on the right foot. So next you've secured the order. You're on site. Now what you've got to do is procure the right labor to get the job done in the right way. That can be easier said than done, particularly in times of labor shortages. Finding the right qualified workers who can deliver high quality work isn't always easy. And depending on where the bar has been set in terms of quality, perhaps if there's some particularly specialised tasks involved in your work, you might need to go those extra couple of steps to make sure that you're vetting the people that you're bringing on, and you're confident that you're buying the right man for the job with the experience, the expertise, and the skill to deliver what you need.
Jacob Austin (00:05:46) - Now, as far as your subcontract is concerned, you have to procure the materials that are stated in the design documents, either in the specification on the drawings, or if you develop the specification and drawings yourself as part of the design and build package. Once that specification has been signed off and approved, that is what you need to deliver. Now, if there are any issues with the specification, you're not providing what is being set out. The contractor is entitled to adjust your valuation accordingly so when he certifies your payment, if you're providing a material that is 10% cheaper, he can make that reduction as well. Within his rights, he's also able to adjust for the putting right of defects or correcting quality issues, as if he had to bring somebody else in to come and correct your work. And sometimes that can present a big problem, because the value of that will likely be more than you could reasonably put the same work right for. So how can you combat that? One thing that you might consider is providing samples.
Jacob Austin (00:06:46) - You may also build a sample panel or carry out a small piece of sample installation. You offer that to the contractor and their potential clients. Clerk of works. Another sensible thing that you could do is identify one room, one plot, one little area, whatever seems like a sensible section, and present that as a sample of your work. This works particularly well for, say, decorative finishes. You invite the contractor and their clerk of works from the client to come and inspect it. Agree that as a benchmark, they will perhaps pick out their own snags and issues within the work. And once you've remedied those, what you've then got is a standard that you can work to for the remainder of the project. And it's particularly effective if that particular area, that room, that plot is going to remain available throughout the project. To refer back to, you can refer to the standard of the benchmark plot and demonstrate whether you're being asked to work to a higher standard, or whether that work that you're now presenting meets the bar, in which case you've obviously got remedial work to do to get up to standard.
Jacob Austin (00:07:51) - But how do you make sure that you're meeting that standard consistently? Well, that, as we've already mentioned, is partly down to making sure that you've got the right labour, the right people with the right skills to execute properly, and having enough of them on site with the right allowances to be able to consistently deliver. But it's also about your inspections. Now, a lot of the time, main contractors will have their own set of quality control procedures and probably a series of checklists to make sure that everything is in place. That should be. Also, if you're working in the housing forum, you've got the NHBC standards, which have got a comprehensive list of everything that needs to be in place, including details and accurate descriptions of what you should be leaving behind. But it's generally down to you to inspect your own work and have the confidence that you're not building in defects. And having that proactive approach to monitoring your own quality is a key here. Waiting for issues to arise before addressing them can lead to bigger problems and rework down the line.
Jacob Austin (00:08:49) - And it's always better to deal with these things as and when they happen. That's likely the cheapest point for you to rectify any issues before you're then talking about opening up something that's been finished, or disturbing somebody else's work to get back in, to rectify a problem in your own work. This is when the dreaded country charges can come about, and in the housebuilding forum, the dreaded Re can come in. So inspection of your own work is a key, and there are many different tools that you can use to monitor and sign off on quality. This could be simple sheets. If you're regularly doing the same kind of work, it might be worth having a pad printed up with inspection sheets for the various stage sign offs, similar to the likes of a day workbook, but identifying key bits that you need to inspect with a simple tick list. Are these items completed? Are they finished properly? Your operative signs it. You can also have the site manager sign it to say that he's happy. But you've got things like SnagR or Field Wire by Hilti which are really great tools.
Jacob Austin (00:09:49) - And within there you can create your own endpoint assessments like a bespoke online checklist so that you can again tick off the items that needed to be completed, sign off that they're complete at the end of the stage, have it signed by the site manager, and then you've got a record that you completed the work. And this is also really critical for if some allegations come back to say, oh, this wasn't finished properly and this sometimes happens, somebody else will come and damage something after you've already finished your section. And if you haven't got a record to say that you've completed it, then you can be back in there putting things right that you've perhaps already done once. And some of the larger contractors that I've worked with have used this to their advantage, because they're able to get out their records and say, hold on. On this day, your site manager inspected this piece of work. They accepted that everything was finished and everything was in place. And then when the challenge comes in to say, hold on, you didn't finish this properly, they can point to this piece of paper or in the case of your field wire, they can email a copy of the finished report to demonstrate it was signed off and it was accepted as finished.
Jacob Austin (00:10:54) - Now, that's not to say that it's foolproof, because as we all know, some site managers will sign off anything that you put in front of their nose just to get you out of the way. It's a good job they don't leave their chequebook lying around, but it's good. Strong project management to implement a sign off procedure with a robust inspection to make sure you're monitoring your own quality. It will help you be proactive in addressing any issues that you come across, and hopefully prevent those countries charges. The rise and rework from cropping up, and it's one of the best ways you can prevent those hundreds of pounds worth of country charges from being an argument, sometimes even thousands of pounds worth of country charges. If you're able to point at signed records that the site manager has endorsed, and you're also preventing the contractor from making any adjustments against your valuation, because under clause 2.4, which is for materials, goods and workmanship, the states in simple terms that you should meet the standard set out in the subcontract, referring again to the good old JCT design and build subcontract.
Jacob Austin (00:11:54) - And it's this clause that the contractor will reference when it comes to making deductions. And having that signed record will not only prevent those deductions, but you can also use them to measure the quality across your organisation. And it's a good means for deciding which labour is appropriate to use on similar work in the future. It's also a good method for gauging performance. You can identify frequent underperformers and challenge them, provide extra training and do what it takes to lift the bar. Some contractors also use this as a method for reward, handing out employer of the Month or Quality Performer awards to recognise their consistent high achievers. So not only are you able to use those records to iron out the negatives, you can also use them as a positive, incentivizing your workforce to improve their own performance. Effective communication is a good way of maintaining quality. We've mentioned already the importance of setting the bar and holding a preset meeting to establish the standards that you need to achieve early on, but regular communication to understand what work is coming up, when to make sure that you've got the resources in place to address that work, when it needs to be done.
Jacob Austin (00:13:04) - Regular liaison with the site team to pick up and deal with issues as and when they happen. These are all things that will prevent extra costs from coming your way in the future. Having a good idea of what labor is needed. When is one of the keys? Because time pressure and tight deadlines can put pressure on the subcontract to rush work and potentially increasing the risk of errors and shortcuts being taken? So having that foresight and being able to plan what you need it and when is a way to try and prevent that. There's also the problem of regular changes. If there are a lot of frequent changes to the project scope that can disrupt the workflow, dragging your labour to different sections to do bits that you hadn't anticipated, and it's all well and good. The contractor handing out instructions and saying I need this bit doing now. But if that's dragging your labour away from programme critical items and putting added time pressure on the labour that you've got on site, and again, communicating that you need the time to react to that instruction and put the right resources in place may help you avoid that.
Jacob Austin (00:14:03) - But it's no surprise that some projects that have a large volume of change are those same projects that can underperform on quality. And I'm not saying that you can use that as an excuse, because regardless of any number of changes that crop up, you still need to perform to the required quality standard. What you can do is raise it in your regular meetings with the contractor to make sure that you're being given enough time, enough foresight to plan. You can work together with the contractor and collaboratively plan out and address issues to prevent them from causing problems. That may mean that you need to factor in more supervision when it comes to pricing in changes, to make sure you can achieve what you need to, and performing high against quality benchmarks is as important as performing price wise when it comes to securing future work. So having that proactive approach, having a demonstrable sign off procedure to show that you're achieving what you need to do is one of the most positive things you can do to secure repeat work from your contractor and maintain a high performing, successful business.
Jacob Austin (00:15:03) - I hope you've enjoyed that brief discussion on quality.
My mission with this podcast is to help the 1 million SME subcontractors working within an industry. If you're taking some value away from today's show, I'd love it if you share the show and pass that value on to somebody else who would benefit from hearing it.
And thanks for tuning in. If you like what you've heard and you want to learn more, please do find us at QS.Zone. That's Q S dot zone Z O N E where you can subscribe to our training and support system for like minded subcontractors. In there you'll find templates, how to videos, interviews, and more. And it's less than the price of a daily cup of coffee. You can cancel any time. We're also on all your favourite socials at @QS.Zone. Thanks again! I've been Jacob Austin and you've been awesome.
