Innovation Academy Project
Renovation projects require meticulous project management. For anyone that has never had the joy of managing one, this can be a difficult and tedious endeavor. After having run a couple of these projects, I’ve compiled a list of items that should be helpful to the would-be project manager trying to get in on a renovation.
VISIT THE SITE
All right, I admit, this isn’t always easy to do. You have other projects to manage and estimate, not to mention all the other tasks the boss keeps throwing on your desk. But going to the site will provide you with the information you need to successfully bid and manage the project. For example, many of the plans that are issued for renovation projects have the nebulous grey wall, indicating that something is existing in that location. But rarely do they ever tell you what type of wall it is. Is it a masonry wall that will require jambs to be rebuilt and lintels to be installed every time a new mechanical opening, door or window gets placed there? I’ve personally lost some bids because, after NOT going to the site, I included project work at locations that ended up being wood framed walls. On the other hand, if you assume something is a wood framed wall and it turns out to be masonry, that means you don’t have the right materials or labor costs included. Ouch. The key to proper estimating is to have the correct amount of labor and materials, no more, no less. Don’t let this one happen to you.
CREATE A DETAILED WBS
Having a detailed list of the work that needs to be completed, or the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), is key to running a successful renovation project. Let’s think this one through. In new construction, your foreman should be able to understand the project drawings without too much difficulty. You see a masonry wall on the plans, and you know you have to build it. Not so with a renovation. When you see something on the plan, it’s often difficult to know whether work needs to be done there or not. The only way past this delightful impasse is to have a thorough and meticulous break down of every single step of the process. In a recent project, I created a database for our foreman to use. It included every step, the location that the step could be found on the plans, where the detail drawings were and a description of what needed to be accomplished. Don’t waste your foreman’s time. If you’ve already had to look through the plans, and (see above) visit the site to find out what exactly is going on, don’t make your foreman spend hours figuring out what you just did. Take 2 extra minutes, create a log as you go through the plan.
CONTROL CHANGE ORDERS
The final thing I would like to add to this list flows straight from the detailed creation of the WBS. On a renovation project, change orders hover like flies. For instance, an HVAC duct gets removed from a masonry wall, was that part of the original bid, or is this a new part of the work? You cannot expect your foreman to handle these types of questions on the fly. The Site Supervisor is going to be hovering over you, insisting that there was some note indicating this was going to be part of the original bid. After all, it’s the site supervisor’s job to get you to do as much work as possible for the amount stated in your proposal. Don’t be salty, be prepared. Your project foreman needs to know everything that has been included in the proposal. In addition to providing my foreman with the detailed list from the WBS database, I spend the time to go through the plans we printed for the project. I mark every single step with a highlighter. If the supervisor requests something that isn’t highlighted, well, I need to know. Is it something I missed on the bid, or are they asking you to do extra work?
I hope this was helpful! Let me know in the comments if there’s something else you’d like to hear about!
Infilling brick on a masonry renovation project