Always learning

Hillsborough County schools open in 3 weeks.  I don't have children but I know this because I provided doors, frames and hardware to two Charter Schools that are almost at the end of the construction process.   Most of my work is done except for the occasional phone call from the job superintendent about something that has gone missing.  Happens at the end of every project.  


Both jobs went smoothly but one ended up being a big learning lesson for me and I wanted to share it in case anyone else runs into this. 


I was bidding 4 schools at one time but there were only two floor plan prototypes.  All four projects were being built by the same General Contractor, who is one of my favorite companies to work with.  I had been part of two other charter school builds the previous year so everything was pretty standard.  I was awarded two of the schools and they happened to have different floor plans.  Both were being built at the same time so I wanted to make sure I kept all the paperwork and communication separate.  I didn't want maple doors showing up at the school that was supposed to get birch!


All the hollow metal frames, wood doors and hardware had been delivered and installed at one of the schools when I had a call from the project manager. They were seeing an potential issue and wanted to see if I could come up with a solution.  The issue was that the corridor doors were designed to open almost back to back leaving a small wall between them.  

It was impossible to use a wall or floor stop to stop the doors from hitting one another when opened.  And lets be honest - kids barrel through classroom doors when they hear the bell. (Is there even a bell anymore?).  The architect didn't notice it during the design process, the GC didn't notice it when reviewing the plans and I didn't catch it either.  The fix was relatively easy.  I supplied stop closer arms for all the classroom doors and this solved the issue. 


In my humble opinion this wasn't any one person's fault and hopefully all of us involved learned a lesson that will be applied to future projects.  I am glad I was able to come up with a solution that didn't cost a lot in either time or expense.


One thing about this job is I am always learning something new!

Wrapping Up

Six months ago I inherited 2 jobs with a specific general contractor (GC) when my department was downsized.  I also had just been awarded a project with the same general contractor before the downsize.  Two projects were run by the same Project Manager (PM) but different job superintendents  (JS) and the third had a different Project Manager and job supr.   All three jobs were at hospitals, installation was included but each had different quantities of doors.  The smallest job has 11 doors and the largest 45.

Amazingly all three seem to be finishing up at the same time which is making my installer and myself time challenged. It has been very interesting experiencing how the different PM's and JS run their jobs though working for the same GC.  I also have other projects that are in mid gear, though not iwith installation, thankfully.

Something I find hard to juggle is being able to quote new projects while wrapping up existing projects. Most of my day is spent fielding phone calls from my installer or the JS's looking for material at the last minute, research to determine that yes the material was signed for back on __, and change orders to get new material that is needed at the jobsite asap!   It is hard to be able to concentrate on a new project, yet if I don't make the time to quote there will be no new work.

For this week I have put quoting any bid work on hold while still being available to my end users and other customers.  It will free up sometime so I can wrap these three projects up - hopefully! 

How do you handle it?

The Right Fit

I am not an every size project fits me type salesperson.  

http://www.toonpool.com/



It seems in today’s tough economy distributors are bidding on any and every project that comes their way.  While I understand the knee jerk reaction I personally don’t feel it is the best approach.   In order to provide the best experience for a customer I think both size and project type need to be considered.

A large distributor that employs estimators, salespeople, detailers, project managers and warehouse staff should be able to excel at a project with 600 openings.  That same project would likely cause a nervous breakdown to a small distributor where the salesperson wears each of those hats at every moment.   Another reason to really spend time making sure a project is the right fit, don’t over extend!  Financially 600 openings = 600 frames and doors, 1800 hinges and so much more, that is a lot of monetary output with payment running at 45-60 days. 

Personally I like to keep my customer service level high so I always get a phone call for the re-order.  You know the next job the boss is always asking about.  My own rule of 100 and under works best for me.  I typically don’t bid a project with over 100 openings unless it is for a very good customer and the count is close. 



http://www.rosecottagegardenandfarm.com/



I just closed a 105 opening project which makes me excited and terrified all at the same time.  With my existing work load plus the new project I won’t bid a lot of work to make sure I meet the material and time requirements of the jobs.  In the meantime I will balance a lot of hats and be counting a lot of hinges!