Being a local authority
job, there was a permanent clerk of works on site. He was not too keen
of heights so he rarely ventured up onto the roof. One day, just as
Phase 1 was nearing completion, he asked the leading hand: "shouldn't
there be an isolating tape between the steel frame and the aluminium sheet?" The
response was predictable: “Don’t know, never done this before.
It's not on the drawings."
The site manager was asked the same question, who contacted the supervisor running
the job, who called Joe. He was not sure, so he contacted the manufacturer's
technical department, which confirmed the worst. Everything had to be removed,
have isolating tape fitted and replaced, increasing the costs even further.
Extra men were brought in and they worked weekends to rectify the self-inflicted
problem - all at additional costs. All this came up during second week of the
month just when the first payment was due. When chased by Joe, the surveyor said
payment would not be made until the problems had been rectified to the satisfaction
of the clerk of works and the site manager - thus increasing Joe's cash flow
problems further.
He was now funding a loan, storage, special scaffold, bigger crane, out of sequence
working, additional labour, the original labour, as well as his fixed overheads.
Work progressed, and eventually he received the first payment, although £10k
short. The surveyor promised to put this right on the next payment.
Soldering
on
October came and the nights drew in, which meant that the men's hours
were restricted by the amount of daylight and worsening weather. Although
Joe remained optimistic, the chances of finishing on time were lessening
by the day. He asked for an extension of time to cover the 10 days he
lost through high winds and rain, only to be informed that the contract
did not allow for extensions for inclement weather.
He soldiered on regardless, becoming more desperate. He increased his
work force, took on subbies - hoping to mitigate his losses and the ever-looming
threat of LADs.
No-one checked that the subbies used stainless steel screws to fix the
bull noses. After half of them were fitted using carbon steel screws
(and the subbies have been paid) it is noticed by the supervisor. He
told them to replace them, but they refuse on the basis that they were
not instructed properly, and will only do so if paid day-work. If not,
they will leave site for a better rate down the road. Once again Joe
was over a barrel.
The job was finished late and Joe tried to negotiate the best deal possible
when the architect arrives on site to carry the snagging. The first thing
that he notices is a distinct misalignment of the eaves. "That's
a problem with the steel frame," said the supervisor.
You remember Fred mentioned it on the first day, but nobody else did
and there was nothing in writing. Who pays to sort that one out?
Lesson?
The events that unfolded during Joe's big roofing contract are repeated
every day - many roofing contractors should be able to identify with
part of this story - and there are many things that can be learned from
this hypothetical exercise.
There are no secrets or magical ways to avoid the pitfalls of roofing
contracting. However, good training and continuing professional development
can only heighten awareness. Do not leave things to chance - it can be
extremely costly. Joe, his employees - draughtsman, supervisors, men
on site - and his subcontractors would have benefited from basic training,
saving Joe a lot of money in the process.
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An
article by Mike Long (FloR AIIRSM, Eng Tech, Tech Weld I)
Published
in RCI (Roofing Cladding & Insulation) May 2005 |
