With the increased finish levels in senior living construction, quality of workmanship is ever more important. But how do you ensure that this occurs when most of the finishes are hand produced, and there is a significant lack of skilled work force available for projects? The answer is it’s very, very difficult. But like everything, the process helps. Our processes are as follows:
- Detailed prequalification of subcontractors, checking job sites to ensure quality, is a start.
- A thorough preconstruction meeting prior to the start of the work establishes quality standards and expectations.
- Prior to the start of each piece of the work, a pre-installation meeting ensures that the foreman and workmen understand requirements.
- It’s critical to inspect the first work of its type on each project to ensure that it meets requirements so that problems don’t continue.
- The use of The Douglas Company’s quality checklists for each trade before the following trades start their work limits compounding of quality problems.
All of this helps ensure punch lists at the end of the project are minimal, and the projects can be turned over to our clients without difficulty. Each one of these steps is outlined in The Douglas Company process to ensure consistency and effectiveness. The only way to ensure quality is to be involved in the details every step of the way.
Ronald Reagan used to say “Trust, but verify”. In our business, particularly given the lack of skilled resources and the expectations of our clients, there is not much room for trust. We need to continue to demand the quality so that our clients receive what they expect.
Peter Douglas, P.E.
President
The Douglas Company
