Seamless Contractor Billing Template for Management

Contractor billing template for Management

In this video, we're going to talk about how  to run a construction project step by step. By the end of this video, you'll understand  how running a construction project, whether   it's large or complex, and running it well is  very possible if you know the component parts   of how to do it and the steps to do it. So we're  going to go through the two things that everybody   on the construction project should know in order  for them to be working as a collective team. The   other thing that we get asked a lot is how do you  know if you have the right team? And there's three   things that you can use to determine, three ways  to determine if you have the right people in the   right seats and when you have those people, how  do you get them to communicate? There's two really   key ways to get that done, and we're going to  show you that in this video and then lastly,   no matter how big this project is or how complex,  there's one mindset I would call that you must   have as you go through so that you can make sure  that you're fairly in a safe environment, meaning   that you have all of your risks under control  and that you can run that project effectively   and then really go home and be able to sleep  well at night because you have this one thing   constantly under control. So let's get started. So  first and foremost, project management is complex.   I remember when I was first an assistant  superintendent and then a superintendent,   I thought that the construction process was-  it was extensive and it was overwhelming,   and I didn't know all of the ins and outs of how I  should even just manage my area and let alone the   entire construction project. So I was like super  zoomed in, focused on this part and that part, and   am I going to get these all right and I realized  after doing a couple of projects, there really is   a formula and if you follow that magic formula,  you could run a remarkable construction project.   And so the projects that I was on typically were  like 50, 60, a hundred million dollar projects,   sometimes up in the 150, 250 million range. And  if you get 'em going, they kind of start to run   themselves. These keys that I'm about to show you  will help you to do that. The other thing probably   some of you are asking yourself, well Jason,  that's fine. Those are big projects. What about   the small ones? I'm here by myself. I don't have  a lot of help. I don't have a team. I don't have   a system like you're talking about team members.  It's just me. How can I use the same pattern to   run small projects? And I will say, you, well,  these patterns apply with the exception of maybe   you don't have as many team members. But the  point is, I've run $200,000 projects, 2 million   projects, 100 million projects, and the pattern  is the same. But the bottom line, the thing that   I want to communicate is that if we don't follow  these keys, we are going to get overwhelmed.   We're not going to make it home on time. We're not  going to be happy. We're probably going to suffer,   and I mean this sensitively from some mild  depression or some massive anxiety because we're   really worried about how things are going to go.  We're going to take on too much and do everything   ourselves and just get worked into the ground and  burn out. And so my first message in this video is   that construction is complex and you can't do it  all by yourself, and you can't just dive in and   start to tackle it doing the tasks one by one.  We need to follow the system step by step, and   then the system will enable the person you to go  run that construction project well. So the first   thing you're going to want to do is understand the  project. I know that sounds basic and you're like,   Jason, you're wasting my time right now, but I'm  telling you, we need to understand the project.   And so the first thing you should do is get  the drawings, flip through all of the pages,   flip through the specs and understand the prime  agreement. So drawing, specs, prime agreement,   and get a general feel of what is it going to take  to build this thing? Where is it? What are the   circumstances? When is it going to be done and  get that understanding. Now that's going to take a   lot of time and a lot of work. So here's the deal,  grind, get it done, get a caffeinated beverage.   Whatever you need to do, get in there and dive  in and figure that out. Now, I told you there's   two things that your team is going to need to know  now. Number one, the typical details, the typical   notes and the specification items that you're  most worried about. I'll give you a for instance,   if you have an item where it says, Hey, you can't  strip these cast in place walls until seven days,   or waterproofing may not be applied until 30 days  after the fact, or any other really stringent   requirement that could affect the schedule or  the team or how you build it, you are going to   want to pull those out and list those out. So the  project team knows. Then with the prime agreement,   that agreement has certain provisions that might  also include the division one specifications that   will explain to the project team the requirements,  the owner's requirements for that project. And   that prime agreement is super long. But we  need to again, pull out the critical items   from those requirements, from that agreement, from  those provisions, and explain to the team, Hey,   watch out for these and watch out for these. If we  get this done, let's work as a team and let's move   forward. So once you really understand the project  and you have all that cataloged or listed out,   you're going to feel really confident and now you  might feel that you can go conquer this thing by   yourself, that you can go slay this dragon by  yourself, but you can't. The next step is you   assemble the right team. And there's a couple  of ways that you know have good team members,   meaning that they're a fit for your construction  project. So the first one is the team members that   you select and by the way, you should spend as  much time as you need to assemble the team. It's   always first who and then what assemble the team,  who's going to build this? And then with the team,   you figure out what you're going to do. So the  first part of knowing if you have the right   people is do your skills and your abilities and  your personalities balance each other. Meaning   if I'm like high level and I am a visionary, do  I have somebody on my team that is an implementer   that's detailed that can really get down to the  implementation? So if you're assembling a team,   make sure that you have complimentary skills.  The second point to make sure that you have the   right people in the right seats is are they  a cultural fit, not just with the company,   which is really important. So the company's  mission statement and the core values,   that person has to be a cultural fit,  but also a cultural fit for the owner,   what they're expecting and the team that's going  to be on site. So really having a vision of what   you want that to look like is going to be  absolutely key. The third thing that you'll   want to focus on is making sure that you're hiring  ideal team players and ideal team players. Like   Patrick Le says in his book, the Ideal Team Player,  they are humble, hungry, and smart. So humble   meaning that they're willing to dive in and dig  in with a team to accomplish anything hungry,   meaning from a career standpoint or a growth  standpoint or a learning standpoint. They really,   really just want to win. They're going to get  in there and they're going to get it done. And   then smart means smart with people. It doesn't  just mean technically smart, it means, hey,   this person can actually coordinate, communicate  with the owner, communicate with trades,   communicate with the team. So those are the  three things that we really want to hire for   as you're assembling that team and remember,  assembling the team is your number one priority   and the biggest determinant of whether or not  that project will be successful. All right,   so we're having fun here. I have four more key  points for you as we go through this step-by-step   process. But first I'd like to ask you, if you  like this content, please and subscribe. We have   about 10 million people in construction that we  must get these messages out to so that we can   elevate the industry together. So please again,  like and subscribe. Love you. Alright, so for my   next point, I'm going to label it as divide and  conquer. So I could say something boring, make   sure everybody has their right roles. But no, I'm  just going to say divide and conquer. You cannot   build this project by yourself even if you're on  the project by yourself. You cannot build this   project by yourself. So divide and conquer. I want  to see beautiful, clearly written out scorecards   and roles for everyone on the job. What are you  doing? What is the project manager doing? What is   everybody else on the project doing? And make sure  that every key role, every bit of supervision,   every geographical area that's covered has  somebody, a scientist, somebody running point. And   that way you as a team can all stand where you are  and lift where you stand, meaning run point where   you are in your role and divide and conquer. This  is one of the most important concepts that I could   ever share with you. And it's not often done.  So be absolutely clear with everybody's roles,   even if that seems prescriptive, even if that  seems like micromanaging, it's not. It's clear.   And like Brene Brown says, clear is kind. We must  be clear about this. So divide and conquer. Now   that you have everybody in their proper roles,  it's all about communication. I once talked to an   international lean expert in, I mean, this guy is  the real deal. And he consults with companies all   around the world, huge companies and he says the  number one thing that goes wrong in a company or   a project or in a manufacturing facility, it  always comes down to communication. He said,   Jason, communication is always the breakdown if  something's failing. And so you're going to want   to really elevate your ability to communicate.  And once you have people on the right roles,   now you need to communicate between those roles.  And so there's two things that you can really do   to elevate your communication and number one is  to hold remarkable meetings. Meetings are not bad.   Meetings are not a horrible if you do them the  right way. Meetings are where you get the team   together, you communicate and you're actually  able to win as a team. In addition to meetings,   you'll want proximity, meaning that the more  walls and doors you build between each other,   the more barriers you have to communication.  So you'll want to at least have time where   you can spend time face-to-face or be in an open  office environment or in a conference room or in   brainstorming sessions or even poll planning or  scheduling together. Proximity is going to help   you to increase that communication. So spend time  together face to face. And so those two things   meetings, remarkable meetings, actually, I should  say that again, not meetings, remarkable meetings   and proximity being together will increase that  communication now that everybody has their roles.   All right, two more. Once you have everyone  assigned to a portion of the project and we know   who's running point and now we're communicating,  the next thing we do is identify the biggest   risks. Meaning that if I've assigned somebody to  a role or I know that they have a certain role on   a project, I'm not going to sleep well at night  unless I know that the risks are covered. And I   want everyone to see those risks, not just me. So  I will with the team, identify in a brainstorming   session the biggest risks on the project, and I'll  put that on what's called a risk and opportunity   registering. We'll cover that in a different video  on this channel. But that risk and opportunity   register will outline, Hey, here are the risks  of the project. Here are some opportunities.   This is what it costs, this is how much it costs  us by way of schedule and here's who is running   points. So as a leader, I can trust that most of  the typical things are happening on the project,   but I am going to check in and communicate with  the team members about the risks, and I'm going   to monitor those with them and help them and coach  them and train them and be with them and connect   with them as they manage them themselves.  So a great project manager, superintendent,   or a great PR construction leader or a project  leader will always know and manage their risks.   And lastly, monitor the numbers. I want you to say  something to yourself, I love numbers and numbers.   Love me. I know that sounds silly, but say it  again. I love numbers and numbers Love me. You   want to know if something's going wrong. If I was  unhealthy, let's say I was at risk for something   from a health standpoint, would I want to know or  not? I would want to know because then I could do   something about it. So not only are you monitoring  your risks, but you're monitoring the numbers,   you're monitoring the schedule, you're monitoring  buffers and your contingency. You're monitoring   the finances, you're monitoring your gross profit,  you're monitoring your contingency buckets. So to   run a project really well, once you know the risks  and you're mitigating those, then you're going to   ask yourself, are we doing well? We've, we've  mitigated these. Are we doing well now? Well,   the only way to know is to do a blood test on the  project, meaning if I want to be healthy, I go   get a blood test and they look at the numbers and  they're like, Jason, you're doing good. And so we   do the same thing with the project. We do a blood  test, we get the numbers and we say, are you doing   good or are you not doing good? And if you're not,  we can work as a team to really get that reigned   in and make a course correction. So I just want  to say again the numbers love you and you love   the numbers really to run a great construction  project, you will want to know those. Okay? So   here's a call to action for you. And the action  is so that you can implement, right? Because   knowledge is not power, knowledge and action  is power. So what I'd like you to do is take   these points that are in the notes and actually  go through each one of 'em and ask yourself, how   well are you doing for each of these on a scale  of one to 10, right? So if you go into knowing   the numbers, for example, how well do I know the  numbers scale that zero being not at all, 10 being   I've got some good numbers, I see everything on  a daily or weekly basis, right? Scale yourself in   there and then see with these steps, if there's  anywhere you'd like to focus in the next 30, 60,   90 days. So that's personally something that I  would like to invite you to do so that you can   elevate your leadership and the last thing that  I would say is that if you've enjoyed being here   with me I've enjoyed recording this for you please  like the channel and subscribe because we'll have   a ton of cool content coming in the future.  So I have appreciated being with you on we go.