One of the biggest pitfalls on a construction project is that there usually isn’t a plan, and if there is, it’s usually not a good one.

The predictability approach is the second phase of the Risk Free Construction Solution™.

This is where we plan your project. It’s where we create predictability that you can lean on, and a goal.

If there were such a thing in the construction industry as a collaborative process, the level of risk and anxiety would dramatically be reduced, and the predictability of the project would be to everyone’s profit.

But instead, it’s usually to the benefit of the contractor, and to the huge expense of the owner.

In this article, I’ll share this predictability process with you. 

Because having this process in place is exactly what is needed to begin holding contractors accountable, transferring power back to you, the owner.

An Unplanned Mess

After you’re accepted the lowest bid contractor for your project, because you’re not aware that they plan to make up for that throughout the project, the headache begins.

He starts the project, with little insight into where he’s going. He’s not taking the time to plan all the subcontractors he needs, in what order, or what needs to go in when.

Due to this, the project is set up to become a series of obstacles, rather than your baby.

Which, by the way, is criminal. But, the contractor’s going to make more money off you if it’s a series of obstacles, so it’s in his best interest to do so.

It’s in his best interest to make the whole process as difficult as possible, while blaming you for holding up the project when you’re hit with a five or six figure bill out of seemingly nowhere.

There’s no schedule in place. There’s a lack of confidence, since nobody knows where the project is going.

It’s a mess, you’re stressed, and productivity could not be worse.

Clash Detection

Nothing sets up an expensive change order like not understanding the sequencing of construction.

In fact, this is one of a contractor’s most powerful weapons. By shooting from the hip, without a plan, they guarantee you’ll run into something expensive 70% of the way through the project.

And this is exactly when the early work put into Phase 2 – The Predictability Approach often shows its value.

During this phase, we virtually build your project four or five times to nail down the sequencing of construction.

This gets ahead of those expensive change orders.

Then, as the project progresses, and we’ve established milestones for completion, we can compare the project status in real time to the perfected, virtual model.

With an ideal of what it looks like, there’s an actual goal to aim for. If something isn’t where it should be, we’ll know exactly what that looks like and what can be done about it.

This forces the contractor’s hand. 

His half hearted vision of what the completed project looks like isn’t good enough.

Ease

When the project is in the hands of a greasy contractor who keeps his cards close to his vest, it’s a stress show for you, the owner.

Now, you don’t realize necessarily that this contractor is working against you, rather than for you. He knows full well that you think he’s the expert, and runs with that to make his decisions.

Yet, if you’re like most owners, you subconsciously have 20/20 vision – you expect the project to cost 20% more, and take 20% longer. You’ve accepted that’s just the way it is. 

But nothing could be further from the truth.

This is a burden that you shouldn’t be carrying. If you take an Uber®, you wouldn’t be okay with it taking 20% longer and costing 20% more. 

That would be ludicrous! You’d switch your ride provider. You’d complain and tell your friends.

But that doesn’t happen in the construction industry. And instead of actually doing something about the generally poor project execution, they take advantage of you for more money.

You’ll get hit with change orders, and your project will not likely be done when you expect it to be. If you’ve got an audience you’ve shared the opening day with, this is humiliating!

The predictability approach ensures to the highest level possible, that your project is properly planned to the smallest detail, providing the greatest possible level of confidence.

The Value Is In Predictability

Creating predictability in your project drops the stress, removes 20/20 vision, and makes the project something you get to actually be part of.

This is only phase 2 of 6 in the Risk Free Construction Solution™, and while other phases are just as important, this one has the biggest impact on a project experience.

When your baby is being built, it makes sense that you should know exactly how she’s doing. The virtual models built will accomplish this.

Now, this doesn’t mean everything will be perfect. After all, there are only 3 things in life you can guarantee – death, taxes, and change on a construction project.

However, it does create predictability and understanding of the project plan. It empowers you. It gives you control, it gives you a say.

It strips the contractor of their leverage, and guarantees you won’t be blamed for holding up the project because you don’t have to pay an unexpected five or six figure sum(or more).

It gives you the ability to know what’s happening in your project, minimizes cost increases or changes, and gives a schedule to keep to that sees the project done when it’s supposed to be.

Yeah, it would be nice if that’s how it was done by default, but the construction industry is far away from that point.

I’ve just made it my duty to help get it there.

Grab a copy of “Don’t Get Screwed” [Link to book] to learn more.