By Daniel C. Brown
Remodeling is a lot like a three-ring circus, and it's management's job to make it an orderly three-ring circus. Each ring is like a project, and each project has a ringmaster, or foreman, whose job it is to keep the tigers – workers and subcontractors – jumping through the right hoops.
No one appreciates the foremen's role more than Terry Bennett, CR, CGR, CAPS*, whose company, Terry Bennett Builders and Remodelers (Westlake, Ohio), generates about $4 million in remodeling and another $2 million in custom-home building annually. On any given day, Terry's firm is running 20 to 30 projects. His seven foremen crack the whip on two to four projects apiece. "Typically two jobs are going great guns, one is starting, and one is finishing," says Terry.
Terry's foremen are in charge of project quality. They don't go with the flow; they manage it by walking their sites every day to catch things going wrong as soon as possible, then find out who's responsible for the errors – and make sure they get fixed. They also discuss any problems with the clients.
The foremen fax back results of each day's quality walk to the office and two managers who oversee all projects: a production manager and a construction coordinator, who buys materials for the jobs and coordinates activities between the office and the field.
These managers want to know about every deficiency, since they are the foremen's back-up. If an electrician missed installing a box and won't return the foreman's calls, the construction coordinator or the production manager can step in, call the electrician, and hold him accountable. The system ensures that the company doesn't pay for work that wasn't performed, and it frees the foremen to do their own jobs instead of tracking down subcontractors with guilty consciences.
Terry points out that only certain people can become foremen. "Some people are skilled with their hands but can't manage," he explains. And little wonder, given the amount of managing his foremen must do: maintain schedules, call up the trades when they're needed, coordinate all activities, deal with building inspectors and manage workers, suppliers, and subcontractors. They also have to understand drawings and contract specs. They must know how to read and follow the work schedules produced by the office. And most important, they have to keep their clients happy throughout the project.
"We are very client-sensitive," says Terry. "We try to go out looking for deficiencies and resolve them before the client finds them. Our goal is to make the process enjoyable for clients. We have a motto, 'It's all about you,' the client."
Fortunately for the clients, at Terry Bennett Builders and Remodelers, it's also all about the foremen.
* CR, CGR and CAPS are professional designations awarded by industry professional associations. The CR (Certified Remodeler) designation is granted by the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (www.nari.org). The CGR (Certified Graduate Remodelor) and CAPS (Certified Aging In-Place Specialist) designations are earned through the National Association of Home Builders (www.nahb.org). To qualify for any of these titles, remodelers must complete professional-education courses and pass exams on business practices as well as technical issues.
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