The value of clock-watching
Typically, employers look down on employees labeled as clock watchers. On the 2009 HGTV Dream Home jobsite, however, clock-watcher is a label to be worn proudly. The city of Sonoma’s construction hours are Monday through Friday from eight to six, and are strictly adhered to. "It's nice like on a hot day like this to be able to start earlier, but we have to stay within those hours," Lee says. "So we work between what they allot us. On the weekends it’s from nine to six and on Sundays from ten to six. I try not to make my guys work on Sundays. We’ve been doing a good job keeping up with the schedule Monday through Friday and then half a day on Saturday."
Staying within allowed working hours not only keeps local government happy, it keeps neighbors in good moods, too. Working efficiently within those windows of opportunity is just as important, Thomasson adds. "One of the ways that we're being neighborly is by building this house quickly. The faster the construction goes, the less time the neighbors will have to deal with the sounds that are associated with construction," he says.
"(Developer) Steve Ledson is very concerned about the neighbors and the people who live in this community and live in this area. He doesn't want them to be heavily impacted by the construction of this house. So, he takes great pride in how this house is being built. You can see that pride in the cleanliness of the construction site, for example. You can see that pride in how things are organized. You can even see that pride in how quickly this house is being constructed because the faster it's constructed, the less impact over a longer period of time for the neighbors," Thomasson continues.
"Also, Steve isn't building this community at a frantic pace. There aren't 10 houses or more being constructed at the same time. He builds houses one at a time. Each house has his label on it, and the neighbors benefit from that," he says.
The other force influencing the work being done this job, in addition to the local government, is the HGTV production crew. The schedule for a TV show is always tight, therefore the tendency is to push hard early in the project to get ahead of schedule, Lee says. "If you get behind, it seems like it is almost impossible to make it up," he says. "With a TV show you cannot add days onto the schedule as opposed to regular jobs (in which) you just tell the owner that you need more time."
Time is something always in demand on a construction site, which reinforces Lee’s belief in creating contracts based on performance timelines. "(Subcontractors) are more responsive and perform better because there is more profit for them if they perform well and get done early. If they don't, profits go down," he emphasizes.
