Construction projects, whether large or small, always go better when your team understands each other. Here at First Nick, we offer quality commercial painting and millwork services, and part of the reason that we’re able to deliver on time and on budget is because we understand each other and strive to create a cohesive work environment, no matter the location of the job. Here are our top five tips for building a bond with the construction team.
1. Facilitate Open Communication
The fastest way to have a job run over budget while experiencing delays is with a lack of communication. It’s of paramount importance that communication occurs during all stages of the job, from inception to completion, and this means that you need to talk to all the key players, including the general contractor, architects and engineers. Knowing the project timeline and when we’re needed onsite, allows us to plan, get measurements and buy materials so that we’re on the job site on time with all the needed materials and equipment.
2. Know Everyone’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Knowing what someone does well and what they still need to be trained on is essential. This allows you to put the right people on the job for the budget and the time frame. For us, it means utilizing the most skilled for fast projects and teaching new skills to new employees as time permits. After all, a strong team is only as good as its weakest link, and by utilizing the most experienced to train the least experienced, we are helping to develop our workforce and ensuring every job goes as expected.
3. Find and Develop Strong Leaders
Strong leaders communicate well. They are self-aware. They practice self-regulation of their emotions, and they understand the teams’ strengths and weaknesses. They also understand how to efficiently delegate tasks in order to maintain project momentum. Finding strong current and future leaders is imperative when it comes to project completion and the health and longevity of your business. The good news is that business owners can take a first-hand approach by locating team members with promise and offering them more responsibility and training.
4. Keep Tasks On Target with the Right Software
Having the right software and ensuring that everyone is trained on that software can help track the completion of individual tasks. By tracking task progress coordination between team members is easier because each person can make an informed decision about what they need to complete next to keep the project running smoothly.
5. Implement Safety and Emergency Protocols Early
Having defined safety and emergency protocols on a construction site is essential. This means having the right safety gear and checklists to ensure a safe work environment. If something does go wrong, all employees should be familiar with where the first aid kits are located and basic injury treatment until medical personnel arrive. To help keep team members safe, technology can also be implemented, like smart hardhats that can track when someone is at risk for heatstroke. Some even have GPS technology, which makes it easier to find workers on the construction site. Smart sensors worn on clothes can detect harmful gases and alert team members to dangerous areas.
By implementing these tips, you’ll ensure that your team is communicating well, getting the project completed and staying safe while on the construction site. To get your next commercial painting job complete, contact us today at 617-628-5130.
Kosta Kritikos,
President
155-E New Boston Street | Woburn, MA 01801
O: 617.628.5130 x 1002| F: 781.305.3055 | C: 617.592.2290
www.firstnick.com | Kostak@firstnick.comCommercial operations look to painting professionals to provide superior interior and exterior work. Having a knowledgeable commercial painting company who is update on the latest trends and technologies ensures that clients have a pleasing visual appearance to the premises that withstands daily wear-and-tear. Due to the pandemic, recent trends had adapted to new business environments. Understanding the current industry trends allows painting companies and clients to prepare for future projects.
Green Technologies
More people are ware about how their purchasing power impacts the environment. This factor also holds true with commercial business operators, who are transforming their buildings to sustainable and eco-friendly facilities. They are revamping their entire projects to allow them to “go green” including the types of paints that are used on interior and exterior walls. The need for more sustainable painting options will increase. These sustainable products include paints with lower levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are harmful to both the environment and human health. By reducing the amount of the toxic chemical, commercial companies may improve the air quality in their facilities.
Beneficial Paint Additives
Manufacturers have become more aware of the impacts that their industries and products may cause to human health and painting operations. So they are changing the way the paints work by placing in additives that create benefits to commercial painting industries.
These additives may involve faster drying times, reduction of mildew growth, better moisture resistance, and improved paint adherence to surfaces. By modifying the way that paint behaves when applied in commercial settings, these additives may decrease the paint’s off-gassing aspects that could lead to poorer air quality while preventing harmful mold form forming. The additives also decrease the work time spent by commercial painters, allowing them to efficiently complete more projects in a range of environments.
Raw Material and Supply Chain Shortages
The availability of raw materials used to create paint have taken a massive hit. More people worked from home during quarantine, which led to them pursing more DIY projects. Exterior and interior painting projects created enormous customer demand on manufacturers who were left scrambling to fill the uptick in supply orders.
Unfortunately, supply simply could not keep up with demand as sourced raw materials became scarce as many of these materials came from global suppliers who experienced supply chain shortages also created by the pandemic. These shortages may lead to smaller quantities of available commercial paints. Commercial companies may find themselves restricted when trying to offer a variety of paints to their customers.
Price Increases
Paint prices have steadily increased an average of 2.5% every year. With the pandemic, these price increases were experienced global due to raw material shortages, supply chain issues, and the increase in customer demand. These issues may cause commercial painting projects to have higher price tags in the coming years.
Another factor that may also increase paint project costs also deals with the labor shortages. With smaller experienced crews available, commercial painting companies may increase prices as they may have to take on fewer projects or have their painters take on longer hours.
