Question – How do I get the best and fastest work from a subby?
If you have any thoughts, please let me know in the comments. Here’s the reason for asking:
In a recent job, I had 5 days to get a number of activities completed, one of which was a bunch of test pits drilled and samples supplied to geotech labs. I had employed a geotech company to complete this work on a lump sum contract, and they sub-contracted out the drilling work to another company.
The subbed drilling company found out that they had a 5 day window, and went about ensuring that the job took this amount of time. I am not sure of the motives for doing this, but that’s what they did. The first few days was ‘real slow going’, the last few days they completed drilling and able to knock off 8 hours into a 12 hour shift.
I didn’t have a problem with any of this until I realised all the things on days rates that I had on site supporting their activity.
- They ended up the last company on site, and so I had traffic management just for them.
- Labourers with excavators and dump trucks to move spoil away from the drilling areas.
- My supervisor was costing this job per day.
- Rail safety supervisor.
- Me! I wasn’t costing the job as such but I did have other locations I wanted to be!
There were more but these were the biggest things. So to my question. Instead of a lump sum, would a pain/gain clause work here, noting that the traditional Pain/Gain doesn’t work at this low level (what do ‘we’ gain?). And how does ‘pain’ work? I am cognisant that too much pain and I might put a small company under.
Could I offer them more money to complete a day or two earlier?
How can I write into a subbies contract something to incentivise them to get the work cracked out and get off my site?! Is there something I can tell them on site? Does anyone have any experiences?
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I found that aligning your schedule with that of the subcontractor was always challenging, particularly when key dates were not incorporated into the contract. For example I would be pushing the concrete frame contractor to hand over plant rooms early so that M&E work could start. However I had very little leverage and mainly had to achieve it through pestering and “asking nicely”.
The problem you have with associated costs, labourers, plant etc also reminds me of a few situations. We were very clear with subcontractors prior to work what they would get from us (be it access to a loading bay, forks, labourers, crane time) and anything additional on top of this was contra-charged to them. For example when our frame contractor starting working Saturdays for their own benefit we were losing money from crane overtime. This cost was then passed on to them.