Short term vacancies can cause a serious problem for any construction project, and it’s important to come up with a contingency plan on how to deal with these types of unplanned events. Construction is very much a business where time is money, so be prepared to hire construction & turnaround services as needed to fill in some of these gaps. As you’ll soon learn, accidents and departures can be triggered at a moment’s notice.
Injury
By far, injury is the most common cause for a dispute and ultimately a work stoppage due to short term vacancies. Injuries can happen to anyone, it’s a myth that only the ground crews are prone to problems. A project manager could be surveying the site when an injury occurs, leaving an important vacancy in upper management that could be filled by a construction consultant.
Disputes
Whether it’s the scope of work, changes to the project or delays in supplies, disputes can cause serious problems on site. It’s important to fulfill any construction claims management as soon as possible so work can continue. In some cases, it may even be more financially wise to accept an event as a loss and move forward. Every situation is different, but underestimating disputes quickly leads to lost money for all parties involved on a project.
Final Thoughts
Short term vacancies are not easy to anticipate, but they are easy to fix. Make sure you have crews on standby, and consult with more experienced consultants to help fill in the gaps. Sometimes, creating a better safety policy is all that’s needed. Evaluate your operation and look for gaps where these short term vacancies might create major problems.
Lyle Charles is a construction consultant with more than 40 years of experience in commercial construction, and a specialty in communicating with business decision makers.