The project I am working on is behind
programme. Obviously, my electrical progress is dependent on other trades.
Everyone knows that the builder is behind, so there has been no need to put in
a lot of paperwork to prove it. I need about ten weeks to finish the job, originally due to be finished in four weeks time. Now the builder says the
completion date is written in stone. What does he mean?
“Written in stone” is the pet phrase
used by the modern builder, when he realises what all the subbies have known
for months - the project is way behind
programme. The typical scenario is as
follows. The builder says he is not interested in “history”, but in teamwork to achieve the original completion
date. He issues a completion programme
in which the “delayed bulge” of
workload is compressed into the remaining weeks of the project. Those leisurely final weeks of final fixing
and commissioning have now become the
classic “grandstand finish”, in which various trades will stand on each other’s
heads as they race towards the finish.
Our subbie is being bullied into an
acceleration, with extra labour and working
weekends. It will cost a bomb. If he gets sucked into the shambles without a firm deal, the
subbie is in big trouble. So he puts
forward a lump sum as his price for the
acceleration.
OK so far. But the builder is no
fool. So he plays the “stringing along” ploy.
A series of meetings are held, with offers and counter-offers. Weeks, or
even months, go by. Meanwhile, acres of
ceilings become available. The subbie
is pressured into acceleration measures and costs, on the strength of vague
promises
So now the subbie has lost his
bargaining power. The builder has
developed amnesia. Those assurances are forgotten. Our
desperate subbie is reduced to the “begging bowl”. If he is lucky, he limps bleeding away to do it all over again.
I
have seen this scenario scores of times. So have most subbies. It is getting worse. So next time, don’t
fall for it. Stand firm whilst you have
some leverage. If not, remember the
next time could be the last !
John Russell
Contracts and Training Consultant
Email:
swsubbie@globalnet.co.uk
Web
site: www.jrconsultant.co.uk