By Heesoen

Construction is a Combination of Skills

In my opinion, construction should consist of a team and a combination of skills. A construction team should not just know the construction methodology, they should also know how to get clients, how to solve problems, how to be creative, how to do business and analyze the market, accounting, marketing, documentation, monitoring, managing people, and this long list goes on.

Overhead Differs Depending on Several Factors

This is an important part to analyze especially if the contractor gives the client a specific number for construction cost. For a rough estimate, per square meter can work, but the final construction cost should not just include materials and labor because there are more things to consider such as transportation expenses, delivery fees, documentation expenses, if you just started in construction, resources including tools, vehicles, equipment, office, and more. Not just the other items, risk should also be included in costing — risk of having construction failures, major accidents, allowance for punchlisting, and more. Don’t forget your profit! No contractor wants to lose money, construction is extremely stressful and all hard work should be rewarded — be mindful of giving numbers to clients.

Respect and Loyalty from Construction Workers

I always hear in the construction world that some construction workers are “kuyakoy”, but in a normal nature of human, if someone doesn’t feel that he is worth doing the work, he won’t really feel the motivation to do their tasks and will just “kuyakoy”. People like to have the purpose in this world, in my opinion. Being a construction worker is such an amazing job — having their skills and knowledge, their effort to finish the projects, their inspiring stories, and more. Train, love, respect, communicate, and take care these people because they will be one of the major reasons why you have successful and quality projects. Telling by experience, some of the kindest and most genuine persons I know are construction workers. How I wish I can provide them their best lives!

Systematizing

As I have said, construction is not just about construction methodology, there are more things to work with. Construction is complex and varies every project — just like customized things, projects have their own identity, methodology, costing, circulation, and more. To make things easier and faster, systematizing is an important part, to have the right process for accounting, monitoring, documentation, reporting, and more. Construction has unending workloads, don’t make it more difficult by creating processes.

Requires High Emotional Intelligence

Dealing with a number of people including your team, suppliers, building admins, and more will definitely test your social battery. Your morning alarm will become calls and messages, your goodnights will be thinking about problem solving. Problems will become normal part of your system, and you will realize that professional conversations include heated conversations that may test your personal emotions. Not just in construction world, but in business world in general, you should learn to separate your personal emotions from business discussions.

Know Your Numbers

In order to maximize your profits, negotiation should already be a part of your system. Ensure that your numbers are properly analyzed and that you have the correct price offered to complete a project of high quality and success. Do not get overwhelmed with numbers, most of the time it looks great especially when the project is just starting, but if you take note all the probable expenses, you might end up losing money if you do not analyze it properly. Know your price and never under budget just to close a deal.

Documentation is a Must

Construction details differ — in construction, as much as possible, everything should be documented. Scope of work should be clear, change orders should be documented and agreed by parties involved because if not, it will cause problems and misunderstanding in the future. References are your defense for every discussion.

Mentioning all the above, the most important thing you should know is enjoy the process and everything will follow!