Of Interest to the Builder

1. Proactive Recruitment

When hiring workers, pay special attention to verifying their previous employment histories and attendance. During the interview phase, ask guided questions which will gauge the potential hire’s attitude towards missing work. Draw up employment contracts that specify the job description being hired for and clearly outline your absenteeism policy. Having the prospective worker sign the contract after reading and understanding the policy will ensure you have something to work from if absenteeism becomes an issue.

2. Flexible Scheduling

Many managers are finding the addition of flexible scheduling drastically cuts down on absenteeism in the workplace, if it’s implemented properly. Custom-designed work schedules and the allowance to work from home if possible may form predictable work habits that can be relied upon. If proper accountability systems are in place, a more flexible work environment has the potential to be more beneficial, not just for the overall profitability of the company, but for the customer base as well. Today’s work environments are based on a 24/7 work pattern more than ever before, so having employees working more flexible schedules and creating a better balance between their home and work lives may be an actual boon to the company. 

3. Positive Reinforcement

Every company has some sort of attendance policy in place, whether it’s strictly enforced or only loosely followed. Emphasize the importance of proper attendance, and focus on the importance of everyone’s attendance as much as possible. If you apply tangible actions to the attendance policy people are more likely to respect it. Some ways might be to offer small perks and bonuses for steady attendance after a week, month, year etc. Positive reinforcement can encourage workers to strive for better attendance, especially when it’s recognized as a “real” policy.

Conversely, micromanagement can be a complete detriment and increase absenteeism drastically. As a manger, you have to be on top of absences and call people to task when they’re unjustified, without being overbearing or questioning those with valid reasons for being away. Micromanaging the absentee rate can cost you even the good employees in the long run.

4. Communication

Communication is an important key to lowering absenteeism rates in the workplace. Is there a particular manager or managers for whom attendance is a bigger problem than others? Investigating their higher numbers may turn up answers that are surprising. If certain employees are showing higher absentee rates than others, take them aside and ask them how you might help; there may be childcare or transportation issues that are easily rectified, or other issues the employee may feel helpless about that a good manager can easily overcome. An open door policy is a critical part of effective communication in decreasing employee absenteeism. If you create an environment where you’re easily approachable, people are more likely to speak about their issues rather than simply calling in sick. By the same token, being firm and sitting down to talk with employees who have missed a lot of work is also required. Being too lenient or not following up will create an atmosphere conducive to many absences and give the air of a lack of professionalism.

5. Teambuilding

Dissention among employees and managers can severely impact the absenteeism rate of a company and negatively affect business practices. Stress, negativity and rumors can all be factors which can be virtually eliminated by effective teambuilding. Build teams who are responsible for planning and problem-solving. When employees feel they have a hand in the decision-making processes for the company they work for, they tend to have a vested interest and higher morale. Effective teambuilding must have leaders who are facilitators and level-headed rather than dictatorial. In a team environment, everyone’s strengths are emphasized and utilized for a common goal, which can detract from negativity and harsh competition. People working in an effective team environment also have an increased sense of responsibility since their contributions are required and tend to have lower absenteeism rates. As a manager, there are many solutions to improving the absenteeism rates in your firm without having to resort to termination. Begin with investigating any possible issues surrounding the absences and systematically implement changes which will encourage employee participation. Take proactive measures to reinforce good attendance, and build effective teams which will put responsibility in the hands of your employees. Communicate effectively with your workers to ensure their needs are being met, and you’re addressing issues early on before absenteeism becomes an expensive habit. Being a good manager is one of the most important ways to cure employee absenteeism, and keep morale high within your company. Review your company’s stats, and develop a policy for absenteeism that is followed yet encourages workers to take responsibility for their actions. Make sure to enforce the policy with positive action when possible and with appropriate consequences when it’s not. Following these helpful tips will help you reach your goals to lower absenteeism.

Insufficient or poor material handling, owner-furnished material, procurement practices, or a lack of controls can cause procurement or delivery problems, as well as other issues. This then prevents, delays, or disrupts the normal material workflow to a work area, warehouse, or storage yard. This can also be a result from the additional replacement or substitution of material due to contract changes, defects, or delays at the work site 

1. Documentation Errors

Logistics is like the lubrication in the gears of your business. When logistics are running smoothly, your business is, too. But logistical problems can bring the speed of business to a screeching halt. Papers equal problems. Documentation, such as invoices, contracts, and delivery notes, is a frequent and necessary part of the job. Unfortunately, papers can be misplaced or forgotten at any point of the logistics cycle. The best solution is to eliminate papers altogether if you can. Work with supply companies that have made the switch to digital sending and receiving of documents.

2. Delayed Inventory Information

Even with the use of software for documentation and inventory, missing information can still be a problem. One of the biggest reasons for this is a delay in the reporting of inventory information. For example, someone in the warehouse can digitally confirm receipt of an item. But, perhaps, this information doesn’t show up immediately to those at other ends of the business. Clients placing an order or drivers out on delivery won’t see right away that the item is in stock. Mistakes are made or profits are lost simply because the information wasn’t updated in realtime. The solution is to switch to companies that use cloud-based inventory reporting systems. Employees and clients at all ends will see accurate inventory information at all times.

3. High Transportation Costs

Even though concerns such as this may have been entirely in the wheelhouse of the supplier in the past they are becoming more of a concern for buyers who want to keep a competitive advantage in their industry. In this case it would be construction which is already a highly competitive arena. Transportation costs depend on a lot of factors—sometimes too many to keep track of. Roadwork delays, weather, the price of fuel/carriers and more can suddenly and significantly increase transportation costs. They are also very subject to fluctuation. Fortunately, technology gives us the solution. Emerging logistics software, like the InLog CLS platform, incorporates AI to reduce transportation costs. The AI can track transportation and make money-saving adjustments, like route changes, better than humanly possible. This equates to getting your materials sooner than you competition and completing your building sooner.

4. Late Delivery

Few things hurt a business more than broken promises. Your suppliers not meeting deadlines makes you look as though you are second rate and have no clout.. Even if it’s the fault of your carrier and not you, you’re still the one who can look bad to your client. Make sure your deliveries are always tracked. And always have them report accurate information to you about who the carrier is and their terms.

5. Late Payments

Late payments cost businesses trillions of dollars per year. Make sure you are not on the list. This could put you on the back burner and delay your deliveries significantly. Make sure you pay on time and you will have clout to pressure for on-time deliveries.

This results from a work stoppage or suspension of work, which may cause a break in the schedule, usually triggering a stop/start of work activity. Stop-starts can have an impact on productivity and cost of a project. Work scheduled or reassigned during holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and so on are often impacted with stop-starts. Workers tend to lose previous momentum with a drop in productivity before they get back in routine and can get involved in other projects that take time away from the stopped project. 

Pre-empting problems and discussing possible resolutions prior to the start of the build is the best way to have a framework for dealing with difficulties in place before constructions begins. This means that you should discuss with your contractors:

Date of completion and consequences of delays: This will include identifying possible delays and discussing ways to prevent them from happening as well as what the responsibilities of both parties are should delays occur.

Exclusivity: If you are bound by deadlines, then discuss whether your construction crew is working only for you or if they have other projects on the go that can influence their ability to meet their commitments to you.

Discuss the scope of the work: Your quote should include everything from preparation to completion and clean-up as well as the protection of other areas of the building or property. There should be no misunderstanding about what work is to be done and who is responsible for doing it.

Workmanship: The biggest construction-site beef is shoddy workmanship. Your builder must know the standards you are expecting prior to commencing and you must do the research to ensure that your contractor is capable and experienced. It is especially important to establish culpability if you are building to energy-efficiency standards. If the building’s performance does not meet expected levels, you may find each contractor blaming the others for an ineffective building envelope. Agree beforehand on measures that will be taken if, once the house is complete, energy audits show poor workmanship to be the problem.

Contracts matter: Verbal contracts are subject to interpretation, so get the salient points down in your contract. Include everything starting from the entire scope of work that is to be done to the exact materials that are to be used. This contract will be the only thing you have to back you up in a dispute, so make sure it is exhaustive.

This occurs when operations take place within physically limited space with other contractors, resulting in congestion of personnel, inability to use or locate tools conveniently, increased loss of tools, additional safety hazards, increase visitors, and prevention of crew size optimum. 

The keys to properly using trade stacking is coordination and communication. Proper sequencing can help avoid subs stepping on each other’s toes. Ideally, if there are multiple trades on the project at once, they will be working in shifting locations. Trade stacking, also known as overcrowding, is simply scheduling more trades to a single area or portion of the job site. The idea is, the more people, the more work can be done. In theory, this seems right; and in many cases, it may be. The problem is, when the schedule is stressed, there is a gut reaction response to make it work.  Panic mode ensues, and many project teams find themselves scrambling to the finish line. And why not? The ability to roll with the punches and keep clients happy is just plain good business. But without proper coordination and oversight, trade stacking can cause more problems than it solves. One of the main ways trade stacking arises is due to poor management and scheduling. The ability to properly sequence work on a job site is indispensable to the project’s success. If subs are not properly scheduled, they may not be able to begin performance, let alone perform efficiently. This can cause a ripple effect of potential risks and issues. 

The answer to almost all off  the problems shown above can be incredibly simple. If managers want their best people to stay, they need to think carefully about how they treat them. While good employees are as tough as nails, their talent gives them an abundance of options. Managers need to make people want to work for them. 

This is a result of interferences to the convenient or planned access to work areas. This can be due to blocked stairways, walkways, insufficient man-lifts, or congested work sites. Site access problems can be caused by a of a lack of staging areas and relatively close parking. These things can lead to hard feelings and even more problems with absenteeism. These site problems can arise because the late removal of snow, increasing deep mud holes and blocked roadways.

Keeping pathways and corridors open throughout the building is a must and is achieved primarily through good scheduling and coordinating the arrival of materials and being able to store these in places in the building where they will not be in the way. This can also be supplanted by purchasing or making dollies that can be used to move materials out of the way as trades do their work in different areas. Keeping any stairways open is  must especially if there is only one or two available. Exercising good scaffold safety is a must as well. This includes the use of rails at all required heights and the use of safe ladders for access. Man-lifts and materials-lifts need to be brought down and stored out of the way for safety and in case those using them are not going to be there the next day. Staging areas are hugely important for transportation vehicles as well as materials delivery vehicles both belonging to any contractors on site and to lumber yard or other business delivery companies. Snow removal is a significant factor in making navigation of the job site area safe and easy for workers. Mud is probably the most frustrating job site condition and arguably the most taxing for workers. It is hard on them, is a time-waster, and can be very hard on vehicles and equipment. One of the bets methods for alleviating this problem and keeping snow removal costs lower is to do the paving on the site as soon as possible and preferably as soon as the concrete work is complete.