Managing The Majors: Major Installations

A conductor waves a baton from the podium, eyes fixed on a half-moon formation of musicians, each plucking and blowing and tapping their instruments to create an infusion of sound—a major work.

In this concerto, however, the landscape contractor plays the role of director, the crew stars as players and instruments range from mowers and mulchers to excavators and skid steers.

Like symphony conductors, contractors who tackle major installation projects must complete the construction before receiving applause, and with large-scale jobs this includes scheduling, materials, financing, subcontracting and satisfying customers who make substantial investments.

"What becomes important for a piece to come to life is the orchestration of the music and the director–the timing and interpretation," compared William Wandsnider, president, William J. Wandsnider & Associates, Menomonee Falls, Wis. "A lot of elements go into that–how I coordinate with my tradesmen, my regular crew and the owner of the project. These are all things that are involved."

Some contractors define major installation projects by dollars, but other considerations include the exposure and visibility of the project, the importance of the client to a company’s long-term growth and the complexities involved if a job requires a variety of tasks, like installing a pond or pouring concrete.

"A large project is a difference between building one single component and only being concerned about what component works vs. being concerned about how all of these individual components are puzzle pieces," Wandsnider noted. "You get a project that has a million trees to plant and that’s major. You get a project that’s lighting, irrigation, masonry and electrical and these are two very different types of projects."

With proper planning, adding large installation projects to a company’s repertoire provides contractors with a balance of long- and short-term accounts. In the "Major Installation Medley," this planning process unfolds in several movements and success depends on fine-tuning, smooth transitions and most importantly, skilled players.

MANAGING OBSTACLES. Bringing a major installation project to life involves tackling issues contractors might not confront while working on smaller accounts. While weather, labor and materials are common variables, large-scale ventures augment these roadblocks. Add traffic, municipal regulations, scheduling and financing to the mix, and contractors have a full plate when it comes to organization and planning.

"On larger jobs, accessibility can be a big issue," commented Steven Buck, president, Buck & Sons Landscape Service, Amlin, Ohio.

Streets might need to be closed for the project to run efficiently, which could require advertising the closing in advance or having flaggers on the site to direct traffic.

In addition to transportation setbacks, financing a large project can be a challenge, noted David Fernandez, president, Cayuga Landscape Company, Ithaca, N.Y.

"Whenever there is an increase in business there is an increase in cash flow problems," he explained. "If you are doing a larger volume of business you will need more money to finance your labor in cash money that has to be in your account. The payments you are receiving from the owner may take three months or more."

Obtaining a bank loan is one way to meet financial needs, he added. Additional administrative issues also crop up when dealing with large accounts.

"There’s usually a greater level of formality required in the job management process," he pointed out. "You may need a bond to take on the job, and you have to send formal submittals for the different materials to the landscape architect. You have to rely on a trail of memos to help with the many changes that may happen within the course of the job. You have to have good communication with the crew, since there are more people working with you, and you need to have a way to get information transmitted in between."

SEQUENCING CREW. More work means more crew members—and more need for communication and efficient scheduling to complete a job. Boosting labor on a project by subcontracting and escalating crews increases the importance of contact between team players, emphasized David Peabody, owner, Peabody Landscape and Construction, Columbus, Ohio.

Known for completing large projects, such as Heritage Lakes golf courser community in Hilliard, Ohio, and Cherry Valley Lodge, a circular building with a courtyard, pond and gazebo in Newark, Ohio, Peabody said the key to avoiding communication blunders is organized project management. This means dealing with scheduling complications, which can make a seemingly clear-cut job rather hectic, he commented.

"Communication is key, and it’s a matter of keeping up with it," he stressed. "There’s project management that’s involved, which is writing a lot of letters and documentation, constantly taking photographs and e-mailing information."

Peabody organizes his crew for large projects in a pyramid, with crews reporting directly to a job site where there is a lead foreman to oversee the technicians and a project manager to track progress. Ideally, he dedicates the majority of job responsibilities to in-house crews.

"If we have control over our own destiny—if we are the site contractor—things get done much better, easier and smoother," he pointed out.

Buck echoed this point, reserving subcontractors for special needs, like roofing or electrical wiring. "We try to do everything in-house, that way we feel like we can control the quality," he said. "We do combine [crews], but we have special crews where all they do is the larger projects."

Relying solely on company crews is not always an option, and in this case companies subcontract to meet project deadlines or beef up a crew that is spread too thin. Ed Watters, president, Watters and Chatham, Rome, Ga., subcontracts nearly 15 percent of his work—$300,000 of the company’s $2.2 million in revenue so far this year.

"We become the general contractor over all these different sub-contractors," he explained. "That’s one big challenge because it’s very time consuming from the designer’s standpoint. We need to be spending most of our time designing and selling jobs for our crews, but so much of the subcontracting is vital to creating the proper space for our plantings."

Concrete work, major grading, retaining walls, driveways, lighting and swimming pools are some of the tasks Watter assigns to subcontracted crews. At times, this presents scheduling and communication chaos—a contractor can’t prioritize a subcontractor’s schedule, and sometimes the workers aren’t at the job site when they are needed the most, he said.

"We have to call them at home at night or early in the morning, and it’s hard to get them off a job to bid another job," he mentioned. "Or another builder may have them laying brick on the house and I need them laying brick on a patio. We really try to give them as much notice—the more notice I can give them, the better."

Watter organizes his labor force so the designer becomes the project manager over subcontractors. This manager designs and sells to the client, coordinates and oversees subcontractors and corresponds with the in-house project manager when additional crews are needed.

"We know the exact number of man hours that we are going to need for each separate task, and we book the crews out on the schedule board," he said, adding that his own 70 employees are divided among 15 crews. If the distance to a job site is greater than 35 or 40 miles from the office, crewmembers stay in a hotel on work nights.

"In Atlanta the traffic is horrendous, so by doing this, our indirect time goes to zero," he rationalized.

Devising a solid chain of command for crewmembers can mellow scheduling headaches that stem from juggling subcontractors, crews, deadlines and materials shipments. While some companies organize dedicated crews, others mix it up. Wandsnider uses a combination approach, drafting key technicians from each 2- to 3- man specialized crew to create a team.

"Each crew has a key lead person, a fairly key second person and a third person who may swing around multiple crews," he explained. "Rather than having a key foreman with five men underneath for large jobs, I may have four key foremen with their helpers underneath and one person that works on the scheduling aspect of things and can be the general overseer of the jobs," he explained. "It is more efficient."

MINDING MATERIALS. Part of managing an efficient operation depends on availability of supplies at the job site. Materials that arrive too soon must be stored and risk damage before installation. Materials that arrive too late cause a project to lag. So how can contractors cope with a variable that often they cannot control?

"One of the things we did last year was to go back to the plant broker to cut down on our freight bills, our inventory, and have multiple people on our lot loading, unloading and ordering," Watters described. "Now we go to the broker, pay 10 to 15 percent more for the plants, but then have them when we want them where we want them and at the quality we expect."

For other landscape contractors, dealing with plant material on a job site presents more of a challenge. Peabody pointed out that scheduling conflicts often interfere with materials installation. "You might have to remobilize several times, and that’s what seems to be the largest problem," he added.

Allowing a window of time between signing the contract and beginning the work provides the opportunity for companies to plan for these details. Buck said he prefers four weeks to two months time prior to beginning the project.

"Some of our landscape contracts will start within the next 10 days, so we always make sure we remember to read specifications up front so if we need to we can jump right on it," Buck noted. "Sometimes the preparation work in the beginning is easy. But if we have to mobilize and acquire materials, that can take a lot of time."

THE MAJOR ADVANTAGE. Despite obstacles that deter some contractors from taking on major installation projects, scheduling large-scale ventures can fatten the company bank account, increase name recognition throughout the community and create a balance between long- and short-term projects.

"Larger jobs are generally easier," Fernandez commented. "There is less overall set-up time and handling of warranty issues involved, and the job close-out overall is easier. Having one meeting with one landscape architect one afternoon is easier than walking around with 20 different people on 20 different afternoons."

Compared to smaller accounts, some contractors agree that large projects operate more efficiently. These customers generally have fewer detail-oriented concerns, which smoothes communication lines.

"One picky homeowner can obsess about details whereas landscape architects and engineers can’t spend a lot of time worrying about that," Fernandez explained. "Larger projects are all specified with written details in a plan and the maintenance period is usually covered and talked about when doing the contract."

Though large projects are appealing, Fernandez will not take on more than a couple of them every year–small jobs are equally important. Wandsnider added that blending large and small jobs builds a desirable work calendar.

"From a company perspective, a mix is imperative because it gives us a chance to have jobs that are ongoing and ones that you are in and out on," he identified. "You have a mix of dynamics of people and cash flow. Larger installation projects require less time on the contractor's part for the amount of dollars that is being worked with."

A variety of projects produces a synchronized work calendar much how a diverse ensemble creates harmonious music. And naturally, practice will make perfect.