That represents a lot of money. So, is the M&E subcontractor treated as an important partner within the construction team? Whatever your answer, the M&E directors I have talked with feel they are handled with contempt by both designers and construction managers.
Now I'm not saying they're right. But that's what they feel. Following are the thoughts of some M&E directors who were consistent in their answers when asked for a wish list from main contractors.
Talk to us earlier
M&E procurement is often left to the last minute because of the need to get the other trades started. Later procurement also serves to drive the M&E contractor's price down - not a particularly well kept secret! By that time most of the projects' value-adding decisions have been made. The M&E contractor's contribution then centres on physically routing and fixing ducts, pipes and wires through a network of obstacles as opposed to optimising the installation for the building life cycle costs.
Use our expertise
M&E subcontractors said they were rarely asked what is important or what is needed to produce a successful completion? One director said: "if it isn't wet and can't be tamped then the builder isn't interested". Another said: "Pre-contract meetings with the main contractor tend to be all about the building works, interfaces with other trades and what they will do to us if we don't tidy away our mess." Better understanding of their work will reduce the risk of short cuts which affect installation quality, according to the directors.
Are M&E contractors whingeing suppliers waiting for others to bale them out? Or is it time for construction managers to have a fresh look at the importance of the building services element and how it is procured?
Include us in
Many of the directors complained of being kept one step removed from the decision making - or as one put it 'tail end Charlie'. The last to know of decisions affecting their work and with important detail lost in the tiers of communication.
Give us time
The front end of the project tends to be programmed in detail, though not tightly managed. The back end of the project tends to be less well defined (a single programme bar for M&E - fifteen weeks long) though heavily 'managed'. This is the point in the project where panic about completion dates is setting in. As the work of earlier contractors slips the M&E starts late and is 'managed' (pressured) to complete on time. "The one element of the programme that the main contractor considers fair game is the commissioning period. It is generally accepted that this period is available for snagging, despite earlier assurances that the commissioning engineer would have the building to himself," one of the directors said, before adding: "Instead there are: painters, carpenters and armies of cleaners. Given today's hi-tech. buildings, this is not an option! The commissioning process is important to achieving completion. When will they learn?"
Treat us as partners
M&E contractors want an acceptance that they are a key player and have an important role to play in the success of the project - this seems to underline the previously expressed feelings and suggests they really do not feel valued by construction managers and client representatives.
It was interesting to note that getting paid and turning a profit did not figure at the top of the wish list; perhaps they are all raking it in or maybe their concerns run deeper and that sorting them will handle the money. Are these the wishes of whingeing suppliers waiting for others to bale them out? Or is it time for construction managers to have a fresh look at the importance of the building services element and how it is procured?
Source
Construction Manager
Postscript
Dave Stitt has spent 26 years in the industry. He has led a number of change and improvement programmes for major contractors and now runs his own consultancy, DSA Building Performance. Contact dsabuilding@btopenworld.com