Dealing With Design/Build Bloopers

These design/build bloopers can accompany any project – even a seemingly flawless plan isn’t immune to minor mishaps. Truth is, a client’s perception and the project’s reality don’t collide without a few casualties.

"When people buy what we sell, they are buying what they see in Better Homes & Gardens," related Gary Kinman, president, Kinman & Associates, Columbus, Ohio. "They see an environment and they visualize their family reunion or their birthday party."

There isn’t a tried-and-true technique to accomplish this ideal atmosphere or successfully execute a design/build project, however. "Nothing that we do is really rocket science," noted Thomas Dunn, president, Dunn Lawn & Land, St. Louis, Mo. "It’s just making sure that everyone knows what is going on and that everyone can bring that expectation to reality."

CROSSED COMMUNICATION WIRES. Expectations fuel design plans – clients’ mentally renovate their properties and turn over the details to design/build firms. Then, a plan is built on communication, coordination and delivery.

"You need to make sure that your customer is happy and knows what to expect and is aware what they are going to get," Dunn stressed. "You also need to make sure that the crews are aware of the customers’ expectations. The communication flow between those two groups is extremely important."

Dunn knows firsthand that when this communication is foggy, a project’s completion date might indicate the start date for many changes. While building a water feature, his company misinterpreted the client’s stone choice for the structure. Dunn asked the customer if the stone type was correct before placing the materials order, and the selection was verified. But when the stone arrived, it was not at all what the client visualized.

"Now, we make sure we have a picture of an actual sample for the customer to see," he said, noting the mistake cost the company a couple thousand dollars even though the client covered the labor and installation expenses for the change. "Even through we had it all correct in writing, it wasn’t what the customer wanted," he said.

Now, when asked the most critical keys to design/build success, Dunn lists communication and information. These two elements harmonize to form the foundation of a project. Contractors should discuss in detail the price, timeframe, materials and goal of the project, he said.

"You have to be detail-oriented," Dunn noted, which includes informing crews of specifics so they can turn plans into procedure. He also shares direct cost information with project managers so they can make wise decisions for the site. "This allows them to know how much time they have to work on projects and gives them parameters to gauge productivity. It empowers them to make decisions on their own, creates a better bottom line and the project is finished efficiently."

CLUELESS CLIENTS. Information and understanding do not always cooperate. Contractors might provide a client with drafts, photographs and hardscape samples, but that doesn’t mean the client comprehends the project’s scope. Here, companies should pair education with information so customers can picture end results and approve the plan.

Kinman calls this process intimate client communication. "Our interaction is really on the front-end so people understand what is going on," he noted.

Involvement starts at the beginning of the design process, he stressed, adding that he discusses site work issues, such as driveways, drainage, grading and hardscape, with clients so they understand the fundamentals of their property and why certain designs are not feasible. Then, he moves on to plants, which also require educating customers, he said.

"If you had a baby and you got it home from the hospital, would you set it in the yard and leave it for a year?" he asked. "You have to take care of your baby. People end up with plant material and then they never look at it."

The horticultural portion of the landscape installation process is often where clients become the most enthusiastic once they learn more about the plan, however. "That’s the side they will be most involved in – what is going to happen and how it is going to affect their home," Kinman described.

Kinman facilitates participation with a design studio that is set up with examples so clients immediately get involved. They also pick out their own plant material, sometimes visiting nurseries for a real-life plant preview. "We say, ‘This is your home,’" Kinman said. "’Is it correct for me to pick up your drapes and carpet?’ I don’t think so. Your memories and experiences that make you who you are will make you pick out a landscape symbolic of who you are. So, when a client picks out their own materials, they get into it a little more."

Allowing clients to deliberate over design details reduces the likelihood of dealing with mid-project miscommunications and post-project problems, Kinman said. "We walk side by side with the client to make sure they are comfortable."

PLAN PROBLEMS. "Call before you dig," advised Lynn Reeves, commercial project manager and landscape architect, Frank Otte Landscape and Design, Louisville, Ky. After relying on inaccurate utility marks on one of his construction projects, he realized the importance of a subsurface lot survey.

Phone lines, cable wire, rocky soil – these site implications can’t remain underground during the planning process.

"We bid a project to install a large screening wall, and from the time it was designed and we bid on it to the time we went to implement the landscape, there was a change and a large transformer was put in on the property," he described. "The plan was drawn one way and the way the property was constructed was different, so we hit a line."

Though these marks are accurate eight times out of 10, sometimes utility companies paint the lines incorrectly, Reeves added. "There isn’t a 100 percent chance that you won’t hit them."

This is how Reeves learned that communicating extends beyond customer-contractor relations. It also means evaluating soil conditions, identifying hidden rocks and boulders and relaying this information to the designer and the crew.

Attention to detail can eliminate design discrepancies and is especially important when the plans were not developed by an in-house architect, Dunn added. Here, again, discussion and understanding is key, as architects must explain their vision to the contractor, who must ensure the designer combed the property for potential problems before drafting a plan.

"Plans don’t always reflect the exact condition in the field," Dunn noted. "And if someone is not here to help interpret or correct the plan, the installation can be a little different than the intention."

Hashing out the particulars and pointing out possible pitfalls mends the architect-installation gap, he added.

"You have to go over the project so that the designer understands what you are trying to create – the overall picture, not just the nuts and bolts," Dunn stressed.

MATERIAL MISHAP. More than drafting a design, the planning process includes coordinating materials for the project, from plants to pavers. Given the time constraints many jobs present, contractors often have a narrow window of time to obtain the design dressings.

"One of our big challenges is that people want the job turned around quickly," said Phillip Ring, president, Detailed Environments, Warrington, Pa. "They want the pool by Memorial Day and they want it designed and installed in a short amount of time."

Though Ring can reassign employees from maintenance crews to installation projects to meet deadlines, he said acquiring materials isn’t always so flexible. Without an on-site nursery, advance planning is necessary so materials can be direct shipped in time to finish a job, he said. He sticks to a basic plant palate, avoiding anything "too bizarre," and offers clients substitutions if the ship time doesn’t correlate with client’s demands.

Then, there are plant quality concerns. When contractors don’t hand-pick materials, they might end up with a shoddy selection. "We learned that you have to go and tag more, and make sure you see the plant material before it shows up," Ring said.

Also, a well-defined plant placement plan will help contractors decide on appropriate selections and possible substitutions if the desired plant is not up to par or will not arrive on time, Ring noted.

SCHEDULING SORE SPOTS. Coordinating crews is the source of many system errors. Contractors must match their schedules with other subcontractors, consider the job’s necessary man-hours, assess the productivity of their work force and then assign a schedule based on these variables.

"For each job, we have a typewritten format from the general contractor of when the electricians are going to do their thing, when the sidewalks are going to be poured and when the sodding guy is going to come in," Reeves listed. "I take these schedules, put them side to side and try to put them on a master schedule to figure out when we need to be there."

Reeves considers the size, location and site conditions of a job before scheduling his crews, and he checks the job site on a daily basis to note the subcontractors’ progress. "I go out and look at the property to see what the soil conditions are so when we sit down to review it in the morning with the crew and make the schedule, I share what I found out and we decide if there is anything that needs to be changed," he said.

Touching base with contractors makes these morning meetings less hectic, he said, adding that he establishes a rapport with regular subcontractors. "I guess it’s like a member of the landscape crew, really," Reeves figured. "The trick is to establish a relationship with a reputable and reliable subcontractor and do enough business with them so that you know that you can call them and get a fairly quick response."

However, the crew’s synergy solidifies the schedule, turning paper to procedure, Reeves said. His employees’ strengths and weaknesses level one another, creating a productive group – a necessity for completing projects efficiently. "These guys have worked together to the point where they know what to do without stopping and asking," he said.

Essentially, the project’s success depends on employees’ skills, which is why contractors must hire reliable workers. Dunn scans applicants for a construction background. "They have to like working with their hands," he commented. "Then, you can train them and teach them and bring them up through the ranks."

Appointing a project manager to oversee the quality, efficiency and details of these hands-on jobs holds crewmembers accountable for completing work within the scheduled time, Dunn added. He staffs crews with two employees and one project manager, who oversees the team, he explained.

"If you empower the right person, it is extremely rewarding for that person when he or she knows they are in charge of it from the relationship with the customer to making sure that the project is built profitably and that it looks great when it is finished," he said.

FINAL TOUCHES. Despite design/build blunders that crop up during a project, companies that follow up with letters, phone calls and walk-throughs to ensure client satisfaction will finish the job on a high note.

"Follow-up is a very important step in the overall completion of a job, because if there is something that is not right, you certainly want to know about it," Reeves said, adding that he drops clients a quick thank-you note. "It’s the biggest step to getting repeat business."

This post-project contact secures relationships and serves as a sales tool for maintenance services, Dunn recommended. "We believe in personal contact," he said. "They can e-mail us and we’ll call them regularly. We stay in touch with them personally."

Kinman accented the value of mending mistakes, reviewing the project and receiving the client’s approval, adding that a reference list of pleased customers builds company credibility. "The last person you work for is your next life-time salesperson," he compared. "So, do your job right, and you’ll have them pushing your company and your services forever."