Who was that drylining firm again?
Your buyer is putting together a tender list for the drylining package on a new job. There are six firms on your approved list. One of your site managers had a bad experience with one of them last year, but he is on another job and the buyer does not know. Another firm was excellent on a school job, but the project manager who ran it has left. The buyer sends the enquiry to all six and picks the cheapest.
Every contractor has this knowledge. It lives in people's heads, and it leaves when they do.
Why performance does not get recorded
Nobody has time to write a report on a subcontractor at the end of a package, and there is no form that makes it quick. Meanwhile the facts that would show performance, late documents, defects, programme slips, dayworks disputes, are spread across your records and never brought together against the firm.
- Performance is discussed, not recorded.
- Opinions are held by individuals and lost when they move on.
- Facts such as defects and late documents are not linked to the firm.
- The approved list shows who is approved, not who is good.
- Buyers compare price because that is what they can see.
What forgetting costs
You rehire firms that caused problems before, and pay for it again in delays, defects and management time. Good firms go unrewarded, and eventually price your work less keenly or stop pricing it. Buyers make decisions on price alone because nothing else is visible, which is often the most expensive way to buy. And when a client asks how you manage your supply chain, you have little to show.
The performance record we build
- At the end of each package, and at a midpoint on longer ones, the site manager and QS get a short review on their phone: a few scores, such as programme, quality, attitude, paperwork, and one or two lines of comment.
- Facts are added automatically from your records: defects raised against the firm, late handover documents, dayworks disputes, RFIs raised, and whether they kept to the lookahead.
- Each firm's record shows its reviews and facts across all jobs, with the most recent first.
- When a buyer builds a tender list or places an order, each firm's record is shown alongside, with any strong concerns highlighted.
- Subcontractors can be shared a summary of their own reviews, if you choose, as the basis for a conversation.
- Your approved list can be reviewed periodically with the performance record next to it.
| Firm | Reviews | Facts from records | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drylining firm A | Strong on quality, slow on paperwork | Late O&M documents | Use, chase documents early |
| Drylining firm B | Programme problems on two jobs | Several defects | Concern raised |
| Drylining firm C | Consistently good | Few defects | Preferred |
Scores and comments are opinions of your staff, recorded for your internal use. Decisions about who to use are yours.
A supply chain chosen on more than price
Buyers see how a firm performed before they invite it to tender. Site managers' experience is kept when they move on. Good subcontractors get the work and the conversation that goes with being preferred. Problem firms are spotted before they are on your programme. And when a client asks how you choose and manage subcontractors, there is a clear, evidenced answer.
Is your subcontractor knowledge in people's heads?
- Buyers do not know how a firm performed on your last job.
- You have rehired firms that caused problems before.
- Good subcontractors are not treated any differently.
- Staff leaving takes supply chain knowledge with them.
- Your approved list shows approval, not performance.