We have many tools at our disposal when it comes to our building projects whether it be in the commercial or mining sectors.
However, most disasters, nasty surprises, unexpected challenges and even just minor headaches, usually come down to the failure of one important tool and it's one we use every step of the way.
Selecting your team well can be the key to helping your project run smoothly, because it ensures good communication from the get-go.
Your brief is the formal communication piece to explain your vision for your project. You can use it for the duration of your project to help everyone be on the same page as you. It becomes the means by which you spread your vision, and the benchmark to check yours and your team's performance by.
Being able to translate your vision into the language that the industry understands is essential to getting what you want out of your project.
One important step in which communication can lead to disaster is in the process you use to seek estimates and quotes for your project. Work to remove the need for assumption, which leads to mistakes and surprises on site.
Always ensure you have formal, written agreements with everyone helping you deliver your project. There are considerations that must be made when it comes to local shire and in some cases state or federal government requirements.
It's really helpful if you establish some systems in how you will manage and monitor work.
Expecting a certain type of quality and finish in your project (or parts of it) requires you to state those expectations upfront before work has been commissioned.
What's important is that there is an understood framework, or benchmark, to which all those involved in your project know they are expected to perform to. Some of those existing benchmarks include the National Construction Code, the Building Code of Australia and Australian Standards.