How to manage scheduling successfully 

Here’s the thing…

Scheduling is a potential one of the worst nightmares for you on a site. It’s not so relevant for a private house that doesn’t have other stuff going on but it’s very relevant for a project where you’ve got multiple trades/crafts doing their thing. On projects on building sites there are thousands of decisions daily and everyone is juggling, there is a lot of activity that is happening that is out of your control and it’s the old saying, ‘people are problems.’ It only takes one person not to turn up when they’re supposed to to throw the sequence of the job out. It only takes a problem with the product not showing up to throw the scheduling date out.    

“Control the controllables would be my summary when it comes to scheduling,” says Mick Wells. 

How we at Wells Interiors like to deal with scheduling is to do a lot of pre-site checks ourselves to see it for ourselves. We like to think we are very flexible but we aren’t immune like all other companies. There are certain times of the year when we are a lot busier than others. Our rule really is if you book a day, you pay a deposit and you get that day. That’s how it works. Changing your date, especially last minute, is where issues lie and you potentially might get disappointed about not getting your day. 

How to avoid last-minute date changes…

• Communicate – clearly and openly.
• Be realistic, you have to be realistic.
• We have a saying that we might not like the news, but we want to hear the news straight away. As soon as you think you’ve got a delay or something’s not right, let us/the installer know. Problems arise when information is withheld, so it’s better to be honest and upfront from the get-go. If you do that then you have more of a chance of achieving your actual, real date rather than the installer arriving and there is no skirting, it’s not decorated and it’s far from ready = disaster!  To re-book the date in, chances are you’re going to be disappointed because you’re not going to get the date you want. It would be much better to say, “Okay, that date is no longer going to work. Can we book you in for a later date and then we know it will be 100% ready.”
• The same applies when it comes to the delivery of materials on site. They need to be ideally on site one week before the start date to avoid any delays. That’s something you’ve got control over and you can pressure the manufacturers and brands for a delivery date and track them too. 
• Don’t rush anything that will affect the finish, because when it is all said and done that’s what the client is going to be looking at, and that’s what you’ll get judged on.