Improve Project Outcomes With This Simple Tool

How often is there a miscommunication between the estimator (scope of the estimate) and the production team (agreed-upon scope of work)? What if there was a resource readily available to every member of your team that could help you reduce miscommunication and increase profitability? In this article and accompanying video we will discuss how you can improve project outcomes with THIS simple tool. 
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• What happens when the production team DOESN’T complete all of the scope of work?
• What happens when the production team does MORE than the scope of work?

Watch The Video ​

Prevent Scope Creep & Increase Profitability 

Doing less than you estimated and having to go back is costly as it takes resources that could otherwise be performing profitable work offline to return to a jobsite that should have been completed. Doing more work than you estimated and not capturing the revenue means your teams are working for free. Both outcomes will impact project completion, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

One simple tool, that is already in the tool kit of every estimator, is the video function on their smartphone. Did you know that conducting a job walk through video recording what they are seeing and uploading that to a shared database, can help offset miscommunication during the project lifecycle? Save your team time, your company money, and your customer frustration by making a recorded initial scope walk a habit. 

Conducting a Video Construction Scope Walk Through 

A video construction scope walk through does not have to be anything complex, but it does need to cover a few key points.

• Walk through each area of the damaged structure 
• Record the conditions and the estimators thoughts about the scope
• Comment on unique aspects of the project
• Speak to customer concerns or areas of importance 

The estimator walks through the project and verbalizes what they are seeing on-site, unique aspects of the work, specific directions from the client, and how they are approaching the estimate. Having this video in the shared database will help everyone downstream to have a better understanding of what IS and what IS NOT in the agreed-upon scope of work (contract). 

• The estimator can review the video before they compose the estimate to refresh their memory 
• The project manager can review the video after the project file handoff to understand the scope and conditions
• The project manager can review the video with their production team to clarify the gameplan and resource allocation 
• The project manager can review the video with their subcontractors to clarify their scope of work and materials list

If this is helpful, tune into The DYOJO Podcast - helping your shorten your DANG learning curve - Thursdays on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcasts.