Every sports team must have substitutes who are available to give the starters a breather or to fill in at some point. Without those teammates who ride the bench, no team can be at its best. Great basketball players like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or even old timers like Larry Bird and Michael Jordan had relievers or “bench riders” there to give them a rest.
During my high school baseball years, our varsity team ran out of first-string pitchers. We were in a hotly contested district race in Baytown, Texas, when our coach brought in a “bench warmer” as a relief pitcher. This kid had never pitched before. His delivery was unorthodox because he didn’t know how to wind up or pitch from the stretch. His weird pitching style so confounded the opponents that one by one they struck out. Our new pitcher was just as surprised at the outcome as we were. In just a few hours, he had risen from sub to sublime! A similar concept applies to construction, because you need the main constructors plus a host of others to add special elements to a project’s success by standing in when and where they’re needed.
Hard crafts
There are principle differences in types of crafts. Those who excavate, set pilings and footings, and pour slabs are generally the civil crafts. Ironworkers and structural steel erectors set the steel. When equipment is placed and set, boilermakers and millwrights do the work. When piping and hot work are needed, pipefitters and welders are brought in. Electricians and instrument technicians run wires, cabling and switch gear to energize the work. These and others of similar specialized skills are called the hard crafts.
Soft crafts
Scaffold builders make temporary work platforms so other crafts can reach needed heights. Insulators place insulation around piping to conserve heat, while heat tracers run tubing to maintain the heat. Fire proofers, painters and quality assurance technicians add their flair to assure design turns into production. Soft crafts, when added to start-up specialists, create an industrial unit that’s ready to go. It sounds easy, but it is difficult. Without each group of specialists working in a timely and coordinated manner and following the path engineers, designers, planners and schedulers lay out, it would be chaos — much like having an unorthodox relief pitcher.
Subcontracting
There are lots of things that can go wrong in construction. I’ve seen bids that did not include enough hours for needed craft work. When this happens, schedules are crunched, safety goes out the window and production becomes the main focus. Sequencing every element of the work is valuable. I know of constructability groups that spend lots of time walking out and planning a project, only to see estimators and cost analysts cut much of the needed work, thus creating a nightmare for constructors. Since a prime contractor is not always a specialist in all job facets, subcontractors are needed to supplement the work. The soft crafts often become the subcontractors. Without them, the work is incomplete.
The last thing an owner wants to see is cost overruns and schedules not met. Those who don’t know construction get in the way. It is not unusual for projects to overrun the budget by a large percentage.
On an institutional government-financed Veterans Administration hospital project, the costs were so overrun the project was shut down until politicians and governmental officials provided additional funding. This is a clear case where people unfamiliar with construction processes got in the way. They want credit for building a government project but have no idea how to accomplish it. Why don’t the nonconstructors step away and let the constructors do what they know how to do? When a billion-dollar project turns into a $2 billion bust, everyone suffers — including our construction industry.
Take the mound
Whether you are a craftsman, subcontractor, substitute or just riding the bench, be ready to take the mound or put on your personal protective equipment. You may be called upon to save the game or even save a life.
For more information, contact HASC Customer Relations at (281) 476-9900, Ext. 310 or visit www.hasc.com.
