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The first fix of any construction project will determine its overall success. Get it right, and the second fix will be effortless. Get it wrong, and there will be a domino-effect of delays and spiralling costs. Equally, the pressure is on to get the first fix turned around as quickly as possible. Is this achievable without cutting corners? At SC4 Carpenters, we not only believe it is, we ensure it is. Here’s how.

Clear Communication

The key to a masterful first fix is clear communication between all the trades. All too often, first fix delays are caused because one team doesn’t know or care what another is doing, and this can lead to confusion, errors, and delays. However, when everyone is clear about the project timeline and everyone’s position in it, synchronicity is placed at the heart of operations. It’s worth noting that the more frequently teams work together, the better their communication will be, and this can further enhance the speed of a project. This extra attention to detail can increase the initial cost of the project, but it is quickly recouped when expensive delays are avoided.

Excellent Organisation

Management skills are fundamental to construction project efficiency. When managers and supervisors are invested in the latest best practice, health and safety, working in partnership with site staff and other trades, and techniques such as proactive maintenance of equipment, downtime is always minimised. For instance, by ensuring that materials and labour are on site when they are needed, and works are completed to drawings and programme, the risk of a project being delayed is dramatically reduced. While you will pay a little more for managerial excellence, doing so can help you to avoid expensive errors.

Proactive Planning

Closely linked to managerial excellence is proactive planning. This is where managers collaborate to develop a project plan that is realistic, achievable, and fully legislatively compliant. For the client, the result is a solution that is infused with resilience from start-to-finish. Experienced planners will understand exactly how many personnel are required for each element of the first fix, will establish which materials and infrastructure need to be in place, and will identify any risks that need to be minimised. They will also understand how their works, and those of other trades, fit into the overall project. Consequently, proactive projects tend to run on-time and to budget, saving you money.

Quality Controls

Arguably the most important aspect of keeping a project on target is its quality controls. Strongly emphasised by housing standards such as NHBC and STA (Structural Timber Association), constant quality monitoring exists for crucial reasons. The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) also ensures quality monitoring through a rigorous vetting process and independent inspections of members' work. This ensures builders meet high standards before joining and throughout their membership.

During the first fix, quality controls and checks prevent any errors from causing catastrophic delays further down the line. For instance, if the building’s frame is not installed correctly, it may need to be completely replaced. This type of event hit the headlines recently when £20 million worth of newbuild properties had to be demolished due to problems with their foundations, an error that, with the right quality controls in place, could have been avoided.

Find Out More

To keep your first fix on track, both in terms of time and budget, it pays to work with an organisation that is certified by organisations such as STA, FMB or ConstructionLine. Experience, dedication, and careful thought can accelerate a project, so to learn more, please get in touch!

contact SC4 today!The clear division between the first and second fix stages in construction projects is well-established. Unfortunately, it's precisely this divide that frequently becomes a breeding ground for critical and costly mistakes and miscommunications.The clear division between the first and second fix stages in construction projects is well-established. Unfortunately, it's precisely this divide that frequently becomes a breeding ground for critical and costly mistakes and miscommunications.

Your development project may have been designed and constructed to perfection, ingeniously overcoming a range of interesting problems along the way. However, at the end of the day, it is the painting and decoration that the end-user is going to see. Many installations have become costly disasters because quality was ignored or the expertise of commercial decorating services was not utilized. If you want to avoid this pitfall, here are the main areas to pay attention to.

The Structural Timber Association (STA) have a favourite word: stringent. As far as accreditation and certification bodies go, they are tough to impress. To gain a stamp of approval from the STA is to undergo rigorous observations, testing, and auditing, and this covers everything from management practices to the quality of installations. The result of STA certification is a commercial carpentry provider that offers rigorous guarantees. Here are the main benefits.

It is no secret that construction projects are frequently delayed, or at best, often completed at the eleventh hour. Recent statistics suggest that a quarter of installations are delayed by nearly a year, leading to cost overruns of at least 30%. Nobody in the industry wants this uncertainty, but solving the problem often feels impossible. At SC4, we have a solid formula for ensuring that projects are completed on time. Here’s how we do it.

The second fix is a critical phase in new-build housing installations as it delivers the gleaming finish that homeowners will ultimately see and interact with. As long as the first fix has been completed successfully, there is no reason why the second fix should not be straightforward. However, it can descends into a labyrinth of unexpected delays and costs. Here are three key points to keep in mind and save you time when selecting a second fix construction company.