At a minimum, Faller says, every company should have:
Heritage Builders, in St. Louis Park, Minn., has a 24-7 emergency call system and a 34-item “end-of-day checklist” that takes about 10 minutes to run through, says Ike Daughenbaugh, president. Items range from vacuuming the site and stacking piles of materials to pre-empting worst-case scenarios. “We’ve had tarps blow off in 60-mph winds, so our standard of practice is to assume that a 60-mph wind is coming,” he says. After-hours calls have been slashed since the checklist became a habitual part of the routine. (See more on Faller’s recommendations and Heritage Builders’ checklist in Field Notes, page 50.)
Re-evaluate routine practices. In late December, two years after being commended by its insurer for having a stellar safety program, Mark IV Builders, in Bethesda, Md., made a “million-dollar mistake” on a $250,000 project, says president Mark Scott. The mistake was to leave propane heaters on overnight to help dry out just-hung drywall. Something ignited, the fire spread, all three propane tanks exploded, and the house burned down.
“Leaving the heater on is standard practice,” Scott says. “Everybody does it.” Not Mark IV Builders, not any more. The company has banned open flames and unsupervised use of propane, and is actively researching alternative drying methods. Scott’s production team is also working with the fire marshal and the company’s insurer to develop a large-scale disaster plan that goes far deeper than its existing emergency plan.
Confirm that you have a green light before starting work. Recently, Acorn Design/Build, of Denver, discovered asbestos in the ceiling of a home built in the early 1980s. The job permit was ready, but Colorado law requires proof of asbestos testing before the actual permit can be handed over. “I didn’t want my guys to go without work for a day or so, and they asked if they could go ahead and do some demo,” says Joel Oatten, the company’s owner. “We jumped the gun.”
The test results followed shortly, and Oat-ten was stuck with an $11,000 abatement bill. Penalties alone could have been as much as $25,000 a day, but the state cut him a break for at least trying to play by the rules.
“We have since mandated that all jobs —regardless of age —will be tested by a certified environmental company,” Oatten says. Results are forwarded to homeowners, who must hire an abatement company, if needed, before remodeling begins. (Oatten adds that general liability insurance doesn’t cover asbestos; his insurer quoted him $100,000 to $150,000 for asbestos coverage.)
Since last summer, Strum Construction has also incorporated additional preventive measures, most notably those involving trade contractors. Whereas scope of work used to be discussed orally, all crew and trades now receive a detailed, written scope of work. Strum also created a simple form for documenting each job’s trade contractors and vendors, contact information, insurance certificates, and more. Strum, his office manager, and the site superintendent each get a copy.
PERSONALITY MINUS As with jobsite disasters, there’s no sure way to avoid ever getting involved with a client who is in some way bankrupt — financially, ethically, or otherwise. “If someone’s determined to take advantage of you, there’s not too much you can do,” says Boyd Petit of Petit Construction, in Highland, Md. “Most people — 98% of the population — pay their bills,” he estimates. “But about 2% are deadbeats and will take advantage of any business they can.”
In the case of his one and only highly toxic client, Petit had “a watertight contract, photos, all kinds of documentation” on his side. Yet the project wound its way from bad to worse and ultimately into court, where, he says, “you lose even if you win. A deadbeat will find a way to get out of paying their obligation.”