Many considerations go into finding the right building contractor. Do they understand your vision for the building? Will they be able to meet your deadlines and effectively communicate with you throughout the process? To help you make an informed decision, we’ve gathered the top things you should look for in a commercial building contractor.
Safety
Inviting a builder onto your site inherently comes with risk. Keeping employees, customers and vendors safe at all times should always be the top priority of you and your contractor. In addition to the risk to individuals, poor safety performance can shut down your site resulting in expensive delays, fines or both.
Before selecting a commercial building contractor, make sure they have a documented safety plan and ask for their safety ratings. Every business needs to determine their own thresholds for safety and safety ratings. Generally, it is best to look for an contractors with both an EMR and TRIR of 1.0 or less.
Experience
Experience and build specialty can vary from one contractor to the next. To confirm a builder’s quality of work and experience, ask for pictures and information about their past projects, thoroughly review their website and ask for a list of references to contact for feedback.
Availability
Contractors are often working on more than one build at a time, so it’s important to confirm their availability early on. Will they have time to focus on your project? Can they guarantee your project’s completion date and is there a penalty for missed deadlines? Ask questions, read customer reviews and review your contact in detail to determine if they are likely to stay on deadline and on budget and what happens if they don’t.
Communication
Clear, open communication can make all the difference when finalizing a detailed build and throughout the project. Pay attention to how building contractors answer your questions and communicate with you. If they aren’t upfront and communicative from the beginning, chances are they won’t be during the rest of the project. That will add time and, most likely, add stress on your part.
Customer Service
In addition to effective communication skills, a reliable commercial contractor should also have exceptional customer service. They should be able to quickly respond to a client, fully address concerns and work alongside their client to resolve any issues. Review a contractor’s Google reviews and ask trusted colleagues for a firsthand perspective of their customer service.
Choosing a reliable commercial building contractor can be a difficult task, but once you find a builder you trust, the real work begins – building your jobsite space and making it ready to work. To help you get started, here are a few essential tips to make your space productive.