Media and the BRANZ New House Owner’s Satisfaction Survey report that construction callbacks go up every year -everything from poor paint finishes to floor scratches and wall damage (things that are obvious to new owners) – and the blame is laid squarely at the door of rising workloads and skills shortages, but the reality is workload and skills shortages aren’t going away.
While BRANZ, media and others label the rise in defects as disturbing, they cannot ignore the realities of a New Zealand building site. Construction crews and trades need to work quickly, which is tricky when there are multiple people on site. Surface damage and so-called quality defects are a natural and largely unavoidable consequence of the building process.
At ShieldIt, we understand that there isn’t a construction company out there that doesn’t want to have the satisfaction of a pristine handover. Nobody wants the cost, time and inconvenience of recalls – not the builders and not the customers.
In fact, a recent report produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) and funded by the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ), estimates that around $2.5 billion each year is spent on fixing the costs of detected defects related to new house builds. That’s a lot of lost profit to the construction industry (and that’s just residential).
Temporary surface protection is a growing industry because it offers a viable, low-cost solution to helping eliminate detected defects. Here are five reasons for why you should consider temporary surface protection on your next commercial construction project.
1. Satisfaction and confidence from a job well done
Reduce call-backs for your own team and subbies and enjoy the confidence that comes from handing over a project that is as good as you can make it. This means no delays in your next project, and lower material and labour losses. Customers rarely appreciate the craftsmanship that goes on behind the walls – they just see the obvious scratches, scrapes and dents. Temporary surface protection helps eliminate that problem.
2. A better bottom line
Defects and call-backs cost money and time. Purchasing new materials — the potential wastage from having more than you need — getting subbies and team members back on site (when it’s convenient to the customer) and the energy spent fixing the problem are costly. And it happens on job after job after job. Temporary surface protection stops the bleeding.
“Rework is an opportunity cost for firms. Reducing rework improves the profit margin from the construction of new houses. In effect, frequent rework weakens the resilience of firms. As profit margins are squeezed, the residential construction business is left with little cushioning to cope with rainy days.” – The Economic Cost of Quality Defects, Michael Bealing and Laëtitia Leroy de Morel, NZIER
3. Improved competitiveness
First impressions are lasting impressions. A clean handover generates customer satisfaction which leads to referrals, positive feedback and repeat business.
4. Trades congestion? No problem
Organising the right people to be onsite at the right time for an apartment, retirement village build, or for other large-scale projects is a juggling act. You can make it less of a headache by co-ordinating trades to arrive and work at the same time when you know that your floors, walls, windows and other surfaces are protected from the weather, dirty boots, paint splatters, and other forms of accidental damage or breakages.
5. Better outcomes for business overall
There is a hefty social cost related to wasting time and money on remedial work. The affordability of construction projects is impacted, and projects are delayed when preventable defects or damage occur. Using affordable surface protection means we can contribute towards a more streamlined and cost-effective industry – and better skills utilisation — when you don’t have to repeat jobs because of preventable damage to surfaces.
Investing a small amount of your overall construction budget on temporary surface protection can have a positive impact on your performance, profit margins and the confidence of your people. And that’s not just great for your bottom line but for the reputation of your organisation and industry.
Contact ShieldIt today
We’ve developed an unrivalled and comprehensive range to suit all protection needs, designed to deliver high performance with maximum effectiveness. Call us today to find out how we can get you covered or visit website https://shieldit.co.nz/.
Media Release 16 June 2022.