One of the first lessons in woodworking is “Measure twice, cut once.” This advice applies whether you’re dealing with a hobby project in your workshop or a massive capital construction project.
But, even with all the measuring and planning in the world, sometimes things just don’t go according to plan.
Extreme weather can impact your business in ways you never expected.
Or your company may get a windfall with a huge order that you’re not completely ready to handle.
The measurements you thought were perfect turn out to be a little off.
And sometimes, plans must change to accommodate business continuity needs. In one recent case, our installation team arrived on-site to find the layout of the temporary structure site had been altered since the initial walk-through. Learn how our team went to work to find the best solution to ensure the client’s structure remained on time and on budget more in the full case study.
When you face the unexpected, you expect that your budget will increase or your deadline may be missed, but in this stressful time, do you know what to expect from your temporary structure vendor partner?
Experienced vendor partners will thoroughly review your situation to come to an understanding of what has happened and work with you to come up with a solution. The solution may be require more time and a little more investment, but when your business is on the line, you want to know that you can trust your vendor partner and their ability to bring a creative problem solving approach to your unexpected situation.
While we can’t predict every problem, we can tell you that with a high-quality, experienced vendor partner, you should be able to reliably expect these 3 things from their creative problem solving approach.
1. Creative problem solving should never compromise honest communication.
When you face an unexpected problem on your site, a trustworthy vendor partner will be there by your side. They won’t shy away the difficult conversations that have to be had. Through open and honest communication, they’ll help you determine what is wrong, assess who was at fault (if anyone), and plot the best course forward. Experienced vendors will typically be able to give you multiple viable solutions and help you choose what is best for your company.
Creative problem solvers are good at finding solutions to even the most extreme of challenges, but they’re also experts at knowing when the only safe remedy for a problem is to start over. For example, you never want to hear that you’re going to have to re-pour your concrete foundation, but sometimes this is the only safe course of action if an incorrect measurement will cause structural instability. You never want to face an even more costly or dangerous situation if your vendor partner is unwilling to share their honest assessment for fear of damaging a deal.
2. Creative problem solving should never come at the expense of safety.
While you may need to “think outside the box” when you’re faced with an unexpected problem, you have to be sure your final solution is still going to be safe and effective. Being creative should never put your equipment or, more importantly, your crew in harm’s way. When budgets and timelines are tight, an experienced vendor will function as a true partner and look out for your best interest, even if it means they don’t offer the least expensive or fastest solution.
No matter what solution is proposed, you should expect your vendor partner to provide you with engineering specifications. For even the most unique challenges, experienced vendors can pull from their toolbox of past solutions to provide the best path forward for your project. Additionally, your vendor should be able to provide documentation from previous projects to demonstrate how a solution will work.
3. Creative problem solving should begin before you have problems.
While you can’t predict everything, you can reduce the potential for problems with proper planning. You can also reduce your potential for unexpected scenarios by partnering with an experienced vendor who has learned from the past. During your planning process, you should expect your vendor to take the time to thoroughly learn about your goals for your temporary structure. By asking why you need the structure, not just what your final dimensions should be, your vendor’s project manager is gathering critical information that will drive their proposal and provide solutions that meet your needs. They often have solutions to problems you may not have even considered.
When you’re managing a massive project, some details may not seem as significant as others, even when you know they’ll eventually matter. This is one of the areas where your experienced vendor partner can help you the most. They’ll help you identify critical questions and quickly come to decisions early in your planning so you don’t face delays or challenges later. Just as you measure twice before cutting, expect an experienced vendor partner to plan through two – or more – scenarios to make sure they’ve considered every potential problem. Ultimately, you can free yourself from worrying about the unexpected problems so you can focus on the project as a whole.
When you face the unexpected at your job site, frustration builds as you start seeing the dollar signs rack up and the days or weeks fly past your deadline. But when you have a team of creative problem solvers by your side, you aren’t facing these challenges alone. There are many suppliers in the market that can promise easy options for your temporary structure needs.
However, before you start your project, ask how those vendors will help you should the unexpected arise. Will they be creative problem solvers when you need them to help you find fast, economical and safe solutions? You may not be able to always predict the future, but you should always expect that your temporary structure vendor will truly function as your partner, looking out for your best interests no matter what happens. With Sunbelt Rentals, you can expect our creative problem solvers are ready for the unexpected.
We're ready to partner with you on your toughest challenges. Contact our team to get started.
