Large projects require significant planning but can pay immense dividends
The U.S. precast concrete industry is massive, accounting for more than $25 billion in revenue and $5.1 billion in worker wages in 2022. As the industry continues to expand and precast producers seek to scale, companies are looking to secure large projects as part of their forward business strategy.
Taking on such projects requires thoughtful planning, detailed execution and resource investment. But when approached correctly, completing large projects can result in tremendous gains for your company, including enhanced brand recognition, new business opportunities, increased revenue and more.
Identifying a large project
While the definition of a “large project” varies from one precast plant to another, common factors include:
- Dollar amount. For some businesses, projects at or above a specific threshold value are considered large. Leaders at Locke Solutions in Houston, Texas, classify such projects at $10 million and above.
- Project length. How long will the project take to complete? At some plants, large projects take six months or more to come to fruition, while at others anything requiring one year or more of work falls into the large category.
- Complexity. Several factors can affect the complexity of a project. Does the work require innovative engineering or design? Is an entirely new product line part of the equation?
- Product size. Physical dimensions also can determine what is classified as a large project. If the products being manufactured are of significant size or weight, the project may be deemed large.
This list is not comprehensive, and it’s important to note that each of these potential factors should not be considered in isolation. Instead, a large project at your plant will likely be some combination of the items identified above.
Additionally, assigning arbitrary values or thresholds to the aforementioned areas is not beneficial. Think about your unique situation. How big is your plant? What does your staffing setup and departmental structure look like? What resources and equipment do you currently have available? Taking all of this into account is instrumental in assessing both how a large project is defined and how to go about tackling one.
Planning and Preparation
Most precast plants have product lines or project types that fall within their wheelhouse. These are the standard products you manufacture and the most common types of projects you accept. Typically, such products and projects concern logistics that your plant is fully comfortable with managing – even if surprises arise. But when scaling up to larger projects, preparation becomes even more critical.
“A small project, or the one you do every day, really isn’t that bad because you know how to handle it and you’re set up for success,” said Alex Burkhart, director of engineering for the Mid-Atlantic region at Concrete Pipe & Precast (CP&P). “But it’s the large projects where you’re likely trying to take on something that you’ve never done before.”
The novelty associated with larger projects, along with the potential for increased complexity, requires additional planning and forethought concerning the entire life cycle of the work.
“With large projects, you must consider the end of the work before you bid on it,” said Ed Page, P.E., senior design engineer for CP&P. “Make every effort that you can to eliminate surprises along the way. Part of that process means obtaining buy-in and generating ideas from your team – production, engineering, management, dispatch and beyond.”
Asher Kazmann, P.E., president at Locke Solutions and Chair-Elect for NPCA, agreed.
“The biggest difference between small projects and large projects is really the front-end,” he said. “That’s where a lot of your resources are tapped. You want to have as many things as you can figured out ahead of time.”
Careful considerations
A primary consideration during the preparation phase is your staffing setup. Based on the scope of the project, will your team need to work overtime hours, or will additional staffing be required? In some cases, you may be able to shuffle employees around to make things work. Locke Solutions thinks about the long-term repercussions of staffing changes resulting from taking on large projects.
“When you’re flexing up, you don’t necessarily want to over-hire,” Kazmann said. “For a short period of time, we’d rather offer our team additional overtime hours than hire more people only to have layoffs occur at the conclusion of a project.”
Equipment is another vital part of the puzzle. Can you produce, lift and transport the elements specified for the job? If not, efforts must be undertaken to acquire what’s needed. New equipment can potentially be worked into your bid and project budget.
Your plant’s footprint plays a major role in how you attack a large project. This relates to both the production floor and your storage capabilities. Ask yourself a simple question: Do we have enough room for this? Even in cases where space is available, your overall business approach may need to be modified.
“You can rearrange your facility, storage layout and daily operations because you are shifting how your team is working,” said Mitch Rainero, vice president of production at Permatile Concrete Products in Bristol, Va. “But now, maybe you can’t take on other new business because you have a large project that you’re working through, and you just don’t have the additional capacity.”
Once products are manufactured, they must find their way to the project site. This isn’t always straightforward, especially as elements increase in size and weight. And because large projects occasionally present situations your company has yet to encounter, unforeseen challenges can arise.
Burkhart explained that, for an insulated wall panel project he worked on earlier in his career, his team stressed reducing the number of elements produced for financial savings. This led to an increase in the number of wide loads needed for the job, and when transportation was delayed from June to December, only a limited window was available for shipping.
“All the wide loads could only go down the road in daylight after 9 a.m. due to the presence of school buses,” Burkhart said. “Plus, the project was 4 hours away from the plant. That killed us.
“The money we saved in producing fewer pieces was significantly less than the additional dollars we had to pay for shipping and the schedule ramifications.”
This was an important lesson learned for Burkhart and his team – it’s also a compelling example of just how detailed your plant’s planning should be on the front end of a large project.
Benefits aplenty
Taking on larger projects may pose some difficulty, but doing so can lead to a slew of benefits. Successfully completing projects at scale will help your company develop solid relationships with key clients, building your brand as one that can be trusted to complete similar jobs. Ultimately, this can lead to securing more work and increasing revenue.
“Word gets out in the industry, and a company can gain a reputation as a group that pulls together and gets things done,” Page said.
Beyond enhanced brand recognition, participating in large projects offers your team an opportunity to experience new kinds of work, something that allows employees to grow and expand in their roles.
“One of the top benefits I’ve seen is that it gives you a great training ground for developing people and giving them the chance to do things that wouldn’t normally be a part of their day-to-day operations,” Kazmann said. “People can step into new roles, taking on more responsibility and gaining more experience.”
This can also lead to improved culture at your plant as teams realize their full potential.
“The morale around your plant is key for these large projects,” Rainero said. “Often, they make your team want to come in and work and do what’s needed to bring the job to completion.”
Performing at a high level on large projects also is one of the best ways for your business to secure future success as the industry continues to evolve.
“The opportunity is, if you run a large project well, the relationship that you build with a customer can truly be a long-term asset,” Burkhart said.
Investment in, results out
For precast plants considering large projects, Rainero has an important piece of advice.
“Never overpromise and underdeliver.”
Additionally, don’t be afraid to say “no” to a project that just isn’t adding up due to staffing, your plant’s footprint, the complexity of the work or other factors.
But if the situation seems favorable, the time and resource investment needed to complete a large project will pay massive dividends – for your workforce, for your people, for your plant’s culture and for your long-term growth and success.
Reference
1 https://precast.org/blog/precast-concrete-market-report-outlines-industrys-impact-on-national-state-economies/