Press & Charter, April 2013

Traverse City Update

 

Our plans to open a full service Building Center in the Traverse City market are going very well. In the past several weeks we have moved from the Acme Showroom to our location on US 31-South near Chums Corner just south of the ballpark and just north of Tractor Supply. The street address is 777 US 31 South; the new phone number is 231-943-1180, and the new fax is 231-943-1187.

Several new folks have joined our seasoned Sash & Door and Kitchen & Bath sales staff, including from left: Todd Bamberg, Mike Giddis and Brian Goalen. In addition Pete Bugai, Eric Cikity and Neil Parker have joined the team and Carolyn Andrews, Neil Anderson and Bob Mount have transferred from our Petoskey and Harbor Springs locations. We anticipate completing our Traverse City team line-up with a few drivers and yard staff; by the end of this month we should be ready for  business.

Everyone at Preston Feather is very enthusiastic about this opportunity, and believes it is an important new chapter in our company’s growth and success.

 

Good Planning is Key to Managing Jobsite

 

What can lead carpenters do on the jobsite to help their workers produce their best? We asked three experienced trainers in the National Association of the Remodeling Industry's lead carpenter program, all of whom run or have run their own construction businesses. They agree that, besides hiring good people, the best guarantees of high-quality work are well-defined systems and procedures. To create those systems, they suggest:

Take time to plan. This will bring the most immediate and measurable payoffs. Have your lead carpenters read through the plans, specs, and schedule before starting a job. Set up a pre-construction meeting with the lead carpenter, the designer, the estimator, and other key people. Planning should continue once work starts; take time each afternoon to determine what tools, materials, and workers you will need in the coming days. When the job is winding down, pre-completion meetings will help you identify what needs to be finished before the crew moves on. This eliminates having to send someone back to complete a post-construction punch list.

Get the crew on board. Of course, plans work best if the crew understands them. Do you want the deck framed by Tuesday and the decking on by Thursday? Ask them for suggestions about how to make it happen. Consider having a short jobsite meeting Monday morning to review the weekly and daily goals.

Carry a notebook. It's not unusual for a lead to write materials lists on scraps of lumber and then lose the scraps. Or to stop multiple times during the day to make calls. Avoid these time-killers on the job by carrying a notebook to jot down materials required and calls that need to be made. Then batch the calls and orders at the end of the day.

Get a binder. Keep a binder on the site with the schedule, plans and specs, purchase orders, trade quotes, and other relevant paperwork. This will help the lead quickly solve problems and answer questions, and get workers back on the job.

Keep it clean. Taking 10 minutes at the end of each day to clean up and organize the jobsite makes it easier to start fresh in the morning. It also tells everyone that you care about quality. Site organization includes stacking materials where they won't have to be moved before being used, and having a storage area for tools so they're easy to find.

–Charles Wardell, The Journal of Light Construction



Newsletters

Petoskey
Building & Design Center

900 Spring Street

Petoskey, MI 49770

231-347-2501 · 800-968-2501

Harbor Springs
Building & Design Center

8600 Moeller Drive

Harbor Springs, MI 49740

231-348-2990 · 800-968-2990

Gaylord
Building & Design Center

3689 Old 27 South

Gaylord, MI 49735

989-732-8862 · 888-732-8862

Preston Feather
Building Centers

777 US 31 South - near Chum's Corners

Traverse City, MI 49685

231-943-1180

We will be known as a business whose entire staff will always make the effort required to meet and at every opportunity, to exceed our customers expectations in a cheerful and efficient manner.