Electrical contracting projects are complex, pressure-packed, time-sensitive affairs. The electrical contracting firm you choose needs to have deep experience in the given project type. Yet, there’s one quality that often goes overlooked in many projects: the ability of your electrical contractor to execute their scope with or without complete drawings.
When the time comes to hire an electrical contractor for your next commercial, industrial, health care, retail or education project, there are lots of things to consider—from their experience with similar projects, to their overall capabilities, their commitment to safety and much more. But one element you don’t want to overlook is the financial stability of the contractor.
We’ve said it before—GCs have a lot on their plates. With all the responsibilities they bear, they should have confidence that the subcontractors they hire for their projects in all trades will not only do their jobs properly, but also will not endanger their own viability as business operators through error or neglect. A recent situation involving a subcontractor on a building addition project illustrates this all too clearly.
For projects in commercial, industrial, health care, retail and educational sectors, our experience has helped us identify several best practices that enable successful electrical contractors to keep their scope of work on schedule. We encourage you to consider these best practices when selecting an electrical contractor for your next project.
General contractors have a lot on their plates. They can’t be everywhere at all times, so as a practical matter, they may not know about small issues that can potentially impact a construction schedule. Communication is often the key to keeping a construction project on schedule and on budget—and trusted subcontractors play a vital role in that.
At RJ Martin Electric, it’s been our experience through several decades in business that low price doesn’t necessarily translate into good value. In fact, we’ll argue just the opposite—in the highly competitive and price-sensitive business of electrical contracting, low price not only foreshadows potentially low value, but it could also lead to very expensive consequences down the road.
Construction sites are, by their very nature, dangerous environments. Yet, accidents happen. The electrical contractor you hire for your next project should take every available precaution to avoid them. Safety should be in their DNA—and a major component of workplace safety is a drug-free workforce.
Low price isn’t often associated with high quality across the board, but it often ties directly to unnecessary change orders, and sadly, that holds true in the realm of commercial electrical contracting. At RJ Martin Electric, we’re committed to getting it right from the beginning. That means outlining the complete scope of our services in our RFP response and subsequent contract, from inception through completion.
To ensure that our project estimates reflect the true scope of work we intend to perform, RJ Martin Electric utilizes state-of-the-art estimating software – Accubid® and Accubid LiveCount™ – for every electrical contracting project we pursue.
Through our years of experience with national retail electrical projects of all sizes and scopes, we’ve come to understand that using one contractor for all your national projects offers 10 key advantages.
