For most construction companies, outsourcing can reduce any unnecessary drain upon the coffers. Areas frequently outsourced can include contractors, hired Plant equipment, and any equipment or staff that are either infrequently used or prohibitively expensive or bulky to own outright.
The biggest issue with saving money here is that there may be no wriggle room for specific hires. For example, while searching for a contractor to fill a short-term specialist position, there may be a union-mandated non-negotiable flat fee that removes any price-point differentiation of individuals. Likewise, many rural operations may find their total pool of available hires limited in scope.
Reputation is key – Choose your source carefully
For outsourcing, raw cost can sometimes take second position to reliability. The reputation of the company or individual you’re trading with – quantified as their consistent ability to deliver results when and how you need them – functions as a guarantee that’s worth quite a few extra dollars to save money long term.
It’s not necessarily true that more purchasing power always achieves maximum results. Just because it can be prudent to bank on a strong brand doesn’t mean that you should automatically gravitate towards the one with that largest hiring price.
However, the opposite doesn’t necessarily hold true. Be wary of those who attempt to sell themselves as the bottom standard, because while an inflated price comes with a certain amount of expected service, there’s no such guarantee in the lower end of the spectrum.
When searching for outsourced materials, you want dependability. For example, at Solution Plant Hire we are committed to ensuring your site keeps running and you aren’t delayed in the event of an equipment-related issue. As soon as you have a problem get in touch with us and we will sort out the best solution for you – and to ensure we can do this, we are a 24/7 service so you can always reach us.
Build a reciprocal reputation
Once you start working under these assumptions for other people, you can see why reputation plays such a part earlier in materials, and how it translates here. A supplier may be open to negotiating better prices due to a strong working relationship with your company, due to it being dependable income. Likewise, willingness to work with somebody else in a client relationship is a mutually long-term income addition for both parties.
Again, much like materials, hiring short-term equipment or contractors is made much smoother and better by keeping a good working relationship with working partners. Research the market, network with trusted partners, and deliver on time.
Estimate costs (with a leeway)
Using modern technology, you can digitally estimate the rough time that projects should take to complete. For example, Construction Estimation Software is an advanced logistics tool with a huge variety in scale and complexity that can help you ascertain a budget for any specialists or Plant that you might be hiring per day, or per hour.
The majority of these take a little bit of preparation to get going, but it’s an extremely handy tool for any workplace to have at least one person trained in their use. Being able to budget ahead of time is hardest when there are unknown variables, and hiring a specialist for anything other than a routine job has the capacity to throw some into the mix.
Being able to quickly determine the rough extent of how long you’ll need each piece or person cuts down on wastage and prevents you from underestimating significantly. Despite this, don’t trust it to the absolute letter; human error is still a major reason for construction delays, and budgeting a 20-30% time gap can still be a prudent move. Knowing when to cut costs is an important cost effectiveness strategy for a business, and blindly cutting things to the wire is a good way to eventually be burned.
Create an efficiency checklist
When it comes to hiring equipment, and in particular plant equipment, all parties should have an efficient communication platform and get necessary talks underway immediately in order to expedite transactions. Once you’ve done it a few times, you should know enough to be able to speed up the process by creating a flow through guide for hiring protocol for your office.
A great place to begin is with this quick checklist for plant hire from the Victorian government.
It covers areas such as working with your place of hire to determine needs, specifications, and if need be the necessary Australian Standards for plant. Additionally, it outlines the role of the suppliers in their expected communication and safety checks needed.
A reliable plant hire company will follow these specifications, and a company that acts with disregard for them is a sign of somebody peddling falsehoods or acting at risk of worker safety. When working with a new company, do a quick internal check of any of the safety precautions that might be laid out for you; it’s ultimately your responsibility for the health and safety of your workers. While you can’t check a vehicles testing and examination, you can check that they’ve been examined by a trained professional in their service log, or do preliminary checks before using the machine.