The Most Important Construction Tool on The Site: GenieBelt

On a construction site we see the lads wandering around with their tool belts full of their tools; hammers, screw-drivers, chisel, wire cutters and so on. Fair enough, the brickies and plasterers tend not to wander round with their tools on display. There is one group of construction site workers, though, who tend to have very few tools that they can use; site management!

In some respects they are a bit better equipped than in days gone by. They’ve now got computers and mobile phones, both of which are time-savers. The only three tools I used to wander around with, stuck on my belt, were tape measure, Stanley knife and a Leatherman.

One of the most time-consuming chores for site management is trying to get hold of the various trades to bring them up to date with any changes and to let them know what it is they should actually be doing at any given time. You know what they can be like – “Don’t fancy doing that up the ladder after the night before so we’ll just potter around down here looking busy.”

The other time consuming chore for site management is paperwork. Dealing with that, if it is done properly and all filed away so as to be easily found in the future, can take a couple of hours every night!

Now site management do have an important tool in their toolbox but, unfortunately it is one rarely used. That is a Detailed Build Programme (DBP). I first came up with one house-building 35 years-ago. Put a rough version of a DBP on the white-board in my office for my own benefit. Then the “dirty finger-nail brigade” discovered it and had the cheek to come into my office and look at it! The thing was, though, that build time just came down, all by itself, from 12 weeks to 6 weeks! Another instance where I used a DBP was on the Server Room for an internet bank. The Client messed me about and, suddenly, I had 13 trades to get through that server room in just 3 days! Came up with a very detailed DBP on a scrappy bit of paper and stuck it up on the server room door. The lads marked off their tasks as they did them and were out of there – in 2 days! Seems the lads really like knowing what they should be doing, where and when. If they do they manage to perform build miracles!

Right! We’ve come up with a couple of time-wasters for site management and one time-saver! I’m of the view that the most important role for site management is to be out and about on site! They need to be accessible and approachable and be seen to be keeping an eye on all work as it proceeds. That way “de-snag as you go” is encouraged and the lads soon cotton on. If they mess it up they put it right all by themselves before anyone notices! So how about things changing pretty drastically, not only for site management but also for all the tradesmen working there?

A tool that could save the site management a couple of hours a day dealing with paperwork, more time running round trying to hand bits of it over to the guys who need to know, gest the “de-snag as you go” culture established and loads of other beneficial spin-offs? That must be a pretty good tool. It would be an even better one if everyone on the site knew everything relevant to them just by looking at their PC, tablet or mobile phone, wouldn’t it? That would make it The Most Important Construction Tool on the Site!

Accelerated build, reduced time wastage, reduced costs, reduced de-snags, and no Delay that isn’t immediately ascribable to someone – so they make sure they do it on time!

Do you know what that tool is called? No! Then let me tell you! It is GenieBelt. Go get it now!