Navigating Manufacturing and Supply Delays with Professionalism and Integrity

September 14, 2021

Right now, the number one challenge for an owner’s rep/project manager in the commercial real estate industry is managing not only the issues at hand related to deliveries of materials and equipment but also our clients’ expectations about what are proving to be difficult-to-predict project schedules. The manufacturing industry has seen a shortage of labor due to the pandemic which is contributing to delays in shipments. Delivering materials and equipment to jobsites timely can be a huge challenge. Just about on a weekly basis, you can bet on at least 2 or 3 products a week which are difficult to get. Be it metal studs, mechanical equipment, furniture, and almost any other product you can imagine.

These delays can be attributed to the pandemic labor shortage. For example, a plant that previously had 500 employees 2 years ago may be operating at half that. The shortages at plants and ports are due to a combination of people not returning to work for health and childcare reasons, and plants being required to work at various shifts in order to keep workers socially distanced and safe. Suppliers and manufacturers are raising their prices. Contractors are paying more for materials and are in turn filtering these costs down to the clients. Additionally, contractors are adding more of a cushion to their prices to mitigate their own risk should they have to pay more for skilled labor onsite. The decrease in skilled tradespeople in the United States that was a steady trend pre-covid has been exacerbated by the pandemic, and contractors don’t want to take on too much risk should a problem arise once construction begins.

So, with all this bad news, what is a project manager to do? The ball is in our court to be aware of what is happening in the industry and lay out a schedule for the client the best that we can while explaining to them why project schedules look very different than they did two years ago. We can keep tabs on cost by maintaining lines of communication with the contractors, design firms, and clients on an almost daily basis. We must focus on being aware of the challenges that are happening right now in the industry and get ahead of any issues that will arise by laying down realistic expectations with our clients. Be transparent with all involved on the project, and keep detailed track of costs, and you should be able to navigate these tricky times with professionalism and integrity for your clients.

Testimonials

Corporate Renovation for DPS Group - Conshohocken, PA

Due to the extreme pace our business has been growing, we were in need of new office space sooner than later. However, we didn’t have the bandwidth to manage the process internally. The FGX Group was able to get started immediately with assembling an overall project budget and schedule in order to set proper expectations, particularly important in today’s real estate climate. He was instrumental in design oversight, and assembling the balance of the project team including the general contractor, IT related vendors, the furniture dealer, and all other pertinent firms. We are thrilled to be in our new space and couldn’t be more grateful for having Frank to assist us with the process so we could concentrate on continuing to grow our business.

Ryan McDonough, Senior Vice President – Project Operations, DPS Group

Self Storage Renovation Projects for Home Star Storage - Various Locations

As someone who works in self storage conversions, I work with The FGX Group on all my major projects. Unlike ground-up construction, conversion projects often have unexpected circumstances and last-minute surprises that don't necessarily jump out from the beginning of the project, even with careful planning. Working with The FGX Group, I know our team is ready for the unexpected in each project – whatever that may be. We appreciate working closely with them to bring more well-built storage projects to fruition on-time and on-budget up and down the eastern United States.

Joseph Murphy, Chief Operating Officer, Home Star Storage

Renovations to Children's Dental Management - Philadelphia, PA

Frank Gallagher and The FGX Group were instrumental in assisting me to assemble the project team and formulate a plan to complete our new Orthodontics and Surgery Center suites in Philadelphia. With Frank’s help in managing the contractors, various vendors, and coordination activities with the landlord, it allowed me to concentrate on other responsibilities at CDM. Frank has a knack to bring everyone together to focus on one goal. I would work with him again.

Jim DeFruscio – Children’s Dental Management

Renovation of Medical Office for Pure Dental Brands - Upper Darby, PA

From my perspective, here is what The FGX Group did that helped us achieve a successful build out of our new office location: Their contract spelled out all of the responsibilities that they would own, and they carefully broke down all of the job functions and steps with milestones; they also made it clear what were their vs. our tasks; they outlined the project timeline and costs and lived by them; they were 100% successful as a project manager because they kept us on track and had excellent communication and follow-up skills; they owned a number of key tasks around permitting and working with the local town/city that we could not have known about or handled – and they were done successfully; and they escalated issues when appropriate and prepared us in advance of issues, so that when they came up, we could quickly resolve.

The results were excellent – the office is beautiful, and it has helped us grow our business!

Frank Coliano, Chief Executive Officer, Pure Dental Brands

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Contact

Address

26 Treaty Dr, Wayne, PA 19087

Email

frankgallagher@thefgxgroup.com

Phone

 610.331.6354

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