Risk Management in Commercial Flooring Installations
In project management, risk management is the practice of identifying, evaluating, and preventing or mitigating risks to a project that could potentially impact the desired outcomes. At Blair Duron, the executive team brings an unrivaled discipline in overseeing the risk management process for all projects. Numerous project elements are evaluated, including – but not limited to – schedule (critical path), labor and equipment resources, optimization of the proposed product solution, floor preparation and installation team subject matter expertise, and of course, the working capital needed to support the project.
Several manufacturing firms disingenuously try to use warranties when asked about risk management. The fact is, in the commercial and industrial flooring industry, all product warranties are the same. The root causes for missing on-time completion are labor shortages and lack of field team talent, resulting in improper preparation and installation. Imagine the cost per day a client encounters if this were to happen.
Risk Management to Expect When You Work With Blair Duron
Shortly after the contract award, a Blair Duron project leader will meet with the client representative at the facility to:
- Identify all project risks
- Assess and learn more about the worksite and site logistics
- Identify and document potential safety hazards
- Determine the control measures that will be employed to mitigate all risks
The process above also provides the Blair Duron project team performing floor preparation and installation with visibility into all risk factors and mitigation measures, especially safety, quality, and on-time completion. This way, the project team, other subcontractors, and the client’s employees are all engaged in risk mitigation.
Our ability to thoroughly assess and mitigate risk is another element that differentiates us from the competition.
Examples of Project Risks
Project risks come in a variety of forms, including those involving health and safety, operational risk, cost risk, and market risks (to name a few). A project risk is anything that can halt the project for physical, financial, or logistical reasons. That’s why it is important to assess any projects for risks that can cause physical harm, financial issues, or find ways to make the project logistically efficient.
Worksite Logistics
When figuring out worksite logistics, you need to be able to assess the overall layout of the project and find ways to efficiently get the job done. This means everything from mapping out exits and entrances of a room to moving anything that needs to be moved. Making note of all these things can help make the installation process easier for everyone.
Potential Safety Hazards
It’s important to ensure the safety of everyone working on the project. This means making sure workers have the proper safety equipment and noting hazards ahead of time. As mentioned, working out logistics helps in several ways. Mapping out any potential hazards to mitigate them ahead of time is part of that. Assessment for potential safety hazards can also continue as the project moves along. This can make sure that everyone stays safe through the duration of the project.
How to Control Measures and Mitigate Risk
There are a number of ways to mitigate risk on a project, and they fall under three major categories:
- Acceptance – This is when there’s a very low risk on something. In this case, there is an acceptable level of risk with a low chance of failure. As a result, you don’t have to worry about the risk as much.
- Reduction or control – This type of risk mitigation is for a risk that’s a bit more severe. If complete elimination of it is not possible, then finding ways to control the risk to minimize it and keep it from becoming a more serious issue is the way to go.
- Avoidance – In this case, you find ways to avoid the risk completely. It’s too severe of a risk for anyone to try and control. You put protocols in place to keep it from happening at all.