Double Trouble in the Rubble

The signs were there in the beginning.

  • Singapore’s construction industry being (a little) too dependent on foreign labor

  • Most of our construction materials are imported in

  • Our renovation market lacks transparency and pricing standards

  • The general industry bends over to satisfy the high demands of the end user (faster builds, more affordable custom creations). The result: a compromise in quality

  • Builders, vendors and retailers taking for granted that the world’s supply chain will not falter, and using the just-in-time methodology to supply increasing demands.

 

Were we all cutting it a bit too thin?

When covid-19 slammed into our cushy world, these signs, once dormant volcanoes, were violently brought to life.  The construction and renovation industry now sees a massive labor crunch, disjointed logistics, and the lack of supply of materials and machinery to build. 

These translate to :

  • longer gestation periods for projects (link to BTO projects delayed),

  • price escalations (steel price link),

  • client dissatisfaction,

  • legal suits (straits times link) and

  • general burn-out for the workforce.

 

Designers Farrah and Sutri giving it their all.. echoing briefs from excited home owners!

From BuildBuilt’s perspective, here’s some advice to keep it all together…

 

Ideas for home owners. 

  1. Consider plans early, but expect service delays.

    If projects are being delayed, it means project managers are busy searching for solutions to push them through.
    The best thing to do, is to start the planning with your family early! Understand your home needs, and come prepared, so that when you get in contact with a service provider, you can very quickly and decisively lay down a solid brief.

  2. Prioritise: accomplish important things first

    Not everything is important. You don’t need to have everything built-in at one go! Yes, it would be lovely to have your interior designers think about the Christmas decorations and include them into your styling needs. But being practical is key in today’s labor crunch and global supply chain storm: Do the most necessary first. Think sanitary needs, electrical and air-condition requirements. And then floors, and wall finishes, and perhaps even built-in carpentry for storage solution. The rest is confetti.
    Work with an intelligent and creative interior designer that can help elevate your life through design, without breaking the bank or elongating that move-in date.

  3. Manage your expectations through communication

    Onboard a communicative team that alerts you to sudden hiccups. (ie. “Uh-oh, wet-works begin this week. However, the entire tiling team has been quarantined due to covid. What now?..”) A good interior design team plans ahead to minimise risks, and evade nasty surprises.

 

Project Manager turned Community Manager, Farhana, completing her rounds.

Ideas for project managers

Aside from keeping everyone safe, on time and on budget.. and remembering not to infringe on building authorities.. Project Managers, take heed!

  1. Understand your client and the projects top 3 objectives

    Empathise with your clients needs from day 1, and make their priorities yours. When solutions are called on, use the priority matrix to make decisions.

  2. Consistent communication

    Anxiety for home owners are real! More so during times like these! What clients really need is not constant communication, but consistent communication for preemptive work and completed work. Constant communication might be confusing and anxiety inducing. Consistent communication means to set up communication guidelines like:

    1. communicating through a single platform (avoid getting lost in conversations and mountains of documents all stored in different places!)

    2. using the same format for clarity (who would’ve known that stamping a clear header over messages would make a world of difference! ie. Site update 3 Dec 2021)

    3. finding regular frequency to communicate.

  3. Add creative thinking skills into your tool kit

    Project managers are known for critical thinking skills. But when your aluminium supplier has a material deficiency problem, work with your clients and designer to creatively come up with solutions to still achieve that desirable design outcome. Ask for permission from your clients to create more space to think and brainstorm your way out of today’s problems.

 

Client engagement: Huiling and Xiwen at a site Kick Off Meeting

Ideas for designers 

Yes, you are creative. But ensure that you are sensitive as well, especially to the times that we are in today. Your canvas has changed slightly, but art can exist in many forms. Be sure of who your design serves and you’ll stay on the straight and narrow… Onward for creative success!

 
 

  1. Empathy is key

    Empathizing with the humans behind each project and respecting their space is always going to be a shoe-in for great design. However, make sure you gain an important ally in your project - your client! Help them understand your challenges and seek for permission to overcome them as everyone has the shared interest of building safe and awesome homes within project objectives. Clients have the responsibility to empower the team for better design, and a safer construction period. (time extension, update in construction budget..?)

  2. Time management

    As demand for work continues to be high, ensure that you know what is important, versus what is urgent. Communicate your actions and inactions to your clients and team mates, and always remember to do so in a way that holds you responsible and accountable to that relationship.

  3. Forward plan, and be flexible!

    Good design requires space and the tools necessary for amazing things to happen. Understand the resources that are available in this new environment and use this creatively in your projects. For this to work, avoid working in isolation! as you have to be in contact with your project managers, vendors, builders and even material suppliers. Think about your time a week in advance (or more) - create time and space for discussions, creativity and rest.
    With further delays on furniture and some decorative materials, you may not be able to realise that initial concept - be malleable in the mind and with your client and project manager, achieve the same themes through other creative means.

 

Taking break from the usual beat. Nadia and Felicia exercising creativity on our own studio’s Christmas hand-made decorations!

Ideas for companies 

It is easy to spell out the to-do’s but hard to bring it to force. 

  1. Work for rest

    Push the notion for rest as hard as you push for work. Enforce wellness days and company cohesion to blow steam off! Things will start to break if batteries do not get a full cycle for recharge. 

  2. Space for joy

    If your company is a creative one, then this is mandatory. No one can create in darkness. Ensure that the workspace is light filled (literally and figuratively) and that you allow time for mistakes, innovation and growth!

  3. Be grateful

    If we carried this narrative about, good things will spawn from the action of gratefulness. People will be cared for, clients will be appreciated, and perhaps new ideas generated from wanting to do more (positive stuff for others)! Simple acts of kindness will go a long way! 

 
nicholas hu