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As General Contractors are continually looking for ways to increase the profitability of their projects more of them are looking toward Self-Performing work that they previously subcontracted. We are seeing more projects where general contractors perform their own welding pre-heat, bolt tensioning, and field machining.
We would like to offer some tips to help you succeed in your venture into self-performing specialty mechanical services.
1. Choose a project and client that you’ve worked with previously and are familiar with. Trying something new for the first time rarely goes off without a hitch. Engage your customer from the beginning and discuss your plan with them. Explain the possibility of some minor delays, as you work through the project, highlighting the long-term benefits to both organizations as you build out this new service line. Most project owners are happy to see contractors increase their efficiencies and recognize reducing the number of contractors that a company has to use in the future saves time, and money, and generally lowers risk. Need a little support boost to your proposal? Reach out to one of KASI’s Trusted Solutions Advisors we’ll be happy to engage with you and your client if needed.
2. Choose a scope with Low-Mix and High-Volume. When it comes to field heat treatment, Performing welding pre-heat on one pressure vessel for a month-long weld overlay project is a much less daunting task than trying to Post Weld Heat Treat 300 welds in 8 different process units during a refinery outage. Similarly, cold cutting and beveling 6 x 36″ inch pipe joints per day on a pipeline becomes much easier than Flange facing 4 different sized stacked Heat Exchangers and milling a pump base on a gas plant outage. Keep things simple on your first project, and build your skill set and grow your capabilities in a controlled manner to boost your confidence.
3. Choose your reliable source for equipment! Sure you can get equipment from anywhere… but if you needed to rent a pick-up truck would you go to another General Contractor or to a truck rental company? Which is likely to provide you with the best vehicle? Will a pick-up truck from another contractor likely be detailed, maintained, and fueled up ready to go like going to Avis? It’s always been easy to tell when Specialty Services Companies have no field work… they start flogging their equipment for rental on LinkedIn. Is it really in their best interest that you succeed on your project as you begin to cut into their market share? Find a partner who is committed to your project’s success, not one that is hoping you fail so you can subcontract them on the next project. KASI has not been, nor will ever be a service company… our vision has been clear from the start… our company builds your company.
4. Insist on getting onsite support and training from your equipment vendor. One of the biggest problems contractors encounter is hiring people, that they think are competent, and it turns out they have very limited knowledge of the work they are doing. Not all equipment is the same, and getting proper training from your equipment provider, and outlining the intricacies of their brand can only help your employees become more educated and informed. We have found at times, that we can train people with no experience to perform better than people with experience and bad habits. Training lowers repair costs to equipment, increases productivity, and helps keep everyone safe. KASI’s management team has an extensive range of knowledge in these areas and is Backed By Field Experience.
If you need any help with any of these items or would like to discuss them in further detail feel free to reach out a chat with one of our Trusted Solutions Advisors, we are more than happy to help guide you along the way.
Scott Fong
Technical Solutions Specialist
KASI Technologies Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
1-855-KASI-CAN
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