Quality Control While Summit builds thousands of multifamily units a year, none of the projects gets lost in the shuffle. “We are extremely quality-conscious and do everything we can to build a project that we can be proud of,” says Fleckenstein. “When the owner comes to do the punch list, I am proud to walk with him.”
That’s because when it comes to construction quality, “we go overboard,” Fleckenstein says. General superintendents, in addition to job site supers, travel to all projects to ensure quality production, keeping a close eye on the company’s 4,000-firm subcontractor base.
Those superintendents are one of the most important members of the Summit team. “I think the strength or weakness of a general contractor really rests not with a Bob Fleckenstein, but the superintendent who is on site,” says Bob Rohdie, president and CEO of Orlando, Fla.-based Tarragon Development Corp., whose company is a long-time Summit client.
The team pays particular attention to waterproofing to prevent mold–a builder’s worst enemy. To protect Summit and its buildings’ owners from mold lawsuits, Summit recently hired an independent environmental consultant to inspect job sites prior to drywall to ensure that no dampness or water problem exists.
If a construction mistake is made, Summit isn’t afraid to take responsibility, says Jim Cox, the company’s CEO. “General contracting is a very tough business, [there’s a] lot of liability out there,” he says. “We don’t try to mitigate or hide our problems. We pay for them, [and] in some cases we work through them. And I think that shows up in the repeat business we do.”
Of course, uncontrollable issues always arise, like the ever-increasing costs of building materials. Because most of Summit’s projects are wood-frame, high lumber prices pose a huge pricing problem to the company and its clients. (Due to forest fires, rain, high gas prices, and a building boom, lumber currently is vastly undersupplied.) “[Lack of lumber is] a big problem,” says Fleckenstein, “and one of the biggest things I think may threaten the multifamily industry right now.” Concrete prices also are soaring because of high demand. To get the concrete it needs, Summit sometimes agrees to pour projects in the middle of the night because that’s the only time it can get the materials.
Watchful Eye After quality, Summit watches the schedule. It has several management systems in place, including a two-week near-term scheduling meeting–an on-site gathering with the project manager, subcontractors, architects, and owners to ensure the project is delivered on time. “This is one thing we do that most don’t,” says Robinson. “Conversation is of the utmost importance because we don’t know what they are thinking, and they don’t know what we are thinking.”
While a project manager could handle up to four jobs, Summit tends to only assign one or two projects per manager. “We don’t like for a project manager to be starting two jobs or starting and finishing a job at the same time,” says Paul Sowders, Summit’s COO. In addition, each project is supervised by multiple levels of employees, from the superintendents and project managers all the way up to vice presidents, the CEO, and the COO.
To help building owners keep up with their projects’ progress, Summit two years ago created a Web page for each project, detailing everything from proposed change orders to submittal and RFI documents. “Even though they have gotten large, they still give that service of knowing what’s going on,” says Perez of PQH Architects Inc.