You wouldn’t expect a contractor to show up for a metals fabrication job with a stone hammer and anvil.  New technologies and tools have served as the building blocks for improved productivity in industrial settings since the dawn of metalwork. But tools and technology are only part of the story.

The way in which plant managers and business owners work with contractors should also have evolved. Here are two ways you can be sure you’re not working in the Stone Age of industrial contracting.

Demand choices. A contract should be built around your project and your company’s needs. During the proposal process, you should be able to make choices. You and your contractor should discuss the entire scope of the project and develop the contract based on this discussion. Time, efficiency and budget issues will be three of the biggest determining factors in this collaboration. If a contractor comes to you with little discussion, an engineered plan and a contract ready for you to sign, he’s probably working in the Stone Age. He should be able to make recommendations that will improve how your project is handled.

Be selfish on budget. Most often, contractors look at a plan and tell you how much it will cost. They build the budget and perform the work according to that budget. That’s how it’s been for years and years, but that’s working in the Stone Age. At Maddox, we try to forecast a budget for customers for the duration of their project. It’s your project and your business, so be sure the budget is yours, too.

Don’t get complacent. It’s easy to call on the same guy that you and your company have been using for years.  You trust him. But don’t let him rest on his laurels. He needs to keep your trust and business by performing like a modern industrial contractor, not like a dinosaur. Never assume that the guy you’re using is doing the best job. Make him prove it to you.

In my sales and project management roles at Maddox Industrial Contractors, I’ve found a growing level of skepticism among some new clients. This may be a sign that customers are more attuned to what they’re buying, but I bet that some of the mistrust is also associated with past jobs turned sour.

Here at Maddox, the word “trust” comes up often. While other contractors’ biggest challenges might be figuring out if they can handle a job or actually delivering what’s promised, our biggest obstacle is assuring clients that they can trust us to handle a job and deliver what they need. Trust is that guiding factor that feeds every other aspect of the contractor-client relationship.

Lately, new clients are asking a lot of questions. Does Maddox have the experience needed for a big project? Can Maddox deliver quality work without delivering more headaches? Can Maddox match the high standards that our company upholds? How much time will I have to spend with Maddox to straighten out the learning curve related to this project and is it worth it? If Maddox needs help, will they ask for it instead of fumbling along, wasting time and money?

Answering these questions isn’t tough. We have an experienced team encompassing a range of skills. We are direct when it comes to our process and keep the lines of communication with clients open at all times. We work closely with clients to solve their problems. When we have questions, we ask them to ensure things run smoothly — but we don’t require hand-holding.

These client issues might seem more related mostly to skills, quality workmanship and accountability, but it really all boils down to trust. We don’t expect clients to believe we’re trustworthy just because we insist that we are. We practice being trustworthy every day.

Maddox’s range of services and expertise, from rigging to distribution systems installation, helps all of our customers look good. But some of those customers value that recognition more than others.

At the beginning of this year, we went through an exercise that required us to take a close look at our best customers and provide reasons for why they were doing business with us. After a while, we started to notice that three distinct groups naturally formed: experience enjoyers, overwhelmed overachievers and trust seekers. If you are an overwhelmed overachiever, you’re probably reading this on your day off.

At work, overwhelmed overachievers are the people who constantly get work piled on their plates because they always get the job done. They are responsible and hardworking, but sometimes they get so buried that they can’t do it all alone. In other cases, projects arise that these customers don’t have the technical know-how to handle or the projects are just too big for even the best overachievers to manage.

Earning recognition for doing a good job is a big driving force for these guys, which is why they ultimately come to us. They don’t want to fail, so when they are overwhelmed, they know we can help. They know that we are focused on solving problems, not creating them. They know that they won’t have to hold our hand on the site. We will show up ready and able to work. We’ll tackle the job and do it well for the overwhelmed overachiever. And we’re happy to help him earn the recognition.

Are you an overwhelmed overachiever? If you need a contractor who can get the job done so your load is lightened, contact us to learn more about Maddox. We’ll show you that working with a contractor doesn’t have to be yet another set of fires to put out. It can be smooth running, professional and fun all at the same time.

(Take the quiz to find out what kind of customer you are. Check out experience enjoyers and stay tuned to our blog for more on trust seekers.)

As a plant engineer or owner who needs an industrial contractor, sizing up the options can be tough. Contractors all claim to have things like excellent safety records and fair prices, but that might not be the best way to evaluate your choices.

Consumers tend to measure some service providers not by what they are providing but rather by what they’re not providing. In that vein, there are characteristics that an industrial contractor should not possess. Here’s a short list.

1. On-the-fly approach. If an industrial contractor doesn’t have a detailed plan in place for your project, he’s not doing a good job. Everything related to your project should be planned out as thoroughly as possible so that your time and money aren’t wasted.

2. Habit of being late. You made it to work on time. Why should you allow the people working on your project to show up late? It’s simply unacceptable.

3. Tendency to underestimate jobs. When something unexpected happens, an overcharge can be necessary. Overcharges should not, however, be part of a contractor’s process.

4. A poor attitude. Some contractors show up on the job acting like they own the place. This sort of posturing doesn’t serve anyone’s needs except for his own ego. A contractor should always keep his client first. That’s the real bottom line in shopping around for a contractor. Try to be sure that the company you’re dealing with is doing everything it can to serve you, and then all the pieces will fall into place.

Pace Dairy – Maddox is currently involved in an equipment relocation project for Pace Dairy to reconfigure a cheese line. Not only are we performing the design and work required to make its old line fit with new equipment, but we are also helping the dairy work through measurement, coordination and manufacturer challenges as well.  Years ago, Pace Dairy was a small customer for us. It has been fun to see how our expanded capabilities and abilities have really enabled us to grow our relationship with Pace from where it was during those early years.

Zimmer Custom-Made Packaging – Zimmer recently asked us to come up with a piece of equipment to lift its media rolls onto one of its machines.  The long-time leader in the flexible packaging market had been doing it the same way for years, but the outdated technique was becoming unsafe and unreliable.  Working with an outside manufacturer, Maddox was able to come up with a lift table machine to better handle the rolls. Sounds great, right? As in everything else in a plant, surprise challenges have surfaced as we have made our way through the installation planning phase.  Maddox is currently working through all of the kinks to make sure that Zimmer gets the solution that it asked for.

JFS America – Continuing work in Scottsburg, Ind., to help JFS reconfigure an old steel cord plant into a specialty wire manufacturing facility, Maddox has upped the ante over the last few weeks to help the company meet some tight deadlines.  By shifting manpower and talent to that facility, Maddox has gotten JFS closer its target time line.  But it’s all easier said than done. The reality is that only through strong communication, on-site decision-making capabilities and excellent vendor support that we have been able to help JFS.  Sometimes, adding resources just adds waste.  We have shown through this project how to make the resources pay off for our customer.

You might not have heard, but Maddox Industrial Contractors is on Facebook. Connect with us to find out what makes us laugh when it comes to industrial construction —really, we have cartoons just for people like us! You can also find photos and quick links to guides and quizzes. Get social and join our Facebook community.