Your team is in place, your goals are established. Now all you have to do is see that your project is completed. Easier said than done! – especially if you are not familiar with construction.

When your contractor is struggling, it is reasonable to request weekly progress meetings. In the progress meetings, review the past week and the plan for the following week. Topics to discuss:

• Safety: Make sure safety is not sacrificed for profit
• Security: Make sure materials are not being stolen from your project
• Quality of work in place: Review test reports, inspection reports, and ensure that quality is not sacrificed for profits
• Past week’s progress: Compare what was scheduled to what was accomplished
• Scheduling for the following week: Compare this to the overall project schedule
• Other general concerns

Each month you and your contractor must review the contractor’s invoice. This consists of:

• Ensuring the contractor provides proof that the all subcontractors and suppliers have been paid from previous invoices. Get lien releases from the contractor, suppliers and subcontractors.
• Ensuring the contractor provides proof that the current subcontractors and suppliers will be paid from the current invoice.
• Ensuring there are sufficient funds remaining in the contract to complete the project. Keep in mind the cost to complete the project.

As your project progresses, it is important to remember you are not the contractor. You must work through your contractor and not work directly with the subcontractors, suppliers or construction personnel. You do not want to inadvertently pick up responsibility of those companies or people. The one major item you can do to help your contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers is to pay early. With the contractor struggling, every company will be leery of your project and paying early is an incentive for companies to complete your project.