Project managers—gurus of the ins, outs, and upside downs of efficiency, cost management, and cutting edge development. They are the ones who have a complete understanding of a project and the burden of responsibility that comes with it. And thanks to an innovative business model, project managers at Viaduct Sheet Metal Ltd. are able to take their jobs to new heights.

The system at Viaduct is different than at other companies where estimators and project managers are often combined or perform roles with overlapping responsibilities. In 2003 the company revamped its business plan, which called for major changes in the way projects are organized, supervised, and executed.

Estimators’ and project managers’ roles and responsibilities were clearly split and defined allowing each to focus exclusively on their respective departments. Ultimately this allowed project managers more time to concentrate clearly on their customer’s needs.

“That really launched us and was part of many things we addressed—it made us different from our competitors,” says operations manager Dan Taillefer, who receives the estimate file and contract documents for each awarded project from the estimators, and then identifies which of the company’s three project managers has the expertise most fitted for the job.

David Tam takes care of high-rise residential and large projects; Chad Exley is responsible for medium commercial and institutional projects like at UBC, the airport, and hospitals; and, Lindsay Burwash covers specialty projects, fast tracks, tenant improvements, and design, build, and service work. Taillefer also keeps a hand in project management, but mainly oversees the delegation of work.

He says that while each manager having a different and specific skill set serves the company well, the common thread between them must be a profit-oriented approach.

“Their sole impact on a project is to maximize fair profit for the company,” says Taillefer. “They are responsible for all aspects of their projects. They are the direct liaison between customers and suppliers, subs, and our own field personnel. It all flows through them so they have to know the entire process inside and out.”

Because a project manager is the one individual who has complete understanding of and authority for the whole project, every opportunity to maximize profits is at their disposal. They are expected to work within labour and manufacturing budgets and quantify change orders for presentation to the client in a saleable manner. The job also calls for firming up details with suppliers and subtrades, and for providing foremen with drawings, specs, and schedules. It requires looking after purchase orders, co-ordinating accurate quotes for change orders, and managing account information with the mechanical contractor so he can sell the job.

Exley, who has been a project manager with Viaduct for the past three years, receives a job and immediately assembles the man power, job file, and budget, and begins sending out purchase orders. He sees himself as taking care of the job from beginning to end, but is adamant that he is not a “boss” in the traditional sense. “We put a lot of trust in our foremen,” says Exley. “I just see myself as support and the person who makes sure my [foreman] has all the info he needs to be successful on the jobsite. If I have to be there to ensure he clocks in and out on time and that he’s taking proper breaks, then he isn’t a foreman.”

Another component of the business plan change in 2003 was to remove the position of site supervisor, and redistribute those responsibilities between the foremen and project managers, allowing them each a better feel for and involvement in their projects. “It puts more of a load on us, but it offers better quality control because it is in our hands rather than those of a third party,” says Burwash, who has worked with company president Mark Halvorsen for over 25 years. SMJ

Jobs are organized in such a way that foremen are given the details of a project including drawings and specs so they are able to understand the full scope of the job and accept responsibility for cost-saving opportunities or problems that may arise.

“The nature of the business is that everyone is working on tight budgets and looking for ways to save money,” says Exley noting that this can cause problems for foremen if they are rushed or other trades are cutting corners. “The more informed foremen are about the scope of the job the better they can stick to budget.”

“As project managers we relieve foremen of administrative tasks so that they can focus as much as possible on site coordination issues,” says Exley.

While Burwash agrees that the bottom line benefit a project manager brings to the company is profit, bigger than that is the way the position means bringing education, morals, and structure to the men. “A good project manager is a good friend or mentor,” says Burwash. Convincing employees just entering the field of the value of bettering themselves can be a challenge, says Burwash.

“I try to teach them to do their best and grow with the company,” he says. “You have to expand your mind, always be thinking, and trying for a better education because the industry is always changing. If their minds are open to being creative, progressive, and pro-active then they are going to succeed.”

This approach, along with an innovative profit-sharing plan, works on the principle of empowerment, which is meant to reach employees and management at all levels. Another example of this is Viaduct’s use of “job analysis sheets,” which break down each project weekly by shop costs, field costs, expenditures to subtrades and suppliers, materials, labour, and other areas. Job analysis sheets are made available to everyone working on a project, including journeymen and apprentices.

“If you make people feel a part of something they run with it. These are things that make the company strong,” says Burwash.

Project managers at Viaduct can have between five and 25 projects on the go at once, and the values can range from $5,000 into the multimillions. This is why Exley says being organized and diligent are the most important qualities for being successful at the job.

“The phone starts at 7 a.m. and rings until 5 p.m.,” says Exley, noting that being detail-oriented is just as important as knowing where his job begins and ends. “I know what can help my foreman, and I don’t get into the minutia of what is going on onsite, because that just drives them crazy.”

Tam’s skill set comes from a different background than the tradesmen—he has a B.A.Sc. in mechanical engineering, an MBA in business, and his professional background is in engineering, business development, and accounting. Prior to joining Viaduct, he owned a stainless steel/medical equipment manufacturing business that employed 150 people. Having been with Viaduct since 2003 when he was hired to assist in the redevelopment of the company’s business model, Tam says the company excels in efficiency development and job cost management, not a small part of which is due to effective project management.

“Viaduct is cutting edge,” says Tam. “We didn’t develop the role of project manager, but Viaduct sets it apart in the HVAC industry. Without project managers you are leaving individuals, whether they be foremen or trade labourers, doing work without guidance. The project manager is like the conductor—the glue that holds the orchestra together. That’s what separates this company from an ad hoc team of construction individuals.”

He says there is no such thing as one superior skill set for success in project management—it takes a balance of having the equipment, systems, and processes in place to successfully complete a project as well as effective methods for dealing with and managing people.

Taillefer says the changes to Viaduct’s business plan that involved project management were an important turning point for the company.

“We’ve never looked back. There were a few bumps in road at the beginning, but people just got used to the changes,” he says. “We are a very different company than we were seven years ago.”