1. All hands on deck
A quality construction crew wasn’t the only key to keeping Hernando’s projects on track. “The most important thing was to have the contractor and superintendent on every site every time a subcontractor was working,” says Project Manager Jill Edwards. With those decision-makers on-site, she and Drenth could get up-to-date information at the drop of a hat.
At Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., last summer’s projects weren’t quite as straightforward: A coffee shop was relocated, an on-campus food court was renovated, a former Cosi was transformed into a new sandwich concept, and a two-story eatery was converted into a split all-you-care-to-eat/food hall concept. With so much work happening, Associate Vice President of Auxiliary Services Joelle Wiese says it was sometimes difficult for the team to stay focused.
“When we’re in a meeting and we’re talking about one specific area, it was hard to not divert and all of a sudden start talking about the project that we’re going to talk about in the next hour,” Wiese says.
Wiese says that along with taking the time to step back and regain focus during meetings, assigning a separate manager to each project helped make sure people weren’t stepping on each other’s toes.