Like any great team, exceptional things are achieved by focusing on the fundamentals. Wharton-Smith believes the fundamentals take place at the crew level. The crew level is where raw materials like concrete and steel are converted into what the Owner and Designer have painstakingly put to paper. And, it’s this conversion process that creates the value that the Owner is looking for.
At Wharton-Smith, “Operation Excellence” represents our vision for how our work should look at the crew level. Summed up “Every crew on every project effectively and efficiently completes their daily work assignment and production goal free of incident and defect.” We aim to create a high quality work zone and a high quality crew assignment.
From the beginning of a project, before we even mobilize, we develop a team that has the best approach to put the work in place. Coordination efforts between trades and crews are understood. This in turn allows us to develop those crew assignments and make certain that the work zone is well prepared before they ever start the work. Because it’s so important to start the work out correctly, we are not satisfied to stop with just a good plan. It’s imperative that we go out and observe the work against that plan and take immediate corrective measures when necessary.
In order to capture what we’ve learned, when the activity is completed, it is followed up with an “After Action Review.” This feedback from the crew, along with media content such as videos and pictures, sets the table for continuous improvement. A library of past work is being compiled and accessible to other team across the company.
Owners, designers and subcontractors are benefiting from better pricing, safer project sites, higher quality, and faster project delivery resulting from our Operation Excellence.
“Our Quality Management Program is designed so that a quality culture is instilled in the company. The program is based on the premise that we must plan to produce a consistently high quality product. This culture is something we will always work to maintain and improve upon. Just as our Safety Department has a goal of ‘Zero Accidents’, our Quality Program always strives for ‘Zero Punchlist’ projects.” – Ron Davoli, President, Wharton-Smith
