Scope of Work - An Introduction of Sorts

Who supplies and installs the window wells? Not me, says the excavator. Not me says the builder.

Here we are going to introduce and discuss the Scope of Work, it's importance, purpose and role in helping to define the expectations of everyone involved with your project.

The Scope of Work is a written document outlining who is responsible for supplying materials, completing what tasks, the methods used to do the work, equipment and manpower needed, protection of new work, the project schedule, and establishes a baseline of rights and obligations for the client and the contractor.

Oddly enough, for most, if not all residential projects I've been involved with, even with small to medium builders, a Scope of Work has always been overlooked or not even heard of.  I've asked some of the builders why and their reply is "That's the role of the site supervisor/project manager to determine so we don't need one".

Is this fair to the site supervisor? I mean, how is the site supervisor expected to "enforce the rules" when there are no rules to be enforced? 

Starting a project without a Scope of Work, no matter how big or small, does have a predictable outcome though - conflict.

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That's an extra!

The Scope of Work is anything but a moving target and is created to help define who does what, how, when and other related obligations. These are the rules that define how the trades will execute the work on site.

If you're a home-owner, contractor, builder, etc., and have taken on the daunting task of hiring and managing the trades, and there is no Scope of Work, you are ripe for the picking.

If starting a project without a well defined Scope of Work sounds like a recipe for disaster, it is for whoever is financing the build, but a great opportunity for everyone else involved. Why?

Because everything becomes an "extra".  Take the first photo I've provided for this post.  The reason those window wells weren't installed is because this builder had no Scope of Work created.  As a result, as little as possible was done by all, because that's just the way it works. 

Picking up materials at the supplier even though the trade is to supply and install? An extra. Paying the delivery fee? An extra.  Loading the materials into the building - an extra.  Moving the materials of another trade? An extra. Cleaning out debris from the trade's daily work? An extra.

Determining the hourly rate for the "extra" work? That's non-negotiable, because if you want A, B and C done now, this is what you pay - cash too please.

For the second photo, I'm thinking the excavator was talking about the make, model and color of the new truck he was going to buy as a result of this fiasco.

There is hope for your project, and it's as simple as taking the time to create a Scope of Work that is meaningful, relevant and everyone agrees to. This is time well invested helping to ensure the project is built within budget, on time and with confidence.

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