If you are looking to increase turnover, move your business from domestic to commercial painting, or increase the size of your current commercial painting business, there are a number of things that you need to consider:
1. Securing Larger Painting Contracts:
(a) Ensure you get your company on as many Principal Contractor tender lists as you can. Keep your eye open for sites and call the company. Ask to speak with the estimating dept. or surveyor who deals with pricing. When you get to speak with them, ask about their process for getting on their tender list. This usually involves completing some sort of Sub-Contractor Pre-Qualification Questionnaire.
(b) A week after submitting a tender, contact the Principal Contractor. Ask if he was interested in your price. If not, enquire 'how far out you were?'. This information is important as it will assist you with future tenders. If the Principal Contractor himself did not secure the project, ask if he knows who did. You can then contact the successful Principal Contractor. Explain that you have already priced the project for one of his competitors and could you submit your price to him. The Principal Contractor will always accept another price and in that way you are ensuring that your price gets to the successful Principal Contractor. You may not win this project, but at the very least, it could be a way of getting onto a new Principal Contractor's tender list!
2. Learn More About Painting Estimating.
Pricing projects simply on days plus materials may work OK for smaller works or larger projects that break down into standard height rooms with standard specs but not on larger, complex projects. You need to learn about:
(a) Costing projects from digital drawings. This will mean you will have to learn about measuring painting works from drawings and how to calculate 'all-in' painting rates. Check out our estimating trainging days and Bidscreen XL digital drawing takeoff software.
(b) Costing projects from bills of quantities/drawings. It can be difficult to know what rates to use. The only solution is to learn all about calculating 'all-in' painting rates. Our panddonline Quick Paint Rate painting rates calculator software can help you with this.
3. Health and Safety
As you increase the size of your company and work for larger Principal Contractors, health and safety will become more and more of an issue:
(a) External Health and Safety Advisor: You will need to appoint someone to act as your external health and safety advisor to provide health and safety advice when you need it. Most Principal Contractors have this as a requirement on their Pre-Qualification Questionnaires.
(b) Health and Safety Policy: If you employ five or more persons, you will need a company health and safety policy which describes your company arrangements for managing health and safety.
(c) Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS): All Principal Contractors will require a copy of your project specific RAMS before they will allow you to commence work on sites.
(d) Competency of your 'Subbies': If you are using 'subbies' rather than direct employees, you will need to show that you are checking that they are 'competent' (i.e. qualified, experienced and trained).
4. Competency Of You And Your Workforce
(a) Most principal Contractors will only accept CITB CSCS certified painters on site. This means that if you are not CSCS accredited, it will limit you as to which Principal Contractors you will be able to work for. To get an CSCS card, you will need an NVQ level 2 in Painting and Decorating and have passed a CITB Operative Health and Safety Test within the last two years. You can obtain an NVQ through something called 'On-Site Assessment and Training (OSAT). If your local college has a Painting and Decorating department, they will be able to help you with this. Give them a call.
(b) If you are using mobile towers or MEWPs for access, you will need to ensure that you or your operatives are PASMA/IPAF certified.
We at panddonline can help you with all of the above. Remember, all of our painting estimators and health and safety advisors are from a painting contracting background so we really understand painting contracting 'inside-out'!
For further information, give us a call and ask to speak with Mark or Peter, or alternatively, have a good look around our website.
Kind regards,
Mark
Painting Estimator