Ways to Reduce Your Construction Subcontractor Risks

There are always risks involved when you pass some projects to subcontractors. As the contractor, it is still your responsibility to monitor the different phases of the construction.

This is necessary so that you can prevent potential environmental and other related issues. Just follow the ways listed in this article so that you can reduce the risks.

As the general contractor, you will need to monitor the activities of your subcontractors. You see, as the contractor, you are prone to construction subcontractor risks especially if you put your whole trust to them. There are times when unused oils, lubricants, sealants, diesel, glues, solvents, and other materials are left at the construction site and most general contractors are unaware of this. When remediation is necessary, the subcontractors will no longer be held responsible but the contractor. If you want to avoid this risk, you should manage the construction site effectively before and after the construction.

Environmental concerns should be given enough attention. It is very important that you stipulate the necessary requirements in the contract. It should also be made clear to the subcontractor that everything should be given adequate attention especially the disposal of harmful substances and materials. When you hire subcontractors, make sure that you pick the ones you can trust. Before you qualify a subcontractor, the prequalification questionnaire should also include important issues like that of environmental concerns. Look into the management practices of these subcontractors and be sure to conduct some sort of background check. You can use some online tools when checking the background of come subcontractors in your area.

You can also include another stipulation in the contract that will handle possible problems in the future. For instance, you can stipulate in the contract that the subcontractor will be liable for the environmental issues and other related issues that may arise in the future. You can also include other stipulations that you deem fit. Make sure that the subcontractors read the contract before they sign. As the contractor, it is still your responsibility to monitor the various activities of subcontractors.

To sum it up, you can reduce the construction subcontractor risks by hiring the reputable and established subcontractors, include all the necessary stipulations on the contract, have the subcontractor read the contract before signing the papers, and most of all, monitor the activities of subcontractors. As long as you know how to handle the different phases of the construction, you will have fewer problems. On ounce of prevention is always better than cure. Just because you gave some of the construction projects to your subcontractors don’t necessarily mean that you will no longer check their operations. After all, as the contractor, you will be the very first person that third parties will contact when something goes wrong.

1 Comment

  • Alok Mohanty said on February 5, 2013
    Kindly advise me how to start construction technical support, Monitoring by qualified engineers, material management. one roof solution of building construction in Orissa, any all india partner like to support us in Orissa

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