The Complete, No-Substitute Solution For Subcontracting

Playing an essential role in the construction, mining and industrial sectors; subcontractors are responsible for helping general contractors complete their projects on time and within budget. From enormous builds requiring large-scale resources to smaller ones that call for specialised skills; whenever a main contractor lacks the resources or expertise to complete a particular aspect of a job—a subcontractor is engaged. That’s why it’s important to have a solution for subcontracting in place.

This is an elegant and effective solution to the varying demands of the built environment. However, when it comes to managing subcontractors this process is not as straightforward.

Whether its monitoring cash flow, measuring performance effectively or ensuring legal requirements are met; subcontractor management is fraught with challenges that require a dedicated focus informed by five key areas.

These are:

1. Effectively managing the time allocated to a subcontractor to ensure no penalties are incurred
2. Making sure the quality of their work is up to specification
3. Providing them with a communication platform to engage with the main contractor
4. Taking subcontractors through health and safety procedures, and
5. Ensuring they have secure access to the build site

For a general contractor outsourcing work to one or more subcontractors, this process is best managed with a dedicated solution that takes into consideration not only the key areas mentioned above but also the complexity of the entire subcontract lifecycle. As a complete solution, Candy and BuildSmart do just that.

Combining project control and fully integrated enterprise management, Candy and BuildSmart work together to offer seamless and flexible subcontractor management—from adjudication to closeout.

Utilising the subcontractor management module within Candy, for example, specific billable items from the main bill of quantity can be isolated to create a separate subcontractor bill of quantities, with its own awarded rates, that can be transferred directly to BuildSmart. When inputted into the BuildSmart subcontractor module, this data then allows a finance department to track certificates, advances, retentions and on-site materials; all while monitoring and reporting on a subcontractor’s cost per contract.

Working in this way, general contractors have one source of truth to draw from, which eliminates duplication of data and errors (a consequence of managing subcontractors manually in Excel), while providing complete visibility of what is happening in the subcontract lifecycle at any stage of a project.

Of course, Candy and BuildSmart can be used separately but it’s when they are combined as a complete solution that their potential and power increases exponentially. Helping you stay on top of the key areas of subcontractor management, so you can concentrate on completing your build — on time and within budget.

To learn more about our solution for subcontracting management available in both Candy and BuildSmart, speak to the RIB team in your area today.