In today's competitive business landscape, having the right workers is crucial for the success of any organization, especially in the blue-collar sector that is known to struggle with productivity. Unskilled or underqualified workers lead to decreased productivity, increased errors and even workplace accidents.
By understanding your rework expenses and the impact worker quality has on these expenses, you can significantly increase profits when you control the quality of the workforce on your sites. For instance, if your yearly rework spending is 2 million euros (or GBP) with half of it resulting from incompetent workers, Werk could save you around 610,000 euros (GBP) annually. Beyond financial gains, implementing competency assessments on sites frees up valuable time for site managers, allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks. Moreover, the reduction in incompetent workers minimizes safety issues, fostering a secure work environment.
For example, does this feel familiar?
A construction site had employed an unskilled tiler, Jack. However, Jack's lack of qualifications and experience led to several issues during the tiling process. He failed to properly measure and cut tiles, resulting in uneven and misaligned installations. Moreover, Jack used incorrect adhesives and grout, leading to poor bonding and weak tile attachments. As a consequence, Jack's work had to be redone which meant wasted time, materials and additional labour costs.
To avoid such situations in any trade, it is essential for construction sites to find skilled and qualified professionals for each task. With Werk, we will explore how competency assessments can save main contractor money and help ensure that only a skilled and efficient workforce is used on your construction site.
Predict the quality of workers before they arrive:
Competency assessments provide a systematic way to evaluate the skills and abilities of workers considered for your sites no matter whether it’s a subcontractor, your own workers or employment agency. By incorporating these assessments into the selection process, site managers can quickly identify candidates who possess the necessary qualifications and expertise for the specific roles. This streamlined approach eliminates the need for guesswork, unreliable CVs and physical testing on site - saving valuable time and resources.
Increased Productivity:
Only allowing competent workers on sites lets you avoid frequent replacements and ensures tasks match workers’ capabilities. For example, an otherwise good tiler might be bad at waterproofing. By knowing this beforehand you make sure this worker’s skills are used in the right place and the project stays on schedule. Competent workers are more likely to be productive and efficient in their roles. This boost in productivity directly translates into cost savings by reducing the need for additional labor and overtime hours.Minimized Errors and Rework:
Errors and rework can be costly in any industry but in construction 4-5% on average of each project’s total costs are spent on rework. For a main contractor with 10 ongoing projects that already amounts to millions in lost profit. Knowing that half of rework is caused by unqualified people on sites lets you envision how much you could increase profits if you could control the quality of the workforce and mitigate any skills related risks before they occur. Knowing the real skills of people building your projects directly allows you to save money by avoiding the expenses associated with fixing errors and producing subpar work.Improved Safety and Higher ESG Score:
Workplace accidents and injuries can lead to significant financial setbacks for a company. Trade specific safety competence assessments help ensure that workers have received proper training and possess the necessary knowledge to adhere to safety protocols. Instead of just reporting accidents, main contractors can now actively reduce safety incidents and show it in their reporting. By finding competent workers who prioritize safety, you can reduce the risk of accidents and lower financing risks.
Investing in competency assessments not only gives you control over your sites but also ensures that you build a talented and efficient workforce for each project that can drive your business forward. By making well-informed decisions, you set your organization up for success, both in terms of financial savings and operational excellence.
In conclusion, competency assessments play a pivotal role in saving money when finding workers in the blue-collar sector. By implementing these assessments, you can efficiently identify qualified candidates, reduce rework costs and project delays, and increase overall productivity. Additionally, getting skilled workers leads to fewer errors and improved workplace safety, resulting in substantial cost savings for your organization.
Embrace competency assessments as a strategic tool in your organisation’s toolkit, and watch your profits grow.
If you are interested in implementing a competency assessment process and saving money then get in contact with Werk for getting a demo of how our platform can help you in that.
