Cutting Costs vs. Cutting Corners

In a time of economic "downturn" in the commercial construction industry, companies and contractors are looking for ways to continue making money for their company. Some do this by cutting costs - some do it by cutting corners. Cutting costs increases the possibility of a contractor being awarded a project. Cutting corners only insures that a contractor may never be awarded a contract again.

There are certainly ways to cut costs in the pre-bid stage, simply by doing your homework! Now is not the time to play favorites. While there needs to be a sense of loyalty in commercial construction, there does not need to be a sense of entitlement. There are certain areas of construction, where when one subcontractor is significantly lower than another, there may be reason for concern - take for instance, a concrete subcontractor. In general, most concrete suppliers are in the same ballpark when it comes to the base price of concrete. So when a concrete subcontractor comes in hundreds and maybe even thousands less than the competition, there needs to be a red flag.

Are they lower because they are smaller and have no overhead? Are they lower in price because they don't pay their laborers anything of substance? Are they lower because maybe they are new to the business and do not have the experience to price a job accurately. Maybe, just maybe, they are lower because they know how to "cut corners" and not "cut costs"! Maybe they don't use as much metal mesh as they are supposed to. Maybe they only pour 3 1/2 inches of concrete instead of 4. This is just one area of construction where there can be a big difference in doing a job for less - or doing less of a job!!

In the discussion of "cutting costs" vs "cutting corners", a contractor must remember perhaps the biggest consideration - the client...Cutting costs may help your client save money and increase the profits of a project, but did the cutting of costs also include the cutting of corners which may come back to haunt you at the end of the job? Is the building inspector finding errors and omissions on your project that you will have to tear up and re-do? Is your concrete slab cracking already, and in places it shouldn't? Is the space not heating or cooling properly because the contractor decided to go with a smaller unit to "cut costs"?

When deciding whether to "cut costs" or "cut corners", it will be the integrity of your company, and the choice you make, that will ultimately be the deciding factor for the owner, and will decide future projects as well. Chances are you'll be able to cut costs a lot easier now than paying for cutting corners later.