“ The price of outdated designs . What is that?" you can ask. Well, let's take a look at the matter.
The worst example I came across was when I got a freelance website manager contract for a new distribution warehouse for one of the Big 4 supermarkets. I was told that the work was a mess and very behind schedule and that the site manager and existing contracts manager were the ones who made it this way. I accepted the job, but insisted that both people be kept well away from the site. 
I opened the local office and was shocked! Paperwork was piled up everywhere! Many envelopes were not even opened and the drawings were not even unfolded. Nothing was ever put into practice and archived for future reference. Defined and resolved. My new boss was quite upset when they asked me for a drawing rack and some drawing clips!
From memory, some of the things that were done based on outdated drawings were a few acres of storage shelves placed in the wrong places; an office mezzanine built in the wrong location; an entire office area located in the wrong building; … and so on! So the cost of fixing all this – in other words, “the price of outdated designs” – would be around the £5 million mark, on a contract that was just £8 million to begin with! All because our subcontractor people hadn't looked at the drawings that came in and passed them on to their own subcontractors! In fact, I have never been able to understand how the Client's staff allowed the work to reach this state!
Now the Client not only had the Main Contractor's staff on site, but also its own in-house Project Manager who, unusually, was a construction professional. He saw that I was catching up on work still pending and formed a good opinion of me. This allowed for private discussions. The result of this was that, due to the delay in reworking everything that should have been reworked, the Client went back to Plan A and decided to leave things as they were! But be aware; this is usually not a possible option when you work with outdated drawings! It's usually a case of undoing what was done and doing it right this time! Fails and contracts are usually Determined! Title not refunded; no payment for work not yet paid; ruined reputation; bankruptcy!
So how can you ensure that your people never work with outdated drawings; that they always have the most up-to-date versions immediately after they are issued? Well, in today's IT-driven world, there is a simple and cheap answer to this; use GenieBelt!!
The Architects immediately issue a revised drawing and it appears on your office computer! It also appears on every tablet or smartphone of every merchant involved in the project! This eliminates all the risks of working with outdated drawings and the financial risks that this involves! If someone is old-fashioned and likes working on drawings on paper, it only costs around £8 to get one. Some light-up outfits even have a plotter on site to execute them!
Back to the above project I talked about – we were about a week away from completion when the old site manager suddenly showed up back on site on Wednesday. On Friday the Boss showed up and fired me! The site's former manager was also fired the following Tuesday! Then, about a year later, the Customer PM called me; Would I accept a contract with the same company for another distribution warehouse? I asked him why the hell they were using that contractor again! I received a one-word response; "Price!"
“I must refuse, thank you very much” and I have no idea what the result of this work will be!
