Masonry Magazine December 2000 Page. 24
easy answer. Would certification help? Sure, however, we have far too many workers and contractors, and far too few educational outlets to achieve proper, reliable certification in the short term. And what if we required good mason contractors to become certified? Would our customers require certified contractors to build their projects? We believe the answer to that question is no. Not as long as they continue to look for the lowest price. We believe customers would select the lowest-priced, non-certified contractor over a moderately-priced certified contractor almost every time. Why shouldn't they? As an industry, we have not given any other criteria to select a quality mason contractor than price.
Are general contractors to blame for our quality debate? Certainly, and in fact they may be one of the biggest culprits. Most general contractors have little understanding of masonry systems. Often the mason contractor is not brought into the pre-planning process early enough to avoid mistakes. During the construction process they allow other trades, such as excavation and concrete, to incur delays and then expect the mason contractor to make up the time. General contractors also make the mistake of submitting bids to customers based on a bid from an ill-equipped mason contractcontractor. Once awarded the project, the general looks for a reputable mason to perform the work at the original low- bid. At times, generals also consider the unthinkable and try to do the masonry themselves. General contractors also share blame for the times they have retained a portion of mason contractors pay long after the mason contractor has had the project accepted. Unfortunately, this practice has steadily increased and has put many mason contractors in financial jeopardy.
In a series of interviews with masonry industry promotional directors, we sought answers to the question of whether or not our industry had real issues with quality construction and whether or not our customers would buy quality.
Masonry Magazine:
Do you feel that as an industry we have a real concern with the quality of our construction or is it a perceived problem on the part of our customers?
John Chrysler:
The mere fact that we are having a discussion over quality masonry construction, whether it is real or perceived, make it a real issue. If our customers feel that they are not getting a quality project, then the perception becomes reality and we lose a valued customer.
Glen Duncan:
I believe that a great deal of the quality concern is more a perceived issue on the part of our customers. We have not properly educated them on what to expect from masonry. When customers inspect our finished product standing two feet in front of the wall instead of the prescribed twenty feet, of course they will have complaints. But they would have the same problem with other building materials. If we have real (not perceived) quality concerns it would be in the residential sector.
Joan Borter:
We do have a problem with untrained workers because of how busy we are. We just don't have adequate time to train. The AMCA has an excellent program, but just not enough workers have gone through the program, primarily from the residential sector. As a service from the Arizona Masonry Guild, we do job site inspections and we find that we don't have too many complaints on commercial projects.
Chuck Ostrander:
It really depends upon the client and their expectations. If the client is simply looking to get the lowest possible price for their job, then yes, they will almost certainly have a quality problem. If the client chooses the contractor based on other factors than just the lowest bid, then they usually have a smooth project. It is the client who believes that the best contractor to choose is the cheapest contractor. That creates problems.
Ed Glock:
The perception always seems to exist. I do not feel that our area has a serious quality problem compared to other segments of the country. We have many designers and customers who use masonry repeatedly. If a serious problem existed, they would be using other systems.
Lynn Nash:
Absolutely. There is clearly a concern about the quality of masonry construction on our area. Even where serious quality control issues do not exist, the perception does, and perception is often reality to the construction customer.
MM:
So if it is not a perceived problem but a real problem, how did it become a problem?
JC:
There are several key factors for the cause of the quality debate that we are having. First of all, there are mason contractors that are attempting construction projects that do not have the expertise to construct. But the allure of larger, bigger profits is too great to pass up. So they take the job and make mistakes. Another factor is design. I see constant situations where the design has too many flaws, and it's one giant quality mistake waiting to happen. Another factor is the general contractor who often puts the mason contractor into extremely difficult conditions to perform his service effectively, whether it be shortening up the amount of time he has on the job, correcting mistakes that other trades caused to the masonry, or some other unforeseen changes that the mason must contend with. Lastly, it's often times the inspector who does not understand the ASTM Standards for our products and really don't know how to conduct a proper inspection.
GD:
Quality concerns would be primarily in the residential market. And it became a problem primarily due to the rapid growth in construction and the high demand for labor. Fortunately in Texas we have ample bodies to put on jobs. Unfortunately, they haven't received the same quality training that the commercial masons received. Another factor is the over-abundance of production builders pushing for faster installation - at the expense of quality. In fact, most of our complaints come as a result of production builders.
JB:
Some of the problems are workmanship. For example, the worker that washes the project does not wash the wall properly. Some of the problems are education. For example, the customer that inspects the wall from 12 inches away instead of the prescribed twenty feet. Some of the prob-