Can we talk about picking between a 3 week fast track and a full 12 week schedule?
Last fall I had to decide between pushing a 3 week fast track on a 40,000 sq ft office build or holding the full 12 week schedule with my usual subs. I went with the fast track because the owner dangled a $25k bonus if we finished early. We ended up stacking trades in the same hallways and a drywall crew punched a hole in a $4,200 fire rated door frame. The inspector flagged 14 items on the first walk and we lost 9 days fixing them anyway. The bonus check was $25k but the rework, overtime, and rental fees ate about $31k of that. Anyone else been burned by chasing a fast track bonus? What did you do different next time?
Man, I used to be all about that fast track life. I figured stack the trades, pay the overtime, grab the bonus, done. Then I watched a guy on a 60,000 sq ft build do the same thing and eat close to $40k in fixes when the ceiling grid went in before the HVAC rough was signed off. Every trade was tripping over each other and nobody could get a full day of work in. Now I pad the schedule from the start and tell the owner the bonus has to cover the real cost of stacking, not just the calendar days.