Quality, Feat. Brandon Montero

Your Name Is On It: Why Quality Is the First Line of Defense

Brandon Montero’s appearance is well put together. His beard is trimmed and combed to perfection. His clothes are nicely hemmed and washed and cleaned. His tool bag is put together with all of the tools in the right spot, labeled. His truck with all the survey equipment has everything exactly where it should be. Everything has a box and a place for it.

Everything Brandon does is 100% quality control checked from the very beginning. Everything has a double or triple check. All work is put out to the most perfect quality. You don’t find Brandon making quality mistakes. It’s put in right. If you dispatch Brandon, it’s right.

Why? How does this happen? Because we want to scale this mindset to everybody in construction. If our crews could follow a quality process and our project sites could follow a quality process where we distill down owner expectations and know what we’re building, and then each crew follows those guidelines and signs them off and does these double checks before backfilling or closing in a wall or whatever, we would make more money than even if we went out and got more work.

Here’s what most construction leaders miss: quality isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s not something you do when you have extra time. Quality is the first thing that creates flow and increases profit. And it starts with one simple question: is your name on it?

Why Your Name Being On It Changes Everything

Brandon explains the why and then the how because they’re very closely related. The why is because his name is on it. And he wants to clarify that’s not an arrogant thing to say. It’s as if any time he did some work, right next to it there was a little note that said “If anything is wrong, please call Brandon Montero at [phone number].”

It’s not “Oh, hey guys, I’m so great. I could never do anything wrong.” No. It’s that if something is wrong, it’s a direct reflection on him, on his work, on his knowledge, on his effort. He views everything he puts in the ground that way.

And Brandon knows that not everyone might automatically take so much pride in the work that has their name on it. But then he would say, why not think of it in terms of there’s a note right next to your work that says “If anything is wrong with this, please call the owner of the company. Here’s his name and here’s his phone number.”

Just understand that everything that happens from a work standpoint or even in life is a direct reflection on someone. Brandon takes that very personally. It’s a reflection on himself and he wants the things he does to stand for something that is well done, well put together, and well checked.

What that means is Brandon has to do his quality control processes and checks every single time he does anything. The exact same way he would teach a complete beginner to check, double check, triple check, and do work using best practices so they’re unable to make a mistake. He has to do things that same way every single time.

He’s not allowed to think that he’s too good or too smart or too experienced to skip those checks. He has to do it that way every time because the reason he preaches those methods is that they’re bulletproof. And he and his reputation have to stay bulletproof and clean. To do that, he needs to go back to the very same best practices and quality control methods he would teach an absolute beginner because he knows it’s the way to make things absolutely right every time.

The Paradigm Shift That Fixes Quality Problems

Jason remembers helping a very large general contractor one time when their field engineering was not going well. They were making mistakes all throughout the nation and they were about to farm out most of the survey work to surveyors instead of continuing to train their builders in house.

They found out what the root cause of the problem was: people thought they could install the work right the first time without double checks. And they were wrong.

They immediately set out to brainwash people into the concept that they were human and that they could not without double checks install it right the first time. It was a statistical impossibility. Everything they installed, they should assume it was wrong. Once they switched their paradigm from “Oh, I’m good enough, I can get it done right the first time without double checks” to “I’m a human and I’m definitely going to get this wrong or there’s a high statistical probability that this is wrong,” that then led them to believe they had to follow the fundamental steps of quality standard work and double checks, double, triple check.

That company’s progress and success and quality started to change immediately over the course of months. They were able to bring that program back to the field engineers, keep that in house, and head down a path where everything was done according to culture. They were still maintaining and building builders and they also had good quality work. It was fantastic.

Here’s the key: you have to assume you’re wrong. Not because you’re incompetent. Because you’re human. And humans make mistakes when they skip the checks that prevent mistakes.

The Four Types of Double Checks That Make Work Bulletproof

When you double check, you need to use different methods to catch different types of errors. Here are the four approaches that make quality control bulletproof:

• Use a different person so fresh eyes catch what you missed because you’re too close to the work and your brain fills in gaps.
• Use a different technology so if your first measurement was with a tape, your check is with a laser or total station to catch instrument errors.
• Use a different direction so if you measured left to right, you check right to left to catch reading errors and transposition mistakes.
• Use a different approach so if you calculated one way, you verify with a different method to catch formula or logic errors.

For survey specifically, there are the typical field engineer commandments. Traverse your primary control. Three wire level. Estimate to the nearest thousandth with your level loops. Never burn a foot. Always run forward and back. Do direct reverse angle checks.

There are basics in surveying that will make sure you’re not only doing those four different types of double checks, but they’re basics. And there are basics in building construction that create the same bulletproof quality.

What Do You Stand For As a Builder?

Brandon asks a fundamental question: what do you stand for as a builder? Are you there to collect a check? That will reflect in your work. Are you there to work hard and do damn good work? That will show up in your work. Are you there to leave a beautiful product behind? That will show up in your work.

Because Brandon is setting himself up to be a trainer and a mentor, because he teaches surveying at ASU, because he’s teaching field engineers in boot camps, if he wants to be an example then he has to act like an example. He has to do exemplary work. That’s what he’s standing for when he teaches someone else. He has to be and reflect all of those things in the way that he works.

So he would ask you: what do you intend to stand for in the building industry? What do you stand for in your trade? Is it quality? Can somebody look at you and say this person represents quality? This person represents hard work? This person represents a beautiful product constructed with pride?

If you can train yourself to represent quality, safety will come with it. A lot of other great things will come with it. Costs will come with it.

The Dollar-for-Dollar Profit of Quality

Here’s a quick note on costs. If you run a business and you want to make $5,000, you can either cut expenses by $5,000 by doing things right the first time, which is dollar for dollar, or you can go get $15,000 or $50,000 worth of additional revenue, additional work, to make that $5,000.

Jason’s grandpa used to say “Boy, do you know what it takes to make a dollar?” Jason was like “Gosh, this old man, leave me alone, he’s teasing me over here.” But he thanks God for that man and that concept because what his grandpa meant was it takes $5 to make a dollar. It takes $3 to make a dollar. Sometimes it definitely isn’t dollar for dollar when you make it, especially with taxes.

Even if you got 100% of money you made, it would at least take $2 to make a dollar by the time you have overhead and taxes. So if you go out and get work and you get more and more work and you keep installing it in a shoddy manner, you’re not making more money.

What you need to do is start doing it right the first time. Every dollar you make from doing it right the first time is dollar for dollar. Every expense you cut is dollar for dollar. Everything you don’t have to rework is dollar for dollar.

That brings us back to what is the measure of success. We get to 100% install it right the first time with our quality checklist, double checking with a different person, technology, approach, different direction. We get to, even if we’re super hyper experienced, make sure that we know the expectations every time. We get to make sure that quality is our first line of defense.

It’s a mindset. It’s a thought process. It’s how we work. And if we aren’t establishing quality out in the field, it’s because we haven’t trained our mind to do so and that’s a wonderful opportunity for us.

Why Field Engineering Is the Grand Daddy of All Training

Jason was talking to a business owner the other day about boot camps. He said field engineering boot camps, the survey boot camps, are the grand daddy of all training, all boot camps. He challenges everybody right now: he believes that boot camp is the best training in the world in construction and he challenges somebody to show him a training that’s more quality and better than the field engineer boot camp.

Someone said “Well, my people don’t really need to do survey. We don’t do a lot of self perform work. Why would we need that?” Here’s why. Even if somebody just went to the boot camp and came back and didn’t have to go survey on their project, the act of being a field engineer is quality. If somebody wants to learn a quality mindset, they need to go through that field engineering program.

If you’re a builder, what better place to learn quality than to have to do survey and do the double checks? What better place to learn quality than to have to do lift drawings and have to do the double checks? What better place to do quality than to actually install and build the components in the field with your craft? What better opportunity? The answer is there isn’t one.

Superintendents are not a builder position. You have to be a builder to be a superintendent, but field engineering is the only, or foreman in some cases, or survey are the only builder positions because you get to piece things together. If you’re out there wanting to be a general superintendent or field director, do not miss the opportunity to be a field engineer because it will teach you quality. It will brainwash you and program you into that mindset and it will set up the rest of your career.

Brandon’s closing advice goes back to the concept of taking pride in your work. Literally after everything you do, whether it’s setting a nail or stake in the ground or pouring or finishing something, can you step back and look at it and ask yourself: am I proud of this? Is that a constant practice in the way that you work? Or is your mind turned off and you’re just accomplishing things and moving on?

He challenges you to take that step back, look at your work, and ask yourself constantly: am I proud of this? If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

FAQ

Q: Why should I assume my work is wrong even when I’m experienced?

Because you’re human and humans make mistakes when they skip checks. It’s a statistical impossibility to install work right the first time without double checks. Once you switch your paradigm from “I’m good enough to get it done right without checks” to “I’m human and there’s a high probability this is wrong,” you’ll follow the fundamental steps of quality standard work. Experienced people need checks just as much as beginners. The reason you preach those methods is they’re bulletproof. You and your reputation have to stay bulletproof, so use the same best practices you’d teach an absolute beginner.

Q: What does it mean to have your name on the work?

It means viewing everything you do as if there’s a note right next to it that says “If anything is wrong, please call [your name] at [your number].” It’s not arrogance. It’s understanding that if something is wrong, it’s a direct reflection on you, your work, your knowledge, your effort. Everything from a work standpoint is a direct reflection on someone. Take it personally. Make the things you do stand for something that is well done, well put together, and well checked.

Q: What are the four types of double checks and why do I need all of them?

Use a different person because fresh eyes catch what you missed. Use a different technology because if your first measurement was with a tape, checking with a laser catches instrument errors. Use a different direction because if you measured left to right, checking right to left catches reading errors. Use a different approach because if you calculated one way, verifying with a different method catches formula errors. Each type catches different kinds of mistakes. You need all four to make your work bulletproof.

Q: How does quality create more profit than getting more work?

Every dollar you make from doing it right the first time is dollar for dollar. Every expense you cut is dollar for dollar. Everything you don’t have to rework is dollar for dollar. But getting more work requires $3 to $5 to make $1 after overhead and taxes. If you go get $50,000 worth of additional work to make $5,000, you’re working harder for the same result. If you cut $5,000 in rework by doing it right the first time, that’s pure profit. Quality is the first thing that creates flow and increases profit.

Q: Why is field engineering the best training for learning quality mindsets?

Because the act of being a field engineer is quality. Even if you never survey on your project after training, you’ve learned the quality mindset. What better place to learn quality than having to do survey with double checks? What better place than having to do lift drawings with double checks? What better place than actually installing components in the field with craft? Field engineering is the only builder position besides foreman because you piece things together. It brainwashes you into quality thinking and sets up the rest of your career.

On we go.