Case study: From order to delivery in seven weeks
It is 10 August and an order for a new site in Germany lands in the inbox of LOSKY’s newly formed International Projects division. For LOSKY it is already the eleventh new-site build of the year. For our new international division, however, it is the very first.
The deadline? The standard seven weeks from order to completion and handover to the customer.
Weeks 33-34: Preparation and coordination
The first ten days are all about intensive preparation. We carry out the site survey, check the design documentation and production drawings, request quotations for the steel structure and arrange the road permits for the aerial platform and crane.
We confirm the lightning-protection contractor and file the formal application with the grid operator for a new power connection.
The main goal is to get every time-consuming administrative process moving as early as possible, so that the individual activities follow on from one another without gaps.
Weeks 35-39: Final preparations
The following weeks are devoted to coordination and the final preparations for the installation itself. Together with the installation team we prepare the SiGe-Plan (Sicherheits- und Gesundheitsschutzplan – the German health and safety plan). We confirm the schedule and method statement, submit them to the building owner for approval and inform the tenants about the planned works.
There is also time to close the last open points and questions raised during the technical site visit. Thorough preparation is one of the prerequisites for an installation that runs on schedule and without unnecessary complications.
Week 40: Installation
The installation week starts on Sunday with loading the steel structure at the manufacturer and transporting the material to site. From Monday morning the assembly work is in full swing.
A new lightning-protection system goes up on the building. Then come the cable routes installed from the aerial platform, core drilling and roof penetrations, the crane and the erection of 1.35 tonnes of main steel structure, anchoring into the roof, waterproofing and the electrical connection.
A German-speaking project manager is on site all week and the customer receives progress photo documentation every evening.
On Wednesday 30 September the structure is complete. On the roof of an apartment building in Stadtbergen near Augsburg, the LOSKY team has delivered another complete new-site build.
Lesson: First Time Right
At LOSKY we build on the First Time Right principle – doing things properly the first time. This project reminded us that it means more than installing everything in the design documentation to a high standard. It also means allowing for what is not in the drawings.
Just one day after the installation is finished, rain brings water into the stairwell of the building. And we realise we have a problem.
The very next day we are back on the roof. The technicians open up every anchor point and we redo the waterproofing in three layers, strictly following the manufacturer’s procedure and the prescribed curing times.
When water appears again after the next rain, it is clear that local repairs are not enough. Instead of further patching we choose a more thorough approach and open up the structure over a much larger area, right down to the concrete slab.
And that is where we finally find the real cause. Just three centimetres from our penetration we uncover a hidden, covered-over opening with an electrical conduit running through the roof down to the distribution board on the top floor. It is full of rust and debris and, by all appearances, several years old.
It is a hidden defect that could not have been detected during a standard technical site visit.
At a moment like this the customer does not need to hear who is to blame. The customer needs a partner who can solve the problem quickly and reliably.
That is exactly why, for us, First Time Right is not just a slogan but a set of concrete principles we follow on every project:
- Work so that our part of the job stands up the first time – to a high standard, with quality materials and strict adherence to the technical procedures.
- Expect that on complex builds unexpected complications can arise at any time, and be ready for them. Have sufficient capacity for a fast fix, German-speaking team leaders and project managers, open communication with the building owner and the customer, and of course complete photo documentation.
And above all – be prepared to go right down to the concrete when necessary. Look for the real cause and the solution, not for excuses or someone to blame.
LOSKY – FIRST TIME RIGHT
Michal Mrázek · CTO