You’ve done the hard work. You’ve checked the codes, finessed all the details, and made the tough decisions, measurements, and master plans. Now you just need to get them printed, the last step in this leg of the journey. Should be smooth sailing, right? Unfortunately, all that hard work can quickly go wrong if you don’t have the right partner by your side.
On average, 25% of projects that come through our office contain some type of issue.
While this can vary as to the type of error like missing sheets, font issues, corrupt files, or formatting, the end result of error is always the same-- delays for your project and a diminished reputation.
A Sample Scenario
As a quick example, take a sample project that’s scheduled to go to bid in 2 days. If your printer is not checking for these potential issues, your team is made aware of issues after delivery has taken place. The same issues arise with digitally distributed documents. The same errors are missed, and documents are sent to the public if you are sending out a link . Next, the project has added addendums, more edits to files, resubmission, and then a final delivery that’s most likely past the deadline, further pushing your project down the calendar. As vendor after vendor is notified of addendums and delays, your reputation within the industry is affected. As you near construction, your contractual obligations could also be in jeopardy if errors are attributed to your team instead of an incomplete source file. Where do you go from here?
Stopping Errors
When your files hit our inbox, we promptly perform a quality check to avoid errors, organize and review the pages, and notify the client of any potential issues. Once all issues are resolved, we deliver the files as requested. If any errors were caught from our team, you have a chance to update files before they are sent down the pipeline or out to the public. We apply the same approach to digital documents. As our team handles the distribution, we perform the quality checks so that your project moves smoothly.
While all the nitty gritty details of a project may be relentlessly corrected by you and your team(s), we often see issues, not only from our clients, but also from their sources.
Missing fonts, missing pages, out of order pages, or documents in the wrong orientation can all result in costly delays and reprints if not caught by those handling the printing or distribution of documents. This at best can make documents unattractive, but at worst can make them totally illegible. In July 2021 alone, 25% of all projects contained errors that were found in our quality checks and required immediate attention. The most common error was missing sheets, which accounted for 56% of all issues found. Additionally, incorrect or illegible source materials can lead to misunderstandings in subsequent estimating and construction processes, which in turn may result in expensive changes once the project is underway.
Rather than putting the sole burden on our clients to make sure all the small elements of their files are perfect, the Memphis Reprographics team can make obvious corrections for clients once approved, or will contact them about areas needing clarification. We allow the client to get their plans in hand faster and with fewer issues.
Additionally, our team can help verify that the most current plans are being presented, track changes to prevent costly re-works, and thus keep projects on track for effective collaboration between parties.
“Our attention to detail on every project no matter the size provides peace of mind for our customers that we can handle anything they throw at us.” - Drew, Document Technologist at Memphis Reprographics
Within a highly competitive industry where reputation and deadlines equate to profits and future growth, you need accurate processes at every step. Memphis Reprographics is your partner to grow your business and build your reputation.
Supervising Specifications
If you have a vendor and not a partner, then key details may be left unnoticed. On a recent $200M+ job, our team was able to notice and call out a discrepancy of finishes in an over 1,000 page document. It looked like a different project had somehow gotten inserted into the project manual, which could have caused confusion, incorrect ordering, or major delays in the building process. By catching this error for the architect we partnered with, we were able to save them unnecessary headaches and embarrassment down the road. Most vendors would have printed as is, and then shrugged it off as “I executed what you gave me”. That answer is simply not acceptable to us.
Prioritizing Partnership
We understand the importance of not only meeting the deadlines, but making sure the information is correct and presented in the best possible way. When a client sends us documents, we actually take our time looking at them-- reading the addendums to ensure projects are presented correctly. Our team reads drawing lists in specifications and carefully compares them against drawing indices. We comb through the addendum narratives and make sure that the bid dates and project information is updated in the client’s Planroom. When changes are made, we double check to be sure we have received all of the updated drawings per revision or ASI, ensuring the most current information is included. We all do this every time, with every project, all day. In July 2021, we found and corrected an average of 13 projects with one or more errors every day over the course of the month. We don’t take a simple job request lightly-- we have a high standard of accuracy that we promise to uphold for you.
We genuinely care about finding ways to make this process easier for our clients.
This care comes from the fact that we truly believe in partnering with our clients and seek to set them up for success from the start.
If you are not getting this level of service from your reprographics vendor, contact us today. We would love to help you experience the difference that partnership can make.
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