Design and construction firms, both large and small, should implement an audit policy in 2017.  Audits can be effective using either internal staff to perform the audit or by retaining outside consultants.  Audits do not have to be elaborate, exhaustive, or expensive to be effective.    Here are 4 good reasons why you should consider starting periodic audits at your company:

  1. Improve Quality.  Let’s be honest, people focus on that which is being monitored or reviewed.  For example, assume that you have a telephone policy that requires calls to be handled in a certain professional manner.  If you periodically have friends call in to test the use of the policy or you routinely solicit feedback from clients about how your company handles their calls, chances are higher that your telephone policy will be followed by your Company’s employees.  If you audit drawings to determine whether the details referenced on drawings match those on the detail sheets, chances are that your employees will pay closer attention to the accuracy of detail references on future projects and understand the importance of the details.   If you audit and review whether field reports are being properly prepared, future field reports will be greatly improved.  Periodic audits will improve the quality of the services that you provide to your clients.
  2. Revise Policies.  By performing an audit, you may determine that some policies need to be revised because they are not working as well as intended or are too difficult to follow and implement and thus are not being followed.  An audit is also a good way to see if you have a gap in the way that projects are handled.  You may determine that there is a more efficient way to accomplish a task.
  3. Assess Performance.  By auditing your project files, you will invariably find that some employees follow policies closely and, unfortunately, others do not perform as well.  It is hard in day-to-day work to know which employees need additional training and supervision.  An audit will help you identify areas for additional training and improvement or help identify underperforming staff members.
  4. Reduce Risk.  By performing routine audits of your project files, you will identify problems that you can immediately correct.  For instance, if you determine through an audit that your construction team was not sufficiently familiar with the terms of the contract regarding the number and requirements for site visits, you could correct the issue immediately and reduce the risk on that project by bringing your firm into compliance.

If you have any questions about audits or need professional assistance in conducting audits, we would be glad to help you. The attorneys of Gibbes Burton are passionate about helping professionals and businesses to minimize risk and build success.

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