Introduction

The following is an excerpt from the soon-to-be-published Project Managers Manual for the Millwork Industry. The manual is the sum total of years of experience in the industry, written by Don Richman, owner and president of 2nd T.M.C., Inc.

The information in this Project Management Manual is intended for an owner or professional project manager in the millwork and cabinet industry (and for those who someday wish to be either). In smaller companies, where the owner must wear many hats, he may be the senior project manager, as well as holding many other positions within the company. He will be the owner, first and foremost, the estimator, project manager, production manager perhaps a bookkeeper and of course the “janitor.” Most importantly, as an owner, you must be a businessman, a salesman and an educator for your staff. At the very least, you should over-see the continued education of your staff and employees in the methods used by the company. I would be remiss in not adding that, as a project manager you will be a “behind the scenes estimator” and “front line sales person” for the company. The ability to estimate effectively and sell new or “change order” work will be a large part of your job as the voice and the face of the company.

You may have had many of the positions listed above along the way before attaining your position. As the owner, you may have gotten here because the business has been in the family for generations and you worked there since you were a young boy. Lay-offs may have set you out on the path to being your own boss and the owner of a shop. Perhaps you may have bought an existing small shop as an investment. Getting here is only part of the story, what you do while you are here is the other! If you are going to be a professional project manager, whether or not you are the owner, you will need to have an owner’s attitude. Let me repeat that you will need to have an “owner’s attitude.” Keep that phrase in your mind’s eye at all times.

This book is about professional project management. Many lessons here will be useful for you in understanding what other companies in the cabinetry and millwork industries are going through and doing. This can give you a distinct advantage over your competition. In companies both large and small, a person may become the project manager by being hired from the outside or from within. Somebody will leave, or perhaps get in an accident. Perhaps a person just does not fit the company model and moves on. You may have been a draftsman, a project engineer, the shop foreman or lead installer. This may be a move upward within the company, but are you prepared?

Ask yourself the following questions. Do I understand this job well enough to work to the best of my ability? What tools will I need to be efficient and reliable? Most importantly, where will I get the proper training and information I need? With the information found in this book, you will get the tools you need to be successful and accountable as a project manager.

When you finish reading this book you will understand not just the engineering and project management division but the company as a whole. There is nothing like experience, but training and confidence must be a part of your skill set. Either as the owner or as a senior project manager when asked “how are things done here,” you should simply say; “we will train you in the requirements of the position and give you the methods you will need to succeed.” As a project manager your job is no longer just a set of blue prints, the job site, and a contact name with a phone number!

Consider this manual to be an office blue print – much in the way you have learned to understand a shop drawing to build your products, you must learn to understand the office flow. A project manager must learn the responsibilities that come with the position. With the help of this book, you will gain a great amount of the information you will need to bring you both individual success and profit to the company.

You will learn what you need for your clients, your sales team and engineers, as well as for the production and installation departments. Plus, you will learn to understand the needs of the accounting department. Remember, nothing is more important to a successful company than invoicing and prompt payment on a profitable project. Payment on an unsuccessful project, equally as important, is just not nearly as much fun.