Avoiding Onsite Delays with a Seamless Transportation to Set & Stitch Process

Josh McShanog from T&M Construction Group understands the big picture of modular construction. T&M offers Set & Stitch services and general contracting, and they’ve recently narrowed down their focus to modular to serve their clients even better. Set & Stitch is the process of installation after modular units are transported onto the job site. It’s the process of taking the units off the truck by crane, setting them into place, then “stitching” or securing them into place, so they are structurally sound. 

Josh has experience with multi-unit housing, large commercial projects, and everything in between. In addition, because his team is the one that mobilizes once the transportation team has done its job, he is intimately aware of the interplay and collaboration necessary for success between the logistics and set & stitch teams. 

A massive benefit of modular is the reduced cycle time for projects, allowing faster construction and occupancy. An experienced Set & Stitch crew can ensure the cycle time is as short as possible. In contrast, an inexperienced one can have the exact opposite effect, cutting into the savings and speed expected when choosing modular. 

The Importance of Transportation

The modular construction process is much like baton-passing in a relay race. If a truck is late, the product cannot be passed along and trigger the next teammate’s move. No matter how good your set crew, they can’t do their job without the product on the trucks! 

Each handoff must be smooth, on time, and coordinated sequentially so each consecutive step of the process can remain uninterrupted, thus ensuring a well-executed and stress-free completion of the entire project. 

The Cost of Onsite Delays

Costs can rack up quickly when there are delays onsite. For example, your onsite crew has per-day labor and travel costs, and equipment is often charged on a per hour or per day basis. Therefore, if just one truck delays one day, you’re looking at thousands of dollars wasted. The thing is, delays typically have a domino effect, impacting the scheduling and delivery of consecutive trucks. So, if not handled properly, a day could quickly become a week or more of wasted time and hard costs, including potential rents and interest payments to the developer! 

And the trickle-down effect doesn’t just impact hard costs. There’s also a loss of efficiency, momentum, safety, and morale, which can be hard to see and quantify at first glance. In short, if you inject low quality at any point in your project, it has the potential to bring everyone else down.

Josh says it best, “Nobody wins when everybody’s scrambling.” 

When Offsite Construction is Done Well

When modular construction is done well, you save time. Sometimes the property can even be opened earlier than anticipated, allowing the property owner to capture more rent revenue! Things like our Transit Buffer build slack into the system to make up for other delays, like weather or other trades, so you’re always on track. 

Modular construction done well is wildly efficient; every team is on the top of their game, considering the next piece of the puzzle, and setting the next phase of the project up for success. It’s also predictable when it comes to timeline and cost. 

As you know, when your transportation is on point, your Set & Stitch team can do their job. And when the Set & Stitch team knows what they’re doing, your transportation team can transport the modular products on-site on time, in sequence, and intact, every single time. 
To ensure your next modular construction project is a success, work with top-tier contractors like T&M Construction and Stream Logistics, who can deliver efficient, cost-effective, and quality results. If you’d like to learn more, contact us!