Supply Chain Management Challenges in Construction Industry

Samir Raza works as Senior Project Manager at Turner Construction Company.  He has over 25 years of international experience in large high profile projects delivered under EPC, Design build and Integrated team models. Prior to working atTurner Construction Company Samir has also worked as a Senior Project and Estimating Manager Black & McDonald Limited.

What are some of the major challenges regarding supply chain management in the construction space?

Due to the lengthy lead times for all important equipment, the supply chain in the construction industry is currently dealing with enormous difficulties on all fronts. So usually if a project duration is going to be 12 to 14 months, the critical equipment such as generators or chillers and air handling take over 45 to 50 weeks for arrival. This is putting a huge pressure on  the construction schedule for all projects that are being planned.  We at Turner in order to solve these challenges offers a great solution with a subsidiary called Source Blue. Source Blue deals with primarily solving supply chain issues across the construction industry.  What makes Source Blue different in the market is that it get engaged very early on right from design stage with the owner and the consultants to make sure that what gets designed meets the budget, what the market is offering, and  procure billions of dollars worth of equipment, generators, cooling towers air handling units, and even architectusral products across the entire industry spectrum. The company have very deep networks strong and very strong buying power with the manufacturers  which helps to  engaged early and release the order for the design equipment much earlier than when much earlier than construction starts. This in return helps the client gets  the equipment arrives in time for when it is actually needed on site. 

With mechanical electrical industry Source Blue alsoprovides services to architectural field as well. For example recently there was a healthcare project which required specialty tiles from overseas in Asia. Turner having a  very strong international presence in Asia we could leverage that presence and relationships in that market to source the product that we were looking for and get it on time.

What are some of the trends impacting the construction space lately?

Every market segment has its own trends and challenges.  However the biggest push that we see right now no matter which industry we look is a move towards sustainable equipment and more energy efficient equipment. 

The design teams across the board are looking at more energy efficient, sustainable options for all equipment and products that are being used in the industry. 

What are some of your recent project initiative?

 For any project we worked on in the city,when it comes long lead equipment, purchase orders and deliveries, they all are facing delays all across the board. Due to this it is extremely difficult to meet the contract deadline when purchase orders are delayed by X number of days.To help overcome this we expedited the process internally and improved efficiency throughout the entire approval process for the fabrication release.We also collaborated closely with the consultants and vendors to establish a backup plan in case there were any looming consequences and then recommended that plan to the customer and make it work with what was available.This assists us in staying on schedule, maintaining and even improving our delivery dates.

How do you envision the future of the space?

To stay ahead of the curvekeep up with the trends, we must beinnovativeand try tobreak away through the traditional processes.

"It’s Very Important To Stay Nimble And Be Aware Of Your Comfort Zone"

The initiative taken by Source Blueis assisting the industry in changing its delivery model.Over the past 20 years, the company has earned recognition for managing complex projects, fostering innovation, embracing emerging technologies and making a difference for their clients, employees and community. We receive equipment from anywhere in the world, including Japan, Korea, and Asia, if a client requires it right away.Moreover we have a highly technical team with Turner Engineering Group that is helping us do some design assist services with the clients.  We offer the solution that the client is looking for   and as a result of that we start getting continuous client base. 

What would be the piece of advice be from your end?

It’s very important to stay nimble and be aware of your comfort zone.  Moreover in todays fast changing environment so it’s important to be very aware of what's going on, and continuously keep adapting and innovating in the emerging marketplace.