The Complexities of Accountability for Multi-Site Retail Development Projects

Accountability is critical for the success of any construction project. To succeed, project stakeholders must be fine-tuned and accountable for doing their job, like the Belichick/Brady Patriots teams of the 2000s. For non-football fans, those teams won six championships from 2002 to 2019 with the mantra “Do Your Job.” Love or hate those patriots teams, they did their job, held each other accountable, and WON! The ask of “doing your job” seems simple, but the process is complex regarding multi-site retail development.

“If everyone does what they are supposed to do… WE WIN.

So, the message to players is:

DO YOUR JOB!”

Bill Belichick

Coach, New England Patriots

 

What Makes them Similar Makes Them Challenging

The typical multi-site retail project has a few common threads. One is tight project timelines with a quick turnaround. Every additional day a project takes to complete is another day the site is not making revenue. Also, time spent on the current project slows the goal of breaking ground on an additional project. Sensera Systems customer Wingstop references a very aggressive two-month timeline for their new locations and remodels, which average 1500 square feet.

The other common thread is that many stakeholders are responsible for meeting the project’s deadlines. Developers, General Contractors, and subcontractors are all relied upon to do what they say they are doing when they say they are doing it for the project to be completed on time. If these two factors alone don’t present enough of a challenge, managing multiple sites simultaneously across a wide geographic area presents additional challenges. For context, some construction managers could be responsible for up to 30 projects at a time across multiple states. This challenge is further compounded by managing different developers and/or contractors based in the region where the site is located.

 

Build Confidence in your Project, Not Frequent Flier Miles

When you consider these two factors, it doesn’t take a lot of mental gymnastics to arrive at the conclusion that unless you have 100% confidence in your stakeholders (Developer/GC) or the ability to visit multiple projects multiple times in multiple states, there is a lack of visibility that the project timeline is on track. This scale of visiting each site in person is clear with Sensera Systems customer Agree Realty Corporation, which partners with many of the largest multi-site retail companies. Their portfolio includes 710 assets across 46 states. Even spread across multiple years, that would be a lot of airline miles accumulated for even the largest construction management teams.

More and more multi-site retail projects are turning to remote site monitoring to reduce travel while still having confidence that the project is on schedule. It allows you to scale site visits without physically being at the site. Even without power or internet on site, you can ensure that the cement pad is poured when scheduled and crews are there when they say they are. If the weather was the excuse du jour, you could easily check on that, too! Monitoring your site progress remotely should be painless and easy to set up. This was a big factor in Agree Realty Corp. moving to a solar and cellular remote monitoring solution, providing them with the reassurance and confidence they need.

As Jeff Konkle, Vice President of Construction at Agree Realty, says, “The cameras are extremely easy to set up, and managing the visual documentation in SiteCloud is intuitive and easy. Downloading/retrieving videos and images is quick and easy.”

Flexible leasing or purchasing options for site monitoring hardware match the quick-turn project duration of multi-site retail builds very well. If your project is short in duration, having the option to lease site monitoring hardware simplifies the ROI. Leasing would also eliminate the need to store and keep track of a purchased asset.

“For us, the rental option was unique and beneficial since, as a company, we were not ready to purchase multiple cameras. The ease of receiving the equipment, setting it up, using it, and returning the equipment was pleasantly very simple and painless.”

Wasily (Wes) Demichow

Wingstop Regional Construction Manager

 

Keeping Your Eye On The Prize

Multi-site retail development projects bring a formidable combination of fast-paced timelines and multiple layers of stakeholders in every project. There will be complexity and challenges, but remote site monitoring offers confidence that the “do your job” mantra is being followed by all partners involved. When you can have confidence that the current project’s timeline is on track, you can focus on the real “win.” In this case, the real win is keeping progress toward your aggressive goal of new projects to break ground for this year.