Teamwork Pays Off

Every company determines a quality and productivity level to create its own definition of efficiency. Many judge the performance of their installers, and sometimes use it as a base for compensation. They also use it to determine how many guys are needed for each install crew … and, from this, disagreements can arise.
What one company considers a well-paced and thorough installation may to another look slow, understaffed, and nit-picky. I’ve been a part of, and witness to, both ends of the spectrum.
One of my first jobs in the granite industry was as a helper to a detail-oriented shop owner. The two of us measured, cut, polished, and installed with a great regard for accuracy and quality, with nary a clock in sight. Efficiency for that company was based on completely satisfied clients.
After that, I worked for a larger company that regularly sent out three and sometimes four guys as an install crew. At most houses, we installed a large kitchen and a number of bathrooms, and we almost always had enough manpower to install even large pieces. Efficiency was judged strictly on the number of square feet we installed in a week, with quality work being expected – but not always budgeted for – in the schedule. The larger crew meant that sometimes we all worked in sync and stayed busy, and sometimes the guys standing around with nothing to do got in the way of the guys trying to finish their part of the job.
On the grandest scale of things, I once witnessed a crew of 10 throw a truckload of granite into a monstrous spec home with a speed that appeared to be barely controlled chaos. This was obviously a performance-as-usual for them, but it blew me away with its sheer scope and complete lack of attention to detail.
Their prevailing attitude seemed to be, “throw it in fast and deal with the complaint calls later.” It was during the height of the housing boom, and I think their idea of efficiency was simply keeping up with demand.
Each of these examples helps in determining what I consider an ideal install crew size. The crew is going to have be detail-oriented enough to do quality work, while at the same time having enough muscle and momentum to complete a jog quickly and move on to the next one.
How big is this crew? In a perfect world, it begins at two, but can double and triple as the job demands.
I believe a two-person crew is the ideal for most common-sized kitchen and bathroom projects, and two good installers placed together can be an incredibly efficient unit. As good as they are, however, they are only, well, two.
My helper and I are both strong guys, but there have been times when a piece or situation was simply too much for us to handle by ourselves. This is where the four-man install crew comes into play.
With an installer manning each of the handles of a pair of lifting clamps, most oversized pieces can be moved into place. A large ‘L’ piece installs much easier with eight hands than four, and the risk of breaking the piece or damaging the cabinetry goes way down. Beyond that, I’ve handled monstrous 3cm islands where four guys were simply not enough. To be safe, another two-man crew was brought in, and the six of us installed the piece together.
If these guys were brought from the shop simply to assist with the move, they would usually head back. If they’re installers themselves, is the job worthy of them staying to help finish it? On most jobs six installers would be overkill, so I doubt everyone would remain.
But, I’ve been on plenty of jobs where four installers could stay busy for a day or more. If there is enough work for each crew to act independently and efficiently, it may be worth having them stick around.
When you’re an independent templater/installer, rounding up additional guys to help is not always easy. We’ve trained neighbors, friends, and family to help with installs. We even hired competitors we were on good terms with to help us and they, in turn, have used us to install on occasion.
How do you get that two-man crew to perform as efficiently as possible? To start with, both members of the crew need to know the sequence of events that occur during an install, and what role they play in them. Most two-man crews break down into an experienced lead installer and a less experienced helper.
The lead installer directs the action on the job, communicates with homeowners and contractors to gather needed information, and takes responsibility for measurements and layouts on the jobsite. In my crew, the lead installer is also responsible for leveling and gluing the seams, as they tend to be a make-or-break for homeowner satisfaction.
The helper’s most-important responsibility is to keep the job flowing by looking ahead to the next event in the install sequence, and preparing everything necessary to perform it. Beyond that, at a minimum the helper is also responsible for keeping the jobsite and the install truck clean. Depending on the skill level, he may also be able to cut backsplash to length and polish splash ends where needed.
On a typical install I’m out talking to the contractor or homeowner as soon as we arrive at the jobsite to determine our designated parking spot and route into the house. Once the truck is parked, I’m in the house doing one last check on the cabinetry to shim the tops that are clearly out of level.
If the floors need to be protected, we’ll roll out and tape down the paper – a job made much easier when done by two people. If we’re removing the old countertops, I begin that process while my helper brings in the tool boxes and sets up a work station that includes the adhesive for gluing the pieces down, as well as shims and pry bars for leveling. If we need to cut backsplash, the helper sets up an additional station.
We remove the old countertops (if necessary) and then place the new sinks inside their respective cabinets. If the route to carry in pieces is awkward, we’ll walk it to make sure we’re on the same page. If the pieces are heavy, and we need to move them in stages, we’ll discuss where we plan on setting the pieces down to rest.
At this point, a crucial back-and-forth dialogue begins between my helper and me. I may be the lead installer, but that doesn’t mean I’m the only one with ideas to solve the problems that are inevitably encountered when installing countertops. A good lead installer is going to involve the helper in the problem-solving process and listen to ideas.
This interplay is one of the ways a lead installer can impart to a helper what’s been learned through years of experience. A problem-solving idea that the helper brings up may have been tried in the past and found not to work. On the flip side, a fresh set of eyes is always nice to have when you’re trying to work through difficulties, and may result in a new solution to a problem.
A back-and-forth dialogue is also a good way to learn each other’s limits. If the helper wants to stage a heavy piece at a certain point in the carry, it doesn’t make sense to demand he tough-it-out and lift it all the way to a spot you designate. That may result in an injury or a dropped piece, and probably isn’t good for morale anyway.
You need to learn how much each other can lift and respect it. Knowing the lifting strength of your fellow installer is especially important when you have to move pieces onto cabinets with very little install tolerance.
After the pieces are carried in I begin the final leveling process. My helper will set up an adhesive station near the first seam I’m going to work on, and then move on to arrange and attach the sink clips. The more-experienced helper, with a pair of sink setters to help, can mount and clean up the sink by himself.
As I finish up the seam and move clear of the area, the helper can move on to taping off the cabinet faces and gluing the pieces into place. I can measure and cut the backsplash; once it’s placed, my helper can tape it off and caulk it. While he’s doing that, I can lay out any faucet holes that need to be cut, or cooktop cutouts that need to be finished. We can then finish up the job by cleaning up the kitchen and restoring tools to their proper places in the truck.
Once your crew has its install sequence down, continuing to improve efficiency is going to be about the little things. Try to train your installers to never make a trip to or from the truck empty-handed. Odds are something is always waiting to come in or go out; look for it and you’ll be saving a little bit of your time. Over the course of year, that time adds up.
Never let anyone stand around. That leads to talking, and I’m the king of wasting time talking. Try not to do it or let your guys do it. Talk through your entire break time and lunch, but not while you’re working.
If you want to test how in sync your lead installer is with his helper, see if they can do an entire install without talking about the next step in the process. If they can do that, there’s no doubt they know how to be efficient.
Are your installers as efficient as possible? Probably not. I’m always looking for ways to be more-efficient. So should you, if you want to install more countertops with less effort.
Jason Nottestad, a 13-year stone-industry veteran, is co-owner of Wisconsin-based Midwest Template Services.