by Gabriel Rangel, General Superintendent
THE FIFTH WALL WAY : Quality pillar
- Quality assurance from beginning to end in every job
- Exceed customer expectations and guarantee their satisfaction
- The best products from the best manufacturers
- A safe, quality working environment
Over the past few months our team has been discussing the Fifth Wall Way—our core philosophies and the way we conduct our business—and how integrity defines everything that we do. Safety, Quality, and Innovation are at the heart of every decision we make and define our company culture at every interaction. Fulfilling the Fifth Wall Way promise is how we build and maintain an integrity as sturdy as our roofs, so it goes without saying that quality is a top concern at Texas Fifth Wall Roofing Systems.
Here are some of the ways we pursue a long-term commitment to quality, every day:
1. Quality assurance from beginning to end in every job
Qualification is the first measure of quality, and the human element is a huge part of getting the job done right.
The right person for every job – We assess the needs of each client and project individually to assign the right team to complete it as skillfully and efficiently as possible within the customer’s timeframe. The crew is selected according to the specific needs of the client, the type of roof and varying degrees of sophistication. When we’re building a crew we take into account not only the strengths and weaknesses of the people on our team, but also their specialties: for example, a system that requires insulation is a sophisticated project that calls for a specific skill set.
The highest hiring standards –Having the highest work standards in the industry starts with the toughest hiring standards in the industry. New hires are trained thoroughly on our standards and practices of safety, installation methods, and quality control to ensure that every crew and every finished project lives up to the Fifth Wall Way.
A daily plan of action – We begin every day by defining clear objectives from the top down. Daily Superintendent/Foremen huddles and Foreman/Crew huddles ensure objectives are clear and crewmembers stay productive.
2. Exceed customer expectations and guarantee their satisfaction
Understanding unique customer needs – Our superintendents and foremen are true project managers, skilled at adapting the plan to make the most of every day and unexpected circumstances while avoiding delays. We work around our clients, and in all cases we’re careful not to displace tenants and affect productivity.
Pride in our work – Much of the job satisfaction in our line of work is seeing the result of plying our trade to the best of our ability. There’s a lot of pride in the work that we do, and when a job comes off without a hitch, we don’t need a parade of thanks from our customer. Because of the level of risk, skill, and intricacy of our work, it’s enough to know that, day-in and day-out, we’ve done it right.
As our VP of Operations, Joe Martin, puts it, “It’s the bad jobs people remember, and we’re in no hurry to be famous.”
We work with influential, high profile customers like IBM and Scott & White Hospital, where a little mistake could mean disastrous consequences. So, we’re always on the lookout for the little things—incomplete drains, potential leak sources, and such. A project manager for a recent Scott & White job said it best: “It’s good when you get a subcontractor like Fifth Wall who’s been on the job for 2-3 months and you haven’t had to think about them once. It gives you more time to deal with the not-so-quality subcontractors.”
3. The best products from the best manufacturers
Our standards for the materials we work with are as high as our expectations of the people who work for us. Our formula for ensuring quality and success: employ the right people to install the best roofing system available. Our 40-year reputation affords us the choice of working with any roofing system manufacturer in the industry and our skilled management, sales and field employees are recognized as experts at what they do in the industry. Together, this has afforded Fifth Wall the recognition of Excellence in Single Ply (ESP award) for the 15 year in a row from Carlisle Syntec, bestowed upon the top one percent of U.S. firms for unyielding quality, professionalism, and a high volume of warranted installations. Fifth Wall also is one of two installers west of the Mississippi that holds the unique distinction of over 1,000 perfect installations for Carlisle.
4. A safe, quality working environment
If you don’t care about the safety of your people and your clients, what else matters? A good safety program, above almost anything else, shows how committed a company is to quality.
Frankly, when we started this business we didn’t begin with a long list of structured definitions of quality. We just wanted the job done right, and over the years, we’ve built a reputation for being the guys you call in when you’ve got a really difficult job, when everything it takes to put down a quality roof is involved and there’s a lot at stake.
Top tier general contractors call on us for the tough jobs. While we aren’t the cheapest in the industry, we are the most trusted. That’s why clients like DPR Construction, Circuit of the Americas, Lifetime Fitness, Rogers-O’Brien, St. David’s Hospital and others depend on us again and again—sometimes as their only bid for a project.
Recently a client called me just before a project was set to begin and asked, “You’re bringing your A-team, aren’t you?” My answer was yes, of course, but the real truth is that even if we sent our B- or C-team, you’d never know the difference, because we’re all consummate professionals with our heads in the game. Working constantly to ensure that’s always true is how we maintain our good work, our reputation and above all, our integrity.
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