Early Supply Chain Engagement (feat. Ernie Maschner)

Supply-chain challenges are certainly nothing new, but they’ve grown increasingly complicated over the last few years. Today we discuss how you as a contractor can approach these challenges whether you’re working on a local and global scale.   We get several helpful supply-chain insights from our guest Ernie Maschner. Ernie has been an influential presence in the construction industry for more than 30 years. He now works as a VP with Victaulic, a manufacturer of engineered couplings and valves. Ernie is also involved with a few industry organizations that seek to address global supply chain issues.    Here are a few of the things we touch on in our conversation:

• The importance of communicating with all supply-chain parties as early as possible
• Industry organizations that seek to help contractors navigate today’s supply chain challenges - Ernie refers to these three: The Construction Industry Institute, The Design Build Institute of America, The Water Collaborative Delivery Association 
• How human, political, and social dynamics affect the supply chain - For example: Why does the availability of asphalt in Brazil follow a two-year cycle? Ernie learned the answer while working on projects related to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
• How some progressive contractors write up contracts that allow for the increasing unpredictability of markets 
• A $50 billion (yes, billion) modular construction project in Kazakhstan that involved modules the size of small hotels
• The cultural factors that affect people’s attitudes toward prefabrication and modular construction 
• Ernie’s megaphone message: We need to work together in a fair way. Collaborative project delivery produces better results in the end.

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