Should I Hire a Contractor or Keep it In-House? | Part 10: Changing Up Contractors
Eli Macha presented a technical paper at the 2021 RETA National Conference titled IIAR 6: Should I Hire a Contractor or Keep it In-House? This blog series includes excerpts from his technical paper.
There are a variety of philosophies when it comes to how many contractors should be used. Some businesses believe strongly in sticking with one company while others believe there is strength in diversity and competition. While the majority of facilities who hire contractors to complete annual inspections use the same company to make the recommended repairs (73%), the remaining 27% of facilities use a different company to make the repairs. Individuals who use multiple contractors claim this keeps contractors from making work for themselves. While this may be true, there are many who trust their contractor enough to use them for the inspections and recommended repairs. While it does not take into account the quality or price of different contractors, consider the following pros and cons list regarding hiring one or multiple contractors for inspections and repairs.
If a facility decides to hire a contractor for an activity or service, what factors should be considered? What is more important: individual contractor technicians or the contractor company? Unfortunately, a dialectic (both/and) perspective is necessary on this point. Rene Soto advises that the most essential element for a contractor is to have the right project manager in place. Soto believes that if the right project manager is assigned, this person will ensure the other members of the contractor’s team will be reliable and the project will be completed safely and expeditiously. Nielsen, on the other hand, emphasized the quality of the company: “Techs are only as good as their company.” He recalled working with a refrigeration technician who was extremely qualified and personally responsible, yet his work at the facility was deeply lacking due to his company spreading him too thin. Of course, the best-case scenario is to hire a high-quality refrigeration contractor company who assigns responsible and well-qualified technicians to your facility.
The previous blogs in this series are available in the following links:
- Part 1: Introduction
- Part 2: Research Methodology
- Part 3: Completing Daily Rounds In-House
- Part 4: Outsourcing Annual Inspections
- Part 5: System Oversight
- Part 6: Miscellaneous Maintenance
- Part 7: Other Inspection Frequencies
- Part 8: Hiring and Training Ammonia Operators
- Part 9: Frequency of Contractor Visits
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