As the construction industry is positioned for strong growth, material shortages, price volatility, delivery delays, and pandemic-induced supply chain disruptions, coupled with a lack of communication and transparency, continue to create challenges for electrical contractors. While some aspects of this situation are unpredictable and uncontrollable, electrical contractors need to be well prepared to effectively manage and control the controllable – that is – the outside of the gate materials management process. Focus is often placed on managing materials on the jobsite. However, the success of this process depends on the effectiveness of the planning of materials that occurs before materials are placed on the jobsite.

Managing materials outside of the gate has a direct impact on project performance and provides electrical contractors the means to be proactive, and effectively plan for materials (from early project phases to delivery) and avoid costly mistakes during project execution. In a period of intense introspection where electrical contractors are pushed to address pressing materials concerns while continuously wrestling with long-standing challenges, this ELECTRI effort is launched in collaboration with Graybar to advance the thinking in the electrical construction industry. This interactive report aims to document outside of the gate materials management practices of electrical contractors who are at the forefront of industrialized construction adoption.

WATCH researcher Hala Nassereddine’s informative video on how to use the self-evaluation excel tool provided below.

To use this self-evaluation excel tool please follow these instructions:

• After the file is downloaded, make sure to rename the file to this exact name OUTGAM3E 1.0+v2.xlsm (this step is required)
• Make sure the file is saved locally
• Enable Macros:
  • Open Windows File Explorer and go to the folder where you saved the file
  • Right-click the file and choose Properties from the context menu
  • At the bottom of the General tab, select the Unblock checkbox and select OK.

Download Self-Evaluation Excel Tool