Quality + Design: A Wholistic Approach
Our team at L. Keeley is incredibly dedicated to quality, ensuring that they do the work right the first time. Our founder, Larry Keeley, has always said, “Quality and Service never go out of style.” This mantra serves as the foundation in all we do, but especially in design. Quality is defined as conformance to requirements and in design, we are establishing that conformance to requirements. Our team is constantly referencing or establishing those standards as they go through the design process. Then, out on a jobsite, the team is trying to build from those designs and must build according to the drawings and the quality standards set forth in the specifications of the building. Quality and design truly go hand in hand, ensuring our customers receive a product that they can utilize for years to come. Watch the video below to hear from Matt Muller, Director of Quality and Derek Maschek, Director of Design, as they discuss how quality and design can provide a wholistic approach to any project.
“Quality is good design. Quality is longevity, it is executable, it is on budget, and it is on time.”
-Derek Mascheck, Director of Design
“If everybody has a common system of beliefs that we are going to do the best work we can, we actually set the baseline for success in design, construction, and every type of project we encounter.”
-Matt Muller, Director of Quality
Quality starts with the design and does not end until the client moves in. They are one continuum working together. That is the true beauty of Design | Build. In a Design | Build process, there are multiple eyes and experiences looking at the project from different perspectives. This allows team members to bring new and different insights than can catch mistakes before it becomes too late, bringing various levels of expertise to critical parts of the project. For example, an estimator can look at the project while other members of the team are working on the schematic design to ensure that the project stays on budget. Detail experts and field experts can see what looks great on paper and let the team know about areas they might not be thinking about that can cause delays in the construction phase. It is always best to catch these things in the design phase before it becomes too late or too expensive.
“It’s never about insulting our design professionals when we suggest fixing something in the design. It is almost always a more cost-effective option to correct it while still in the documentation phase because of time, cost, and schedule.”
-Matt Muller
L. Keeley continuously blurs the distinction between quality and design on every project we complete. Our team is in a constant state of learning, giving us powerful tools that can bring cutting-edge designs to our customers, thus giving our construction teams the ability, resources, and quality expectations needed to bring that vision to life.
“We need designers to be thinking like builders and we need builders to be thinking like designers. If you think about it, the person out in the field laying the tile is actually doing design work.”
-Derek Maschek
“I pride our organization on running to and not from problems. People don’t remember the mistake, they remember how you do or do not resolve it. So that, to me, relates to customer satisfaction. We want our customers to know that iIt’s a quality-minded process through planning, designing, and building.”
-Matt Muller
