HOW TO choose a commercial/industrial contractor.

Finding the right contractor for the job will save time and money in the long run.

For business owners, planning a commercial building project means finding the right experts to help. Ron Martin is the executive director of the Sudbury Construction Association and knows all about what can go wrong when someone picks the wrong contractor.

"The biggest mistake people make is they parcel the work out to various subcontractors on their own. Then they become their own contractors, and there are just too many pitfalls."

According to Martin, many people make the mistake of finding one person to do the plumbing, another to handle wiring and a dozen other people to do various jobs: The idea behind this approach, he says, is that they try to save money by eliminating the middleman and doing all the contracting themsleves. The problem with this, says Martin, is that the business owner becomes his own project manager without having the experience of getting construction jobs done on time and on budget. Martin says a good contractor knows how to hire reputable people with the proper experience. A good contractor will also know how to get the job done properly, on time and for the right price.

Hiring a contractor who is not reputable is another pitfall people fall into, according to Martin.

"The problem exists because contracting is regulated," says Martin. "There are all kinds of guys who say they are consultants to the construction company."

He says there are many so-called contractors who may fail, for instance, to make sure the construction of a project is in accordance with building codes. They may also be less than honest about what kinds of jobs they can handle.

Martin is a strong advocate of using a competitive bidding process to decide which contractor to select for a certain job. He advocates this approach for two reasons. First, theoretically if a number of contractors have to compete for the same building contract the competition should ensure the business owner gets the very best price possible. Second, if contractors believe the competition for a certain construction job is open and fair more contractors will bid for it.

When contractors bid for a job they basically submit a resume, says Martin. He says the contractors will outline what their company can do, a list of clients they use as references, a brief history of the types of jobs they have done in the past, whether or not they have bonding and liability insurance, and even provide photographs of previous jobs they have done.

Martin says the most important thing to look for is experience with the specific type of work the business needs done. When a contracting company has been doing a certain type of work for a number of years they become very efficient at it.

It's also important to verify whether or not the contractor is bonded. Bonding basically means the contractor is insured to make sure the job is finished. If the contractor goes out of business in the middle of the construction project, for example, the fact that the contractor is bonded ensures the job will be completed.

A contractor might even offer to provide its safety record and Martin says that too is a good way to assess reputation and credibility. "Flyby-night guys often don't work safely," he says.

When it comes to putting a building team in place there are a couple of routes to take, says Martin. First, a company could put the job up for tender and allow a number of contractors to bid on the job. Once the company selects a contractor, the contractors will then subcontract a number of jobs and recommend a design architect.

Another option, says Martin, is to hire the design architect first The business could then let the architect put the job up for tender and choose from among the various contractors who bid on the job. Hiring a "good" architect is essential. He points out that an experienced person can make a design that is both easy and inexpensive to build.

Martin suggests looking to one of the 17 local construction associations in the province of Ontario when it comes to looking for contractors. There is one in just about every major centre. Any one of them should be able to provide a directory of contractors. In Martin's experience, most poor contractors don't bother joining any associations so anyone listed in the directory should be all right. Similarly, the Ontario Association of Architects can provide a directory of architects. Construction associations can provide guidance on how to put a construction job up for tender as well.

Checklist for choosing a contractor

* Look at both recent and past jobs

* Talk to past customers

* Check credit history and financial stability

* Check payment reputation

* Check litigation history

* Meet with the owners and the key employees who will be managing your job

* Look at job control techniques

* Check current workload. Can they really handle your job?

* Ask specific questions regarding your job and weigh the answers

*Can you communicate openly with this contractor?