When the news broke before the holidays about a fire at The Shops at North Bridge on Michigan Ave., I had to hold my breath. As a national retail construction contractor, Englewood Construction has completed a number of retail construction projects in that mall. Was anyone hurt? Was it one of our stores? 

Thankfully, the answers to both questions were no.

But I had to wonder, while I know we have a plan in place for such crises, do all general contractors? Or more importantly, do developers and owners have a construction safety plan at the ready or know what to do in case a disaster strikes?

One thing you should do is review the warranty you have in place with your commercial construction contractor. Next, ask your GC what they would do if a crisis occurred after the warranty expired. I stand behind each project we complete, so our interest in a project exceeds our warranty. In fact, if there was a problem in one of our stores outside the scope of our warranty, we would call the store immediately and ask two questions:

1.   Is there anything we can do to help?
2.   Is there anything we did wrong?

So as we start off a new year, not to mention a new decade, it behooves everyone who offers commercial construction services or is involved in the design build process to remember how much our work affects the public and their safety. If the drawings call for blocking, then install the blocking. If an item doesn’t have the UL label on it, don’t install it. Don’t cut corners and don’t align yourself with others who do.

Here’s to a safe, happy and prosperous 2010!