Importance of a complete and accurate Bill Of Materials

One recurring issue I hear from many of our customers is problems resulting from an inaccurate bill of materials. The tech shows up at the job without everything he needs to complete the installation.

Material shortages or incorrect material can tank the project from a profit standpoint. It is not possible to overstate the importance of a complete and accurate bill of materials (BOM). Many times, in an effort to quickly get pricing for a project, sales/estimating may throw together a BOM, without committing a definitive scope of work to paper. While they may get most of the items needed on the BOM, it can be very easy to omit items such the required keyway, power transfer, or faceplate for an electric strike. 

You can build the BOM with a card reader, control panel, electrified mortise lock, power supply and access cards, but if you don’t include an electrified hinge, or you have a power supply with the incorrect voltage output, the project cannot be completed without additional trips, and wasted time. How often have you, or your employees had to make additional trips because you brought the wrong part(s)? Your errors and omissions are generally not considered a valid reason for a billable change order. If you were installing this equipment for a customer next door to your office and had the wrong hinge, even if you had the proper one in your warehouse stock, you would most likely still waste an hour labor for a tech to stop what he is doing and go across the street to get the required parts.

An accurate bill of material, along with a comprehensive scope of work and a project drawing can help you to realize maximum profits on each project.