Construction Magazine July 2018 | Page 62

NEW HORIZON ACADEMY
Caring Beyond the Classroom
62
STRATEGIC COLLABORATION Designing bespoke schools requires collaboration to promote synergy . “ Every project has something that creeps up so it ’ s about being ready with every team member prepared to respond ,” Ruth explains . “ Not just internally but externally , from ownership to people running the schools , building them and supplying material . We ’ re all on the same page .” It ’ s also important that management empowers staff to take ownership and work toward common goals . “ They ’ re really behind the direction we ’ ve taken the different departments . I ’ m very fortunate to have the backing of not just the owners but my team members .”
In addition , Ruth has been able to make strategic savings by bringing purchasing together under one roof , so to speak . “ Over time , we ’ ve started to buy materials ourselves . By going straight to the manufacturers , we can reduce costs , avoid mark-ups and basically become our own supply chain . Over time , instead of getting more expensive with inflation , our buildings have slowly gone down in cost because we continue to buy more directly . That ’ s why I ended up taking purchasing over , to put us in the position to do more of this in the future .”
JULY 2018