It wasn’t in the scope. It wasn’t in the spec. But your behavior helped cause it—and the PM knows.
Project overruns aren’t just about drawings and weather. Often, they stem from micro-failures: delays in approval, unclear substitutions, missed prep details, or scheduling shifts that no vendor took ownership of.
Where overrun risk quietly builds:
QA approval takes three extra days—because submittals were incomplete
Glass panel tolerances don’t match anchor layout—install pauses
Support needed during install never arrives—crews lose time
The postmortem won’t list you. But you won’t get invited back, either.
Distributors who keep jobs on track:
Offer phased delivery to reduce bottlenecks
Pre-review install drawings and raise spacing or compatibility flags
Show up during install—even if you’re not “on the hook”
No PM expects perfection. But they absolutely expect presence. And when you’re missing in moments that matter, you become part of the overrun—even if no one says it out loud.
