Control Freak Construction Supervision

"Sol hated not being in control. Throughout his life and career, he was a control freak of note, and so, while others were encouraging him to start the project, he examined every line on the architect’s drawings with a microscopic lens and asked a thousand questions."

"Construction finally began in 1962 and, to the amazement of the builders, Sol was everywhere. Although his wife, Maureen, and their young family were now residing in Johannesburg, Sol practically camped out in Natal. He visited the building site daily, but mostly at different times. Much to his frustration, he discovered that the people he had interacted with during the planning phase were almost never there. The actual construction work had been delegated to the site foremen. Those who had worked on the designs were nowhere to be seen, apart from monthly review meetings. Sol was apoplectic. The people he had entrusted with control of his project – and, by extension, his money – had presumably moved on to their next project."

"did not take long for Sol to figure out that the planned critical path to construction work was often flawed. He would spot men tiling bathrooms when the plumbing work had not been finished, or painters daubing away at surfaces that would be covered up and did not need paint. He would see men doing nothing because they were waiting for others to finish something before they could start. Although he complained angrily to the general contractor, things rarely improved for long and he would soon be prowling the site again, demanding more efficiency and, of course, at less cost. With a supply of rand notes in the back pocket of his jeans, he would frequently cajole a…"