Lewence Construction: A Culture of Excellence

A Sydney-based building and construction company, Lewence Construction, has gained quick recognition as a reliable and trustworthy organisation in the eight years since it was established. The company has a record of fulfilling its commitments in all the projects that it has undertaken and its customers appreciate the high quality of workmanship that Lewence Construction brings to each assignment.

The company was started by Loui Abouhamad who combined his civil engineering and building qualifications to form Lewence Construction. Describing the initial project that he undertook in the new company, he says, “Our first project was for 75 residential units and that was quite a task in itself. I was pretty much hands-on in that project. I did the both the construction & project management while playing a key role in the finalisation of the structural design.

“We also got an estimator on board and he helped me with the administration and the contract management. As the construction work progressed we started getting some more help in terms of supervision staff on site. I was able to step back and manage the building project as well as manage our company.”

Range of Activities

The company has made rapid progress since then and currently its range of activities include multi-unit construction, development consulting, building residential homes, and remedial and maintenance work.

Multi-unit construction is an area in which Lewence Construction has a high degree of expertise. Many of the company’s employees have extensive work experience in this field and this has been put to good use in a number of completed and on-going projects. An added advantage that the company has, is its strong familiarity with state and local authority requirements.

Every aspect of the work carried out by Lewence Construction is in adherence with the applicable regulations. This ensures that the project proceeds smoothly and is not held up for any approval.

The company is also knowledgeable about design and in many instances customers involve Lewence Construction at the inception of the project so that cost effective measures are taken at the initial stage itself.

Development Consulting is another field in which Lewence Construction has great experience. Before initiating a project, a client needs to take into account various factors including project finance, design and construction and facilities management. It is always advisable to consider all these aspects before the project details are finalised. The company’s strong technical know-how ensures that all potential risks are taken into consideration and the necessary pre-emptive action taken to prevent losses.

Residential Home construction is a prime focus area for the company. Every project that Lewence Construction takes up is initiated only after gaining a deep understanding of the client’s requirements and needs. This approach has ensured that the company has achieved a high level of customer satisfaction in each of its assignments in this category.

Remedial work is a niche area which Lewence Construction has targeted and is actively growing. This activity involves carrying out maintenance and compliance upgrades to homes and strata buildings. The company’s close familiarity with building regulations allows it to carry out this work with a high degree of effectiveness.

As an added service, Lewence Construction’s administrative office communicates regularly with residents and sub-contractors so that there is as little inconvenience as possible caused to the occupants of the homes and strata buildings during the course of the work.

Customer-centric Approach and Team Development

Lewence Construction has achieved great success in its entire range of activities which encompass development and construction, contract administration and project management. The company approaches each assignment with the objective of exceeding the client’s expectations.

Principal, Loui Abouhamad, has extensive hands-on experience in the construction field in addition to the number of years he has spent in senior management roles in the private and public sectors. In addition to this, he brings his consulting background to Lewence Construction along with the practical knowledge that he has gained in managing residential and commercial developments, road and rail projects, and remediation works.

While the company keeps the client’s requirements as the focus of all its activities, it ensures the success of each project by deploying its highly talented and multi-skilled manpower to the task at hand. Each member of the Lewence Construction team has vast experience and knowledge, which is constantly updated by having them attend training courses to keep up with the latest developments.

Loui pays close attention to the skill-set that each team member possesses and ensures that in addition to attending formal programs, each employee is given the required on-the-job training. He leads by example and adheres strictly to the official hierarchy so that each worker, foreman and manager remains involved in the project and delivers the best possible outcome.

Speaking about this, Loui says, “I like to be hands-on in terms of being visible on site. But I let the site personnel take control of the work. My site foreman and the project manager make the decisions at the site. A lot of times, bosses tend to walk on to the site and give direct instructions to the workmen.

“But I find that such an approach negatively affects the atmosphere on site. I like to put the problem on the table and let my team work at it. If there is an issue on site that I can see or at the office, I call the project manager and the foreman and have a quick chat about what should be done to fix the problem.

“I let them take charge of the work. I find that this helps the staff to gain experience and grow with the company. They increase their confidence and skills, and their trust in me.”

Strong Relationships with Suppliers

Lewence Construction attaches great importance to developing strong customer relationships. It does not readily switch suppliers unless there is a very compelling reason to do so. The company is of the view that changing suppliers for the sake of a minor reduction in rate is counter-productive. Instead, it adopts an approach whereby it remains loyal to one supplier for its requirements.

This strategy has been of tremendous benefit to the company and has often helped it to keep the commitments that it has made to its clients.

Concrite, which is a leading supplier of pre-mixed concrete has been associated with Lewence Construction for several years. In a testimonial to the company, Concrite has said, “Over the last few years Concrite has had the privilege of working with Loui and his team on a few Sydney projects. Each one turning into an asset to the residential landscape of our City of Sydney.

“The working relationship, in its entirety, was found to be professional, while at the same time rewarding. The planning and execution of the supply of concrete worked well, with emphasis on quality and safety taking a leading role in the process.”

Delivering Uncompromising Excellence

Lewence Construction’s turnover on an annual basis is $10 million. The company does about two major projects in a year and three or four smaller projects. While it prefers doing residential projects it is equally capable of executing commercial projects to the satisfaction of the client. Loui’s background as a consultant helps him to organise and lead the activities in a manner that reduces costs and completes assignments effectively.

The availability of wireless communication technology has greatly enhanced the volume of work that Lewence Construction can handle. The company has a practice of installing computers on every site so that people at head office have access to all relevant information. The improvement in the flow of information allows the foreman at site to be in touch with the head office in real time.

It is possible for him to send a query along with documentation and obtain a decision or a solution very quickly. The company has also created a number of checklists which the foreman on site is required to complete periodically. This information is collated at head office and forms a crucial input for the decision making process.

The use of checklists also helps Lewence Construction obtain information from contractors and this is very useful as it reveals the work remaining at site.

In this manner, the company has implemented a number of well thought-out procedures that enable it to closely monitor developments, identify problems and address them quickly. Strict adherence to these procedures translates into well-managed projects that are completed on time and within budget.

Lewence Construction also has a practice of conducting regular meetings on site, with not only the client but also the finance and the design teams. This allows all relevant issues to be discussed in an open forum and the way forward can be decided upon after obtaining all relevant inputs.

The company is very particular about site management and, as a standard practice, always ensures that the site is kept clean and organised. This also helps to reduce the chance of downtime due to injuries or mishaps on site.

Ultimately the success of any construction company is determined by the satisfaction level of its clients. In this respect, Lewence Construction has fared well and has a large number of customers who speak highly about the company and Loui’s abilities.

Explaining the importance of maintaining strong relationships with clients, Loui says, “At the moment I am in a situation where all my clients are repeat customers and these are relationships that I have developed from my days as a project manager. It has been a long process. All the clients have known me for more than seven or eight years and they want someone they can trust, who is upfront and honest about everything.”