Operations Consultant
for Construction & Trades Companies.
Navigator builds operational systems for Canadian construction and trades businesses: real-time job costing, change order management, subcontractor coordination, safety SOPs, and PM accountability frameworks that let your company scale past $2M without the Founder managing every site.
THE CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONAL PATTERN
Six operational problems that stall construction companies between $2M and $10M.
These problems appear in nearly every growing Canadian construction and trades business. They're not unique to your company, but they do have specific structural solutions.
01
Job costing is done after the fact, not in real time
You find out a job lost money after it's complete. Without real-time job costing (labor hours tracked against budget as the work progresses), margin leaks silently on every project.
02
Subcontractor coordination is manual chaos
Scheduling, PO management, and subcontractor communication happens through a combination of phone calls, texts, and spreadsheets. As job volume grows, coordination becomes the constraint.
03
No documented safety or compliance procedures
Safety protocols and compliance requirements exist in the Founder's head and in occasional verbal briefings. This is a liability and a growth constraint: no documented procedures means no scalable safety culture.
04
Change orders aren't properly managed
Scope changes are accommodated in the field without a documented change order process. Clients are surprised by invoices. Margin is lost. Disputes follow. A change order system turns scope changes from relationship problems into process steps.
05
Cash flow is unpredictable
Progress billing, retention, and payment terms create cash flow gaps that the Founder manages personally. Without a systematic AR and billing workflow, cash position is always reactive.
06
Hiring and onboarding is slow
Bringing on a new site foreman or project manager takes months to reach full effectiveness because training is verbal and situational. Documented processes make new hires productive faster.
ON-SITE. HANDS-ON.
We diagnose your operations from inside your operation.
Navigator doesn't audit from a boardroom. We walk your facility, interview your team, and build systems that reflect how your business actually runs.
WHAT NAVIGATOR BUILDS FOR CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES
Six systems built for the construction business model.
Every system is designed around the specific financial dynamics and operational patterns of project-based construction and trades work.
Real-Time Job Costing System
A live dashboard showing actual vs. budgeted costs for every active project: labor, materials, subcontractor, and overhead. You see margin by job in real time, not at invoice.
Subcontractor Coordination Workflow
A documented system for scheduling, PO issuance, progress tracking, and payment processing for every subcontractor. Coordination becomes a managed process, not a daily fire drill.
Change Order Management System
A step-by-step change order process with client-facing documentation, approval workflows, and automatic invoice generation. Every scope change is documented, approved, and billed.
Safety & Compliance SOPs
Documented safety protocols, site inspection checklists, incident reporting procedures, and onboarding safety training materials. Compliance becomes a system, not a verbal briefing.
Project Manager Accountability Framework
Clear KPIs for each PM (schedule adherence, budget variance, change order rate, client satisfaction), reviewed weekly. Management by metrics, not by site visits.
Field-to-Office Documentation System
A structured system for daily site reports, progress photos, inspection records, and as-built documentation: organized, searchable, and accessible without calling the site.
IS THIS YOUR CONSTRUCTION COMPANY?
Signs your construction or trades business needs an operations consultant.
- Your project margin comes in different from your estimate at close-out
- You personally coordinate with most subcontractors because the system isn't reliable
- Change orders are handled verbally and invoiced inconsistently
- You've had a safety incident that a proper protocol would have prevented
- New project managers take 6+ months to operate independently
- Cash flow creates monthly stress despite strong billings
- You can't step away from operations for more than a few days without issues
- Your office and field teams use different systems that don't talk to each other
Days of cash flow left on the table by delayed or inconsistent invoicing
Of project revenue typically lost to undocumented scope changes
Speed of new PM onboarding when process documentation exists vs. verbal training
Years of operational experience including resource and construction sector work
CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS FAQ
Common questions about operations consulting for Canadian construction companies.
READY TO BUILD YOUR CONSTRUCTION OPERATIONS?
Book a free construction operations call.
45 minutes. We'll map your specific operational constraints (job costing, subcontractor coordination, cash flow, or PM accountability) and tell you what to fix first.
Based in Sudbury, Ontario · Operations consulting for Canadian construction and trades businesses