Lead Times and Scheduling: Keeping Railings on the Critical Path

Railings get installed late in the construction sequence — typically after the slab is poured, the building is closed in, and the finishes are starting to roll. But because lead times are 6–10 weeks, you have to order them much earlier than you install them. Get the timing wrong and you delay handover.

The stages and how long each takes

• Design coordination (1–2 weeks): we receive your architectural drawings and produce shop drawings
• Engineering and stamping (1 week): wind/snow/seismic calcs, P.Eng. stamp
• Architect review and approval (1–2 weeks): on your team's clock — this is often the slowest step
• Fabrication (3–4 weeks): cut, weld, drill, finish — runs in batches
• Finishing (1–2 weeks): anodize or powder-coat application and curing
• Delivery to site (1 week): typically in batches matched to your construction sequence
• Installation (varies): depends on building size — typically 1–3 floors per week per crew

Schedule backwards from handover

If your handover date is September 1, here's the timeline working backwards: install must finish August 15 (2 weeks before handover for inspections), delivery starts mid-July (1 month before install finishes for repeat-floor jobs), production starts mid-June (4 weeks before delivery), engineering and review starts late April (8 weeks before production).

That means: ORDER BY LATE APRIL for a SEPTEMBER 1 HANDOVER. The PO needs to be in our system, the drawings need to be 90% complete, and the embed plate spec needs to be coordinated with your structural engineer.

Where projects slip

• Late shop drawing review by the architect — schedule a hard review deadline
• Missing embed plates because the structural set didn't include them — coordinate before slab pours
• Color decisions changing during fabrication — lock the finish spec before approval
• Site conditions different from architectural drawings — site survey before fabrication
• Changes from owner/developer — change orders cost 2–4 weeks each