Oswalt Project Phases & Lead Times
In today's fast-paced world everyone is looking for ways to do things faster, better, and more cost effective.  At home in your personal life, or in your daily activities at work, there never seems to be enough time.  One of the first questions we often get at Oswalt (even prior to bidding) is "how long will it take to get my product?".  Every project is made up of different products, manufacturers, and processes that we take into account when building our project schedule.  Although we can't give exact time allowances without reviewing all the information and building our schedule, our years of experience allow us to give you an idea of what the general time constrains are for most projects requiring our services.

 
 
Preparing Our Bid: 10 business days
    Buyout Equipment - Technology has certainly expedited the manner we can maintain manufactured equipment pricing, data, and discounts, allowing us to consistently give you the best price on "Buyout Equipment" in a very timely manner.  The largest time constraint during this process is assuring we select the proper options, voltages, and accessories that have been specified for your project.

 
    Custom Fabricated Equipment - Although technology has helped with Fabricated Equipment, substantial time and effort goes into interpreting the bid documents to make sure the final product is what the consultant/owner intended.  Custom counters, walk-in refrigerators, and exhaust systems can have hundreds of components.  Unlike Buyout Equipment there's not a "button" you can click to get your price and although we work with our vendors in an effort to expedite our quotes, custom product pricing is generally out of our direct control.

 
    Labor - Through our years of experience, Oswalt has been able to create proprietary formulas that are able to provide instant labor quotes for delivery and assembly of equipment, installation of walk ins, and hanging of exhaust hoods.  Oswalt does not have any means to calculate the delivery and assembly of Custom Fabricated items or any items that may require work by the manufacturers agent.  Therefore, we rely heavily on our vendors to expedite their quotes in the most timely manner.

 
Contracting: 20 business days.
    Oswalt Contract Review (5 days) - We are always happy to receive your contract and anticipate that we will be able to review, execute, and promptly return it to you.  Our efforts to provide Foodservice Equipment to the construction industry require us to be very diligent in our contract review process to assure that we, as a team, clearly understand the scope and terms of our agreement and avoid any misunderstandings or issues at a later date.

 
    Receipt Of Executed Contract (15 days)  - Normally any clarifications to the contract are resolved during our contract review process and although we anticipate promptly receiving a contract executed by both parties our policies do not allow our personnel to allocate resources or make any purchases until the contract executed by both parties has been received. 

 
Submittal: 60 business days
    Buyout Equipment Submittals Provided  - Oswalt prepares, prints, notates, reviews, and binds the submittal books in house.  Once this very detailed process is completed the documents are forwarded to our drafting department to prepare the submittal drawings and upon completion are delivered to you for approval.

 
    Custom Fabricated Equipment Submittals Provided - In most cases the manufacturers provide us with the submittal drawings for custom items such as walk ins, fabricated counters, exhaust hoods, and specialty equipment.  These items are generally specific to each project and as standard operating procedures, the manufacturers will not start generating their drawings until Oswalt has issued a contract to purchase the product from them. 

**It is not uncommon for Oswalt to receive a request to provide submittals prior to receiving an executed contract for a project.  This would place us in a position of purchasing custom, non-returnable, products or services without anyone having formally purchased them from us.  Understand, as our customer, your needs are very important to us and prompt completion of the contracting phase will allow us to proceed in the most effective manner.

 
    Approved Submittals Returned To Oswalt  - This is a critical step in communicating and clarifying product to be provided by Oswalt.  Many of the "small" details are caught in this process and often prevent "large" problems that would occur later in the project if the process was circumvented.   Promptly returning the approved submittals allows us to proceed with procuring the proper product in a correct and timely manner so it is ready when you need it!

 
Procurement Of Product: 60 business days
    Ordering and Acknowledging  - Once Oswalt has received the approved submittals for your project our Purchase Orders are sent to the vendors and an acknowledgement of our order is requested.  This allows us to verify their receipt of our order as well as expedite sensitive issues such as availability and ship dates.

 
    Receipt Of Goods  - As product is received into our warehouses it is updated in our system with all the pertinent information such as serial numbers and staged for delivery to your project.

**One of the most critical issues we have in the procurement phase pertains to "Off Site Stored Materials".  Oswalt requires off site stored materials for several reasons that directly affect your project schedules while indirectly affecting your cost.  Off site storage directly affects your project schedule by allowing us to purchase the items to arrive a few weeks prior to your estimated delivery date.  This gives us time to resolve any situations that may occur such as freight damage or project schedule changes while allowing us to provide your product on time.  Indirectly Oswalt can consistently give you the lowest bid by using our procurement phase to "package" products for better pricing, our experience allows us to factor these discounts into our bid so you always get the best price from us, allowing you to submit the most competitive bid!

 
Delivery  - 10 business days
    Once you have determined that the site is ready to receive the kitchen buyout equipment, Oswalt will deliver, uncrate, set in place, and perform the general assemble of the product.  Our Team will work with you during the delivery phase to help you check in the product as well as "layout" the accessories that have been specified for use by the other trades.

**Most of the products furnished by Oswalt are considered "finished goods" and have completed the manufacturing process.  Although the majority of our product requires mechanical connections, once the items have been uncrated and set in place they are what Oswalt will be asking the end user to accept.  To prevent damage Oswalt asks that the floors, walls, and ceiling be complete prior to delivery of equipment allowing the trades to make their connections in the most efficient manner while reducing the chance for damage to the equipment.

 
Equipment Start Ups - 5 business days
    Upon completion of connections by the appropriate trades Oswalt will notify the manufacturers service agencies and schedule equipment start ups. Start ups are generally required to be performed by the manufacturers service agency and most often require a 5 day prior notification.

**This work usually involves multiple service agents.  Oswalt goes to work creating partnerships with these agents during the procurement process by providing them with equipment list, schedules, and information they need to make this process a success for all involved.

 
Warranty - 1 year
    Most of the items furnished by Oswalt are considered "finished goods" and are warranted by the manufacturer.  Oswalts warranty department coordinates service request and warranty issues with the appropriate parties and follows up to make sure any issue is resolved promptly!