Not long ago we encountered a frustrated homeowner complaining about water hammer in their house. They were frustrated by shifting blame throughout the contractors and asked us for an objective opinion on who was at fault. We know that assignation of blame is what was asked for, but wouldn't resolution be better? Regardless of who is at fault for a particular problem we always suggest that the focus be on next steps and making things right instead. And while this wasn't our client or project we offered the following additional advice:
Reduce the number of hands and points of contact on any given task. If this were a window treatment we would want one person to measure, fabricate, and install if at all possible. In the same way it doesn't matter where the point of failure is if there is a single individual whose job it is to identify and handle all those issues on your behalf. We serve as that sole point of contact on all our projects. We would have spoken with the GC and the plumber to rectify the issue and allowed our client to continue enjoying their time rather than stressing about who was to blame. Put together of team of individuals at the outset who are focused on solving the issues rather than pointing fingers when they occur.
And for those of you who are in the middle of an issue don't be afraid to bring someone else in to complete the work if that is what is needed. The wrong crew doesn't get better with more time to argue.