Job costing is a huge term in construction — yet it can be one of those phrases we say so often, we don’t stop to think of what it means. If you tag each of your expenses and bills to a customer’s project, you might be “costing to a job,” but there’s so much more […]
3 Proven Ways To Reduce Subcontractor Accidents, Injuries, And Fatalities
Guest Author: Trey Trimble, CTO at Transportation Safety Apparel It’s no secret that safety should be an absolute priority in the eyes of any type of construction worker. However, there are a number of potentially deadly hazards that subcontractors face every day on the job, and being aware of the most viable workplace injury prevention […]
Getting Paid For Changes and Claims: What Does It Take?
Guest Author: Bill Haydt, Trauner Consulting Services, Inc. Helping contractors and subcontractors prepare change order requests and claims is one of the things that I do day in and day out. In doing so, I often see them struggle with exactly what they need to include to make their change orders and claims complete and, […]
What Is Lean Construction & Why You Should Care
Lean construction is a way of designing production systems in a construction environment with the aim of decreasing time, effort, and a waste of materials. Lean construction ensures that a project is quickly done, and lower costs are incurred during the building process. Moreover, lean construction is aimed at maximizing value and minimizing costs involved […]
Increasing Jobsite Safety for Women in Construction
Increasing Jobsite Safety for Women in Construction Approximately 872,000 women currently work in the construction industry, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Labor. Seventy-five percent of those women are in administrative, sales or management positions. This leaves 25 percent of women in the construction workforce exposed to the same daily […]
What Looking for Stuff is Costing Your Construction Company
For a mere 90 minutes a day, on average, of 50 employees “looking for stuff,” that annualizes to about 18,000 hours spent, by our workers, “looking for stuff.” You want to guess at one cost that just about every company in the construction industry experiences? Having employees who are spending hours a week “Looking […]
10 Steps to Supercharge Your Construction Sales Process
Win higher margin work & grow your business. Every construction business owner’s goal is to win more work at higher margins against fewer competitors. But contractors are generally too busy working and building projects, and, therefore, leave their sales activity as second priority. After they solve all of the daily issues, field challenges and […]
8 End-of-Year Must-Dos for Construction Business Owners
To succeed and stay successful, companies must be on their game 24/7. That warrior mindset begins and ends with the business owner. December is here, and 2017 is right around the corner. With a little focused thought, the last month of 2016 can also be the most valuable one, according to Bill McBean, author […]
(Cost of Undocumented Change Orders) Crawford Construction & General Contractors Inc. v. Kemp
Court case Crawford Construction & General Contractors Inc. v. Kemp, in an all to familiar scenario, the Crawford Construction built a $1.3 million home for the Kemps with all of the oral change orders and adjustments that the homeowners requested throughout construction. The original contract between the parties included a requirement that all change orders […]
Limit Construction Litigation Expenses By Streamlining Storage of Electronic Information
Limit Construction Litigation Expenses By Streamlining Storage of Electronic Information By Gina M. Vitiello and Patrick Kennedy. Any company that has been a party to litigation has learned the hard way about the aggravation of producing the electronic documents demanded in the discovery process. Lawyers call this “e-discovery,” and parties to litigation might think the “e” […]
The Dotted Line: Inside the ‘dance’ of subcontractor negotiations
Subcontractor negotiations The following is the sixth installment of Construction Dive’s “The Dotted Line” series, which takes an in-depth look at different construction contract types each month with expert input. Read the first five installments here, here, here, here and here. By Kim Slowey | Negotiating a subcontract can be a tricky process. Different types of subcontracts are currently in use […]
Tips to Cut the Cost of Construction Workers Compensation Insurance
Tips to Cut the Cost of Construction Workers Compensation Insurance You can control the cost of your construction workers compensation insurance by knowing a few insider tips used by workers compensation cost control consultants. What follows are proven methods to reduce the cost of this vital insurance to the absolute minimum. Your Experience Modification Most […]
Best Construction Veterans for Hire
Strategies and Programs for Translating Military Experience to Construction Jobs Construction Veterans for Hire Between 240,000 and 360,000 military members transition to civilian life each year. The shift isn’t always easy, leaving many veterans unemployed. To help put them to work, more than 100 construction industry organizations—including Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) and many of its members—pledged in 2014 […]
What is Construction Fraud and How to Combat it
What is construction fraud: Identify likely fraud schemes and develop internal controls to reduce risk. One particular statistic keeps many construction business owners and executives up at night: a typical case of fraud within the construction industry has a median loss of $245,000. This is based on the 2014 Report to the Nations issued by […]
Construction Jobsite Safety? Create a Culture of Success With These Proven Techniques
Construction Jobsite Safety? Create a Culture of Success With These Proven Techniques Companies devote significant resources to developing safety programs and instilling a culture of jobsite safety within their workforce. Businesses that are successful in building a safety philosophy have seen workplace injuries decline, productivity increase and insurance costs cut. A wide range of companies […]