Construction contracting in the United States is going though an upheaval. The contractors are shifting their market focus. This ranges from small contractors going after larger projects and larger contractors going after smaller projects. Some contractors are leaving the business. Some are even sitting on the sidelines avoiding the carnage of taking work at a [...]
In today’s market there are many contractors that try and do work that they normally would not do. Before a contractor decides that they are going to try to go after work out of their expertise they need to evaluate what they can do. Most contractors will just say that they can do the job [...]
When owners decide to utilize pre-qualified prime bidders on a project, there are several important recommendations they should follow. First, keep the number of bidders between 4 and 6 contractors. This ensures competitive prices for the owner and contractors will bid the project since the odds are still favorable at this size. The [...]
The August 24, 2009 issue of the Wall Street Journal covers how companies such as Pfizer and Cisco systems are making attorneys work for flat fee arrangements. This is in lieu of the attorney tradition of using hourly rates. Could it be that this could take hold of their profession and become a competitive edge [...]
The estimating time frame is directly proportional to the size of the project and the complexity of the bid. At a minimum, the time frame for bidding a project should be three weeks – longer for larger and/or more complex projects! No matter how long the time frame is it is imperative the documents are [...]
If you hand someone a book you do the world a favor. The reader learns. This works well until you hand someone an estimating cost reference book. As an estimator I encounter project after project that has a budget that was prepared incorrectly. These projects hurt the owner/developer and the contractors that bid them. It [...]
“I remember when.” is an important saying for estimators, not just old folks. It indicates previous experience, perhaps even a lesson learned. I remember when: I forgot to carry a number forward to the sub-total sheet working with pencil and paper. This same mistake can occur today with spreadsheets by not linking them correctly. I [...]
Every time I have opened up the specification to the dreaded alternates section and have seen it go on for page after page I always get a sickening pit in my stomach! If an estimator has a choice between two similar projects to bid and one has an abundance of alternates, the estimator will choose [...]
When owners decide to utilize pre-qualified prime bidders on a project, there are several important recommendations they should follow. First, keep the number of bidders between 4 and 6 contractors. This ensures competitive prices for the owner and contractors will bid the project since the odds are still favorable at this size. The contracting community [...]
If you are turning in bids with less than 4% profit, with all of your costs covered, say good bye to your construction business. It may not go today or tomorrow, but it will be gone. You may be able to put in cash today, but your bonding capacity will be eroding every day you [...]
