How would you feel if you where asked to pay more taxes because someone could not properly prepare a budget? Well if you live in Denver you already know how it feels. With the project still at least 6 years from completion I would want there to be safeguards put in place to ensure that [...]
On a recent blog one of the responders to my blog thought I was picking on architects too much and not enough on contractors. Actually I was pointing out a common practice by them, and engineers, that increases costs to their clients while shirking their own responsibilities. Architects and engineers have the second largest impact [...]
A client of ours called up wondering how his competitors were getting his prices. I told him it was pretty simple – someone was shopping his bid to his competitor(s). I also let him know this practice is becoming more prevalent as the construction economy continues to stumble into a bigger black hole. He asked [...]
It is important for an estimator to attend pre-bid meetings for all projects they are planning on submitting bids on. Some are mandatory and need to be attended in order to be a qualified bidder but most are on a voluntary basis. There are several advantages to attend the meeting. First, you have the ability [...]
Actually my preferred headline is “Estimator Saves Project.” It reflects what an estimator really does for a living. Sometimes the project has hiccups along the way but in the end it can be a successful project for all parties. Estimators do not define the project scope. This is the responsibility of the end user and [...]
I just finished with a meeting at my local chapter of ASPE. Prior to it getting started one of our members remarked on how he was designing a project for an engineering firm. I asked if this was free or a paying job. He remarked the payoff would be him getting the job at bid [...]
The saying “A picture is worth a 1,000 words” is one of the best known sayings around. On a construction project it can mean more than just words, it can help prove your case if the project goes to litigation. With the price of digital cameras being so low nowadays, there is no reason not [...]
Safety can not only save costs and lives on the current project, but also lead to opportunities down the road! Having an injury on a project will increase your Experience Modification Rate (EMR) rating for the next several years. This can result in not being qualified to bid on a project and a loss of [...]
When bids are opened many owners and developers look at the bid amounts and breathe a sigh of relief that they are at or less than the budgeted amount. They look at their project as now being a financial success and look forward to production or income becoming reality at the end of the project. [...]
I was reading an article in the 12-7-09 issue of ENR about the Hoover Dam Bridge. The project was plagued by many problems; from funding to unlicensed concrete supplier. The one thing that really bothered me was the fact that wind caused lines to collapse and the Nevada towers fell. This incident caused a two [...]
