Is it time for a few of the lower end contractors to fold up shop? I think the resounding answer to the question is YES! I have heard horror stories from all over the country about how the low bidder is taking the job for less than the material and subcontract costs. Also the contractor [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
I attended a meeting this past week on the topic of “Ethics in Construction: There is no Free Estimate”. There were numerous contractors that have been bitten by providing a free estimate and who were then not even asked to bid the project. One good suggestion was made and that is to ask three questions [...]
When you are preparing an estimate for a project that is not 100% designed – documentation is the key to a successful estimate. You as the estimator have to document what you have included in the estimate so when it comes down to the estimate resolution meeting you can fully explain what you have in [...]
Some of the mistakes that are made in estimating could have been easily avoided. The first mistake is not checking all of the drawings to make sure that you have “found” all of the work for your scope of work. The best way to remedy this mistake would be to make sure that you mark [...]
I have had many people that have contacted me lately about getting started in the estimating profession. The advice that I tell them is to seek out a local chapter of the American Society of Professional Estimators and go to a few meetings. Talk to the members about the good and the bad of the [...]
Estimators need to compile all the data that they can about every job that they bid.
This data needs to include the internal items such as:
equipment
labor
subcontractors
materials
overhead
profit
You also need to track the external variables like:
number of bidders
who bid the project
ranking of the bidders
variances between the bidders
who the owner is
location
contract duration
Once you develop the track record you can [...]
Social networking is not new, but it looks like it is gaining traction in the construction industry. There are social networking sites out there today for business like Linked In. At Linked In you can connect with business professionals that you have met or worked with all over the country and world. You can also [...]
I get calls from contractors and owners alike that are having problems on a job. One of the first questions I ask is “What documentation do you have?” The most common response is “We did not think that there would be a problem so we did not keep any records.” A simple jobsite journal that [...]
