Over the years I have had to be very honest with some of my clients. I would tell them if the project that they are looking at bidding is a good one for them to go after. I have told them that whoever is awarded this job will need to be careful due to notes [...]
If I were an owner I would love Building Information Modeling (BIM). I love looking at the nice 3D modeling, watching a fly-though on the computer screen. BIM is great being baffled with the brilliance that is pretty pictures. I would like to get a feel for how my project is going to look I [...]
I was reading the article on ENR about the Float Debate. I have been told over the years that the float on the project belongs to the project not just one entity. The owners and contractors both get to utilize the float, if any, on the project. In the article there are some great points [...]
The major types of projects that we saw in 2011 by quantity were split between privately funded and public funded. By dollar amount the public money far outweighed the private money that was being spent. Utility projects stayed unchanged for us. The big gain was seen in the amount of claims that we have seen [...]
I have been fascinated with construction since I was a kid. I loved to watch buildings being built and the large equipment working. I still love a site tour of a building being built. I have seen projects from houses to coal fired power plants, office buildings to hospitals. One kind of project that I [...]
I listen to a lot of podcasts. I listen to them on my commute, bike rides, and while I travel. The best one that I have found about construction is at www.e-builder.net/podcasts. It is not a polished podcast but the information is good. Do you have any that you listen to? What else do you [...]
I was talking to an estimator and he said he had to train his new estimators how to use a scale and roller! It seems they only had a paper copy of the drawings instead of on-screen take-off. With the advent of new technology, what do you think will be the next thing that will [...]
I was talking with a friend today and the conversation turned to very difficult jobs that we had worked on in the past. He was telling me about a $6 million renovation of a mental health hospital that was still running over capacity while the renovations took place. My friend had over 200 change orders [...]
I was reading an article in the local paper about a hardware chain that started a marketing campaign “Zombie Preparedness Center”. I thought it was a great way for the company to set themselves apart from the rest of the hardware stores, especially in this time of big box retailers. The construction market is in [...]
