Six Phases of a Construction Project 1. Enthusiasm 2. Disillusionment 3. Panic 4. Search for the Guilty 5. Punishment of the Innocent 6. Praise & Honor for the Non-Participants
Mike Rowe
Author Archives:
Unexpected Results
August 1, 2011 – 6:00 am
I was working on a project recently that I thought should be an easy job –a wage rate comparison. I thought I knew what the answer would be: open shop labor is less or equal to Davis Bacon, union labor can be higher than Davis Bacon. I just needed to gather the supporting documentation and [...]
A Good Problem?
July 29, 2011 – 6:00 am
Since I am in Omaha all that I have heard about for the last 3 months is about the levee system and the swelling Missouri river. I have seen the pictures and videos. I have been affected by the road closures. So far most of the levees have held around the area. There are reinforcing [...]
FTP vs Paper
July 22, 2011 – 6:00 am
A few years ago I still received the majority of plans and specifications in the paper format. Even fewer were available via an ftp site. Now it has done a 180. The great thing about the paper format was the information was neatly organized and put into a set for you. Now that things are [...]
Addenda, who is sick and tired of them?
July 8, 2011 – 6:00 am
I was having a conversation at the plan room last week with the gentleman behind the counter. I was picking up an addendum for a project and he commented that back in the 1980’s if an addendum was issued it was like a walk of shame for the architect. Plans were more complete and addenda [...]
Which Project?
June 22, 2011 – 6:00 am
Selecting a project to bid in this market can be difficult. You may be tempted to try for everything around – but we all have heard that old adage about quality not quantity! Here are some factors to think about when looking for the next project to bid: Is this type of project something that [...]
All that you can give
June 8, 2011 – 6:00 am
How much information do you need to do an estimate? I get asked that question a lot. The answer is an easy one and applies to every project no matter what design stage it is at. The answer is “all of the information you can give me”. More information given will result in a more [...]
Bid Qualifications
June 3, 2011 – 6:00 am
Report Outline Some items that need to be included when writing a qualifications report for your bid. Date of report Name and address of client Project name and location Plans and specifications received Addenda received Estimate assumptions Estimate exclusions What do you include in your report?
All of the answers
May 6, 2011 – 6:00 am
Estimators can’t know everything. We would love to have all of the answers all of the time, but we don’t. When I come across something I do not know I need to look it up. The internet is ok, but I find it can be unreliable at times and hard to find exactly what I [...]
Production Rates
May 4, 2011 – 6:00 am
To refine the estimating process and submit a more confident bid number you really need to have the production rates for your craft labor. If the company that you work for does not have this information you will need to find a way to get it. A common way to track productivity is to have [...]
