When filling out bid forms make sure: The numbers and the words match! (6,000,000 and six million) All the blanks are filled in. All the required signatures are accounted for. It may sound simple, but it does happen!
Questions at bid time are an important component of the estimating and bidding process. The questions are usually posed in written form to the architect or owner unless there is a pre-bid meeting where questions are asked as a part of the overall presentation. These questions are asking for clarification on the scope for the [...]
Is This Really Possible In Construction? The economists call the recession that is underway a “cleansing” recession. This is a polite way of saying “thinning the herd” of the weaker firms or putting the poor business operators out of business. But is a cleansing recession really possible in our industry? I would like to think [...]
The estimator is the life blood of business, especially in construction. We have our counterparts in other industries. These are economists and actuaries to name two other occupations. All three deal in reliably forecasting (estimating) costs before they are actually incurred. There are many basic and advanced skill sets involved in estimating. The basic skill [...]
July 4th Independence Day – is absolutely my favorite holiday. It is a day that I love to celebrate our freedoms. I am looking forward to the grilling with friends and family then some nighttime fireworks as a tribute. I hope you will enjoy the holiday also.
I keep hearing and reading about all of this fuss and hullabaloo about this BIM thing – Building Information Modeling (or Management). Architects, engineers, and owners are singing the praises of information in 3D, 4D, or even 5D! So what is the fuss? BIM hasn’t even caught up with estimators and the estimating profession. Architects [...]
Every estimator I know would rather be a weather forecaster than an estimator. True! Weather forecasters are paid a handsome amount of money. They get all of the attention with headlines when right and little when wrong. They are not expected to be right all of the time. If they were right most of the [...]
The other day I was in a conversation with a friend that is involved in banking, he wondered how Tempest Company was doing. I said it was tough but we were still in business. He said we were better off than a lot of other companies that were out there. Many were in the process [...]
The proposed Cap and Trade legislation is costing jobs in the United States even before it gets approved. Yes, just the potential of it being enacted! Why, because projects slated to start over a year ago to a few weeks ago have been postponed and shelved due to the proposed Cap and Trade on carbon [...]
Politicians will try about anything to remain in office and to get marginal projects approved so they can proceed. Chicago or New York style is not just a pizza and it is not limited to these two cities. One of the favorite ploys of the politician is to understate the costs on proposed projects. Another [...]
