The other day I was talking to a retired gentleman who was discussing how a company he had once worked for tried to get greedy on a project and almost lost a long term client. Basically, the construction company started to nickel and dime the client on a GMP project so the billed amount would [...]
For some reason, some managers believe that always telling the craft labor the project is losing money is a good way to increase the productivity but I don’t see the logic behind this strategy. I believe being honest to the workers in the field is the one and only way to go. Lying does nothing [...]
My recent blog on The Competitive Advantage Nobody Needs generated some interesting responses on ENR.com. There were some very insightful comments, even from the one responder that thinks everybody is a crook in the construction industry. Bidders that short circuit the specifications are taking something of value from the owner of the project. In the [...]
Is there room in the construction market for cheap? After all, cheap really has a couple of meanings. How about when cheap is low in price and worth more than its cost? This has a place in the market for the buyer. The phrase, “I bought it cheap!” can be thought of as bragging when [...]
I recently overheard a contractor bragging to others on how they could have a cost advantage over their competition. This caught my attention. So I listened. It seems in their bidding practices they priced materials/equipment items that were not approved in the specifications. They would not request these items to be approved in the bidding [...]
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a final rule which requires employers to post a sign notifying their employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act. In order to be in compliance the sign/poster will need to be posted by January 31, 2012. The following link provides more information about the requirements [...]
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 reading an article in ENR about a 3% withholding from contractors on government projects. The 3% mandate is due to take effect in January 2013. This would be a blow to the construction industry that is already on shaky ground. Please contact your congressional representative and let them know how you feel and [...]
I mentioned in a previous blog a book that I found “Time and Motion Study and Formulas for Wage Incentives” by Lowry, Maynard, and Stegemerten. Before I found that book I had wondered how the production rates were first formed. It wasn’t something that kept me up at night – I was just curious. I assumed [...]
I was consolidating my book shelves this past week and it is amazing what I came across. There were lots of old books from the 1930’s and 1940’s. One that caught my eye was “Time and Motion Study and Formulas for Wage Incentives” by Lowry, Maynard, and Stegemerten. This book has a copyright of 1940. [...]
