I recently received an email from a friend at a large industrial general contracting firm asking for assistance reviewing and evaluating an electrical subcontractor’s change order for Acceleration...

During the COVID-19 crisis, work on active construction projects has generally been able to continue, albeit with some modified work procedures for personal safety. Other industries have experienced...

In our first article on Construction Downturn Strategies we looked at External factors and how you can position your service offerings to weather a downturn. Our second article discussed financial...

In our first article we reviewed market diversification. In this second installment of our series on Construction Downturn Strategies, we will explore how you, along with help from your CFO or...

Do you remember the story of the grasshopper and the ant? In this ancient fable, the grasshopper spends the summer dancing and playing while the ant works hard to store food for the inevitable...

Employees are the lifeblood of every construction company.  No matter the size of the company, each individual serves a purpose, and their performance either helps or hinders the organization – there...

Employees are the lifeblood of every construction company.  No matter the size of the company, each individual serves a purpose, and their performance either helps or hinders the organization –...

Employees are the lifeblood of every construction company.  No matter the size of the company, each individual serves a purpose, and their performance either helps or hinders the organization – there...

Since the economic crash and recovery over the past decade, Owner- and Lender-required Payment and Performance (P&P) bonding for construction projects has become more prevalent across the industry....

How big does a construction company have to grow before it needs a safety program? Is it determined by sales volume, number of employees or contract sizes? In truth, it is never too early to...

How important is it to put a plan and budget together for your annual marketing and business development activities? As the old adage goes “Fail to plan, and plan to fail”. Depending on the size of...

Contractors face widespread bonding requirements today. Not long ago, only the federal government required construction bonds; today, about a third of privately owned projects do as well. With...

Construction work can be a tricky and dangerous business. Contractors perform a variety of trades and scopes that carry different levels of inherent risks. Failure to plan and financially protect...

Bizbuysell.com, the largest business-for-sale marketplace, recently released its Annual Insight Report which showed that 7,240 businesses sold in 2015. With an average sale price of $200,000, which...

Why and what KPI's should I be tracking? (Part 2 of 2)

Many years ago, before I came on board to work for a large contracting company, one of the questions I asked the owner (and who would become my boss) was "What KPI's are you tracking and how are you...

Looking at some of the most successful businesses today, you will see a common trait that they all possess – the differentiating factors that position them as the market leaders in their industry....

In the world of electrical contracting, we rely heavily on our suppliers and vendors to support us, but we typically don’t take the time to support them; to help them to help us be successful.

In this article, we are going to explore project labor – the part of every project with the most risk and the least control. Labor cost management is typically what defines a project as a success or...

This month we will explore a critical facet of every contractor’s business: Purchasing.