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Treat Construction as a Science Source: Blogs
Construction is a massive industry and has promoted innovations in tools, equipment, products, and of course the structures that are built. With all of that said it is not hard ...

How to Improve Construction Productivity Source: Blogs
pro·duc·tiv·i·ty (prō'dŭk-tĭv'ĭ-tē, prŏd'ək-) n. The rate at which goods or services are produced especially output per unit cost of labor. Or if you prefer how much does it c...

Is the Economy Affecting Your Ethics? Source: Blogs
Contracting is a tough business. Our industry has a reputation among the community of having little or no ethics. That reputation is earned due to our poor communication, but d...

Do we have the money for Safety? Excuse Me? Source: Blogs
...the basic function. Like a computer server is to the banking industry it is essential to operating the business, but does not actually perform the core function our client is paying for. And just li...

Construction: The Lost Decade Source: Blogs
Yesterday the Department of Commerce came out with the July 2010 construction numbers and the current state of affairs is not very attractive. The numbers represent the seasonal...

Construction Production, What to Track Source: Blogs
In my last blog, I discussed the need to track productivity to increase the performance of the company which now comes up with the natural question: What do we track? It is actu...

Where is 2010 going? Source: Blogs
Well 2010 is finally here. It couldn't come quick enough with the difficulty and challenges we all had to deal with in 2009, it feels good to have a "fresh" start on a new year....

Keys to being a Great Estimator Source: Blogs
...ys our worst enemy. Like a General going into battle, stand on the hill and survey the situation, don't just going running down into battle. The great estimators I have seen spend about 10% of the t...

Cap and Trade, What to Expect Source: Blogs
With Copenhagen behind us and health care on the ropes, will Cap and Trade be on the block? The US House of Representatives have passed a bill, but the Senate has not taken it u...

What Value Do You Add? Source: Blogs
In any economy and in any service industry, there is a very fair question: "What Value Do You Add?". This question goes for companies and employees and in this economy it become...

Will Hiring A Safety Manager Matter? Source: Blogs
The vast majority of subcontractors in the country do not have a dedicated Safety Manager, so will hiring one make a difference? Short answer, yes. The real answer is much long...

What Financial Reform Means for Construction Source: Blogs
The current Congress has passed the 2,300 page Financial Reform Bill which will have major impacts to the construction industry. After the 2008 elections there were three bills ...

New Year, Let's Accomplish Something! Source: Blogs
No matter where you sit in your organization I would like for you to take a different look at your job duties. Over the years the titles for different positions have become pret...

Are Trade Shows a Waste? Source: Blogs
...uestion my friends. Like any other expenditure it depends on whether you can achieve more value than money you spend. So I guess the real question is what kind of value can you get from a trade show...

Why are the services so inexpensive? Source: FAQ
Why are the services so inexpensive

Subcontractor: Projecting 2010 Part 3 Source: Blogs
In Part 1 and Part 2, we looked at projecting the flow work and the backlog, now to get a total picture of 2010, we need to look at work we don't have yet, our pipeline. The pip...

Construction Customer Service Source: Blogs
In my last installment I talked about performance in relation to holding people accountable for what they accomplish and not what they do. Let's look at the bigger picture of wh...

Tracking Productivity is the Key to Productivity Source: Blogs
Productivity is defined by economists as the amount of output per unit of labor. For example the number of light fixtures installed per labor hour worked. As a subcontractor I ...

Sustainable Yes! LEED be Careful Source: Blogs
When LEED was introduced it became a revolution in the construction industry changing the way Owners, Designers, and Builders approached jobs. The major objective was to create ...

Can Contractors Change? Source: Blogs
The past two years have been the worst global economic times in more than a generation and it is anyone's guess if we are coming out of it or if there are more challenges ahead. ...

Best Way to Win that Next Project Source: Blogs
It appears as if the market is recovering (at least there are more projects out there to be bidding on), so how can you win that work to turn it from an opportunity to revenue? ...

Is ObamaCare Good for Subcontractors? Source: Blogs
Even though the health debate is not yet over and the full scope of health care reform is not known (or even if there will be reform), I think it is important to look at how it c...

This Bonus Sucks! Source: Blogs
Bonus programs can really suck. Whether you want to call them bonus or incentive programs almost every company has them, but if they are not administered properly they can reall...

How to Create More Construction Jobs Source: Blogs
The biggest single thing on the minds of the American public is jobs. With unemployment over 10% and the possibility of that rising to 12% this year, it is a very real concern. ...

News U Can Use: Feb.3.2010 Source: Blogs
In a new weekly installment, we will be scanning the news sources to find the most interesting news items for contractors and summarize what it means to them. For our Februrary ...

Cost Control is Construction's #2 Rule Source: Blogs
...takes discipline. Like safety it is a cultural issue. If everyone in the company understands that their #2 job is to control costs, you will see results. People will begin to understand what thin...

FREE Tickets to the Electric West Show in Vegas! Source: Advertisements
Dear Construction Monkey Users, The Construction Monkey team would like to invite you to Register for the Exhibit Hall FREE (a $55 value) at the Electric Wes...

Pipeline Overview (YouTube Video) Source: Help System
View a brief seven minute overview of what your pipeline might look like after you start entering projects! Click here to see it now on YouTube

What are we really selling? Source: Blogs
As subcontractors, especially during tough economic times, sales is a tougher and tougher battle. In the US there are approximately 800,000 specialty subcontractors, which means...

So What is BIM? Source: Blogs
Building Information Modeling (or BIM) is all the rage in today's commercial and industrial construction markets. I am unaware of many large General Contractors that haven't inv...

We are selling Trust, That's It! Source: Blogs
In the previous part to this series, I made the claim that customers look towards the subcontractors to find the best "expert" in the field (or group of them) and then select fro...

Subcontractor Projecting 2010: Part 1 Source: Blogs
As 2009 closes, most of us are in the process of deciding what we think about 2010. If you have done your job right you already have this answer and if you have been lucky 2010 ...

Subcontractor: Projecting 2010 Part 4 Source: Blogs
Well, we are almost done. We have now compiled all of our revenue and gross margin amounts for our 2010 year. You should have a spreadsheet that has totals that mirrors the fol...

Subcontractor: Projecting 2010 Conclusion Source: Blogs
So we went through all of the steps of producing a good business plan for 2010, now what? First let's review what we have covered so far. Part 1: Building our Flow Work Pa...

Need a Safety Program? Try a Culture First. Source: Blogs
As one of the most dangerous industries on the planet, construction focuses significantly on safety. Our industry is focused on the health and safety of our tradesmen and for go...

Why BIM? Source: Blogs
So why would anyone BIM, or Building Information Modeling? Unless you are doing a power plant or some very specialized industrial job, our guys in the field can work things out,...

Revit: An Asset or a Cool Cartoon? Source: Blogs
Revit: An Asset or a Cool Cartoon? According to Wikipedia, Autodesk Revit is architectural building information management (BIM) software for Microsoft Windows, developed by...

Revit: No Place for Amateurs Source: Blogs
Revit: No Place for Amateurs Let us look at the typical building information modeling services firm and how things are done. Typically, a CAD manager is hired to create all of...

Quality Control, Be in Control Source: Blogs
When you ask Owners what their top priorities for their next construction project, quality control is always near the top if not at the top. With the slow down in the economy th...

Construction: My Valentine Source: Blogs
As I sit here and package up chocolates for the wife and hope she got me that hoodie-footie I have been seeing so much on TV, I have been thinking about my 2nd love Construction....

Construction News U Can Use: 2.24.2010 Source: Blogs
Some of the more interesting news from around the Construction Industry: Margin Pressure Will Worsen for Nonresidential Contractors Reed Construction Data is reporting that ...

Customer Service, It is About the Little Things Source: Blogs
Customer service in a service industry is the key to success. As specialty contractors, the service we provide is sometimes the only thing that makes us different than our compe...

Life of An Estimator, Tougher than You Think Source: Blogs
For those of us in the construction industry we know the Estimators that are more cynical than the average Joe. They appear to be more prevalent than the fun loving young estima...

Is there More Work with ObamaCare? Source: Blogs
Three months ago, I took a stab at what I thought ObamaCare meant to Subcontractors. In reviewing that after passage, I still agree with my thoughts in that article. I did not ...

Is PM software a Waste of Money? Source: Blogs
Almost every construction company out there sees the value in Estimating software and utilizes some form of it. I will agree that not every company is utilizing a specifically d...

Be A Master in Construction Source: Blogs
Where are the true Masters in Construction? I am not talking about those that have ventured out to get a Masters License in their prospective trade, I mean real masters. Americ...

The Art of Estimating Source: Blogs
Sun Tzu wrote the Art of War in the 6th Century BC. Since that time military experts have considered it a complete view on how to operate a military machine and business scholar...

Do You Know What You Are Building? Source: Blogs
In today's world of CADD, fast track projects, out sourcing, reduced design staffs, it is impossible to get through a project with at least a dozen new sets of drawings and hundr...

What Makes a Specialty Contractor so Special? Source: Blogs
In construction there are the general trades and then the infamous specialty subcontractors. Ever think what is so special about the specialty trades? The construction industry...

Will Distributors Have A Place in Tomorrow's World Source: Blogs
As subcontractors we buy the vast majority of our material through Distributors. The system was established well before my time and benefited almost everyone along the supply ch...

So What Does the Project Manager Do Anyway? Source: Blogs
At the expense of offending Project Managers as wells as the Monkey: A woman was looking at the animals on display in a pet store. A few minutes later, a man walked in and sai...

Three Most Important Things to Being A Contractor Source: Blogs
In retail and real estate there goes a saying that the three most important things are location, location, and location. In construction there is a similar truth that the three ...

Want to Win Better Projects? Source: Blogs
Given the turmoil in the marketplace over the past 2 years, I have heard repeatedly from different contractors that they are looking to move into different markets. We need to...

What Does Earth Day Mean for Construction? Source: Blogs
Yesterday was Earth Day, a yearly mark that is growing in significance around the world. It is a time for us to understand the issues about our impact on the environment. I am ...

Best and Final Offer, Are They Ethical? Source: Blogs
If you have been involved in bidding work you have probably at one point in time been apart of the Best and Final Offer (BAFO) routine. In private work it is typically called "s...

Increase Profits, Minimize Risk Source: Blogs
What is the best way for a contractor to improve their profits? Minimize risk. Let's face it, contracting is another form of gambling. When we look at all of the stipulations ...

Where Have the Good Craftsmen Gone? Source: Blogs
One of the largest complaints I hear is "the quality of the workforce is not what it used to be". Whether I am talking to union or non-union, family owned or large business, the...

How well do you know your pipeline? Source: Advertisements
How well do you know your pipeline?? Subcontracting, like most businesses, requires a continual and focused approach towards sales. In today's world, simply bidding a p...

Get Pipeline Today Source: Advertisements
Subcontracting, like most businesses, requires a continual and focused approach towards sales. In today's world, simply bidding a project is not nearly enough. You must focus y...

What Does Your 2010 Look Like? Source: Advertisements
What does your 2010 look like? This was a very typical question at the end of 2009 that sent most managers in a company scrambling to work on a spreadsheet to develop the busine...

Manpower Forecasts Source: Advertisements
If you are utilizing Construction Monkey to manage your pipeline, in less than 2 minutes you can find out what your manpower needs look like by simply clicking a few bu...

Facebook Source: Advertisements

Brief Source: Advertisements
Do you want to improve your win ratio on bids? Do you want a simple way to track your bids and project leads? Would you like to know instantly where your company stands in pr...

Being web-based, how fast is the service? Source: FAQ
Being web-based, how fast is the service