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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...

MEP Coordination: It’s Expensive to be Cheap Source: Blogs
...interest in the job. Look for someone who is looking out for your specific needs and not the needs of his own paycheck. So what do you look for? Look for someone who has been there before and does ...

MEP Coordination: why it’s expensive to be cheap Source: Blogs
...interest in the job. Look for someone who is looking out for your specific needs and not the needs of his own paycheck. So what do you look for? Look for someone who has been there before and does ...

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...

The Art of Estimating Source: Blogs
...your team's resume. Look at the job in depth. Look at everything from the eyes of the client. A good vision of all of the items relative to the job will allow you to pick the right strategy. Victo...

Construction: The Lost Decade Source: Blogs
... exception of 2010. Looking from 1993, every year has seen an average growth of 6% until 2009, but in the past 12 months that number has declined 5%. This is driven more my state and local budgets t...

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 ...

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 2 Source: Blogs
In Part 1, we talked about how to start coming up with a realistic look at 2010 by looking at your continual or flow work. In this part, let's take a look at the next part of th...

Subcontractor: Projecting 2010 Conclusion Source: Blogs
...rove your business. Look at each of the line items you have projected and see where you can stretch your goals. Can you cut some overhead costs? Can you get some more revenue from your Flow Work? ...

Risk Mangement, What is Your Role? Source: Blogs
In construction, talk to anyone about the single greatest challenge in surviving in the industry and it is risk. "Based on the risk, add more profit to it." "I am not goi...

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....

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...

Bid Work? Risk Taker, Price Taker! Source: Blogs
...go out of business. Look at all of the costs that have minimal impact on your core business and figure out better ways to perform those tasks. Figure out the price. In the service hourly rate ex...

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...

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...

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. ...

Is ObamaCare Good for Subcontractors? Source: Blogs
...rm delivery system. Looking at other health care markets that have gone to a government system, the facilities do not compete for patients like they do in the US. They are fairly typical and they ha...

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 ...

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 ...

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...

Boating from an Owner's Perspective Source: Blogs
If you read the first part of this series, you have looked at the photo of two boats and hopefully gained a different perspective about the photo that has been circulating around...

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,...

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 ...

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...

Revit: No Place for Amateurs Source: Blogs
...have fewer problems? Look for an experienced dependable team and collaborate with them. Redesigns waste money. During construction, you will have an accurate construction project rendering to bui...

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...

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...

What Makes A Good Estimate? Source: Blogs
Construction companies stand on three (3) pillars that define good business; Get Work, Do Work, and Monitor Work. If all three of them are done correctly and efficiently than th...

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 ...

What Makes a Specialty Contractor so Special? Source: Blogs
...f the modern world. Looking at third world countries they have the general trades figured out, but they lack the specialty contractors. Look at the difference in the earth quakes in Haiti and Chile ...

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...

Want to Win Better Projects? Source: Blogs
...nd Superintendents. Look at rebuilding a chunk of the organization. Think about it this way, Motel 6 is a budget hotel. If one day their CEO states that they want to be a 5-star hotel, they cannot ...

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. ...

Analytics, the Best Way to Improve Your Business Source: Blogs
Analytics is simply the science of analysis. In construction, and probably more specific in the subcontractor community analysis of data is few and far between, even though our ...

Electrical & Other Calculations Source: Advertisements
Do you need to do some calculations and want a simple tool to make that possible? Construction Monkey has the calculation tools you are looking for. From calculating the size...

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...

Projections Source: Advertisements
The projection system will allow you to develop your business plan and finalize your future work based upon your existing workload and your pipeline: Future Outl...

Overview Source: Advertisements
Do you need to do some calculations and want a simple tool to make that possible? Construction Monkey has the calculation tools you are looking for! From calculating th...

Why would Add A Project Only (With no Estimate)? Source: Help System
If you have tooled around with the Pipeline tool, you have noticed that you can enter a project without an estimate. So why would you want to do such a thing? If you are mana...

Basic Site Navigation Source: Help System
Below are some basic navigation functions of Construction Monkey. Home Screen To access your home screen at any time, just click the Construction Monkey logo in the upp...

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

How do I access my Project's Documents? Source: Help System
To get to your Project's Documents, you can do it one of two ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Project Management button ...

How do I add a drawing set to a project? Source: Help System
To add a drawing set to one of your projects, you can do it a couple of different ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Proje...

How do I access my project's Drawing Set List? Source: Help System
To get to your Project's Drawing Set List, you can do it one of couple different ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Projec...

How do I access my project's RFIs? Source: Help System
To get to your project's RFI Dashboard, you can do it one of two ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Project Management but...

How do I access my project's RFI Log Source: Help System
To get to your project's RFI Log, you can do it one of a couple different ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Project Manag...

How do I create and email an RFI to my client? Source: Help System
To create and send and email an RFI to your client: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Project Management button on the left sid...

How do I access my project's Contract Dashboard? Source: Help System
To get to your project's Contract Dashboard, you can do it one of a couple of different ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the...

How do I access my project's Pricing Log? Source: Help System
To get to your project's Pricing Log, you can do it one of a couple of different ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the Projec...

How do I access my project's Change Order Log? Source: Help System
To get to your project's Change Order Log, you can do it one of a couple of different ways: One way: Log in to your account at the top right of the screen. Click on the P...

How do I add a Pricing Item to a project? Source: Help System
A Pricing Item can be added automatically or manually. A Pricing Item is automatically added when you check the "Yes" box stating that RFI has a cost impact when creating or ans...

Notice of Interference Source: Library Letters
According to the contract documents on this project, no interference with our work was sown or detailed in any way. As you know, we have encountered substantial interference in ...

A Tale of Two Boats Source: Blogs
By now most of us have seen the change order and contract boat image that has been circulating around the internet over the past several years. The big boat is rightly called th...

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...

Contract Sales: How to Understand Your Performance Source: Blogs
Last week we bid a few jobs. This week we bid a few jobs. Next week we will bid a few jobs. I am sure we all know which ones we won and which ones are lost, but do we really k...

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 ...

Treat Construction as a Science Source: Blogs
...es to implement it. Look around your organization and figure out if every department and person is operating with the most current best practices. If you are utilizing 1980's technology, you are not...

Construction: My Valentine Source: Blogs
... contains this mix. Look at estimating. Learning the science of estimating is one thing, but learning the dynamics of bidding and learning how to put a final number together becomes a bit of an art ...

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 ...

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...

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...

Will Anti-Immigration Law Affect You? Source: Blogs
Arizona recently took an unprecedented step in passing a law that required the state to action on a federal issue. I am not going to get into the middle of the political ideals ...

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...

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...

Construction News U Can Use 4.20.2010 Source: Blogs
Some of the more important news for subcontractors for the week of April 20, 2010 Commodity prices are on the march again Reed Construction Data is reporting that commodity p...

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? ...

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...

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 ...

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...

What Does The Monkey Offer? Source: Advertisements
Looking to better your edge in your market or industry? Give Construction Monkey a try! Construction Monkey was created to fill the void of having preconstruction, sales, and pr...

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...

Collaboration Source: Advertisements
Are you looking for a place to get your questions answered? Do you want to post some of your knowledge so others can learn? Maybe you want to acquire some knowledge from your p...

Pipeline Projections Source: Advertisements
When utilizing Construction Monkey to manage your pipeline, we utilize our proprietary calculator to automatically calculate the revenue, manpower, and gross profit of ...

The 5 W's Source: Advertisements
Who is it for? - The Bid/Sales Management system is for the entire specialty contractor community. More specifically, it is meant for your company’s preconstruction depar...

How will it help me? Source: Advertisements
Win more work! - Spend less time figuring out and creating your project resume on proposals, and more time concentrating on the details of the estimate! Know exactly how...

Are you trying to do more with less? Source: Advertisements
In today’s economy, there are a large percentage of companies in the construction subcontracting industry trying to do more with fewer resources. Are you one of them? Many are ...