Build America Podcast

There are very few “court-accepted” ways a contractor can quantify his or her loss as a result of labor productivity, or lack thereof. MCAA’s (Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc.) document PD 2 Factors Affecting Labor Productivity is one of the most widely used methods in practice. http://sjcivil.net/claims/quantifying-the-loss-in-labor-productivity-the-mcaa-factors/

Air Entrainment

There are basic differences between cash and accrual accounting.  Here’s a quick review... http://sjcivil.net/news/cash-v-accrual-accounting-whatchu-talkin-about-willis/

Grouser

Let’s run through an example. Let’s do an example so you see some of the challenges. Let’s take one cost code in your budget – let’s look at roadway subgrade. Below we have the budget for this cost. You can see the cost code is “1001” and there are five cost components of this cost code: labor, equipment, consumable material, permanent material, and subcontractor cost. This can be viewed in the co...

Escalation

Executive summary. An accurate job cost projection is vital to Company survival. And it’s not too complicated if you know the budget, the timing of your costs, and can do a little bit of estimating. It’s NOT about blindly relying on quantities completed! http://sjcivil.net/news/how-to-do-a-job-cost-projection-cutting-through-the-fog-part-1/

Serial Letter

Field overhead carries different names with different contractors and owners. Discussed here is what field overhead is, and why it’s important for owners to understand. http://sjcivil.net/news/mistaken-taboo-project-overhead/

Spreader Beam

A construction claim is a dispute in the Work as it was contemplated in the original construction documents. However, a large percentage of what drives a claim is not the Contract. It’s the people. It’s personalities. http://sjcivil.net/claims/the-number-1-driver-of-a-construction-claim/

Active & passive soil pressure

If you are interested in communicating information to your audience, and you want your audience to absorb and remember what you’re saying, communicate effectively. Communicate using vocabulary, tempo, brevity, and body language that your client understands and wants. It’s not about you. It’s about them. They need to get it. You already do. http://sjcivil.net/lessons/dont-be-charlie-browns-teacher/

May vs Shall

Each day we hand contracts down to our subs or we are signing contracts down from Owners or General Contractors.  Know some of the basics of what to look for here. http://sjcivil.net/legal/construction-contract-review-basics/

 Termination for Convenience

In this webinar we discussed small/medium business cybersecurity and best practices, especially during COVID-19. It is always a good time to check-in on the security of your network, computers, and websites. And now with your employees, and data, working remotely, cybersecurity is critical. http://sjcivil.net/covidcybersecurity/ http://sjcivil.net/webinars/

Invert Elevation

Many folks make changes based on temporary pains. More often than not, better the devil you know that the devil you don’t. http://sjcivil.net/ceo-owner/better-the-devil-you-know/

PCO

Construction estimating isn’t wholly about the numbers. It involves a “feel” in its execution. This is why many say estimating is an art and a science. http://sjcivil.net/estimating/estimating-its-an-art-and-a-science/

Cubic yard

Most traditional bond rates have two variables in their cost: the contract value and the time threshold. Do not forget to include both in time extension negotiations. http://sjcivil.net/cost-controls/bond-premium-and-the-project-time-extension/

Surety

Construction Insurance & Bonding during COVID-19 http://sjcivil.net/webinars/