ConstructConnect Blog

TABLE OF CONTENTS Inadequate Planning Failure to Communicate Scope Creep & Change Orders Productivity Issues & Delays Ignoring Red Flags For commercial contractors, both GCs and subs, a successful project is one completed on time and within budget. The client is happy with the finished product and the contractor walks away with a tidy profit. Everybody wins. When a project fails, it’s typically due to conflicts and issues that cause cost overruns and delays in the schedule.

Here’s the scenario, you’ve spent the past two weeks studying the plans and specifications for a commercial construction project. You’ve attended the mandatory pre-bid conference, done all your takeoffs, gotten all your subcontractor and supplier pricing lined up and you’ve checked and double-checked your figures and finally, you seal everything up to be submitted.

Productivity is simply the measurement of the effectiveness of effort. The rate of productivity is measured as total output per unit of input. In construction, an example of output would be something like the square footage of flooring installed or cubic yards of earth excavated with the input typically being measured in man-hours.

General contractors find work in several ways: open bidding, negotiated contracts, submitting proposals, design-build contracts, etc. Regardless of the solicitation method, they all have one thing in common, the general contractor will need to subcontract out some, or all, of the work to trade contractors and other vendors.

Construction sites are dangerous places. Safety hazards lurk around every corner. This is evident by the high rate of occupational fatalities and injuries that occur each year in construction. Falls, electrocutions, heavy equipment rollovers, and collapsing scaffolding are just a small number of ways workers can be seriously injured or killed on a construction site.

We’ve compiled the list of Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards for Construction for fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 through September 2021).

Today, September 3, is National Skyscraper Day, chosen in honor of John H. Sullivan's birthday, the architect who coined the phrase “form (ever) follows function” and is considered the “father of skyscrapers.”

The ability to obtain surety bonding is a necessity in the commercial construction industry. Public entities typically require bid bonds along with performance and payment bonds for their projects.

As a building product manufacturer (BPM) trying to get specified by architects may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. The key is to focus less on selling your products and focus more on building relationships with architects and specifiers. Position your company as a leading expert on the types of products you deliver and provide them with all the information they need when researching and selecting products to specify on their product.

Construction project managers are responsible for overseeing and supervising construction projects from start to finish. They are tasked with making sure projects are delivered on time and within budget. Job duties differ from company to company, but construction project managers are typically responsible for overseeing the budget, working with owners, architects, and engineers, hiring subcontractors, scheduling and planning work, and ensuring materials and equipment are delivered to the project site on time.