Author Archives: Kevin

Sub-letting the construction project can degrade the quality of work

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We live in the era of outsourcing where every possible business is outsourced in some way or the other. Some businesses are outsourced to foreign countries and some remain inside but are outsourced to parties that are known to do that kind of work. This is also known as sub-letting projects. What typically happens here is the person who is responsible to complete the project hands over the work to a third party who in turn further hands it over to the part who will indeed complete the work.

Now the people involved in the middle does nothing significant other than enjoy the profits that will reap out of the work. This is the modus-operandi that many in today’s business follow. The first party may or may not be aware that the project has changed many hands and therefore are only interested with the quality of work. They know just one thing and that is they want the finished stuff in good shape. Anything less than what they have expected can lead to non-payment and other legal hassles.

In the construction sector, the scope of sub-letting the work is immense; which is why you will find many small and mid-sized construction companies ready to tie up with a mighty enterprise and get involved in the construction of a huge project.

However, the thing that is of great concern is the quality of work may not be at par excellence and this can be a worrying factor for the construction company that has bagged the project. The company that lets the work to other small companies needs to ensure that the quality of work is not compromised by any way and for this purpose it should take corrective measures every time it finds things not in place.

Review the progress of work at regular intervals:-

One of the most important things that is required to be done is to review the progress of work at regular intervals. Once you let-out the project to other companies, your responsibility doubles. You of course let out the project due to lack of infrastructure on your part and by letting it out to other companies you stand the chance to earn more profits. But that does not allow you to have a freehand on the quality of work. You have to make sure that you take some time out and review the work in ground. Visit the site at least once in a month and check the progress report. Try to evaluate the actual with the estimates and see if the work will be completed within the stipulated timeframe.

Do not shy to fire a contractor from their shoddy work:-

When you let out a work to a third party and you find out that the party is not good at it or is not taking your work seriously, you should be ready to take a tough call. Remember, it is your baby and if someone is not taking good care of it, you have every right to kick him out. Start with warnings and if you do not see any improvement then it would be the time to take the call.

How does Auction Companies work for heavy equipment? What do they charge?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

When you do not need the services of your heavy equipment, you got to get rid of them. There is no point in keeping the machines with you and see them getting rusted during different seasons. Now there is a smarter way to get rid of heavy equipment and that is by selling them in auction. So while you put them up for auction, you generally give them the minimum price to start and it takes up from there. People will place their bids on the item and the guy with the highest bid will eventually become the new owner of the machine. It is no big deal to locate a company that is into selling heavy equipment through auction. In fact, you will come across many companies that see this business with huge potential and with larger margins for profit. So finding a company who can help you to do away with your old heavy equipment is no problem.

Get all machines at one place:-

Auction of heavy equipment is more like an exhibition. It is not just your machines that will be slated to get auctioned on a particular day but heavy equipment belonging to many other people will be put on sale on that day. So these companies if they are selling it offline then they advertise about the mega event where they rent a huge place to put up your construction equipment and invite people who belongs from the construction or mining industry. The invitation happens through ways of advertisement, cold calls and online registration. So once people gather at the venue, the auction begins and they bring each equipment at a time. The possibility of a construction equipment not getting sold exists but the larger possibility is that it may get sold off quickly out there than any other forum.

Online auction companies:-

There is also good number of auction companies who deals exclusively on the internet. They make members by asking them to register on their site and then use the site for buying and selling heavy equipment. So a person who is a buyer can also become a seller using the same User ID. He need not change any of his details to sell anything especially when his prior transactions were restricted to only purchases.

Different auction company charges differently:-

The seller has to pay good chunk of money to the auction company to sell his machines. Firstly, some auction companies charge money for registration. It may vary from few hundreds to thousands of dollars. It also covers the listing cost. For offline auction, they do charge for using their services to auction the machine. The amount may be minimal for putting the machine on auction but if it sells of, they may charge from 2% to 10% of the sales price. Sellers take advantage of both the platforms to sell their heavy equipment. Online auction companies charge not only for listing the item but also for enhancements like making the description part look more attractive or to just put a star on the listing which makes it a bit catchy. Any additional feature will cost the seller more and therefore one needs to first understand the costing before going for it.

The significance of software in the construction industry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Every industry is more or less dependent on computer software to perform. They need it for various purposes and to meet their different requirements. You need software to store data pertaining to the business that can be used for future reference. Almost every company in the United States irrespective of how big or small they have to work on some or the other software and the guys who develop these software are paid handsomely. They reserve the right to sell the same software to many companies or sell the complete right to just one company. So when we talk about the construction domain, the significance of software is felt the most. The reason is day in and day out the men in a construction company has to keep a tab of materials that has come in and has been utilized. They need to know the exact number of stuffs they have in their possession and if there is an urgent need to order anything. These details can be verified by installing a computer software that is connected to all the other computers in the company.

It makes life very simple for the guys who need to keep a stock of things and if materials gets over then their job is at stake. So when you have a software in place that keeps a track of the minutest details, it becomes simple for the men to monitor things and place orders in time.

Decision making process gets simpler:-

The growth of the construction business is dependent on taking the right decisions at the right time. Life may give you a second chance but this industry is cruel and a person needs to wait for years to get another chance if he fails to take the right decision now. Computer software plays a significant role when it comes to making the right decision in your business. It can give you a bird’s view of the current position of the company. It will speak about the total number of employees the company has and if there is any need to hire more people in case the company is looking for any expansion or is getting a new project for which it may need more men to work. Now one just can’t start doing a head count of men it has on the day it gets to know of a new project coming in. what they need is a software that has details of every men working in the company and the position that they are in. this will make the decision making process simpler.

Knowing the financial position of the company:-

In a construction business, one must always review the financial standing of the company from time to time as it helps them to understand if they can go for any possible expansion now. You can make use of the software to identify the reserves you have and also the existing resources at your disposal. Once you have those information with you, taking a call becomes lot more easily.

Expansion of construction business should be the goal

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

For some it may have been a cake walk into the construction business and for others it must have been a tough task. For guys/gals who do not have anybody from their family in the construction sector, it is quite a task for them to set up this business and take it to the next level. For the guys/gals who find it a cake walk, they just get into this business which their family has been running for the last many years. But then there comes the challenge to maintain the business and to expand it. This is definitely not simple for either of them. Here the skill of the person who is running the business is tested time and again. You can expect lot of hardships while you embark the journey of growing your business. There are few things that one must keep into consideration while they plan for the expansion.

Take risk at the right time:-

To run a business a person has to take calculated risk. Only after keeping few very important things into consideration that the risk should be taken. One should also have the capability to foresee the repercussion just in case the action backfires and if they are prepared for it. Do not take the risk if you are not completely prepared for it. It might cost you big time. Understand the market position first and then check if the opportunity that you are getting sounds to be viable. The industry reacts differently at different times. You should be experienced enough to understand the reactions and accordingly should take the call. Taking up of new projects that you are not sure will have many takers should be avoided. They can cause enough problems to you by the time you are into it and will not see any money coming.

Take right call:-

Expansion in the construction sector is all about taking the right call. Your decision matters a lot when it comes to where it will take you in the next few years. A wrong call can have a severe impact on the overall growth and prospect of the business. This is why it is a must to analyze the situation first and not just jump the gun the moment you hear anything exciting. Big construction companies never show their excitement. They rather believe to give a good thought to every exciting opportunity that comes their way. This in turn ensures that they take the right decision and not just get swayed by their excitement.

Keep your goals intact:-

Lay down realistic goals that are achievable and try to achieve them with all your might. If you feel they are achievable then there should be no stopping for you. It is advisable to set small goals first so that you do not get stressed up in the process of achieving them. It makes no sense to punish yourself my setting bigger goals which though are achievable but not right at the moment.

Heavy Equipment refurbishing

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Construction equipment has to go through a lot of tussle while it is working on the jobsite and which is why we can see enormous amount of wear and tear on the face of the machine. This should probably remind us that it is time that we refurbish the heavy equipment or else be ready to sell it in scrap in the next few months or at the most may be a year. It is very important for a heavy equipment owner to keep checking periodically the health of the machine and this is why it is recommended to service the machine every month. Apart from washing the equipment which should be done every couple of days or at least once in a week the oiling and greasing part should be taken care of once in a month. Now if the heavy equipment has gone really old though you have taken good care of it all throughout the life of the machine, it is probably the time to refurbish it.

When we talk about refurbishing heavy equipment, it is not getting the machine painted and taking care of the dents that it has all around its body. It is more of replacing the old vital parts of the equipment with newer ones so that it gets a new life and can work with the same force and vitality. Other than that you can always upgrade the equipment with new technology provided it should be compatible and support the new features. Not many old machines can support the software and therefore it has to go through a lot of changes. Many owners find it convenient to change the machine rather than making so many changes in a machine. It is completely upon the owner of the heavy equipment but it always stays as a possibility.

Increase the longevity of the heavy equipment:-

By refurbishing the heavy equipment you are indeed increasing the longevity of the machine. However, this refurbishing should be more usual. You can’t expect the machine to perform like before just with one session of refurbishing. It should be followed by series of servicing without being skipped. Apparently the new heavy equipment is quite expensive and it will burn a hole in your pocket if you intend to buy one. On the contrary you can simple refurbish the machine whenever you see the need and get it back on track.

Helps you in the rental business:-

If you are a person who owns lot of heavy equipment and are in the business of letting them out, you should know that it becomes a must for you to refurbish the machine after every contract. The reason is that your machine goes through a lot of wear and tear when it is used by a person who is not its owner. They use the machine as per the business needs and not give a thought if the machine can actually take the extra load. Also before you intend to sell the heavy equipment, refurbishing of the heavy equipment is recommended as the new owner should get the best for the amount he pays you.

Creativity is the need of the hour – show it in your business

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

The growth of any business majorly depends upon two pillars. The first is hard work and dedication and the second is how creative you are. The way to present your business module to others is an art. The better you present the more are the chances of you getting more business from your clients. So every time you come up with a new idea or a thought, you need to be prepared to display it in the most apt manner that is easily understood and at the same time quite enticing for others to accept it. Many industries are having people from the creative background. They help the marketing team by using their creative minds and make the product sellable. They start by understanding the product and how it is useful to the end-user or to the person whom will buy the idea. Once they get to know the stuff, they apply their minds and come up with something that sounds logical and also attractive.

Creativity is very important in the overall construction sector. Especially when there is so much competition and every other company is claiming to be the best, it is only those companies who are creative will be able to strive to the end. They can market their products by making them look alluring and also reasonable. One more important place where a construction company can show creativity to attract clients is their website. The company’s website will contain all their information which will be accessible to the public. So they have to ensure that they make it look simple and easy to understand. Most importantly, they have to make sure that the navigational tools are well in place and the viewer does not have to spend a good deal of time to search for tabs.

Creativity is most required there because it is a tough job to keep loads of information of a company in one place and that too in such a manner that others do not find it difficult to access and can easily get down to the stuff they want to check. Simultaneously, they should speak in volume about their achievements and existing projects and that should come up the moment one enters the website. So this has to be decided and checked by the creative team.

Do not make your way of working too predictable. You should also bring a bit of creativity in the way you work. This may lead to increase in productivity and you may find things working faster than before. Creativity should also reflect on your work. For instance, if you are constructing a building for commercial purpose then it should consist of all the amenities that one can think of but at the same time you should ensure that the cost does not go out of hand. This is why you incorporate the creative brains in your team and ask for suggestions that allows you to build a commercial building at a lower cost.

Keep a blend of skilled and semi-skilled men for construction work

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Highly skilled men are hard to get. They are mostly absorbed by big companies who are ready to pay them the amount they want. It is a no brainer that to acquire skilled set of people you should be ready to loosen your pocket or else they have other options to go by. It has been observed that even small companies prefer to keep a couple of skilled men who will be responsible to see that the work has been executed without any hiccups. These guys know how to get the work done from semi-skilled or unskilled laborers. This is why a blend of skilled and semi-skilled employees is always positive to any company. Coming to the construction segment, the existence of this blend is all the more important and required more than anything. For construction companies that are into business for the last few years should mandatorily have more semi-skilled men who will be supervised by skilled workforce and on the top you have people from the management level.

You get workarounds from skilled workforce:-

In the construction sector there comes time more often when the labors get stuck with something and they do not see a way out. They probably have not encountered a situation like that before and therefore do not know the possible workaround. In situation like this, the role of a skilled man comes into picture. He with his experience and knowledge will try to get a solution of the problem. Their knowledge about the industry has helped companies on many occasions to get through difficult situations.

Quite instrumental in imparting their knowledge to semi-skilled:-

He semi-skilled workforce gets to learn a lot from the skilled men. As a matter of fact, the construction industry is all about who knows how much. The more you know about the industry the better it is for you to make a thriving career in this sector. The role of the skilled workforce becomes quite handy when it comes to providing necessary support and training to their sub-ordinates. Training can be conducted on large number of issues which the workforce faces on a daily basis. Moreover, they can also give on job training to unskilled laborers so that they can rise a bit from their level.

Valuable suggestion can come from skilled workforce:-

It is the skilled workforce who has their presence in both on field and off-field and therefore can come out with real good suggestion when the management direly requires it. They are the ones who know the things on ground better than anybody else does and can pass their suggestions to the folks who have the authority to make any changes. Construction companies prefer to share their strategy with these men and want to get some inputs from them. Keeping their experience handy, the skilled men can foresee any possible reason to continue or abort a project and will pass it on to the next level who in turn will take the final call.

Use internet to promote your construction business

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We are living in the age where businesses are conducted online. All kinds of presentations and business meetings happen on the internet. You meet your clients once personally and then whenever you need to meet them again you can do that online. This saves a lot of your time as well as of your clients’. The advent of internet has taken the world in a new dimension from where most of the things are done without the physical presence of the person at a particular position.

This mean that you can conduct a business meeting while you are holidaying at Hawaii and can also take important decisions without being present in the office. All you need to do is ask all the head of departments to join a video call where you will be updating your people about the decision and simultaneously put it on papers and fax/email it back to them. There is one more thing we can do without any hindrance on the net and that is to promote our business online. Well, you can only promote a business that are ethical and lawful in the eyes of the law of the land but that is still a possibility.

This avenue has been widely used by construction companies all over the world. They are using internet as a tool to spread their message to a large number of crowd at a time and are also getting overwhelming response in terms of people calling them up to know what their business has for them. It makes a lot of sense for the new construction companies to make use of internet to promote their business online and get recognition of people from all walks of life. Starting to promote a construction business is quite simple.

It all starts from your website:-

We live in a world where your identity is your website address. Well not literally but substantially. You have any kind of business but a website for your business comes first before anything. People give more stress of designing an interesting website for their company which looks simple and yet attractive. The web page has to be catchy. It should instantly catch the attention of the person going through it and he should find the contents in it to be interesting or else he/she may not take long to close the window and move to the website of your competitor.

Send mass emails:-

If you construct apartments or condominiums or houses and then sell it to the purchaser then it makes lot of sense for you to inform people about your project. This will allow them to pay a visit to your jobsite and check the progress of the work and then accordingly book their apartments. All that you have to do is send emails to people at random. You can perhaps target people from a specific income group. You will not mention much in the email, just few facts about your existing project and how convenient and comfortable it will be for people who buy the property. Rest you can provide your office number where they can call your company and fix a date to see the jobsite. Your work is done. Soon the footfall will increase and that is a good sign for your business.

Heavy Equipment Operator Salary

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

We study hard to become qualified to get a good job which can give us good salary. Every industry provides good package to qualified employees and therefore it makes sense to study hard in the beginning and then get into a job that takes care of the monetary part of your life. It is also important to get into the right industry. An industry that will survive for long and has a future for you. Being rewarding should not be the only criteria for a person to join a company or an industry. They also need to understand the future prospect of the sector and only if they see it to be a thriving one that they should get into it. Construction sector is an industry which is not only rewarding but also has the potential to carry on as long as humans are on this planet. This means that the people who are associated to this industry can assume a bright future with lot of perks.

The position of a heavy equipment operator is quite crucial in the sector. They are the ones who operate the big machines and set the roadmap for the laborers. They not only work on the machines but also make sure that the equipment are performing to the fullest without any hiccups and if they experience any hiccups then they need to get that reported to the concerned authorities who will set things right. The guys who play such an important role must not be getting an ordinary package. They are paid handsomely by the companies as they understand the nature of their work and also understand that they can only be replaced by another experienced and qualified operator and by no one else. So it is always better to have the same employee work for you rather than having new faces time and again.

Well the gross income of an inexperienced heavy equipment operator could be anywhere between $3,500 to $5,000 a month and for the ones who are experienced can expect more from the company. Young heavy equipment operators ideally stay in a company for few years which often acts as a training ground for them and once they are confident and know how to deal with different situations, they make a move. This jump to other companies gives them a higher package and as and when they become more experienced they see their package becoming better. Simultaneously, if they attend classroom training and get certifications they come into the bracket of high paid operators. This is what most of the operators who are on salary dream to reach. No wonder it is a difficult one and needs lot of hard work but definitely a possible one.

For operators who have plenty of experience under their belt, they become freelancers. You will find lot of operators who works as a freelancer with different companies. They are picked on the basis of the project the company has and are paid accordingly. A freelanced operator is mostly connected with a union which provides them with job. However, the money they make at the end of the project is gigantic.

Pros and cons of expanding construction business

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

For any business decision there is always some sort of pros and cons that one has to undergo and the person should also be ready for the ups and down after taking a major business decision. These decisions can also have a lasting effect on the overall prospect of the business and therefore they need to be extremely cautious before they see an opportunity and move ahead to get it. Expansion of business is seen as one such opportunity where a person needs to be extremely cautious with that he is doing. It has every chance of firing back. However, that does not mean that companies should act reluctantly when it comes to topics like expanding their businesses. It is just that they need to be careful with what they have in their mind and need to analyze the pros and cons before they finally set their foot in it.

In the construction sector, evaluating the pros and cons before expansion of the construction business is quite crucial. A wrong call can even lead to complete shutting down of your business. There have been numerous instances where people after taking up projects in the name of expansion were not able to complete them and were fined heavily. It really took a toll on their business. There are lots of legal things that one need to consider. Every state in US has different laws and you need to consider them well before you chalk out something. Talk help of people who knows about laws. Talk to them and understand what the law of the land says so that you can protect your interest first. Expansion of construction business comes with a cost attached to it and it is important to understand those costs. You should be ready to take the chance in the first place.

Expanding your business will certainly give you high returns if things move in the right direction. You will get more work and your fame will precede you. You perhaps do not have to advertise as you will get work on the basis of people knowing your company and that is one of the most unique selling points that will drive your business. It may be real fun when you see that you are acquiring more assets and your company is becoming stronger with every passing day.

Moving across horizons is something that every construction company has dreamt. When we talk about moving across horizons we specifically mean moving from one genre of the construction industry to another. This has a lot of benefits like you can set your foot in a genre that you know has enough potential to earn you rich dividends. However, while you do so you also need to acknowledge the fact that you do not know much about the genre of work and have to depend on expert advice. This means that your dependability on others will increase manifolds. Also you got to study the future prospect of the sector in advance. How the sector has performed and how it will in the future should be known to you before you expand in that horizon.