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Having the answers when you need them is critical to operating efficiently. If the data is old and missing information then the report is worthless. Two culprits that keep the data stale are below. If we correct these then a fresh report will have value and can help in correcting any off course jobs before they crash. 1. Unpaid Weekly Employee Hours – Look for a solution in your accounting program to post transactions daily. If your accounting program will accommodate posting the hours daily then start collecting them from the field and posting daily. Look for ways to provide daily reports via email or the cloud to the field management for review and discuss if corrections are needed. 2. […]

The foremost estimating error types include the following: Insufficient allowances: The most common problem that occurs is that a low estimate may be given by a contractor along with a list of allowance for material, and this amount may turn out to be very high as compared to the given estimate. Wrong assumptions: There might be items that may be assumed to be included under the bid proposed by the contractor or the subcontractor but these might not actually be covered. Or perhaps, one might assume a standard septic system to be sanctioned but the requirement may differ in actuality. Omissions: These are items inadvertently left farther than the estimation, and there are mainly either hard costs of construction or […]

Evaluation is a systematic determination of a subject’s merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards. The definition is a mouthful. Evaluations are the most difficult to successfully accomplish but very rewarding if they can be done effectively. Identifying the key words in the above definition can help in their success. The word “systematic” is defined as being done according to a fixed plan or system. The common plans for when evaluations are accomplished are generally Quarterly, Semi-Annual or Annual. For anyone that has to do them the time between the last one and the next one can be incredibly difficult to remember all the things you would like to express that could help the employee […]

Job cost reports are where money is made or lost. In order to run efficient and profitable jobs, you’ve got to have reliable data, which starts with job cost reports. Here are 6 ways to improve your reports, to deliver better data and more profit. All Job/Phase/Cost Codes should be identified by numbers (no alpha characters used). The first place to start is the coding system to identify the jobs/phases/cost codes. If you’re using any alpha characters, the risk of data entry errors increases and the speed of data entry decreases. Keep all data entry on the numeric keypad so users don’t need to jump back and forth during entry. The length of the Job/Phase/Cost Code numbers should be as […]

“A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man who works with his hands and his brains is a craftsman; but a man who works with his hands and his brain and his heart is an artist.” —Louis Niger We’re on a mission to bring back pride in workmanship. When we first started in the concrete industry, 30+ years ago, people took pride in their work. They were craftsmen. They were artists. They put themselves into their work, and wanted their work to speak to the character of who they were. Why should we care? Two reasons. Pride in workmanship benefits the employee. Would you rather go to work, put in your time, come home, eat, sleep, […]

In today’s successful concrete construction company, extraordinary profits are earned by ordinary operations people who have a clear direction on the task to be completed, when it needs to be completed, and an understanding of acceptable units of productivity. These skilled operations people typically need very little management and enjoy creating more efficient means of completing assignments. Skilled operations people are extremely valuable in a company. They can keep projects profitable when estimators miss an estimate but win the job. They can correct problems revealed by accounting before its too late. The old concrete construction company was run by strong personalities, gut feelings, and check book balances. We called it feast or famine. As people moved along with these companies, […]