8 Steps to Successful Subconsultant Relationships

Prime design consultants often have a great deal of project control and leverage. Unfortunately, such responsibilities increase the potential for significant risk. This is especially true if errors or omissions committed by subconsultants cause damage to the client or project. Under such circumstances, the prime will most likely be held liable as if they committed the negligent acts themselves.

Understanding the Key Role of Municipal Boards in Commercial Development

For many communities throughout the country, each municipality has its own elected and appointed officials who oversee the governing of their respective communities and are tasked with charting and shaping the growth of their towns.  This system of checks and balances plays a primary role when building a new commercial facility; these are the people who approve—or don’t approve—requests for new construction, expansion and/or renovation of an existing space. It is imperative for those looking to expand or develop new areas to get to know these individuals and understand the processes of the

Becoming Inclusive

Last Saturday evening, when I attended KultureCity‘s KultureBALL, I was reminded once again what can happen when a grassroots idea gets the right leadership.

Julian Maha and his wife Michele Kong, both medical doctors, founded KultureCity in 2013 after their oldest child was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Ever since, their goal has been education, inclusion and to provide the alteration of public spaces, making them more sensory friendly.

KultureBALL is their annual event where celebrity and philanthropy walk hand-in-hand to promote acceptance, foster awareness and raise funds for programs benefiting children and families with autism. Football great Tiki Barber was there, along with Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., who I enjoyed sitting with at dinner. Both of these men have children affected by autism, and both have stepped up to set change in motion.

KultureCity has been around 5 short years, but as you can see in this video, the difference they have already made is staggering. As I walked around that evening, hearing the stories and seeing the map of all the current event spaces that have been changed, I found myself getting excited for what’s ahead. I was reminded that a little spark by two individuals can light a fire in the community and then maybe a nation.

 

 

 

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How to Build a Strong Contingency Plan for Hurricane Season

While it is not possible to fully predict when each hurricane will occur, contractors can prepare for all hurricanes with a documented and well-rehearsed contingency plan. Your guide to constructing a strong contingency plan for hurricane season.

Power Up

This week, I visited one of our projects that covers several acres. It’s not ready for permanent power, but also needs power in a lot of locations. In the past, we’ve run conduit to a stationary board, which works, but has its downfalls. If there is too much load demand, breakers get tripped and the whole job shuts down until the problem can be fixed. There is very little flexibility to relocate easily. As walls go up, locations have to be changed. In short, productivity is lost.

On this project, we’ve brought in temporary power distribution units. Simply put, these units are daisy chained throughout the job, so that we now have multiple temp electrical locations. They are easy to move, with no single source. A few advantages:

• Safety. There are fewer cords, less chance of overload and all plugs are GFI protected.
• Portability. We can easily move the units from space to space to accommodate changing needs.
• Convenience. There are multiple plug in spots for equipment that needs to charge overnight.

While temporary power distribution units are frequently used in industrial construction, we are seeing potential with these system in our commercial mix. Good call by the management on this job.

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Construction Efforts Scale with New Drone Mission Capabilities

Drones are already making a difference at construction sites. Companies are collecting data to monitor progress, optimize job reports and complete many other construction functions by deploying these small, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Find out how they're doing this here. 

12 Steps for Developing and Driving Stronger Business Strategies

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” The purpose of business planning is to set overall goals for your business and to develop a strategy to achieve them. This includes implementing deducting and balancing approaches, making decisions, setting a destination or direction, and action planning. However, many construction companies have no long-term plan, with some even touting, “We just bid and pray.”