Construction Team Archives

Construction Management

What Do Building Inspectors Do? 4 Construction Inspector Responsibilities

We all know that buildings and structures are designed to meet certain standards. Whether they’re related to engineering requirements, material placement or building codes, it’s understood that contractors must adhere to strict guidelines when it comes to performing construction duties correctly. While owners and project initiators could simply trust that everything’s being built 100% correctly, the numerous construction disasters that’ve happened over the years prove just how costly – and even deadly – improper construction can be. Sure, there’s pretty much zero risk involved in painting a wall or putting down some new flooring, but projects that involve structural work, utilities, major alterations or public exposure must be monitored closely throughout the process to ensure that all work is being done correctly. That’s where building inspectors come into play. Let’s go through four key construction inspector responsibilities.

Pat Finnegan June 11, 2021

Career Planning

Do Construction Managers Have To Travel? Let’s Break It Down

Let’s kick this one off with a bit of history. It’s the year 1848. Location? North America. What were folks up to? The Revolutionary War was over, but the Civil War had not yet begun. While I can’t speak for everyone since I wasn’t there, about 300,000 people decided to pack up their belongs, leave the family homestead and head to California, often on perilous journeys. The reason? The Gold Rush. Although gold had been discovered in California by local residents earlier, 1848-1849 is when the rush truly began to occur. Often referred to as ’49ers, people from all over the world began arriving in California – not only from the eastern parts of America, but also from Mexico, Peru, China, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and more. The prospects of wealth and prosperity – even through word of mouth and letters – was sufficient reason to give up everything, leave home and spend time digging or ‘panning’ for gold in the desert. In short, people wanted money and California was the best place to find it. While things in America are a bit more stable now, the idea of traveling to find prosperity is far from over – actually, that goes for any country of origin. While working from home is pushing things in a new direction, the prospect of traveling to find better opportunities is still relatable for millions of people. This group certainly includes people working in the construction industry, but there are many nuances to consider. If you came here after wondering “do construction managers have to travel?”, fear not – I aim to answer this with as much detail as I can.

Pat Finnegan May 21, 2021

Project Management

Managing Jerks As A Project Manager: What To Act On & What To Accept

As Project Managers, we get the ‘pleasure’ of working with people of every variety. Not only are we expected to work alongside everyone else involved with the project, but we’re also expected to help them, answer questions and provide direction. Simple enough, right? Well, on paper it is. Management gets difficult when personalities begin to clash. Maybe a teammate thinks you’re stupid and doesn’t want to listen to you. Perhaps they think you’re too smart and are threatened by you. Even more vague – they might just not like you for their own reasons. While this seems like a big deal when it’s happening to us, it’s statistically inevitable – no one can please everyone. Manage enough people over time and you’ll run into difficulty with some. Today, we’re taking about managing jerks as a Project Manager, along with which behavior we should act on vs. let slide. Let’s get into it!

Pat Finnegan December 17, 2019

Construction Management

What Is An Assistant Project Manager? A Brief Overview Of The Position

Project Managers are in charge of the whole show – as far as the specific project is concerned, the buck stops with them (or their boss). Regardless, Project Managers are expected to make the big decisions on the job. By the time they’re even promoted to P.M., they already have several years of experience in the field. So what exactly are P.M.s doing before they become Project Managers. In this article, we’re discussing the question of “what is an Assistant Project Manager?”, including what A.P.M.s do and the type of experience they have.

Pat Finnegan November 18, 2019

Project Management

Managing Older Employees As A Younger Manager: Realities To Consider

As you become a manager in any industry, it’s inevitable that you’ll have to manage employees older than yourself. This is true for the vast majority of managers out there today. In many cases, people get promoted to a management position in their 30s or even in their 20s. The majority of their coworkers might be older than the manager in these instances! While managing an employee older than you requires a specific approach, it’s completely doable. In this article, we’re talking about managing older employees as a younger manager, along with some realities that go along with doing so.

Pat Finnegan October 23, 2019

Project Manager Soft Skills

Managing Egos At Work: How To Decipher The Hidden Messages

Most people have more than one version of themselves inside. We have our rational minds – the part of us that’s calm, logical and conscious of reality, and then we have our ego – the self-preserving, survival-based irrational mind that is mostly based in emotion (feelings) rather than fact. Emotions like anger, frustration, disdain, jealousy and fear are just a few of the feelings that can trigger our ego to jump in and take over. While social pressures and societal standards incentivize us to be on our best behavior, our egos can still flare up in public, around others and yes, even at work. Humans have egos in part for survival purposes, but in current times, it doesn’t feel that way. We go to work to perform our duties and take home our pay, but that doesn’t stop us from being humans as we do it. Today, we discuss managing egos at work, specifically by deciphering the hidden meaning behind what egos are really saying.

Pat Finnegan October 15, 2019

Construction Management

How Do You Manage Subcontractors? 7 Essential Tips

Projects come in all shapes and sizes, as do contractors. For a contractor to take on a project, they must essentially be willing and able to bring a client’s idea into reality. Sometimes, a contractor possesses all of the knowledge, skill and supplies necessary to complete an entire project on their own. In many other cases, though, the outcome a client is looking for has many parts to it. While a contractor might be willing and able to perform a large portion of the work, the client may be asking for things the contractor just can’t do. The contractor doesn’t walk away at this stage – they hire another contractor to do the work they’re not able to do themselves. This additional contractor is now a subcontractor on the project. Before hiring a subcontractor in a real-world scenario for the first time, we must know the ins and outs of working with a subcontractor. In this article, we’ll be answering the question of: How do you manage subcontractors?

Pat Finnegan September 17, 2019

Construction Project Team Roles & Responsibilities

Construction Management

Construction Project Team: Roles And Responsibilities Of 9 Key Positions

Construction projects require a lot of resources. Not only does construction need materials, equipment and workers to build it, but they require planning, contracts, scheduling, documentation, payments (receiving and issuing) and countless other management-related tasks. Contractors in charge of a large project need a team of people to manage all phases of the project, from inception to completion. Today, we’ll explore the typical construction project team roles and responsibilities that are found on successful projects, as well as the required experience level.

Pat Finnegan September 12, 2019

Construction Documents & Templates

What Is A Daily Report In Construction? 5 Best Practices

A daily report in construction summarizes all of the activity on a construction site on a particular day. This includes manpower, hours worked, the work performed, weather, equipment and materials used, visitors, deliveries, subcontractor activity and a summary of what happened that day. Over time, every project will have dozens, hundreds or even THOUSANDS of daily field reports. The books of daily reports will contain all of the pertinent information for any/all activities on the job site. In terms of more specific tips and strategies, there are a few things to include on a daily field report that you may not have considered. Here are 5 essential best practices!

Pat Finnegan July 29, 2019

DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES: 5 TYPES AND HOW TO MANAGE THEM

Project Management

Different Personalities: Work With These Five Types

We’ve all heard the saying, and we all cringe every time we do. Who even came up with these expressions? Regardless of how corny the expression is, it’s true. In project management, you’ll need to work with many different personalities: people you may not see eye-to-eye with, people you don’t care for, and even people you can’t stand! I’ve been there many times, and it gets easier. By easier, I mean your focus will remain centered around the overall results, and less on the individual actions happening around you. You can have all the skills in the world, but knowing how to approach and work with different personalities will make managing a project team a much easier process.

Pat Finnegan June 5, 2019

CATEGORY | Construction Team

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What Do Building Inspectors Do? 4 Construction Inspector Responsibilities

Do Construction Managers Have To Travel? Let’s Break It Down

Managing Jerks As A Project Manager: What To Act On & What To Accept

What Is An Assistant Project Manager? A Brief Overview Of The Position

Managing Older Employees As A Younger Manager: Realities To Consider

Managing Egos At Work: How To Decipher The Hidden Messages

How Do You Manage Subcontractors? 7 Essential Tips

Construction Project Team: Roles And Responsibilities Of 9 Key Positions

What Is A Daily Report In Construction? 5 Best Practices

Different Personalities: Work With These Five Types

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