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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

Construction Management

Buying Materials For Contractors Directly? The Pros & Cons To Consider

When hiring a contractor, nearly everyone is looking for the same outcome: a successful completion of the work for the best (lowest) price possible. It’s instinctual for our minds to ponder how we can save money on the total cost of construction through whatever means possible. This commonly manifests itself through choosing the “cheapest” contractor right from the start, but there are many other ways that clients and general contractors alike try to save some cash when it comes to hiring contractors. One of these ways involves purchasing the materials directly, rather than leaving it to the contractor that’s being hired. Why? Markup. When we receive a proposal from a contractor, their price typically includes labor, equipment and material costs – all of which are then marked up higher to include the contractors’ overhead and profit margins. Clients can therefore save money by buying materials for contractors directly; if clients or general contractors buy the materials, the contractor (or subcontractor) won’t be able to charge overhead and profit on top of these material costs. This means the client gets to keep that money in exchange for buying the material themselves. That’s a big win…right? Well, that depends. While there are certainly some benefits to buying materials for contractors ourselves, there are also some potential drawbacks. Let’s go through the pros and cons!

Pat Finnegan June 4, 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

Construction Documents & Templates

Tracking Construction Productivity: A Few Examples [Free Excel Template]

Determining the profitability of a construction project is straightforward: it’s simply the difference between what a contractor gets paid to complete a project, less what it costs them to do so. When contractors create budgets for their projects, they have to estimate the cost and profit margin for every item of work they must perform. This includes materials, equipment, supplies, overhead expenses and of course – the cost of labor. Given that the vast majority of projects depend heavily on those who physically perform the work, it only makes sense that labor costs on most projects is substantial. It’s not uncommon for labor costs to make up the majority of a project’s total budget. The more efficient and productive the crews onsite work, the more profitable a project is. But how is this productivity calculated? How can construction managers and supervisors know whether or not the workers are meeting the budget? What if some items are going better than estimated, while others are doing worse? This is why tracking construction productivity on a regular basis is so important. Let’s go through a few examples of how to track construction productivity using an Excel template, which you can download for free below!

Pat Finnegan May 7, 2021

Getting OSHA 30 Certified Online - My Experience 360Training Review

Construction Management

Getting OSHA 30 Certified Online: My Experience [OSHACampus Review]

The Occupational Health & Safety Administration – otherwise known as OSHA – is a governmental organization in the U.S. that ensures the overall safety and health of men and women in the workforce. OSHA’s stated mission is to support this workforce through “setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.” (via OSHA.gov). As one can imagine, the amount of industries and occupations that OSHA covers is vast, and there are too many types of working environments in the U.S. to cover all job-specific hazards with one cover-all training program. Thus, there are a huge variety of OSHA certifications out there! Just in the world of construction, there many common OSHA training programs across all sorts of project types. One of the most common OSHA training programs in the field of construction is the OSHA 30-Hour, aka the ‘OSHA 30’. An OSHA 30 completion certificate is obtained after receiving 30 hours of specific construction safety training from a qualified instructor. While this is traditionally done in the classroom, more and more people are getting OSHA 30 “certified” online – I know, because I’ve done it myself! Let’s discuss getting OSHA 30 training online (pros and cons), along with my own personal 360Training review from when I received my OSHA 30 training online.

Pat Finnegan February 3, 2021

Testing, Inspecting & Monitoring

Concrete Moisture Monitoring: Why It Matters + The Best Moisture Meters

In terms of moisture, concrete is counterintuitive. When we think about concrete, many of us picture it as a dry, hard material; something that’s resilient to rain, snow and moisture. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Concrete is wet when it’s mixed, and is a porous material once it’s cured. Unless it’s been coated or protected, concrete will absorb moisture – even humidity from the air – and holds some level moisture in it at all times. That said, only so much moisture is allowed. Many finishes installed on top of concrete, such as flooring and coatings, require that moisture content in the concrete stay below specific moisture levels while work is in progress. The moisture content in concrete can’t be too high either; if concrete is too moist, it can crack, spall and fail in a number of ways. In turn, concrete moisture monitoring is important for a variety of reasons! Let’s get into the details of why concrete moisture monitoring is so critical during construction and building inspections, along with our top picks for the best concrete moisture meters on the market.

Pat Finnegan January 28, 2021

Testing, Inspecting & Monitoring

Torque Wrench In Construction: Importance, Uses & 3 Top-Rated Models

All around the world, construction projects rely on one physically small component in order to be completed correctly: fasteners. Whether it be gigantic steel anchor bolts beneath a bridge or screws supporting a piece of plywood, the assembly of construction projects as a whole is mostly done using a variety of fasteners. The type of fasteners used will vary by work type, project type and design parameters, but all fasteners used on a project – both in type and size – are specified by the engineer prior to construction beginning. Given that fasteners play such a huge role in the construction assembly process, it makes sense that fasteners must be installed appropriately in order for them to meet design requirements. How do we know whether a bolt is tight enough, or even too tight? Let’s talk about the importance of the torque wrench in construction, along with some examples of common uses and 3 top-rated models on the market.

Pat Finnegan January 20, 2021

Testing, Inspecting & Monitoring

Temperature & Humidity In Construction: Impacts + Top 3 Monitoring Tools

When we think about construction, it’s easy to think that money is the only real variable required to get the job done. After all, if someone’s willing to pay any price in order to complete a project – regardless of all other factors – can’t it somehow be done? While this is true to an extent, access to funding is only one variable that can restrict the construction process. We’ve written about how weather affects construction in the past. In this article, we’ll be diving into a specific variable: temperature and humidity in construction. Let’s go through the effect that temperature and humidity can have in construction and how you can monitor temperature and humidity data on your project.

Pat Finnegan January 14, 2021

Construction Documents & Templates

Best Automated Construction Estimating Excel Software [Free Download]

We’ve used all sorts of construction estimating softwares and templates over the years. In this process, we’ve realized exactly what a great estimating program should be like – and what it shouldn’t include as well! That’s why we’ve created, in our humble opinion, the best automated construction estimating Excel software on the internet! Does it allow you to customize units of measurement, labor rates and profit margins? YES. Does it provide a clean, easy-to-use interface for estimating individual work items? YES. Does it break each work item into sections like labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors and more? YES. Does it look good doing it? YES! Click here to preview the features of our estimating template and download yours for free.

Pat Finnegan July 1, 2020

Construction Management

11 Ways Contractors Screw Up Construction Projects

The construction industry is perpetuated by a truly symbiotic process, in that all parties involved – project initiators, architects, engineers, contractors and more – rely on one another in order to achieve the best results possible. This coordinated effort is absolutely essential; the sum of all these parts equals a successful end product. That said, each one of these parties has the capability of completely ruining a construction project! In this 4-part series, we’re talking about how construction projects get screwed up. This article will be focused on 11 ways contractors screw up construction projects.

Pat Finnegan May 2, 2020

CATEGORY | Contractors

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What Do Building Inspectors Do? 4 Construction Inspector Responsibilities

Buying Materials For Contractors Directly? The Pros & Cons To Consider

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

Tracking Construction Productivity: A Few Examples [Free Excel Template]

Getting OSHA 30 Certified Online: My Experience [OSHACampus Review]

Concrete Moisture Monitoring: Why It Matters + The Best Moisture Meters

Torque Wrench In Construction: Importance, Uses & 3 Top-Rated Models

Temperature & Humidity In Construction: Impacts + Top 3 Monitoring Tools

Best Automated Construction Estimating Excel Software [Free Download]

11 Ways Contractors Screw Up Construction Projects

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CATEGORY | Contractors

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