 |
 |
|
 |
Tech & Internet |
| |
BIM: ‘Get on board or get left behind’
buildingSMART newsletter (on BIM)
Video: Interview with Blue Book executive
Tech to manage Wind Farm Construction
Tech in construction . . . age & attitude
Top 10 Social Media Trends (from AECcafe.com) |
|
Apps |
| |
Facebook’s ‘Efficiency App’
iPad apps (2) from Fiber Optic Association |
|
Construction Data + Outlooks |
| |
Housing’s road back ‘to extend beyond 2013’
Housing forecasts (see table)
McGraw-Hill 2012 forecast (see graphic)
Q3 ‘backlog indicator’ – from ABC |
|
Associations |
| |
IEC’s new board of directors
NECA’s first-ever Energy Forum
VIDEO: Canadian mag talks to IAEI executives |
|
Training Dates |
| |
Standard training classes set for
our Chandler, AZ offices are scheduled for January 11-13 February 1-3.
Advanced class: Set for Chandler AZ on January 26-27.
Plumbing & Mechanical: Class set for Chandler AZ, Feb. 29-March 2.
|
|
Standard class dates for Columbia, MD is February 22nd - 25th.
Click here for the complete list of upcoming 2012 training dates
Training can be "suit-cased" to your facility. We can tailor our training to your needs. Ask us about customized training at your site!
Call to register for any of the above classes, including those in Maryland: 1-800-444-4890.
We've posted training dates, directions to our training facilities, and registration forms on our Web page. Click the "Education" button on our home page, or go directly to this link: Education
|
 |
Had a guy call in this morning, his estimator was working since 3am to get a bid out in the morning, over a 5 million dollar job.
The server decides to start applying updates by itself and rebooted while he was building large assemblies to finish up the bid.
This trashed his job making it unusable and unpastable.
Support was VERY lucky in being able to recover and repair the job, much to the relief of the estimator.
LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THIS:
Make sure you are on Version 10. This makes a lot of backups in the data folder that are easy to get to without help from us.
Make sure your server isn't set to automatically reboot after it applies updates. this should be manually done by your IT guy when no one is working. |
|
|
|
A Mesa Mechanical Contractor
Is Long-Time McCormick User
|
| |
 |
|
PM Plumbing & Mechanical (Mesa AZ – www.pmplumbingaz.com) has been around since 1985. Founded by Paul Sherrard, who still runs the company, it provides many kinds of mechanical, plumbing & HVAC services to customers large and small.
“We see ourselves as a business that will always serve as a fire department to the companies that need emergency mechanical services,” Sherrard explained recently. “When a pump goes out, or a chiller goes down, or a valve fails – we get the call. And we have the people, with the needed knowledge, skills and abilities, who are ready to respond and keep that company’s production rolling.”
PM began life as a partnership (and a two-person company); Sherrard became sole owner in 1988. It’s been as large as 40 or more technicians; these days it runs in the 20-person range. These people have earned the company several special accreditations – from organizations such as ASME & NBIC – that allow it to perform work many other companies just cannot do, such as R-Stamp, S-Stamp, and U-Stamp projects. |
|
Sherrard has seemingly walked down every specialty avenue one can imagine inside the mechanical trade. His company is one of only a few in AZ that can conduct a smoke test. It does specialty gas piping work in hospitals – and has welders qualified to work on toxic gas lines, too.
As he puts it: “One day I’ll have some guys doing work in a clean room, which is painstaking work. The next day, the same crew might be working in a ditch! I can’t say enough about the value of having people who can do so many different things for customers – it has helped to make our company what it is today.”
An obvious question for this newsletter to answer: As McCormick Systems only recently introduced its estimating software for Plumbing & Mechanical contractors, how is it that Sherrard’s company has used McCormick software since 1988? |
Customer-vendor partnership
In truth, what’s gone on between PM Plumbing & Mechanical and McCormick Systems over the past 23 years is a partnership. Sherrard met company founder Jack McCormick (originally an electrical contractor himself) in the mid-1980s and liked what he saw; he bought the guy’s software and put it to work.
On the other end, working with PM – learning about its operations, taking deep looks into its database – is one of the things that encouraged McCormick to go into the P & M software business.
“We’re just lucky that I decided to work with McCormick. They’ve been fantastic partners. They regularly call and ask me what I’d like to see. They’ve helped train my estimators over the years. Really, it has been nothing but help.”
Working with Sherrard and his company has influenced McCormick's effort in putting together the Plumbing & Mechanical estimating software that has now been brought to the market. |
Succeeding in tough times
Sherrard entered the mechanical trades in 1973, as an apprentice. Before becoming a contractor, he worked for companies such as Bechtel and on projects that took him to Alaska’s North Slope.
Now, 38 years later, he remains armpit-deep in the business. It’s not unusual for him to get deeply into a project estimate. “I’ll do an estimate on a job, at the same time one of my estimators does – and we’ll compare our numbers before we submit them,” he said.
“In doing that, the key is that McCormick’s system keeps me consistent.”
Not all projects are straightforward, even during today’s tougher times. Sherrard described a recent job (for a customer he did not name) in which PM Plumbing & Mechanical is helping to bring “a process from R&D on up to production.” Initially bid at $10,000, the project thus far has generated $200,000 in billing.
Along the way, McCormick’s software has been used to ramp up – one small increase at a time (“all in parts and pieces,” Sherrard said).
And along the way, he’s used the same philosophy. “Our thinking has been to find good people and partner with them,” he explained. “My electrical subcontractor has worked with us for 20 years, as has the concrete guy. And the concrete coring guy we work with – roughly 20 years there, too."
“We picked McCormick, and we’re happy that we did. When we talk to them, the first thing they are always seeking to do is to make sure we’re getting what we need out of the system – not a sales pitch. They have been good partners.” |
|
|
From President Todd McCormick |
 |
Dear Friends & Customers –
As we move to the year’s end, I remain excited about what’s happening here at McCormick Systems. This year taught me something about business – and Life.
Those who have been around a while have heard all of the old sayings, including “You make your own luck.” I’ve always found that one to be debatable.
However, one thing is certain: Going with a tradition inherited from my father, Jack, the founder – we at McCormick have created a lot of opportunities for our customers. We’re now in the electrical construction market (our mainstay), the T&D market, the automated building systems area, and plumbing & mechanical.
That’s something you could not have said in 2009.
Additionally, just a few months ago, we rolled out total revamp of our estimating software. We’ve made improvements to all main-line products. Some of this resulted from requests of customers like you; much of it took time, which is why, while we started in 2009, we just completed the work this past Summer.
I can’t say McCormick Systems is “insulated” from the U.S. economy, as our customers are part of its backbone – the construction and maintenance industries. And I can’t say that the steps we’ve taken in 2011 allow us to ignore the headlines and act as if our company is on some other planet.
But I can say this: No matter what comes, the hard work the people at McCormick Systems have put in to make all of this happen is going to make the future better for our customers, and (as a result of that) – for those who work here.
What ideas can you, the contractor or estimator, take from this? It might be just this:
- When you find yourself reading or thinking about the U.S. or global economy, STOP. I don’t think any of us can influence Merkel or Sarkozy or Monti, or for that matter Bernanke and Geithner.
- Instead, use that mental energy to think about what you can do in your front yard, where you live and work. You might get into new lines of business now, or prepare for growth when things start to rebound in your area.
Thank you for your business, your ideas, and your friendship. Have a wonderful Holiday season!
Todd McCormick
President
McCormick Systems
|
|
Mark Your Calendar: 2012 Users Conference |
|
May 2-5 are the dates for the 2012 McCormick Systems Users’ Conference. It’s a special event for us (and, we hope, for you) – our 30th conference.
To make it memorable for all of us, we’ll have it at the Talking Stick Resort (Scottsdale AZ) – which is only two years old. Yes, it has a golf course on the property. And it’s a four-diamond resort, an “exalted” rating according to this March press release.
Too upscale to be affordable? Not at all – the rates we’ve negotiated are right in line with what McCormick customers have worked with in previous years.
Please put this on your calendar; details (including your U.C. agenda) will be coming to you soon. See the registration form below. If you have questions, please ask! Click here for the registration form! |
|
|
|
Speedy Submittal Solution
Will Make Big Splash |
|
Trade Service isn’t a company that normally has to be modest. So far, though, the company’s sales of Submittal Manager, construction submittal software with a 350,000-manufacturer catalog page library (introduced in April), are on a relatively gentle upward slope.
However, most who are aware of it don’t think that will last long. The company introduced this product right in the teeth of a construction recession. As contractors look up from their struggles and discover it, they embrace the product – and put it to work.
The message, then: Your chance to get in on the ground floor of Submittal Manager still exists. But it’s going to vanish.
“We met a contractor in San Diego at the NECA show who was from the East Coast,” said Sumana Rao, Vice President of Sales. “He took the time to listen and ask questions about Submittal Manager. Not only did he become a subscriber, but he told us that our product – alone – had made his trip worthwhile.”
Note: See the TS webpage on this product – from there you can sign up for a webinar, take a video tour, and learn much more.
Saving time & gaining an edge
A few hundred contractors have signed up so far for Submittal Manager. Electrical distributors are customers as well – and the fact that TS has signed up Graybar Electric means it has at least one customer with well over 100 users.
Why all the excitement?
Stated simply, Submittal Manager enables a contractor (and/or a project manager) to compress time. With the Manufacturer catalog page PDFs you’ll need to look for to put together a complete submittal now easily findable via that catalog, it should take one-third the time (or less) to put submittals together for a project.
In some cases, the net hours saved could be on the order of 25 to 40 . . . allowing the person assigned to put the submittal together to pay attention to something more important, one hopes, than running down PDFs on manufacturer websites. |
 |
There’s more
“One thing we’ve heard from our customers is a major factor is the ability to upload documents that the contractor wants to include that are not yet in our library,” said Tod Moore, Senior VP of sales for TS.
“This typically will happen with lighting packages. Because the contractor can upload whatever specialty items are in that package, he can still use Submittal Manager – with all the other features – to put together a professional, high-quality submittal to his customers.”
Added Mike Podoris, Director of Product Management: “That ability to put together a professional-looking document – and to just send links to customers, if the contractor wishes, instead of paper – is something that’s perhaps more important than we had originally thought."
“We’ve actually heard from the customers of our customers – including general contractors – that they like what they are seeing from their subcontractors who use Submittal Manager.”
Additionally, there is a logical spin-off to the program of information you generate inside your McCormick Systems estimating program. The item list from the McCormick software can be used by Submittal Manager to automatically generate documents for your submittal package – each in the correct CSI category.
“We’ve had excellent feedback on this product,” summarized Rao. “We have talked with many contractors who said they will add a subscription as soon as they have more projects. It’s simply a better way of doing things for the contractor.”
Assuming you soon will put together a submittal package for a significant project, the relatively new TS offering can reduce the time involved and make your submittal stand out from what others normally offer their GCs or direct customers.
At $840/year, a subscription might be worth a try sooner rather than later – just in case, when things finally do turnaround, you find yourself needing to save great gobs of time.
– Joe Salimando for McCormick Systems
|
|
|
Summarizing the Estimate (continued from the November newsletter)
- Was demolition included in your takeoff or does it need to be added here?
- Any security problems (prisons, schools, mental institutions, etc.) requiring additional costs?
- Any special safety considerations requiring testing or special equipment? Include any additional costs.
- Any special site conditions that will increase costs? Add those additional costs to the Estimate.
- Is material delivery going to be difficult? Are there multiple floors? Add any additional costs for material delivery.
- Are there secure places at the jobsite for material and tool storage? Will the material storage location need to be moved? Add any additional costs involved.
- Don’t forget to include any of the special costs noted as you reviewed the plans and specifications such as the cost of money, additional insurance required, etc.
- Include the costs of future construction meetings.
- Did you include the cost of preparing the Estimate?
- Add the cost of overhead. Overhead may be added as a dollar amount, a percent of the job [either broken down between the costs or as a total percentage] – or as a dollar per hour figure based on the job hours. Usually Overhead numbers come from the Accounting Department or the Company Accountant.
- Don’t forget to add profit. Profit is not a dirty word, it is the dollars that let you continue and expand your business.
- Add bonding costs if required.
You are now ready for the most important part. Carefully review and check your bid summary for anything missed. Be sure that all Alternates and Addendums are included. |
|
|
Think Inside The Box |
|
|
Not the usual advice you’ve been getting, is it?
The words above are the headline on a Security Distributing & Marketing article.
What else can security guys put inside the box they install — or, to say it clearly, what other services can be provided to customers who’ve already bitten on a security system?
What’s the answer? Here are a bunch, from the article:
“When our sales people walk through a facility, they look around and ask what would happen if this freezer, conveyor belt, or other piece of equipment failed?”
. . . . environmental monitoring to help wineries protect their inventories. “They may have millions of dollars of perishable product in their cellars . . . Temperature and humidity are the major concerns.”
Another integrator . . . monitors freezer temperatures that store human brains for Alzheimer’s research.
And then there’s this, from one security company that also (like many) offers monitoring:
“We’d be hard-pressed to build a business strictly around environmental monitoring as a standalone service, but it is a great addition to our security monitoring because customers perceive it as an added value of doing business with us.” [He] estimates that about 35 percent of [his company's] intrusion monitoring accounts also use environmental monitoring.
- – - – -
So the questions for electrical contractors are:
(a) on the basis that your best customer is . . . your customer – !
(b) what additional opportunities at that customer’s location(s) are YOU overlooking?
|
|
|
Buildings To Evolve(?) |
 |
Prepare Your Building to Evolve is the headline on a Buildings magazine piece. It includes this:
In the future, could your building integrate:
- Renewable energy systems
- An advanced HVAC system
- Daylighting
- Rainwater harvesting
- A green roof or green wall
- Exterior shading devices
- A more flexible space plan
- A building automation system that can provide the level of control and visible building performance metrics needed to engage the occupants?
It falls to EleBlog to point out that much of the work involved in “evolving” existing buildings along the lines above will be done by electrical contractors. |
|
Employment Report |
 |
Electrical Contractor employment — which the EleBlog tracks based on field employees (not total employees) — has shown these highlights in recent years:
- 2007 year’s average = 731,700
- 2010 year’s average = 559,800
- High for 2011, in the first 10 months = 586,900 (July)
- October 2011 (vs. Oct. 2010) = 578,700 (subject to revision) vs. last year’s 573,100.
Every month since February (means 9 months, Feb-Oct) has seen slightly higher employment in 2011 than in 2010.
Here’s a graph of the past 21 years, as provided by BLS:
What does all of this mean?
1 – there are roughly 150,000 people who did electrical work in 2007 that aren’t doing it now. Are these all journeyman electricians? I don’t know. No one does.
2 – the improvement in 2011 over 2010 is, as you can see, Marginal.
3 – the graph shows an erratic employment history for this industry. What we can’t know is whether employment is in the process of “settling in” at what could a permanently reduced plateau. |
|
Add It All Up – Green, Pre-Fabbed, Cheap +
Quick To Build |
 |
A child development center at a Redondo Beach, Calif.-school built with pre-fab construction techniques uses 25% less energy than a conventional structure would.
|
This is not an endorsement, but according to National Real Estate Online, buildings from Project Frog (which is a company in San Francisco)
– are green
– are prefabricated
– take from one to six months to build.
– cost 25% less (“than a comparably sized brick-and-mortar structure”)
- – - – -
EleBlog’s favorite slice (the story was about an elementary school bldg.) –
Significant portions of the 5,000-sq.-ft. structure arrived preassembled, to be set in place and bolted together into a sleek array of steel, wall panels and glass.
“It was kind of like Legos putting it together because it’s a prefab steel-beam facility, and the kids really enjoyed the process,” says Steven Keller, superintendent of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. |
|
|
|
