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June 2004 Edition
User’s Conference ’04 Achieves Key Goal: Producing Great Returns For Customers
Increasing the
productivity of our electrical contractor customers is the watchword at
McCormick Systems. How do we make that work in terms of an annual meeting of
our customers? We want the investment of time to pay huge dividends. From feedback we obtained at the event and since, McCormick apparently came fairly close to its goals. “The funny part – from this perspective – is that, beforehand, we weren’t sure whether we would get any value out of attending,” says Gayle Melton of Kilian Electric (Wichita, KS). “But in just several of the shortcuts that McCormick showed, and some of the basics that they reviewed – to me, it was just definitely worth the time. “With all computer systems, you get updates, and you obtain information on paper with them – but you don’t necessarily learn how to use the improvements,” Melton explained. Contractor Mike Kilian specifically targeted learning more about using the Edit Extension feature during the event. “That’s one of the things that we went to Arizona to learn more about,” Melton says. “Since we’ve returned, we've used that feature a lot more.” Click here for a full photo gallery of this year's conference One key to the success of the conference – and McCormick itself – is the interplay between customers and company employees. It’s a long-term dynamic: Customers tell us about enhancements, improvements, and their “wish list” for our system’s functions at each year’s conference. We work on delivering what’s requested. “We had a ‘sneak preview’ of our new Version 8.0 at the event,” notes Todd McCormick. “Some of our customers actually brought their ‘wish list’ with them – in writing. The list included changes they’d asked for last year. I actually saw them in our ‘lab’ going through that list, ticking off the changes." “Of course, you hold your breath in such situations! But the six or eight major enhancements that we’re delivering in Version 8.0 – which makes its official debut at this year’s NECA Show in October – were the items on that list.” There’s a lot of gold in V8.0, according to Steve Arnold, a senior estimator with Thoma Electric of San Luis Obispo, CA. “We’re excited by what we saw. There are a bunch of features that companies like ours had been asking for in there,” Arnold said after the conference. Thomas handles commercial and industrial electrical work, including design/build contracts. “This year’s conference was very informative, and I was especially happy with the level of user participation. That’s very important to us, and I think to McCormick. We get to put our questions and concerns forward, and they are addressed. We also get to see what people are doing in other parts of the country – contractors who are not your competition! “For McCormick Systems – and ultimately companies like us – the user participation has got to matter. They, of course, develop and sell the software. But at the conference, they get input from people who use the program every single day. For us, it’s a tool.” And it’s an important tool for Thoma; the company sent two attendees. A major concern for McCormick at each year’s conference is: Let’s not be boring. As it has turned out, customer feedback from this year’s event can be summed up in two sentences: “This was great. You might even do more!” Once again this year, many hours were spent on reviewing system capabilities that many contractors and estimators routinely ignore. It’s hard to assimilate all of the functionality built in to the McCormick electrical estimating system – a fact that the company has learned over time. “When I first began using McCormick’s product, I was given a set of drawings and a computer,” explains Jeff Cassity, a project manager with Jordan-Smith Electric of Huntington, WV. “This was at another company, before I came to Jordan-Smith. “Everything I learned was by trial and error. I really had no idea what the system could do before I came to this company, and before they sent me to this conference. “Now, I’ve
learned a great deal. Our company does a great deal of hospital work. There
are subsystems, special systems, nurse call systems. I’ve mastered how to
use assemblies on the McCormick system.
“Thanks to this event in recent years, I’m a lot more productive.” Cassity isn’t unique. After spending hours on reviewing the software’s capabilities, McCormick personnel worried aloud that they might be boring attendees. A question asked of the group, to the effect of “had you had enough of this?” – returned an answer of “No.” Informal checks afterward revealed, according to Todd McCormick, that individual contractors and estimators felt that way. One attendee noted
that, “Years ago, when I first started coming to this event, perhaps there
was more of a party atmosphere. Today, even though I use the system every
day, I learned something useful about the program in Making each session productive for most or all of the attendees is a goal, of course. The company itself is learning over time as well. “We were a little surprised at some of what came back from our attendees,” McCormick says. “In the past, we were asked to allow more time at the conference for attendees to spend in the on-site ‘lab,’ and this year we provided that. Still, we got that request again this year! “And this time we heard from more of our attendees that we’re not giving them enough time to learn all of the material we present at the conference. That was a surprise. We asked what we should eliminate, the answer kept coming back—nothing. “We kept asking, and what it turns out is this: Some of our customers want a longer user’s conference! “I checked
on this with one of our ‘Desert Dogs’ [see accompanying story]. I asked him
what he thought about the prospect of more time. His answer was pretty
clear, something to the effect of – ‘You know, we get out here once a year.
We don’t have time, when we’re doing our jobs every day, to get into a lot
of these areas.’
“So we’ve learned that the information we present is beneficial to McCormick Systems users. That’s what we had hoped.” Bottom line: No one is bored – and those who invested time in Arizona in April came home with a superior return on the invested time and effort. Some of the feedback has come in just the attendee numbers. User’s conference attendance understandably fell off in 2002, after the 9/11 attack on America. Compared with that “off” year, this year’s attendance was up 50%.
Other Comments From Our Attendees
Here’s a selection of handwritten comments from the User’s Conference 2004:
“The sessions were very informative and focused. If I was not in the room, I was missing something.” – chief estimator, Mid-Atlantic.
“Every module of the conference was worthwhile and educational. I cannot find one negative segment of the conference.” – estimator, Midwest.
“As a user who has never taken your training or been to a User’s Conference – for me, there was not enough time for many of the topics. I really appreciated the input of the others, especially the ‘Desert Dogs.” – estimator/project manager, Midwest.
“This was my first conference. It was an outstanding experience. What a great concept – it allow me to confer with people around the country, together with McCormick. It was a memorable three days.” – project estimator, Upper Midwest.
“As this is only my second conference, I would encourage those who have never attended to make the time to come. This year’s conference was definitely better than the last one I attended.” – estimator, South.
“You asked for the best and the worst. For the worst, I can’t think of any real negatives. As to the best, for me it was meeting other contractors and finding out about the applications available. It was very informative and set in a great atmosphere. Annual attendance would certainly be beneficial for us.” – contractor, South.
We Call Them ‘Desert
Dogs’
More than one in 10 of our attendees at the 2004 User’s Conference qualified for status as “Desert Dogs”—McCormick customers and users who have attended at least eight conferences. Here are this year’s honorees: 19 years: Erle Howard 18 years: Fred Bauer, Jr. 16 years: Jack Beatson
15 years: David DeFelice and Joe Dolan 14 years: Bill Andrews 12 years: Tom Lanum
10 years: Lloyd “Bud” Allen, Sr., Joe Klein, and Louis Lee
8 years: Steve Arnold and Amy Horiba
Here’s a list of upcoming Standard & Advanced training sessions, in Chandler, AZ and the Columbia, MD area:
July 28-30 Standard class, Columbia MD
July 21-23 Standard class, Chandler
Aug. 11-13 Advanced class, Chandler
Aug. 25-27 Standard class, Chandler
Sept. 15-17 Standard class, Chandler
Sept. 22-24 Standard class, Chandler
Sept 22-24 Standard class, Columbia MD
Classes are often added – check the “Training” tab on this Web site, or call 800-444-4890 with questions. NOTE: Classes can be and are “suitcased” to individual contractor sites upon request; please ask about this service!
May 27 Construct Contract Value Report (McGraw-Hill Construction)
MONTH – seasonally adjusted annual rates April ’04 Contract $ Value – $545.4 billion March ’04 Value – $547.1 billion FLAT
YEAR TO DATE – not seasonally adjusted Total construction contract value Jan-April ’04, total contract value: $173.9 billion Jan-April ’03, total contract value: $159.9 billion GAIN OF 9%
June 1 Construction Spending Report (Census Bureau, U.S. Dept. of Commerce)
MONTH – seasonally adjusted annual rates April ’04 spending – $970.4 billion March ’04 spending – $957.6 billion April ’03 spending – $871.9 billion Month over month: + 1.3% Year over year: + 11.3%
YEAR TO DATE – not seasonally adjusted Total construction value put-in-place Jan.-April. ’04, total put in place: $277.5 billion Jan.-April ’03, total put in place: $256.1 billion GAIN OF 8.4%
CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYMENT REPORT
Field Employees, Construction
May 2004 5,296,000 May 2003 5,082,000 + 4.2%
Field Employees, Electrical Contracting
April 2004 653,800 April 2003 646,600 + 1.1%
National Electrical Code 2005 Includes NEIS References For the First Time
The 2005 National Electrical Code, adopted at the May NFPA meeting, includes for the first time five references to the National Electrical Installation Standards. Led by NECA, the electrical industry has created the NEIS to “pick up where the NEC leaves off.” The Code is an electrical safety document; the NEIS allows owners and their agents to address and specify installation practices and techniques.
See NECA’s item on the 2005 NEC: http://www.necanet.org/whats_new/report.cfm?ID=2419
Alternative Views & Lists Of Installers – Electronics, CE Pro 100 & ‘Digitician’
It’s a big planet and there’s room in it for all kinds of wiring workers. Here are links to more information about three different “alternative” trades:
Electronics Installation Business survey – sponsored by GE Security, this survey sought answers to questions from contractors in the EIB. In answer to one question, survey respondents said the average price of a residential system installation in 2003 was $20,691. That price was likely to increase in price by 13% in 2004 and another 22% in 2005, according to the survey.
Download the survey by clicking here; you’ll get a chance to save or view a MS Word release on the survey’s results. http://www.ce-pro.com/default.asp?NodeId=2485
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The CE Pro 100 – CE Pro is a magazine for professional installers of consumer electronics; it’s the magazine for the CEDIA-type company, if you will. CEDIA = C The magazine recently printed its list of the Top 100 companies in this niche; according to its tally, sales for the group in 2003 were up 18% over 2002. http://www.ce-pro.com/default.asp?NodeId=2485
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Electricians of the 21st Century – they are going to be “Digiticians,” according to Ken Smith, writing on HomeToys.com. Smith writes:
“This is not about the “home of the future” but rather the average American home today. Walk around your house and add up all the digital “devices” operating on a regular basis and you will begin to see how important digital technology has become to your daily life.”
It’s an interesting theory – and there’s more of it here: http://www.hometoys.com/htinews/jun04/articles/digiticians/digiticians.htm
New Electrical Contractor Stock Now On Exchange
Joe Salimando (McCormick’s newsletter editor) has written a piece for TEDMAG.com on the emergence of another electrical contracting company in which the public can buy stock – InfraSource. Traded on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol IFS, here’s a quick look at how the stock has done since its initial public offering (chart courtesy of BigCharts.com):
More of Joe’s report here: http://www.tedmag.com/default.asp?pagenumber=575
– in Minnesota & California!
Minneapolis – IEC Convention & Trade Show – Sept. 29 to Oct. 2 http://www.ieci.org/default.asp?PID=467
Los Angeles – NECA Convention & Show – Oct. 15-19
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