Electrofab Shifts To McCormick

. . . After Due Consideration!

Red Hendrickson, the estimator at Electrofab Inc. (Gillette, WY), has taken a long time to begin using McCormick Systems to do his estimating. In the electrical trade for 30 years, he’s been an estimator for 18 (the past nine with this company).

Roughly six years ago, he lost his enthusiasm for the other brand of electrical estimating software he was using.

“That other software had begun to feel cumbersome, with processes that seemed aged.” Hendrickson explained in a recent phone interview. “But it was a tool I had used for a long time. Even though it was getting more and more complicated to do the estimating, I was still with them."

“You know, we started out with them working on a basic system, as you’d probably do with any computer system. In trying to advance, to handle the types of jobs we do, it began to get harder and more time consuming, with time being a commodity no one has enough of. I’d ask questions, and we began to get answers like – ‘well, you really can’t do that with this system."

“Then I went to a conference of theirs. I had more specific questions about moving something around inside the database. I asked the owner the questions. His lead programmer was there; I asked him, too. I was there, in person, to get the solution."

“But they couldn’t give me a definitive answer to the questions. That was when I thought to myself that it was time to look at moving to another system. I thought to myself, ‘there has to be a different way to estimate than with that system’ – an easier way.”

That was, as noted, six years ago. Hendrickson has been a McCormick user for about one year. Obviously, changing estimating systems was not – for him or for Electrofab – just like changing one’s brand of socks!

Taking the time to get it right

Electrofab is a sophisticated small electrical contractor. With 22 or more electricians typically working in the field, there are four persons in the office, including Hendrickson who is the only estimator.

SCADA controls, methane well service, water plants, municipality water systems electrical work, transportation systems work, traffic signals, and street lighting are company mainstays, as is some industrial work that takes in coal mines, gas production systems and starting down the road of alternate energy sources. Customers include oil companies, natural gas production companies, municipalities, state departments of transportation (for that traffic work), and industrial concerns.

Photos from Electrofab's recent projects.

“The way we work it, I do more than estimating. I’m also a project manager. I take care of the submittals. It’s not like I just do the estimating and go home. There’s a lot of follow-up to do,” Hendrickson explained.

And as a result, he didn’t pursue the McCormick Systems estimating alternative in a heated rush. In fact, there was a great deal to get done, on the front burner. As a result, the idea of switching estimating software sat there for a while, on the back burner.

“There’s always something to do in a company where we wear many hats. I had contacted McCormick and visited them at trade shows. And Paul Wheaton of the company would call me every once in a while,” Hendrickson laughed.  “He’s a good person for a company to have; I feel that every company should have a guy like that on staff. There was no pressure – but he kept calling, over time. And every time he called, I’d say to myself – ‘oh, yeah, I have to get to reviewing that estimating system."

“Fortunately for me, Paul was patient and persistent. He kept calling. As a result, I did research the McCormick software. Obviously, it took a long time to come to a decision to switch software providers. Paul once told me, recently, that we at Electrofab had become his longest sale!”

A happy new user

Electrofab is a company in which everyone in the office “wears many hats,” Hendrickson noted. These days, his personal hat is hung on the Win 8000 estimating system.

“One of the biggest reasons for the switch is that McCormick’s system is user-friendliness. Our work is different from that of a lot of contractors – you need to get in-depth on the details about the labor required to install the radio, controls, intelligent traffic, and communication systems, in comparison with the standard commercial project,” Hendrickson said.

"But you come to the McCormick system, and you start doing some labor comparisons. It offers me the flexibility I need. One other thing: I learned a great deal in the basic class I took, with the instructor Richard Manrod. I guess Paul had told him that I was likely to ask a lot of questions. And I did.

“He and Paul Wheaton were instrumental in our success with McCormick’s software."

“To tell you the truth, there was a learning curve involved in this switch. It took me a while to get away from the competing software’s way of thinking, and to come over to McCormick’s mode of estimating. Even now, I’m sure I’m only tapping a small percentage of what’s in the system."

“In addition to the software we switched from, I had, in the past, used another brand of estimating software. Compared to those two, in the year I’ve used McCormick’s software, I would say that it is almost flawless.

“It’s not just the flexibility – it’s in the mindset, too. The methodology at which you arrive at your final bid in McCormick’s software is pretty interesting. If you take the time to look at it in comparison to the others, as I have, you’ll find that a lot of thought went into this piece of software. I’m really impressed."

Jack McCormick Honored
By Foundation

Here's the press release distributed by ELECTRI International about its choice of Jack McCormick,, CEO of our company, for its 2009 Wendt Award.

Jack McCormick Earns ELECTRI International’s Wendt Award

ELECTRI International-The Foundation for Electrical Construction, Inc. has selected Jack McCormick, a former electrical contractor and founder of a leading company providing estimating software for electrical construction, as one of the 2009 recipients of its prestigious Wendt Award. The award, which recognizes exemplary leadership and service to the electrical industry, is the highest form of tribute bestowed annually by the research organization and is named in honor of the philosophical and financial commitments made to the industry by one of its premier members, Albert G. Wendt, president of Cannon & Wendt Electric in Phoenix, Arizona.

Jack McCormick and McCormick Systems have been involved with ELECTRI International since 1992 when he committed more than $250,000 to the Foundation and his firm became the first software developer to gain a seat on the ELECTRI Council at the Regents level. Council members analyze industry trends and issues, review project proposals submitted by universities and research institutes, recommend major initiatives for project funding, and serve on appropriate task forces to guide each commissioned project from start to finish. McCormick’s support for our industry’s research arm has since doubled, and the firm was elevated to the Program Guarantor level on the Council earlier this year.

This spring, McCormick Systems made an additional $100,000 cash investment in ELECTRI International to support both its new Transmission & Distribution Enterprise, a dedicated fund within the Research Center that focuses on research and education for line constructors, and the Education Center. (The Research Center commissions industry-specific, contractor-relevant, current research from universities and research institutes across the country. The Education Center provides funding to transform sponsored research into concrete learning programs for NECA contractors and their management personnel.)

When making this gift, Jack McCormick said, “Over the years, there have been a number of proposed projects that would have been beneficial for line contractors, but there’s only so much project money to go around. We serve both the inside and outside parts of this industry, so it’s a natural fit for McCormick to put money into this new dedicated fund.”  McCormick Systems is the first electrical construction industry partner to make an investment in the ELECTRI International T & D Enterprise.

At the same time, McCormick announced that his company had made “an in-kind investment of close to $900,000 by giving colleges and universities access to our software” so students can be trained in estimating electrical construction and subsequently serve the project management needs of the electrical contracting industry in their future careers. He said McCormick Systems Inc. will continue to work with the Foundation to provide estimating software and companion education/training to institutions across the country.

Realizing a boyhood dream to harness the power electricity, McCormick first entered our industry as an apprentice at NECA-member-firm LH Morris in Oregon 50 years ago. He subsequently became a journeyman, foreman, supervisor and, eventually, an electrical contractor. He launched McCormick Electric in Eugene, Oregon, in 1973 and brought the company into NECA’s Oregon-Pacific-Cascade Chapter two years later.

McCormick credits a NECA-sponsored seminar on the use of computers in electrical contracting in those early days for inspiring his decision to develop estimating software. He credits his fellow electrical contractors in the local NECA chapter for providing the sounding board and encouragement that helped him perfect his innovative idea. In 1978, he and three partners formed Estimating Systems Incorporated.

Over the next few months, the company made its first sale — to NECA-member Consolidated Electric of St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, it made its first appearance as an exhibitor at the NECA Show (In 1979 in Las Vegas) and underwent a name change. It also introduced a new concept that moved estimating from a large mainframe to a personal computer (an Apple with 10k of memory). In 1981, McCormick Systems was honored by NECA at our exposition in Miami with a special award for providing the first affordable estimating software on a mini-computer.

Over the years, the company has continued to grow and improve and expand its estimating software. And, it has continued to support NECA and the electrical contracting industry in several ways in addition to contributing to the Foundation’s research and education agenda. For example, McCormick Systems has participated in every NECA Show since 1979 and has also consistently invested its advertising dollar with NECA’s ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR magazine throughout the past three decades.

More recently, Jack McCormick has transitioned company management to his eldest son Todd, who is also an ardent supporter of NECA and the research organization our association established, and has directed his attention to humanitarian efforts. He is now involved with the Baja Bush Pilots, a group which conducts search and rescue operations and provides disaster relief in countries south of the border. So, these days, when not home with Karaen, his wife of 50 years, at his ranch in northern Arizona, Jack McCormick may be flying his twin-engine Aero Commander over Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama ... or wherever help is needed.

2010 User's Conference -
Mark Your Calendar!

We've chosen the Tempe Mission Palms (Tempe, AZ) for our User's Conference -- to be held March 17-20, 2010. Early bird registrations qualify for a discount; the deadline is Jan 4, 2010.
Download the single-page registration form.

Wacky Jobsite Stories!

(posted 10/6) -- A 5/29

CE Pro magazine assembled "the weirdest, wackiest stories" from jobsites. I really love this kind of stuff (we did a little of it when I was publisher of Electrical Contractor, but just a little -- not enough).

There are a number of truly astounding stories on the 2 web pages that piece occupies. Here's my favorite, from Long Island, N.Y. --

While installing a Crestron system in a client’s new home, I was asked to test a TV that wasn’t working in a different part of the house.

As I was led to that room by the house manager, he told me to be very quiet while in the room because the client’s dog was having a psychic reading in there.

I was told that the dog was not acting like himself for the past few weeks, so the client felt it may be the new surroundings and there may have been another dog living in the house previously.

They were trying to channel the old dog’s spirit by having the new dog speak to him through a psychic. Here is a visual for you: picture a woman in a robe standing with the new dog’s paws in her hands and she is making the dog howl to try and channel the spirits of the old dog.

I had to leave because I thought I was on a hidden camera.

Latest EC Employment Data

(posted 10/5) --

What's above is the Employment numbers among "production workers" (field people) in Electrical Contracting for the past 10+ years. The latest number for August is preliminary, subject to revision -- is 636,300. (in other words, translate 636.3 as 636,300).

That August number is down 14.22% from one year ago.

My analysis of BLS data [these data are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the U.S. Department of Labor] tells me that "production workers" in the EC business are foremen, journeymen electricians, apprentices, and helpers.

Note that BLS is always one month behind in "niche industry" analysis. It just reported the September national employment sitch AND data for August here for the EC biz. That's the way it has been.

Offsite Backups -- From Stan Shook

(posted 10/02) --
Stan Shook is an estimating expert who has a blog. A July post talks about offsite back-ups for electrical contractor data.

Hard drives, which, in a serious fire or flood or tornado (for you mid-westerners) or earthquake can be irreparably damaged. And that TAPE BACK-UP you have... well, maybe someone remembered to take it home or put it into the fire safe, but it might not have everything from every employee's computer on it.

Speaking of the TAPE BACKUP... when was the last time you and your office managers sat down and really discussed what was being backed up and what should be? What sort of back-up plan/system does your company actually have and how well is it enforced? (what about your own personal files at home?)

--Editors Note: More frequently companies are using off-site tech support to handle all of their Hard drive or tape backups, unfortunately out of sight equals out of mind. Randomly requesting your mccormick data folder a few times a year and seeing how long it takes them to get that in your hand or in a folder on the server will give you a great idea of what to expect if you need critical data in a hurry from a backup (and to check that the backups arent failing and nobody noticed!)

Sharp Angle On Investing

(posted 10/15) -- Andy Xie used to work for a big brokerage (Morgan Stanley, I think). I used to regularly read his commentary -- for years, I guess -- online. Now, he's independent. You can still find his stuff, for free, online (if you look).

I recently came across a three-page (three web pages, so you gotta click thru and click thru again) Xie piece, Why One Bubble Deserves Another.

Mr. Xie's thesis is NOT the reason I'm calling this to your attention. There was a (long) paragraph in his piece which struck me as worth regurgitating. Yes, if you read it thru, it's obvious. But I don't recall seeing this point made so clearly (and if I've ever discussed it with anyone or heard it from someone else, I really don't recall that):

Trading gains are a form of income redistribution. In the best scenario, smart traders buy assets ahead of others because they see a stronger economy ahead. Such redistribution comes from giving a bigger share of the future growth to those who are willing to take risk ahead of others.

Past experience, however, demonstrates that most trading profits involve redistributions from many to a few in zero-sum bubbles. The trick is to get the credulous masses to join the bubble game at high prices. When the bubble bursts, even though asset prices may be the same as they were at the beginning, most people lose money to the few.

What's occurring now is another bubble that is again redistributing income from the masses to the few.

OK, now that you've read it, it seems obvious (doesn't it?). But do you think that most people invest their money with this understanding of the basics? Here's what one of the richest people in the world (he made it all himself, by investing) has said -- I wrote these words in 2007:

George Soros says the way to make a fortune is to identify the trend that is false, ride it for as long as it lasts, and then jump off just before everyone else realizes what you already know. This is a guy who reportedly made $1 billion in a single trade (betting against the British pound); even if you hate his politics, it’s hard to argue with his approach.

Doesn't what Soros said and what Xie wrote basically equate to the same gosh-durn thing? Doesn't it net out to: Investing is a fool's game for the average schmuck?

AND: If that's the case, are you factoring this basic understanding into the way you invest the money you're able to put aside for the future?