Construction Equipment Owner

Barry LePatner - coauthor of Structural & Foundation Failures and author of Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America’s Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry is the latest guest on the Construction Business Podcast. Barry shares his views on the current status of the nation’s infrastructure and offers his solutions on how will our nation can change its irresponsible ways in regard to its infrastructure needs.

 Three Actions Our Leaders Must Take in Order to Save America's Crumbling Infrastructure [11:36m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (280)

According to FMI’s Construction Outlook:

The outlook for 2008 has been revised downward for residential and upward for nonresidential construction. Nonresidential starts from 2007 will prop up put in place construction in 2008. The pain from decreasing starts in 2008 will not be felt until 2009. The outlook for 2009 has been revised downward for both residential and nonresidential construction.

Heather Jones, construction economist for FMI’s Research Services returns as a guest on the Construction Business Podcast to dig into the findings of the recent report and explain some of the indicators behind the outlooks.

 Construction Outlook 3Q 2008 [4:53m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (370)

I’m behind in my magazine reading again (or maybe still) so just ran across “Tapped Out,” an article in June National Geographic about world oil supply and demand. The article updates a 2004 report by a Saudi oil geologist named Sadad I. Al Husseini who in the 1990s was skeptical of upbeat oil industry projections for future production. So Husseini began studying data from about 250 of the world’s major oil fields, and he found that the upbeat projections were way off the mark.

Of course his interpretation of his results was derided at the time, with many oil analysts saying his claim of peak world production leveling off at 85 million barrels a day and slowly declining from there was too pessimistic.

Fast-forward to this year, where oil prices jumped so significantly (even though they now see the underside of $100 a barrel), and it turns out that Husseini and his analysis was right on the money, at least so far. Since 2004 oil production has basically leveled off at around 85 million barrels a day — despite increased demand and price increases (a one-two combo that usually results in more product being produced).

Check it out. The charts are as interesting as the article.

Construction employers who fail to be in compliance with wage payment practices open themselves up to expensive litigation and fines. As this type of litigation appears to on the rise in the construction industry, it is important business owners are aware of wage and hour regulations. Martin Gringer, Partner with Franklin, Gringer & Cohen, P.C., discusses common wage and hour violations and how ways to help ensure compliance in this construction business podcast.

 Wage and Hour Issues [5:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (308)

The 2008 Inc. 5000 list was recently published online. A subsection of this list is the Top 100 Construction Companies.

There is a great snapshot of each company with short descriptions of why the company is growing and what is noteworthy. There are different reasons for why the company has experienced such large growth from exploring new markets to its overall vision and structure:

This is a good list to see how other construction businesses are succeeding. You might also want to make special note of anyone in your area. There may be a market you are overlooking or other element that is making you less competitive.

Did your company make the list? What are you doing to continue to grow you company?

Veteran commercial construction manager Joe McCarthy joins the construction business podcast to discuss common problems of commercial and industrial construction projects. McCarthy, who’s new book is “Choosing Project Success: A Guide for Building Professionals” also addresses the biggest challenges facing today’s contractors.

 Finding Success in the Construction Industry [10:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (401)

The Labor Day just past is set aside to honor the men and women of the United States for all their hard work, but in many industries it serves another purpose. For many in the paving and pavement maintenance industry, for example, Labor Day is the unofficial break-even target date for their business each year. It functions similar to Tax Freedom Day, which changes every year (April 23 this year), indicating the point at which the nation as a whole has earned enough money to fund its annual taxes. And just as Tax Freedom Day changes based on a variety of economic issues, a contractor’s break-even point also moves.

Contractors who plan and budget in the offseason usually have a target break-even date for the year. If they hit their break-even point before Labor Day they know they’re in the midst of a good year — and the farther in front of Labor Day they hit that break-even, the better year they’re having.

The opposite is also true, and unfortunately this year, based on conversations with a number of people, many contractors are looking to break-even dates near the end of September — or later. Contractors I’ve talked with point the finger not at the amount of work but at the tighter profit margins they are working under. I guess that’s a good news/bad news situation but nobody wants to work harder for less money.

But whenever you hit your break-even point, it represents at least one very good thing: Everything you earn from that point on is profit. So here’s to a long and warm autumn, to break-even dates that are (or soon will be) in the rear view mirror, and to a profitable run up to National Pavement Expo West.

If you want to share your break-even date, and let others know which way it’s moved this year — and why — we’d sure like to hear about it.

I made a trip to Northern Wisconsin over the Labor Day holiday weekend and couldn’t help but make a quick stop at the Wisconsin Concrete Park in Phillips, Wis. The park is home to more than 200 concrete sculptures by self-taught artist Fred Smith. Smith built his sculptures out of wood frames wrapped with wire then covered with hand-mixed concrete. He added broken glass, mirrors and other found objects to decorate his art. The sculptures tell stories of local, national and world history. It’s a fun place to explore folk art and nature, and a unique way to look at concrete.

Concrete artists of today, such as Buddy Rhodes, Fu-Tung Cheng, and the countless other concrete contractors creating beautiful decorative concrete in bathrooms, kitchens and outdoor living areas across the country, have a different take on concrete as art.  But like Fred Smith, today’s concrete artists appreciate the versatility of concrete, it’s connection to recycled and found materials, and it’s ability to transform an artist’s dream into reality.