Equipment World

October 2016

Equipment World Digital Magazine

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EquipmentWorld.com | October 2016 11 W ouldn't it be great if you could sit down with a group of contractors and ask ques- tions like these? • We're looking at this $20,000 piece of soft- ware, but we need to generate additional efficiencies and revenue to pay for it. Has anyone had experience with this software? Is it worth it? • How do you find work in the private sector? • We had a nightmare project where we couldn't get properly mobilized and finish our work be- cause other contractors kept getting in the way, and the GC was no help. What's the best way to make sure this doesn't happen again? All of these were actual questions that came out of the Equipment World Peer Group this past June. The discussions ranged from thought- provoking (How do you leave a legacy? What are the values of your organization?) to down- to-earth. For example, the contractor who asked the question about the nightmare job came armed with a slide show illustrating a litany of problems that his crews had to deal with during one multifamily residential project. The advice from the other contractors in the room was swift, and full of practical insight: • Have a master submission list set up during pre-construction. Submit line cost items for every additional clean up. • Have a weekly meeting with the GC and take notes, writing down any issues. Create a document that has a continual running log of the job. • Know ahead of time what the approval dollar amount limits are, and what has to go up the chain. Give a conceptual estimate up front to take away the shock and awe. • Use Skype to communicate with each other and expedite the process, especially when dealing with key people who are offsite. • Know that relationships are key. Discuss ev- erything on the front end, when everyone's in a great mood. "Per our site conversations" is a polite way of saying "I've got you." And the group had a final takeaway for the contractor: Use this as a case study to show your team what the warning signs are, and how they can avoid a reoccurrence. "It's a great lesson for training new people," advised one contractor. I've interviewed several contractors who have given me a great idea, some practice they've initiated in their own organization that's made a difference, only to have them say, "Please don't use that. I don't want my competitors to know." The beauty of a peer group is that those who are gathered around the table are not your com- petitors. They work across the country or in an entirely different market than you do. Problem solved: you are now free to share…and learn. This kind of give-and-take amongst non-com- petitive contractors can give your firm an invalu- able leg up in your local market. You'll share benchmarking data and gain insights that you can put into practice immediately in your own firm. And, you'll gain a circle of advisers that you can call on when challenges crop up. Won't you join us at the table? on record | by Marcia Gruver Doyle MGruver@randallreilly.com Around the table The next Equipment World Peer Group is scheduled for November 16-18 in Tucson, Arizona. For more in- formation, go to equipmentworldpeergroup.com.

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