My number one goal for several years now has been to get some young blood in this place. I finally succeeded about a month ago. Hired a strapping young man fresh out of a major university’s construction program. I was a bit curious about the photos he hung in his office. Seems he was a cheerleader for the university…. Ok then…. He proceeds to tell my ordering gal that he has special requirements for a desk, an ergonomic chair, and a certain lamp that apparently counteracts the blue hues of a computer screen…. I had to laugh a bit. I started with a laminated board on boxes when I opened up and worked that way for several years…… Today I find he has sent my ordering gal to to store for non scented trash bags because the scented bags we have make him uncomfortable……. So anyway, I figure I’ll just leave this right here……..
...or hardhats or safety harnesses or steel toed boots or safety scaffolding or railing or eye protection devices or......
I don't know why, but I suspect a short duration of employment. The more concerning aspect is if this is an indication of the trajectory of the work ethic of the present construction trades entrants, then I advise POTUS to immediately start planning a legal path for aliens to be granted legal status for any and all construction trades of any required education, and do so in the next 18 months. Individuals that are not supportive of the present economic conditions in the U.S., get ready for a serious dissatisfying personal future economic impact, because...well...a studious review of the entire history of the entire world, clearly emphasizes that rapid collapse of the economy is imminent in such an economic atmosphere.
I don't believe I got my first ergonomic chair until I was 54 years old. I knew I needed one, sought out a used Steelcase Leap Chair, and bought it myself as it seemed unreasonable to expect my employer to get one for me. In employees I'd be looking for a few traits . . . integrity, ambition, and realism. I think we're more likely to find employees like that through personal referrals than through conventional recruiting or search methods.
Ok, what is a major University construction program? Are the engineers? Have they actually done any construction work? This sounds like another money grab degree. I suspect they haven’t. They’ve never picked up a shovel, busted shingles on a house, and couldn’t show you how to square and level a concrete building pad. Hell, most couldn’t swing a framing hammer, use a level, or plumb a wall. I understand your desire to get young blood but…. I’ll have to agree with @charley, unless this employee is a banger,…. It’s short lived.
Your insight on the the assessment of a major University construction program is a worthwhile observation and discussion. No, an engineering/Architecture Degree is not required. The oldest CM Degree recognized in the U.S. is Tuskegee, in 1933, a Construction Science Bachelors Degree. This was followed by M.E. Rinker Sr. Construction Management School, University of FL. started in 1935, offering a Bachelors, Masters and PHD Degree. It is important to note that both started in periods of explosive growth in the U.S., and both Programs have survived and doing well and are respected. The skilled trades positions and necessary talent was ample and quite capable. (Today?....Ummmm). It was (and still is) trained managers and supervision of the Tradesmen that is needed, more so now than at any other time in our history. Many others universities have such programs.... as example Duke, Maryland, NYU, etc. that require that are not Bachelors but respected as a minor and in some study paths required to proceed to the next academic level. The certificate of CM added to undergrad degrees of Engineering/ Architecture/Mechanical are respected as an advantage in the hiring process. I mention briefly that all of such Certificate Programs were a result of need by employers during times of growth, complex leaps in technology requiring a concentration in program management, and a lack of talented construction managers etc. That is still the situation today, at a time when schools are being constructed with a typical cost range of $50-200 Million each. Yes... I stated $50 to 200 Million. Not a typo. It is almost impossible to find qualified tradesmen for such projects, regardless of upper management availability. I any member here believes any such construction....or simple house remodeling or simple small commercial renovations or new, needs to spend a day at the construction job of your choice
Forget complex projects like Schools, Hospitals and Laboratories. Even the simplest of projects are very easy to screw up . . . moreso nowadays than in the past. So many contractors have chosen to specialize and participate in niche markets that many more are involved on a project than ever before, meaning that good GCs and/ or CMs are more necessary than ever. Not just to monitor the workmanship, but to assign and manage areas of responsibility, coordinate efforts and manage logistics, deal with the unexpected, and recover lost schedule and budget. Like we need more General Practitioners and fewer Specialists in medicine, we need more generalists and fewer specialists in many fields.
I think we are stating the same opinions and hands on knowledge, just choosing slightly different language construction. Concerning good GCs and /or CMs, again we espouse the same opinion and hands on knowledge. My disenchantment is with the trajectory of CM since the late 80s and the impact of CMs on the industry, while very helpful, has morphed into marriage arrangements of the GC and CM into one all- encompassing entity. It has driven up costs, led to serious budget destruction, and has forced the entity hiring same to have daily legal presence as representatives and creating very interesting Contract language that causes a like response from the Trade participants. One of the serious failures of this approach was and is caused by the issuing of separate Contracts for bidding and awards by Division, that has eroded the efficiency via an every entity for itself climate, causing ridiculous C.O requests/claims that are no longer a straightforward adjudication process, but causes all Parties to have to litigate months/years in various courts...State Local and Federal.... after the completion. The AIA Contract documents have been bastardized, as has the AGC Contract documents, to a level that Project Managers that have extensive litigation experience are a desired preferable hiring class in the industry. To be disclosure compliant, my thoughts are a result of direct participation over 40 years in multiple States/Jurisdiction. It is not a lookatme/braggadocio statement.
Dang Charley……. You have put my greatest frustration with this industry to words that I may very well plagiarize. When I started in this industry in the 1980’s a GC built a project. Now 45 years later every GC considers himself a construction manager…. Just last week a super called me to order three fire extinguisher cabinets and a couple of sets of grab bars. Then asked when I could come install them halfway across the state….. Well I pondered this for a moment and finally laughed and told him the he could put up this handful of items way cheaper than I could send installers halfway across the state…… He tells me that he would but they won’t allow him to even have a simple screw gun on the project! Told me to name my price and he would pay it…….. Now somebody will absorb that cost and I feel rather bad about charging for it. But I can’t send a man across the state for nothing. Heck, I really need him elsewhere. And this is the result of construction management. I can verify that it has driven up costs. I know two GC’s that will give me the business simply because I will take the time to fill out their spreadsheets. If I were a dishonest man I would take advantage of that, but I don’t. I’m sure others do. How can anything be competitive in that kind of arena?
Good afternoon, Mr. Mopar. I completely agree with your assessment concerning the industry issues since the 80s. It will not stop anytime in the near future, and will expand to a economic crisis in the various State locales that will be impossible for The People to ignore. Reviewing the latest issue of sale you are pondering, and after thinking about any and all possible alternative and reasons, your interest is best served by not continuing. There is no situation that protects you, even payment in advance. The project must have and has some entity that was responsible for the items mentioned in the original Division contract documents description. A Count error? Perhaps. A Change Order/ Claim dispute? Perhaps. An architect-design addition due to many reasons? Perhaps. A count mistake by the CM/GC in the original Division Contract documents that are and were not the responsibility of the Division Contractor? Perhaps. All such scenarios do not protect you from future actions by the CM/GC/Division Contractor/Architect/Owner that require your time and effort and proof of cost and/or defense of non-compliance, which certainly involves legal authority to proceed, and you have already stated that the individual requesting the work does not have the legally binding authority to continue via his/her written order. I recall the committed to my memory lesson ingrained in me in the 70s, by the late W.F. Klingensmith and the Bender Brothers and George Hyman: When somebody informs you to proceed with the work and will pay the quoted price, walk away, regardless of friendship, familiarity and past or present business transactions. The original Division contractor for the items not available to do the work for many different reasons? Perhaps. No other supplier/installer of the specified items within a much more convenient geographic area? Perhaps. You are were the original Division Contractor for either the items and or the labor/materials? Perhaps. Have you been paid inclusive of retainage/ Has your supplier been paid all monies due by original contract/PO with you? Perhaps. BUT (there is always a "But"...the late B. Stupar, ESQ) all of the issues I state require the same finality by you.... a decision to proceed after all considerations. The individual contacting you is a qualified Superintendent but is not allowed to do such work, even via the entity he/she works for, or any other skilled labor on the project inclusive of Laborers of the entity? This is aptly described by theater arts as a suspension of belief by the audience. I truly wish you well...I am serious. Such matters are not easy decisions. A follow-up question, though; does you new employee have any helpful knowledge or experience in such matters? If not...well....I would maybe share with the new employee the difficulty of such choices, especially on Bid Day in the Bid War Room. Then again, I tend to be the proverbial Sergeant Major looking out for the Division Commander. As to plagiarizing my thoughts, it is not plagiarism, it is agreement with a need to be expressed for clarity. You have my wholehearted appreciation that you think my words are worthwhile to consider.
