Have you ever had the thought, “why can’t we get these changes approved?” or “this change has been lingering for months, how can we move forward?” Well, you are not alone. Regardless of sector, client, or contracting mechanism, every project team encounters some degree of change – typically in the form of a change order… Read More

My old neighborhood was a great place to be a kid. I remember playing all types of backyard games and sports in my childhood. When we were not emulating a Major League player hitting a home run or a star running back scoring a touchdown, we would often play outdoor games like “hot potato.” We… Read More

Recently, I spoke at a seminar covering Public-Private Partnership (P3) project delivery where we ended with a very engaging question and answer period. There were two main themes that came out of this discussion: (1) A culture change is needed among public owners to perform more P3 delivery(2) How to overcome the fear of failing… Read More

Although they may sound similar, the “Buy American Act” and the “Buy America Act” are very different. Since the early 1930s, the federal government has enforced domestic material procurement requirements when it funds the construction of public projects. Knowing the difference can save your project, as the penalties for failing to comply can be severe…. Read More

Every summer about the time the last of the cherry bombs went off and the flag banners had finally been rolled up, my dad, James, would call me out of the treehouse to help with a family ritual. He’d roll Big Red, our old Pontiac Catalina, out of the garage and we’d set to work… Read More

If a raindrop falls at a nearby airport but not on the project site, does the contractor get a weather delay extension? This seemingly easy question is not so easy when it comes to most construction contracts. Typical contracts and specifications will go into excruciating detail on the requirements for various systems within a building… Read More

As construction management professionals and consultants, it’s our business to think about how people and processes fit together to achieve the best results. Many of us got into this industry because we have a passion for building something bigger than us. Better buildings. Better infrastructure. The power to impact cities and communities for years to… Read More

Spring is here, and I am looking forward to Opening Day 2019 and the start of baseball season. As players conduct batting practice, they carefully choose their favorite bat. A lot of thought goes into this selection – the weight, the material, the sound the ball makes coming off of it, how comfortable they are… Read More

An increasing concern in the construction industry in the past few years—and one gaining increased notice recently—has been the shortage of available, qualified people in the construction workforce. A number of prominent news stories in the past few months have highlighted this issue: 91% of contractors report having difficulty hiring workers The share of young… Read More

I had the opportunity to attend the 2019 Dodge Construction Outlook last week to hear top economists from Dodge and Moody’s deliver their forecasts for the coming year. Among a crowd of contractors, suppliers, designers, owners, and construction consultants such as myself, we heard the news that after a number of years of strong growth,… Read More