Electical Contractor

Hidden dangers lead to hidden costs Contractors don’t normally involve the estimating department in safety concerns except for those that affect the actual work of the estimator such as job site visits and the like.

Estimation, training and planning put you in the black What helps make your electrical contracting business profitable? Is it your estimating prowess? Is it your ability to buy your project equipment at the best price and sell it at a good profit? Is it your ability to find and keep good people?

Many overloaded contractors have uttered something along these lines at one point or another: “I wish I could find someone that’s as smart as I think I am to share some of the load.” But if that load is to support the estimating needs of the company, maybe what they are really looking for is someone

As if contractors and estimators didn’t face sufficient obstacles to bid profitable projects and run a business that produces a healthy return on investment, a new wrinkle has been gaining steam.

Construction software has changed the way many contractors do their jobs. But the choices can be daunting and confusing to the first-time buyer, most of whom start out looking at estimating software. Some couple with digitizers (see sidebar), others are AutoCAD-based and one uses scanned drawings.

It’s certainly no secret that many areas of the country are seeing less viable work to bid, and yet more competition for the jobs that are going ahead.

In the late 1980s, when Accubid Systems president Giovanni Marcelli was developing his estimating software company, he bought an IBM computer with a 10-megabyte hard disk and 640 kilobytes of memory.

Summer is here, bringing plenty of distractions. Don’t get sidetracked, as this is the time to consider added training if you are an estimator. The hectic pace of change in our industry is virtually predictable.

Some of this column’s readers have sent comments and questions, and one of those prompts this month’s column regarding the earthwork on a project.