Electical Contractor

June in Southern California means that the weather is usually cloudy most mornings; residents have come to call the period “June gloom.” This summer’s industry publications brought a different kind of gloom to estimators, no matter what the geography.

One factor in learning a new occupation or system is mastering the language being used, or at least the basic meanings of words. Word confusion affects every industry. Take the computer instruction to hit any key.

Growing numbers of electrical contractors are trying out new technology to increase their efficiency—some products with more success than others. But the CAD (computer-aided design) system has become a staple that contractors cannot ignore.

Technology is bounding forward in the wireless world and almost every electrical contractor carries one of a variety of cell phones or Internet-related phones, pocket PCs or personal digital assistants (PDAs).

Schedules of expected operations and mileposts for a job being estimated are increasingly important for many tasks, not the least of which is assuring that the company’s assets are used wisely.

Contractors’ feedback in the preparation of NECA’s Financial Performance Report (Index #1055) indicates that project costs divide among three major divisions. In general, the job costs will generally consume about 60 percent by way of material and labor costs.

TradePower announced today it has won one of 16 IBM Beacon Awards. TradePower was recognized in the category of “Best Data Management Solution” for it’s new TradeSource enterprise system, which utilizes WebSphere and DB2 Universal Database technology.

Like many a novice, overworked contractor, I once found myself spread out on the dining room table making a takeoff when my teenage daughter asked if she could help. My first inclination was absolutely negative, but then I figured she could count symbols too.

Most of what project estimators work on resembles what they will be working on in the next six to nine months. But what of those longer-term projects? How can labor and material predictions be sufficiently accurate to cover such periods and ensure that the project will benefit the contractor?