From McCormick Retail Center Provides Estimating Lessons Contracting Cut Worker’s Comp Insurance Costs Managing Design Changes From The Field Millennials: In Your Workforce Project Management: From Good to Great Review Your Safety Plan Homestead Electrical Contracting Takes Nothing For Granted Located about one hour’s drive north of Chicago (in Ingleside, IL), Homestead Electrical Contracting has a family-business-type of history. Founded in 1981 by Michael J. Ahern, the company has a stellar customer list. Commercial construction clients on that list ( found here ) have included Kraft Foods, GM, Morgan Stanley, Walgreens – and many other noteworthy names. Today, with an average employee total of about 50 people, roughly 70% of Homestead’s business volume comes from commercial work. However, time moves on in construction; nothing remains the same. Today, Michael is retired; the company is co-owned by his three children, David Ahern, Lisa Thielsen, and Katie Ahern. “We have enjoyed, and still do, having the headquarters of major corporations as our customers,” David Ahern explained. “But in 2009 and 2010, the marketplace was changing. We had to take steps to make sure that we adopted a more- diversified portfolio than maybe we had in the past.” And so they did – and it worked! Building on unique expertise At the time, Homestead had access to a now-retired electrical industry veteran, Jim Spychala, who had a great deal of knowledge about the wastewater treatment plant business [we’ll abbreviate this specialty as WWTP]. Spychala was willing to come in a few days a week. “We had access to this valuable resource,” Ahern said. “He knew the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of building these plants. It was an opportunity for us.”
Transcript
From McCormick Retail Center Provides Estimating
LessonsContracting
Cut Worker’s Comp InsuranceCosts
Managing Design Changes FromThe Field
Millennials: In Your Workforce
Project Management: From Goodto Great
Review Your Safety Plan
Homestead Electrical ContractingTakes Nothing For Granted
Located about one hour’s drive north of Chicago (in Ingleside, IL), HomesteadElectrical Contracting has a family-business-type of history.
Founded in 1981 by Michael J. Ahern, the company has a stellar customer list.Commercial construction clients on that list (found here) have included Kraft Foods,GM, Morgan Stanley, Walgreens – and many other noteworthy names. Today, withan average employee total of about 50 people, roughly 70% of Homestead’sbusiness volume comes from commercial work.
However, time moves on in construction; nothing remains the same. Today, Michaelis retired; the company is co-owned by his three children, David Ahern, LisaThielsen, and Katie Ahern.
“We have enjoyed, and still do, having the headquarters of major corporations asour customers,” David Ahern explained. “But in 2009 and 2010, the marketplacewas changing. We had to take steps to make sure that we adopted a more-diversified portfolio than maybe we had in the past.”
And so they did – and it worked!
Building on unique expertiseAt the time, Homestead had access to a now-retired electrical industry veteran, JimSpychala, who had a great deal of knowledge about the wastewater treatmentplant business [we’ll abbreviate this specialty as WWTP].
Spychala was willing to come in a few days a week. “We had access to thisvaluable resource,” Ahern said. “He knew the ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ of building theseplants. It was an opportunity for us.”
However, other than what was in Spychala’s head, Homestead could claim littleexpertise in that area. What to do? The company slowly went after building theWWTP business into a sideline . . . gradually adding internal know-how, a bit at atime.
“We began with a smaller project,” Ahern remembered. “We put Ben Dolan on it,as the lead electrician – to get him to learn the unique nature of that business,beyond what Jim had told him. Of course, he spoke regularly with Jim."
“Over time, we went after larger WWTP projects. Today, it’s roughly 30% of ourvolume – on average.”
To build, one must understandThere is a lot more to electrical construction (or renovation) of a WWTP. Dolanrevealed, “There is the process instrumentation and control (including controlpanels, and a wide array of complex field instruments) fiber optic cabling, mediumvoltage work as well in all of these facilities.”
No one would claim that commercial buildings are all the same. But they do mostlyoperate in the same way; most of them will include elevators, HVAC systems,lighting, telecom, risers, wall outlets, etc. This is not the case, Ahern and Dolansaid, in a specific WWTP project.
Recently, the company worked on a project in Fox Lake, IL (official title: TheNorthwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility). Essentially, the place was built tohandle a maximum flow of 22.5 million gallons per day.
To approach the estimating and electrical work, Dolan said “one must understandall the processes which the plant is intended to implement."
“There is a fiber backbone that links all of the process together through a brandnew SCADA system. But what is critical – and what we had to understand – is howall of the plant processes came together regardless of trade, because the phasing inof a process is critical.”
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Wasted energy now used Essentially if you gather sludge together there is a significant byproduct –methane. Before this project under discussion, the plant burned off the excessmethane in burner.
One project aspect was making use of this renewable energy. A conditioningsystem was installed to condition the methane, so it could be fed to a generator(WWTP methane is quite volatile and requires constant conditioning at varyinglevels).
“This generator would parallel the electric grid,” Dolan explained, “reducing theelectric demand that the plant required from the utility."
“Additionally, part of the process of treating the sludge is to heat it. Before theproject, the plant would use natural gas to fire boilers that heated the sludge. Withthe addition of this generator, there was another possible heat source –the hotwater from the generator” (the water that had performed the job of maintainingthe engine’s operating temperature).
Today, instead of wasting that energy by cooling that water in radiators, the plantpumps that hot water to the boilers – heating (and drying) the sludge. This reducesnatural gas consumption.
All together, the system’s various energy-smart functions come under the label of“combined heat and power” (which is usually shortened to “CHP).
Nothing is standardThe project’s electrical work was detailed and complex. “Protective relaying to theplant – which has 12KV gear – and the new SCADA system installed in the plantrequired many facets of electrical work not typically seen in one project,” Dolancontinued.
“All of this was able to be estimated and project managed using the McCormicksystems software."
Added Ahern: “In these plants, nothing is ‘standard’ – we’ve had 100-foot conduitruns in which maybe 20 feet of it is PVC coated rigid, an additional 20 feet neededto be explosion-proof, and the rest was buried in underground duct.”
Homestead Electrical’s work on another unique project for the power,instrumentation and controls at the Stratton Lock in McHenry, IL. This is thebusiest inland lock in terms of boat traffic in the US. This project earnedHomestead the 2015 “Project of the Year” award from the Lake County ContractorsAssociation. AND: While that association (260 members) consists of all trades andsizes of contractors, the “Contractor Member of the Year” award for 2015 also wentto Homestead.
Where McCormick fitsHomestead has made use of McCormick’s estimating software since the mid-1990s.“What sold me on McCormick is that we can build a job, create assemblies, take adatabase from another job and paste it in,” explained Ahern.
“The more jobs you do, the better you’re able to develop that database. We alsouse McCormick’s software to track our production rates.”
It’s also rather easy to develop – and expand – a proprietary, specialty database . .. just what one might want to develop in a narrow, specialized business likehandling electrical construction in WWTP facilities.
With as many as six people needing to access the software, the company hasinstalled a WIN 6000 system.
Creative use of OSEP, too
As one might expect of Homestead Electrical Contracting from this brief profile, thecompany takes nothing for granted. Recently, Ahern said, he found a way tointegrate McCormick’s On-Screen Estimating Pro software with . . . Google Earth!
“We had a client with a warehouse that wanted us to renovate the exteriorlighting,” Ahern explained. “What was in place was all kinds of lighting – a varietyof things, including wallpacks, uplighting, spotlights . . . you name it, it was there. Iguess this equipment was installed over a number of years. It wasn’t integrated,modern, or efficient."
“The owner wanted a system that made more sense. They did not have a plan ofthe existing lighting, so we had to come up with our own.”
“I decided to look at the warehouse using Google Earth. I don’t know if mostpeople use that regularly, but what I quickly found out is that the level of detail issuch that I could make out most of the lighting fixtures in place on thatwarehouse’s exterior. Paired with a quick site survey we had everything weneeded.”
“So we integrated the Google Earth photos with OSE Pro. We were able to use OSEPro to verify the existing lighting installation and estimate the retrofit and upgradesthe owner wanted and lay it out on that Google Earth image."
“This was a special project, but – in general – we think OSE Pro gives us an edgein projects over competitors that don’t have access to it. It’s an advantage onwhich we are regularly trying to build.”
Version 12 Training Videos- Available NOW OnYouTubeEight videos are posted – total run time more than one hour of training & educationfor McCormick Systems users. Access them via the URLs below –
Jobs – 4 min 31 sechttp://bit.ly/1RSI3f3
Labels – 3min 25 sechttp://bit.ly/22g1fIO
Takeoff – 6min 35 sechttp://bit.ly/1PX2tkU
Extend – 8 min 42 sechttp://bit.ly/1qxaVTO
Bid Summary – 11 min 6 sechttp://bit.ly/23fSWm4
Building Fixtures & Feeders – 5 min 54 sechttp://bit.ly/1TEEdeg
Database Management &Building Assemblies – 14 min 23 sechttp://bit.ly/1WfN6vB
On Screen Estimating Pro – 13 min 31 sechttp://bit.ly/25NUrqq
What's in your "overhead" - and what isn't? This basic question can be answered anumber of ways. Here's a look at what belongs in the overhead category and howyou might think about it.Let’s begin by saying that any employee’s costs that can be charged to a specificproject should not be included in overhead. This makes the contracting businessdifferent from manufacturing (and most other businesses).
Importantly, overhead calculations can be based on one year – or one month.Overhead costs may be broken down for your electrical operation. Alternatively,these costs could also be broken down by divisions (electrical, mechanical, etc.)and sub-divisions within each division (offices, etc.).Read the full article here.Earl Howard Offers Estimating Advice
The first few paragraphs . . .
Often, a veteran estimator and instructor – a guy like me – will be asked for “rulesof thumb” for estimators. I guess I should be flattered that people think I knowsomething about estimating because of my age and experience. Here’s the truth: Ilearn something new about my profession every day, from almost every student Itrain.
More truth: The advent of computerized estimating has been a mixed blessing formost of us. What follows is a partial answer to that frequent "rules of thumb"request.
Software: Plus & MinusHere's what estimating software delivers to construction contractors:
Speed;Accuracy;Time - which we can use to check our estimates;Methods to check our estimators (such as extension reports and bidsummary);Historical data, which enables us to improve our future estimates; and Consistency
Read the full article here.
K2 Electric & A Key Retail ProjectThe first few lines . . .
The grand opening for the retail complex took place in late September 2015.
K2 Electric, based in Phoenix, Arizona, won the bid for the shell build-out andassociated site work with a 12-month build time. “It’s noteworthy because it’s thelargest project on which we have estimated, and the largest I’ve done,” explainedJohn Jordan, K2’s chief estimator.
At $4.5 million electrical, the Premium Outlets’ approach is something new for mostof Southern Arizona: It provides outdoor mall space where people can relax, hangout, and participate in events. The indoor space is estimated to be 320,000 sq. ft.
Swallowing hard, Jordan related the problems, twists, and turns that made this jobstand out among others he’s worked on.
About On Screen Estimating ProOne item to be featured at the March 9-12 User’s Conference is On ScreenEstimating Pro (OSEP). Here’s a little about this software add-on’s capabilities.
If you’re receiving your drawings in any of the following formats, (.pdf, .png, .gif,.bmp, .jpg, .jpeg, and .tif) you need McCormick’s On Screen Estimating Pro Takeofftools.
The new On Screen Estimating Pro is part of the McCormick Estimating System. Allthe Takeoff goes directly into the Audit Trail based on the Labels selected. Aninterface program is not needed.
McCormick has already done the work for you by modifying the Itemsand Assemblies for Takeoff and creating an interface program that canmodify your database to match, or with the new Range Edit features ofskipping blank names and headers you can easily modify your Database .
The new Range Edit allows editing the OSEP Takeoff tools in the Database for agroup of Items or Assemblies. They may be modified without affecting the Headersor Blank Lines by just checking a couple of boxes.
Layers in OSEPro allow takeoff to be hidden in the drawing while another Takeoffis done. The hidden takeoff will not be shown in drawings printed or exported.
Multiple drawings may be brought into and used in a Job. Takeoff is on Layers thatmay be shown or hidden. The Feeders can be on a layer, then hidden while the
Branch takeoff is done.
Just mark an Item or Assembly in either the Permanent or Jobs Database and takeit off. Having multiple Takeoff windows open is an advantage again.
Items or Assemblies may be taken off directly from a drawing that is stored withinthe Job. The takeoff may be marked using different shapes and colors.
Line width and opacity may be varied between different Items and Assemblies. AText Overlay may be added to the Count or Length takeoff.
Drawings may be selected and rotated if needed when first opened or before doingtakeoff.
The scale may be set by selecting a scale, entering a scale, or setting the scalefrom known points as shown.
Areas of the drawing may be highlighted.Areas or Regions of the drawing may be marked showing the area and perimeter.Areas may be marked as Jumps either within a drawing or on different drawings.
A user may move between the Jump areas within a drawing or between drawings.
Takeoff may be done using either Single Line or Connected Line.Connected Line takeoff allows right angle takeoff.
The Fixtures shown were taken off and then rotated 90 degrees by right clickingand selecting the rotation.
There is a compare feature that allows comparing drawings for any changes. Whilethe Engineer doesn’t always cloud the changes, you’re STILL responsible for them.
Selected areas of the drawing with the takeoff shown may be exported or printed.Drops may be added along the line or at either or both ends and drops may beoverridden with a custom drop value for that takeoff.
Layers may be hidden just by unchecking the box next to the Layer.Feeders may be hidden to make the branch takeoff easier to see.
The Legend shows the Takeoff as it happens.
An online demo of OSEP is available. Call McCormick Systems (800-444-4890) for more information!
Construction Backlog Indicator: Up Nearly 3% As'15 Ends
Year-Over-Year CBI Map of Regions and Backlog MonthsFourth Quarter 2014 v. Fourth Quarter 2015
Somewhat like Juliette looking for Romeo, PV installers and a few inspectors havetrouble looking for, finding, and interpreting the numerous disconnect requirementsin the National Electrical Code that apply to PV systems. The application ofthese requirements, even when located, is somewhat complicated by the fact thatsome PV equipment includes some of the required disconnects and some does not.
