The best way to manage multiple RFIs is by developing and actively maintaining a good RFI tracking log. An RFI tracking log is a list of all of the RFIs that have been generated on a project.

The reality is, change is inevitable. The reactivity of responding to those changes quickly and efficiently is what allows projects to keep moving forward on time and on budget, and reduces the risk of tarnishing the ability to achieve company growth.

A cost-plus contract reimburses you directly for all costs associated with the assigned project – plus a fee which takes into account your overhead and profit. Let’s dive into how they work and the pros and cons to contractors.

In a Time and Material (T&M) contract the project owner will pay you for all your time (labor) and materials, plus a markup, for the project. Your fee structure is tied to the amount of time and materials spent on the project, versus a fixed fee which can be found in a lump sum project. Best for projects in which the scope of work or project duration are unknown, these contracts provide flexibility and protection to your bottom line.

It’s easy to see the stakes for both owners and contractors. For owners, it’s the budget and schedule that are always at risk. For GCs and speciality contractors, good risk management is simply a matter of survival. Effective financial risk management is a necessity, especially when you consider the state of construction today.

From small home renovations to 20-story skyscrapers, every successful project is the culmination of dozens of different puzzle pieces. Procurement is how you bring these pieces together. Also known as the buying process, construction procurement is the process of contracting for any labor, materials, or equipment needed to effectively complete a job.

A well-scripted RFI can have a massive impact on the success of a construction project, both from a cost and schedule standpoint.

Value engineering is the practice of increasing the value realized from a construction project. That could mean finding an alternative permanent material or product that has higher quality and will make the end result last longer, providing a substitute material or design idea that meets the same quality standards for a lower cost, or developing alternative means and methods for constructing the design that reduces the overall construction costs.

In a lump sum contract, a price is presented to the owner to complete the project for a fixed amount — no more or less. All labor, material, subcontractors, and equipment costs are included in this fixed price and you, as the contractor, are not required to perform any additional work beyond the originally agreed upon scope of work.

As construction projects vary in terms of scope, delivery, schedule, budget, and the parties involved, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to contracts between owners and general contractors. Using the right contract for the right kind of project is critical to ensuring you stay profitable.

The scope of work serves as a roadmap for the project, ensuring that everyone involved has a clear understanding of their responsibilities and the project’s objectives.

In the dynamic, always changing world of construction, being able to quickly adapt and land on your feet financially is crucial. Setting up contingency in your contracts can help you do exactly that. The point of construction contingency is to give your budget some wiggle room if costs end up being higher than you originally anticipated. When bad weather strikes or material costs suddenly skyrocket, contingency can help protect you.

In its simplest form, an RFI is little more than a formalized question that the general contractor or a subcontractor asks the designer. However, RFIs are an extremely important administrative tool that can be used in a variety of ways.

In the dynamic, always changing world of construction, being able to quickly adapt and land on your feet financially is crucial. Setting up contingency in your contracts can help you do exactly that. The point of construction contingency is to give your budget some wiggle room if costs end up being higher than you originally anticipated. When bad weather strikes or material costs suddenly skyrocket, contingency can help protect you.

Performing construction work at night can be necessary to get a job done, but it also makes an already complicated and risky line of work even more so.

Good project management can turn even the most at-risk job around and can be the biggest factor in a profit or loss for your company. But instead of making you learn (and suffer) from experience, let’s explore some of the most common construction management issues and how to successfully navigate them. In this quick guide, I’ll talk through scheduling, cost management, resource allocation, and more.

There aren’t many industries as complicated as construction. From managing materials and labor, to keeping stakeholders happy, there’s a lot to juggle here. Without a solid plan and process in place, staying organized and on schedule is near impossible. What’s more, everything is connected – which means if one part of a job goes off the rails, more are likely to follow.

A construction cost estimate is a forecast that predicts the total cost to complete a construction project.

The reports we’ll walk through aren’t just paperwork, they are the foundation of your business. To ignore them would be like ignoring a crack in the foundation — get them wrong, and put everything built on top at risk. The good news is, you don’t need to be a certified accountant to get a handle on these.

Preconstruction (AKA “precon”) is the planning phase where the “what” of and “why” of design gets paired with the “how” of constructability reviews and the “when” and “how much” of the schedule and budget. 

The Iron Triangle of Project Management is a framework used by the largest construction companies in the game. Let’s walk through the core principles of the Iron Triangle and how you can apply it to your business.

Navigate construction contracts effectively as a subcontractor.

Your Comprehensive 2023 Guide

Change orders shouldn’t be a pain to create and submit during a construction project.

It’s important to understand how change orders work because most projects require some type of change during their life cycle.