The Builder S Guide To Running A Successful Construction Company

Practical, simple record-keeping, contracts, bidding, management for the small contractor. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A guide to running a construction company that provides tips and information on creating operating procedures, improving worker skills, using computers, keeping the right forms and paperwork up to date, competitive bidding, and other topics.

The book is concerned with the business of residential construction, including the maintenance, restoration, renovation, and construction of private homes and related properties.

To be a great superintendent, you need training. Without this, you may become defensive, learn to accept waste and low standards, or even espouse false concepts that will lead to certain failure. However, with proper fundamental training, learning from the best builders throughout history, and effectively using the modern concepts of lean, we can guide superintendents to have the best trained role in construction. Right now in our industry, project managers and project engineers are better trained, better paid, and are becoming leaders of the entire team. The positions of superintendents and project managers should be equal, but to be equal, we need to step up and take our place as the driving force of the project. This book will help you to do that and bring respect back to field positions everywhere. Before writing Elevating Construction Superintendents - The Art of the Builder, I had never found a book available for the art and form of being a superintendent. Yes, there are books about lean; yes, there are books about construction management; and yes, there are books about the skills of a superintendent, but there are none that cover the art of the builder in construction and the back-to-basics fundamental attributes of a true leader in the field. This is the first revision of the book we need and want for our wonderful builders in the field of construction. This book is filled with principles and actionable steps for assistant superintendents. I invite you to learn these, take massive action, and implement each step one-by-one. Please keep driving until everything on your project brings you joy. That is the measure of success. Expect more - Step up - Let's go

Sam Brooks, a young superintendent with ProCon Builders, has been given responsibility for the largest and most complicated project of his career. He struggles with all of the common difficulties in construction -- lack of communication, coordination issues, and other kinds of wasteful occurrences that rob his project of time and money, while leaving him and his team frustrated and overworked. Luckily, his friend, mentor, and co-worker, Alan Phillips, brings the benefit of his experience and his knowledge of Lean Construction tools and processes to help Sam learn valuable skills for improving the operation of his project. Together, Sam and Alan discuss the merits and explore the practical applications of: Daily Huddles Visual Communication The "Eight Wastes" Managing Constraints Pull Planning The Last Planner System(TM) Percent Plan Complete

Only 43 per cent of U.S. construction firms remain in business after four years. Why? Inadequate management, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. This is surprising because most construction firms are formed by ambitious construction project managers, executives and tradesmen who have excelled at what they have been doing. But as experienced as these entrepreneurs may be, they are not likely prepared to take on the full range of responsibilities forced on them in managing the business of construction in its entirety. While this business failure rate and its causes are based on U.S. experience, available data from a number of other industrialized countries shows they are similar. This book describes in detail what the business side of the construction equation requires of the construction firm owner. The contractor who quickly learns these requirements can identify and avoid or manage around the pitfalls that cause the high failure rate in our industry and put his or her construction firm on a level playing field with the best-run companies in the business. The detailed duties of the owner, whether in the U.S., U.K., Australia or Canada, are a common theme throughout the book. The author, Nick Ganaway, speaks peer-to-peer, and the book is sprinkled with supporting examples from his own experience. He is immersed in the industry and this book is "based on the things I've learned, used, and refined as a light-commercial general contractor in the course of starting and operating my own construction firm for 25 years." The contractor doing $5 million or $50 million or more in annual sales or the equivalent amount in other countries, or the entrepreneur who is just starting up, can use the tried and proven material in this book to build a business that is profitable, enjoyable, and enduring. Additionally, the book devotes a chapter to specializing in chain-store construction.

If you dream of running your own construction company, this is the book for you. The authors specialize in remodeling, but the information they share is just as valuable to spec builders and subcontrctors. A step-by-step through the process of setting up a new company. Learn about several ways to structure your company, and the benefits and disadvantages of each of them. Learn how to make a good impression on clients, how to work with architects, inspectors and bankers and where to look for more help when you need it.

How you can make your construction company more profitable. A 'must read' before you price your next project.Many construction companies fail despite the hard work and knowledge of their managers and owners. Some companies even start well, earning good profits, building successful projects, and the company grows - only for it all to come crashing down, often leaving a mountain of debts behind. So why do construction companies fail? Is it due to bad luck?This book explores important aspects of managing a construction company that impact its success and profitability. Obviously managers should have an understanding of running a business as well as the appropriate technical skills. But, it's usually more than this. The chapters in this book focus on the importance of selecting the right project, how to find projects, tendering correctly, winning the project, delivering the project, avoiding unnecessary costs, increasing revenue, financial and contractual controls, managing the company, the importance of good people, growing the company and ensuring the company has a good reputation.The chapters are set out in an easy to read format, filled with practical tips, which provide a step-by-step guide to growing profits, remaining profitable and running a successful construction company.