Project Execution

Tools are critical to the everyday tasks of any sheet metal and HVAC contracting firm. They are responsible for significant direct project costs in the order of tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Such costs are exacerbated when tools are poorly managed, which, for example, can lead to inadequate use of tools, safety …

Continue reading “The Contractor’s Practical Guide on Tool Management”

Construction project close-out has long been a challenge within the industry – especially for HVAC, sheet metal and mechanical contractors – leading to the closeout process lingering way past the project completion.  Two core players within the construction industry are the Mechanical Contractors, responsible for heating, cooling & plumbing, and HVAC/Sheet Metal Contractors, responsible for …

Continue reading “Effective Project Close-Out For HVAC/Sheet Metal Contractors: Sucessful Practices Guide”

On December 7th a federal district court in Georgia issued a nationwide injunction blocking the federal government from enforcing its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal contractors (and subcontractors) as set forth in Executive Order 14042 and the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force’s Guidance for Federal Contractors and Subcontractors (“Task Force Guidance”). Under the Task Force …

Continue reading “The Executive Order Impact on COVID-19 Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors”

Register to view the Webcast on Demand. The New Horizons Foundation and ELECTRI International, the National Electrical Contractors Association’s foundation, commissioned this report assessing the productivity impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) across the sheet metal and HVAC industry. Before these findings were issued, no specific resource existed to help contractors quantify the cost impacts of lost …

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Tracking productivity is key to profitability. Yet tracking productivity has been a challenge for HVAC/sheet metal contractors who manage a high degree of off-site work. The issue is more challenging because there have been few industry standards for tracking productivity for all contractor operations. As a result, contractors have not had access to clear best …

Continue reading “Productivity Tracking in the HVAC and Sheet Metal Industry for Design, Manufacturing and Installation”

This white paper offers a set of best practices to optimize the use of prefabrication to obtain peak productivity for HVAC and sheet metal contractors. The study was informed by 1) an industry survey, 2) a series of case studies, and 3) detailed productivity and prefabrication analyses. This publication: Adds to the understanding of how …

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This paper focuses on off-site construction from the perspective of prefabrication, and installation of preassembled building components within “traditional” site-built construction project delivery methods or systems. The paper validates the savings identified in earlier reports and adds definition and dimension to the advantages associated with prefabrication and modularization in the MEP and HVAC and sheet …

Continue reading “White Paper: Off-Site Construction, Modularization, and Sheet Metal Prefabrication: Trends, Current Practice, and Recommendations”

Continuous improvement, as used in this paper and in the industry, is the name of an approach to improvement known and used around the world for decades. It applies to processes in the office, project or anywhere within the organization. The major components of continuous improvement are often referred to as an acronym, DMAIC: Define …

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Risk assessment, management, and mitigation are critical components to ensuring project success. This Risk Assessment Manual/Model: Develops understandable model calculations to assess risk factors Identifies risk mitigation options based on the nature and severity of the risks Documents the process so that it can be followed by contractors The report includes a documented process that …

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This report includes a cost and schedule control system to measure, track, and forecast cost, percent complete, and completion date. The report covers: Activity descriptions and how to develop a work breakdown structure, Estimated cost/man-hours, Earned cost/man-hours to-date, Actual cost/man-hours to-date, Estimated remaining cost/man-hours, Estimated units/activities, Installed units/completed activities, Estimated remaining units/activities, Productivity (actual vs. …

Continue reading “Project Tracking to Improve Labor Productivity for Mechanical, HVAC, and Sheet Metal Contractors: The Earned Value Approach”