Project Execution

Across SMACNA shops and job sites, most mentoring still happens the way it always has: organic, informal, and dependent on whoever happens to take a new worker under their wing. This New Horizons Foundation report makes the case that contractors are leaving real money on the table by stopping there. Drawing on practical examples from …

Continue reading “Mentoring: Developing Trade Workers’ Talent and Engagement”

“I received better onboarding at Jack in the Box than I did as a union employee.” That comment from an HVAC contractor president frames the problem this report sets out to fix. With 60 percent of construction injuries happening in a worker’s first year and effective onboarding linked to 52 percent better retention and 60 …

Continue reading “Onboarding Trade Workers for Accelerated Engagement and Productivity”

Lean processes enable continuous improvement. This collaborative study focused on trade contractors’ adoption of continuous improvement principles, methods, and practices. The procedures used to analyze the trade contractor capture a snapshot of the successful adopters’ methods and practices throughout their operations. Conducting case studies of successful adoption helps us to profile the processes and business …

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Between 2020 and 2022, your business likely received phone calls from vendors to notify you that key equipment or material deliveries were delayed – and that instead of being readily available in inventory, it would be months before they arrived. Perhaps you even had a vendor that told you they were unable to confirm a …

Continue reading “Managing Supply Chain Disruption”

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. Recovering Loss Project Dollars from a Pandemic Event: A Comprehensive Guide Businesses face extraordinary financial challenges when  unanticipated events, like pandemics, occur. Our in-depth report, “Pandemics and Productivity: Quantifying the Impact,” offers valuable insights and practical strategies to help CEOs, project managers, financial executives, shop and field superintendents, …

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Tracking Construction Workforce Productivity Improves Operations and Profitability Tracking productivity in speciality construction is key to project profitability. Yet it has been an ongoing challenge for HVAC/sheet metal contractors who manage a high degree of off-site work. To complicate matters, few industry standards exist for tracking construction labor productivity, leading to a lack of clear …

Continue reading “Tracking Productivity in Specialty Construction Throughout Project Lifecycle Improves Profitability”

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 …

Continue reading “White Paper: The Impact of Prefabrication on Productivity”