 by Stephen S. Saucerman
Table of Contents
1
The Change, 5
Don’t
Worry, You’re Not Alone, 5
The Construction
Industry, 7
2
Staffing the Commercial Construction Office,
13
Weighing Your Needs,
13
Staffing Your Office,
15
Independent Contractor vs. Employee,
22
The Office Itself, 23
3
Finding Commercial Work, 29
Covering Office Overhead,
29
Residential Bid Opportunities,
29
Commercial Bid Solicitation, 30
4
Working With Architects and Engineers, 37
The
Architect, 37
The Engineer,
42
Professional Organizations, 43
5
Construction General Requirements, 45
Why Should
You Care About General Requirements? 45
Administrative General Requirements, 47
Field
General Requirements, 51
6
Creating a Winning Estimate, 55
Commercial
Construction Estimating, 55
The Estimating
Process, 56
Conclusion, 83
7
Owner/Contractor Relationships, 85
Types of
Commercial Contractor/Owner Relationships, 85
Fee Arrangements, 87
The Problem with
Competitive Bids, 94
The Competitive
Difference, 96
If Not Competitive Bid - What
Then? 97
8
Design/Build and Partnering, 99
What Is
Design/Build? 99
The Pros and Cons of
Design/Build, 100
Partnering,
103
Conclusion, 106
9
The Submittal and Shop Drawing Process, 107
The Process,
107
Why Have a Review Process?
112
Final Thoughts, 113
10
Subcontractor and Supplier Selection, 115
The
Selection Process, 115
Purchase Orders and
Subcontractor Agreements, 121
The “Buy-Out”,
122
11
The Profitable Job Site, 127
Making or Losing Money in the Field, 127
Construction Delays, 130
The Change Order
Challenge, 141
Conclusion, 148
12
Employee Turnover and Morale, 149
Investing in Your Employees, 149
Taming the
Beast, 153
A Course of Action,
156
Conclusion, 157
13
Project Closeout and Warranty, 161
The
Job That Wouldn’t Die, 161
Project Closeout
Requirements, 162
Don’t Wait Until the End,
169
14
Accounting, Collections, and Your Financial Health,
175
The
Importance of Accounting, 175
Bookkeeping vs.
Accounting, 175
Common Bookkeeping Duties,
176
Cash Flow, 183
Collection Procedures and Overdue Accounts,
184
Computers, 187
15
Bonding, Insurance, Workers’ Compensation and Safety,
189
Business Failures, 190
Bonding Companies,
190
Insurance, 193
Safety and Workers’ Compensation Insurance,
194
Other Insurance Needs, 201
16
Marketing and Promotion, 203
Marketing Tools, 203
Customer Presentations,
210
Trade Shows,
212
Other Ways to Get the Word Out,
213
Getting the Advertising Juices Flowing,
214
17
The ADA Impact,
215
The
Americans With Disabilities Act, 215
Common
ADA Applications, 217
The Consequences for
Noncompliance, 220
Resource Information,
222
18
The Contractor, the Computer and the Internet, 223
Computer Basics, 223
The Computer and 
Commercial Construction, 224
The Internet,
231
19
Success and Failure in Commercial Construction, 237
Ten
Dumb Things We Do to Spoil Our Own Success, 237
What’s on the CD,
243
Index, 245
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