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Pre-Contract Planning
Pre-Contract Planning
Detailed project planning prior to contract award is not as common in construction as you might think. Research reveals that traditional procurement processes typically select a contractor and move directly into contract award without any formal project planning. Reasons given for skipping a planning step prior to contract … Read the rest “Pre-Contract Planning”
Best Value
Best Value
Construction’s Six Sigma
In the 1980s, 37% of all construction projects reported major defects. 37%!!! No manufacturing company would survive a 37% defect rate. By the 1990s, the construction industry suffered 33% of construction projects over budget and 42% completed late. 42%!!! Late!!! 33% over budget!!! In any … Read the rest “Best Value”
Liquidity
Liquidity
If I learned anything from ten years operating the world’s largest workout firm for sureties engaged in construction bonding, it’s that liquidity (or the lack thereof) is the most important predictive metric on a construction company’s balance sheet. Economic conditions, shrinking construction markets, soaring wage inflation, materials costs, and … Read the rest “Liquidity”
Let’s Get Real
“Let’s Get Real”
In a recent article I wrote the following:
“There is a downside to the great market we are enjoying because some construction enterprises will grow too fast and the rate of growth can be lethal. Most construction enterprises were involuntarily downsized when the current market recovery began. … Read the rest “Let’s Get Real”
Common Sense
COMMON SENSE
by Brian Lines, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Kansas
Construction industry research usually begins with an everyday practical problem brought to a university faculty by construction industry professionals. Unfortunately, the resulting published research papers can often sound “academic”, “complex,” and “theoretical” to construction practitioners laboring in the field. … Read the rest “Common Sense”
The Flash Report
The Flash Report
Last week I highlighted the critical day-to-day usefulness of liquidity ratios in alerting a CEO that he might be flirting with financial difficulty. Today I would like to back up and take a look at the bigger picture – the CFO’s critical role in helping manage a … Read the rest “The Flash Report”
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