Bluebeam Tip: Searchable Text to AutoMark Your Plan Set May 17, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Bluebeam Revu, Construction Industry - Software.Tags: AutoMark, Bluebeam, Revu, Shortcuts, tips
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In Bluebam Revu 11 the new AutoMark feature lets you add bookmarks and page numbering from searchable text. Being able to name all the pages from your title block information allows you to jump to specific pages quickly and saves a tremendous amount of time. So how do you know if your plan set has searchable text? That’s easy, just use the shortcut CTL-SHIFT-A to see all the searchable text. If you see your drawing or sheet number highlighted you’ll be able to successfully AutoMark your entire plan set and make navigation a snap for everyone.
Searchable Text is Highlighted
To learn more about the AutoMark function, watch this video:
If you need training on Bluebeam Revu, remember you can visit Bluebeam University or if you need more hands on help,
Email me to schedule training in your office.
CFMA 2013 Annual Conference: What’s In It for Me? April 26, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in construction accounting software, Construction Industry, Construction Industry - Software.Tags: CFMA, conference, construction, Construction Financial Management Association, Finance
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Each year the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) gathers the best speakers, trending topics and resources together at their annual conference and exhibition. This year is no exception as many will make the trek to San Diego to reconnect with friends, accumulate needed CPE credits and have fun. For many CFMA members they have yet to experience all the hoopla and it’s because they don’t have a compelling reason to attend. They ask themselves “What’s in it for me?” and fail to make the case to themselves or their employers. Let’s change that now.
The 2013 CFMA conference is going to be EPIC. Much like coffee shops that jumpstart creativity and innovation, the conference offers many of the same benefits. To quote Fast Company in their article “Why you should work from a coffee shop, even when you have an office“,
A change of environment stimulates creativity. Even in the most awesome of offices we can fall into a routine, and a routine is the enemy of creativity. Changing your environment, even just for a day, brings new types of input and stimulation, which in turn stimulates creativity and inspiration.
Another conference takeaway, also holds true and is taken from Wikipedia’s English coffee houses in the 17th and 18th century,
… with the intellectual and cultural history of the Age of Enlightenment: they were an alternate sphere for intellectual thought, supplementary to the university.
Yes, the CFMA conference will get you thinking differently, spark new ideas and offer an open exchange or an “alternative sphere” of financial best practices and innovation. Your CFMA conference experience promises to be much different than going to a stuffy AICPA course or attending your local university symposium.
A favorite place for idea exchanges are in the exhibitor hall where you can visit the technology, business and financial leaders in the construction industry. You should be scouring the booths for new apps and more uses for the software products you use now or will use in the future. I’m especially interested in the improvements and new product acquisitions that bring more mobility to the workforce. FYI – there’s a LinkedIn Group you may be interested in joining “Construction Apps, Software and Technology” where there’s more discussion year round. It’s not all about GAAP, as this conference delivers value for operations with solutions eliminating silos between project management, preconstruction, estimating and BIM too. Many firms bring their Chief Information Office or IT department looking specifically for answers to mobile device management, cloud computing, and managed services.
There are many opportunities for connecting with your peers, discussing your challenges and learning how others have solved these same problems. Take advantage of all the social events as this is often where the magic happens. You make more than LinkedIn connections, you make lifelong friendships while meeting the cream of the crop in construction finance. Think of it this way, you may pay consultants $250+/hr for expert opinions and guidance. The CFMA conference lunches, networking and social activities provide time for mini consultations with speakers, exhibitors, CPAs, and Insurance experts from across the country. It’s also a good place to find possible “good fits” for joint venture projects.
Isn’t it time for your needed enlightenment? Don’t sit home while your competition gets rejuvenated, makes new connections, learns new approaches and sees the most innovative technologies being deployed by the leaders in the construction industry. As for me I’ll be there networking, learning, teaching (did I mention I’m speaking Wednesday morning? – Taming the Email Monster) and sharing a few of the great moments of the conference live, as it happens on Twitter @carolhagen (with a brief recap inside the CFMA Connection cafe should you not be able to attend).
To encourage more members to attend CFMA’s 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibition I’m calling upon past attendees to share their experiences in the comments either on this blog or inside the CFMA Connection Cafe on the CFMA website (you’ll need to login to post there) Will I see you there?
Bluebeam Tip of the Week: 3 Wall Area Measurement Methods for Estimators April 24, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Bluebeam Revu, Construction Industry - Software, estimating.Tags: Bluebeam, construction, estimating, tips, Wall area Take-off
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Bluebeam Revu’s measurement functions provide quick methods for estimators to take-off length, area and quantities. Painters, drywallers and other specialty trades often need to calculate wall area quickly and efficiently on a construction project. With Bluebeam Revu you have three take-off choices.
- Elevation views and the area tool (most accurate, most time consuming)
- Perspective drawing and the volume tool
- Perspective drawings and the perimeter tool
With options 2 and 3 there will be further calculations necessary to account for doors and windows. Knowing that you’ll all want to try these faster options and get more bids completed, I’m providing this handy reference document explaining the process using the Bluebeam Revu Measurement tools. You can download this free PDF (and yes, you can view it first because I’m using Box.com).
The 3 Wall Area Measurement Methods for Estimators using Bluebeam Revu
Please share this with other professional estimators and fellow Bluebeamers. If they aren’t using Bluebeam Revu, share this link for them to get a 30 day free trial
Disclosure: My firm, Hagen Business Systems Inc is a Silver Level Bluebeam Partner and sells Bluebeam Revu to architects, engineers and contractors throughout the United States.
Bluebeam Revu Tip of the Week: Previous / Next Buttons April 17, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Bluebeam Revu, Construction Industry - Software.Tags: Bluebeam, Revu, Shortcuts, tips
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Bluebeam Revu keeps a history of each time you change the display. Revu let’s you navigate or jump between views (from a Construction Plan view to a detail view and back) using the Previous and Next Buttons. Instead of moving your mouse to the bottom of the screen to click on the Previous or Next Button, save valuable time using these keyboard shortcuts:
Previous View: Alt + Left Arrow Key
Next View: Alt + Right Arrow Key
Now go get ‘em Bluebeamers!
Construction Estimating: Manual Counting Ends with Visual Search March 20, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software, estimating.Tags: Bluebeam, construction, estimating, Take-off, Visual Search
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Construction Estimators have been spending much of their estimating time counting electrical recepticals, sprinkler heads, and trees. The estimating take-off process has just been revolutionized with Bluebeam Revu 11′s Visual Search. Manual counting has ended for the estimator.
Construction Estimating will never be the same. Revu’s powerful search capabilities allow you to search for symbols within a PDF document. Revu’s exclusive VisualSearch™ allows you to select any symbol on a PDF and search for all instances that it occurs in the current document, all open documents, or even a folder – regardless of the symbol’s rotation, color size, or line obstructions. What’s great is you can highlight or “check” every instance and have a count drop into the Markups list (A spreadsheet-like area that can be exported to Excel).
Visual Search is just one piece of Revu’s measurement capabilities. Watch the video. You just won’t believe your eyes! Then give me a call (602-570-7289) so you too can streamline your whole estimating process. Yes, I sell software for a living and I’m dedicated to making your job easier. A professional estimator’s time shouldn’t be spent manually counting. Counting is for kindergartners.
Mobility in Construction March 15, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry, Construction Industry - Software, Document Imaging.Tags: Bluebeam, collaboration, construction, innovation, mobility
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While Construction Specialty Contractors have an 87% mobility usage at the jobsite, General Contractors are embracing mobile access in the field operations at an astounding rate according to Erin Joyce at ENR’s FutureTech Conference:
97% of GCs use mobile devices on jobsite… Here's what app they're using bit.ly/YevMWz #construction—
Carol Hagen (@carolhagen) March 15, 2013
Paul Eric Davis shared this from the conference: “What Owners Want from Tech for Lifecycle: collaboration, communication management, rapid response.”
It’s not just project owners that want this but so does the GC, Architect, Subcontractors and Suppliers. We deliver this innovation to construction. Join us on March 21st from Noon to 1pm (pacific), 3-4p (Eastern) for our free Webinar:
General Contractors: Best Practices for Streamlining Operations with Bluebeam Revu and see how collaboration is done in real-time.
LinkedIn Secret Tools for Construction Business Owners and Business Development March 11, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in iPhone, linkedin, Social Media Tools.Tags: business, business development, construction, linkedin, marketing
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In my attempt to help others leverage LinkedIn it dawned on me just how unfamiliar most construction business owners and their business development staff really know about LinkedIn and the apps that utilize it’s information. I have shared the “7 Lesser Known Apps to make LinkedIn Pop” and recognize there are more apps and tools to share that will improve productivity, garner deeper relationships and manage your connections. These are the Secret LinkedIn Apps to Success for Construction Business Development. Every SMPS member should be leveraging these tools and become more effective in managing their construction industry connections.
Evernote Hello (Android, iPhone) – Scans Business cards, automatically connects, makes meetings memorable. Great for prequalification presentations, jobsite, and pre-construction meetings!
CoBook (iPhone) Imports your contacts with Rich Profiles, organizes volumes of contacts with intelligent search by name, company or group. It also displays the local time for each contact – a handy feature!
To get it to work with LinkedIn, On your iPhone, open Cobook’s Settings and simply shake your phone. Aggregating your contacts in one place so you’re never caught without your contacts while at the jobsite.
Tout Email analytics, email templates, live feed interaction with links to call, email or access your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system for personalized follow-up. If you don’t have a CRM solution you can import your contacts by group or association. Works with Outlook, Gmail and synchronizes with your LinkedIn Connections. The ultimate in easy follow-up to all your important construction meetings and business development opportunities.
Five Hundred Plus For those of you with over 500 LinkedIn connections, this personal CRM tool now has a team feature if you have team members nurturing a prospect. Keep you LinkedIn connections close and nurture referrals with those that influence the construction industry.
ProInsights.me (Android tablets, iPad and the iPhone) This app offers a better way to visualize your connections with infographics, has an intelligent search that’s useful for finding someone when their name escapes you. Sorry no videos available on this one but there’s a quick overview preso on their website. Most construction professionals are visual, so make your LinkedIn connections and relationships easier to navigate.
NoteLeaf (Android, iPhone and Blackberry) This is a fantastic app that takes your Google Calendar (Which I sync my Outlook too daily) and gives me a recap of who I am meeting with 10 minutes before my meeting on my mobile device. Although not currently accessible in beta trials, add your email and get invited to their official release. I’ve used this for over a year, keeping me informed with my construction prospects, influencers and customers.
Charliehq Another suggestion to sign-up for early. CharlieHQ will give you a reminder before a meeting and help you stay current with a contacts activities. Heard about this tool via my network. Looking forward to it’s release!
NAWIC Block Kids: The Future of Construction February 21, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry.Tags: Block Kids, construction, NAWIC
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The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) has a wonderful program to nurture the future construction industry professional for children in 1st – 6th grade called Block Kids. The Greater Phoenix Chapter recently held their Block Kids competition at the Encanto Elecmentary School with over 50 young builders creatively assembling project models (done without BIM) using 100 building blocks, 1 sheet of construction paper, a piece of tin foil, a rock and a string. As a NAWIC member I was fortunate enough to participate in the judging along with my peers.
The merits of the projects including the construction designer’s description of what they built and the reason why they built it. These stories involved alarms to keep out thieves, a rock representing the safe where all the cancer donations are stored in the basement of a hospital and a sophisticated system of protecting endangered species from humans and danger. Obviously all the children have vivid imaginations, but I can’t help but think how much of their personal experiences are reflected in their construction project stories.
Here are some of the moments captured during the Block Kids event:
If you would like to participate by sponsoring this event next year in Phoenix, or in your city across America, please contact your local NAWIC chapter or www.nawic.org
Sharing BIM with your Construction Team February 19, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in BIM, Construction Industry - Software.Tags: BIM, Building Information modelling, collaboration, construction management, construction team collaboration
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The pervasiveness of BIM has proved to bring complexity in communications for extended construction team mebers. Especially those with limited expertise in Revit, Navisworks, etc. There are numerous ways to share models with owners, architects and major specialty contractors but what do you do to make it easier for the other subcontractors and suppliers?
BIM in a Browser
One way to allow viewing of your project BIM views is in a browser. The 4Projects project management solution has mastered this approach.
The limitation is that all team members must be using 4Projects. Obviously this works well when you have committed to that solution for all you projects, but 4Projects is not widely used in the United States. This will change overtime, especially with the acquisition by Viewpoint Construction Software. [Disclosure: I am a Viewpoint Business Development Partner]
Render 3D BIM in a PDF
Another solution is to share your model using Bluebeam Revu CAD. This offers advantages in that you can apply markups for a BIM expert to address in the model, or that other collaborators can answer by applying markups of their own. Coordination becomes easy with the ability to copy a specific area with a section box export instead of a full page 3D. Grabbing the view and copy to the clipboard in Revit or select the section in Navisworks.
You can drop 3D models into a PDF to make it quick to reply to RFIs and giving anyone that receives the PDF the ability to navigate through the model. The model tree remains available and the markups are embedded into the 3D model. A Bluebeam markup will actually float thru the model if the viewer decides to change their perspective as a markup indicator (blue sphere). Other’s using Bluebeam can add their own markups, answer questions and interact with the model. The clipping plane in Bluebeam is also handy when you need to view the interior or do a walk thru. A summary of 2D and 3D markups are a great way for sharing these markups with the novice BIM user or less technical subcontractors and construction team members. A picture remains the best way to explain construction issues. Making it simple for others to work with you will keep the project on time and under budget.
Web Collaboration with the BIM Novice
Web collaboration in a Studio session allows all you to invite subcontractors to the preconstruction review. With Bluebeam Studio the 3D markups can be viewed and annotated by your subcontractors without the subcontractor or other construction team members needing to buy a Bluebeam license. Just email an invite and anyone or any team can be working together with up to 100 people marking up the same document simultaneously. With Bluebeam’s markup list you can look at all the activity, view it by author, sort it by trade, etc. And have a full set of documentation distributed to all participants without worrying about missing anything or having someone change another authors work.
As a Bluebeam Partner, I’m here to answer your questions and would be happy to invite you to our next webinar. Let me know by requesting your invitation now.
How do you share your models with the less sophisticated specialty contractor or the novice owner? Keep this discussion going with your workarounds and solutions in the comments.
Construction Management and Quickbooks February 18, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software, project management software.Tags: construction, construction project management, construction software, corecon, Quickbooks
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Whether you are a residential or commercial general contractor, Quickbooks is the most popular accounting software serving the construction industry in the United States. The challenge is achieving an integrated solution with estimating, scheduling and project management capabilities while addressing detailed job costing. As your contracting firm grows your needs typically outgrow what you can do with Microsoft Office so where’s a GC to turn?
If integration is important, and you really want to avoid silos between finance, estimating and operations you’ll want to look at Corecon. They were the first to embrace the API’s available with Intuit and have managed to address everything but BIM and CAD needs for the small to mid-sized construction company.
Corecon is a Software as a Service solution all based in the cloud and works with the popular browsers so there’s no need to install software of worry about upgrades and backups. It’s all done for you. What really separates this solution with others (I’m disclosing that I do sell this software) is the depth of integration and the capabilities.
Estimating, Bid Requests, Preconstruction, Purchasing, Safety, Submittals, Correspondence, Progress Billings, etc. It’s all there. It even has a mobile login for accessing your contacts, viewing you To do List, receiving Alerts, tracking project leads and reviewing all your project’s Correspondence, documentation, schedule, Time Entry, Miscellaneous Expenses, Procurement and Financials. There’s even handy charts to visually see your construction project’s financial health.
For additional information visit Corecon.com and tell them Carol Hagen sent you in the comments.
If you have time take a peak of the mobile operations in this video:
Construction Operations: Field and Office Silos February 6, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in BIM, construction accounting software, Construction Industry - Software, Document Imaging.Tags: construction accounting software, construction management, construction operations, construction software
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Construction Technology has managed to move faster in the last 5 years than in the past 100 with innovation in Operations, communications and collaboration leading the way. This pace will continue as construction project managers find the tools they learned about in college are replaced within 10 years of graduation. There’s something new everyday that makes us work smarter but in this process, silos have crept in. This is particularly noticeable between preconstruction to operations and finance, and from field to office.
Construction Silo Solution
In an article from Construction Business Owner, “Silos: Great for Grain, Not so Great for Business” the solution was stated articulately “…business silos are not simple structures – they are supported by technology and processes. So the way to break down the business silos would seem straightforward – combine the technologies and link the processes that are used in the office and field silos.” So what have you been doing to combine your BIM, project management, collaboration, document management, mobile communications and the construction finance department together?
Construction Technology Challenges
Perhaps your vendors aren’t thinking strategically enough as your contracting firm prepares for the economic surge created by the pent up demand of the recession. Your systems may work well separately but have you found the integrations to be cumbersome or even lacking? Every disconnect causes inefficiencies and added costs. Lack of communications and access to up-to-date information can have a significant impact to your bottom line.
Integration Approach
Third Party integrations seem to have been popular in the 90s as software developers worked diligently to share data. As technology progressed, smart firms offered Software Development Kits (SDK) and introduced Applications Programming Interfeces (API) to help seamlessly share data across systems. The XML standard started gaining traction as the Associated General Contractors of America and COBie made a push for better collaborative solutions. Specializing and doing one thing well is great as you remain focused and innovative. Those that ventured out in developing their own solutions in areas with little or no expertise have paid the price as valuable resources and talent were robbed from their core competencies to create mediocre solutions in the chase to fulfill the needs of field operations, preconstruction and collaboration.
Enterprise Resource Planning
Most ERP solutions today have grown up in a general business environment and added modules to address construction across department and divisions. So what’s a growning innovative construction firm to do when they have a mix of legacy or disconnected systems? I’ll admit I’m biased. As a Business Development Partner for Viewpoint Construction Software I’ve watch strategic acquisitions occur that not only bring teams of focused talent but leverage economies of scale. The approach has been when a critical mass of customers needs a solution that would take years to develop, find the best solution with the best talent and a culture match and either partner or acquire.
Document Management
Last year Viewpoint acquired Construction Imaging (CI) addressing the needs of document control, imaging, capture, workflow, and records retention. CI has integrations with many of the top construction accounting and project management software vendors and it is still providing solutions to contractors wanting to achieve a paperless office while leveraging existing in place systems.
Mobility and Partnerships
Recently Viewpoint acquired ACS Connect to address the needs of the Mobile Field Manager while also welcoming eSub to the Software Development Partners Program. They join a growing community of construction industry focused solutions including: AboutTime, BirdDog, ComData, Cosential, Eathwave Technologies, MJobTime, and SmartBidNet. Integrations are important for specialized solutions but sometime acquisitions can vault a firm into the lead.
Strategic Aquisition
Today, the big announcement at Viewpoint was another acquisition, 4Projects, which brings project controls, procurement, Construction design Management and BIM in a browser all in a SAAS model (cloud computing purity for scalable deployment for one project or many). In time, the integration of Viewpoint V6 and 4Projects will blend. Watch what 4Projects does now and come back to see what Viewpoint will do next.
If your construction system has silos and you’re tired of duplication of effort, Email Me Now!
Wagon Build a Huge Success January 19, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in communication.Tags: construction, Girl Scouts, Wagon Build, Women
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The Advancing Women in Construction (AWIC) at Arizona State University and Girl Scouts troops from around the valley gathered to assemble their cookie wagons today.
With 56 girls from 20 troops working together with troop leaders and volunteers at the USE building parking area the Wagon Build project was deemed a success.
We all took a lunch break, consuming 30 pizzas from Papa John’s.
Much work was done by each girl scout troop, painting, assembling and decorating their wagons while meeting students in ASU’s construction program along with women (and a few men) working in architecture, engineering and the construction industry.
Awards for Best Teamwork, Best Cookie Theme and Best in Show plus goodie bags for all. Thank you to our sponsors, volunteers, cash donations from CFMA and AWIC for a great event.
It was wonderful participating as a volunteer and hope this becomes an annual event. Now go buy some girl scout cookies!
Construction Photos and Long Term Records Retention January 14, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in archiving, Construction Industry - Software, records retention.Tags: construction management, Construction Photo Applications, construction software, photography, records retention
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Construction photographs are collected on every one of your projects. For years we’ve taken pics with our digital cameras and smartphones, but the challenge has been how to organized these. A file of jpeg1, jpeg2, etc taken at jobsite X on a given date really doesn’t help if a legal claim crops up a few years from now. Sometimes making heads or tails of what and where on the jobsite a photo was taken renders the photo practically useless unless…
You know about Threshold from 383 Studio, a better way to document, photograph, organize and send photos right from the jobsite. Here’s a quick video overview:
What makes this app unique isn’t that it’s easy to use, quick to annotate photos or even that it has a mobile App. What get’s me excited is that there’s a way to export you photos to you content management system for long term storage. All the other Apps I’ve seen lock you into an annual contract for you to have access to your photos once the project is completed. While Threshold has this Archiving option they also offer, as Google likes to call it “data liberation”.
As a long-time proponent of a paperless office, The export function allows you to download the photos with some of the meta data into file folders. What this allows me to do is generate a deliverable of all construction documents and photos to the project owner in a neat as-built package. The Content Archive function of Construction Imaging can consume folder structures into its enterprise content management system effortlessly making these two solutions a great fit.
To be upfront on disclosure, I have business relationships with both Threshold and Construction Imaging. This unique pairing really can deliver the goods and I’d be happy to discuss just how this marriage can work in your construction firm.
If you think you want to take Threshold for a spin, use “Hagen383″ to get a 10% discount www.thresholdcm.com
7 Little Known Apps to Make LinkedIn Pop! January 2, 2013
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software, linkedin, Social Media Tools.Tags: apps, business development, linkedin, social networking
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LinkedIn is the king of Business to Business Social Networking but few have taken the time to learn the details of how to leverage their personal and company profiles. Even fewer have found the real secrets of using applications that can extend the value to their email, smartphone or tablet. Sure they have the LinkedIn App installed on their phone, but it’s terrible for inviting people to connect with you on LinkedIn. One day LinkedIn will add a way to customize your invitation on their mobile app but who has the time to waste in this fast paced world?
These seven applications will help make LinkedIn deliver business results and fulfill your 2013 resolution of leveraging Social Media. Best of all most of these apps are free to use (some offer premium services).
For People You Meet and want to Keep in Touch With: CardMunch is a Business Card App that transcribes contacts and connects on LinkedIn, currently for iOS only (owned by LinkedIn)
To Meet People When Traveling: HereOnBiz ( iOS only) is perfect for when you are looking to meetup with connections in other cities, and receive notification when connections that matter are nearby or at the same event.
For People You Need to See More Often: HookFlash is a WebRTC app for video calls to your LinkedIn Connections ( iPad only)
To Keep Track of Who You’ve Spoken To and When: ConnectedHQ is a lite Customer Relationship Management solution CRM (owned by LinkedIn) which also incorporates profiles from Twitter, Facebook and Google+ providing a universal address book, comprehensive profiles, daily agendas and events.
To Showcase Your Expertise: Slideshare lets you upload your presentations and docs (owned by LinkedIn) so you can embed them on your LinkedIn Profile in the Summary, Education or Experience Sections.
To Keep Your Conversations Fresh: Rapportive is a Gmail plug-in for access to LinkedIn, Skype, Twitter and Facebook profiles (owned by Linkedin)
To Find More Connections in Your Industry or Your Prospect’s Industry: Intro – Lets you define what industry and role you are looking to connect with from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, MeetUp on iTunes and Android’s Google Play
Learn one App a day, and in a week you’ll be ready to make LinkedIn Pop! If you are in the construction industry, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn to learn more about software, apps and construction specific tech topics a.
For more LinkedIn apps that have working relationships with LInkedIn , check out my Quora answer
photo credit: Adriano Gasparri via photopin cc
A Unique Christmas Construction Invitation to Bid December 6, 2012
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry Hardware.Tags: construction, Toy Drive
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Volunteers arrive with a special delivery
Update 12/21/12: Amazing! Fantastic! Unbelievable! Someone will need to figure out the value of ABA’s Toy Drive. In addition to an abundance of toys delivered yesterday, over $2,000 in gift cards were presented. Sunshine Home reps said in their 18 years, this is the best Christmas they’ve ever had. Additionally, the GC’s who put the bid on the street enjoyed the involvement and were successful in getting donations from companies the ABA executive director has never heard of! The above depicts the huge success of this endeavor. Thank you to all who participated and volunteered!
Original Post: The Arizona Builders Alliance (ABA) is having their Toy Drive to make a difference in the lives of Phoenix Area displaced children. Instead of a regular press release, McCarthy used SmartBidNet to get the word out about Sunshine Homes to their subcontractors. Many other commercial construction companies that belong to the ABA are planning to do the same with their own invitation to bid software.
Here are the details:
Project: The Sunshine Project
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Type: New & Renovation
Bid Date: 12/17/12 @ 4p MST
Status: Invited Bidder – GC Bids to Owner (By invitation Only) December 17th, 2012 at 4 PM MST)
First Report Date: 12/5/12
Target Start Date: 12/21/12
Description of Project: This project consists of providing goods and services to brighten the holidays of 330+ kids and young adults (ages 6 to 18) forcefully removed from their parents and homes due to neglect, physical abuse, alcohol, and drugs. The Sunshine Project helps to provide these 210 boys and 110 girls a safe and stable environment so that they can heal, grow, and eventually re-enter society as whole citizens.
Approved Building Materials:
- Footballs
- Basketballs
- Soccer balls
- Frisbees
- Board games
- Electronic game systems & games
- Hand-held electronic games
- Disposable cameras
- Movie passes
- Gift cards
- Ear Phones
- Art Kits
- MP3 players
- Popcorn tins
- Cookie tins
Restricted Building Materials:
- Toy guns
- Toy knives,
- NC-17 games and movies
- Stuffed animals – lice carrier
Submit Bids To: Bids (donations) can be made to any of the soliciting general contractors. The important thing is that we give regardless of which general contractor receives your donation. All of the donated items will be consolidated in one location for final delivery.
Notes: Because of the security concerns for the kids, no bids/donations are to be delivered directly to Sunshine Homes.
If you are interested in donating or participating in this Christmas Construction project for Sunshine Acres and bring smiles to hundreds of children, please contact Matt Adcock at McCarthy, 480-449-4700 or any other member of the Arizona Builders Alliance to donate toys
We’d also be much obliged if you’d share this with other Arizona Contractors and spread the news. Merry Christmas!
Construction Thought Leaders on LinkedIn October 18, 2012
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software, Lean Construction, linkedin, thought leadership.Tags: construction, linkedin, thought leadership
2 comments
What if all construction industry thought leaders were on LinkedIn? LinkedIn recently added the ability to follow people you may not be connected to, that are classified as thought leaders (http://blog.linkedin.com/2012/10/02/follow-people/). While many are business leaders, news writers and public figures, few are focused on the construction industry. Let’s aggregate our suggestions and start following these icons – so construction and the AEC industry can benefit from their thought leadership. Here’s how:
Follow construction leaders you find on LinkedIn
I suggest you start following Associated General Contractors Chief Economist, Ken Simonson – you can tell he is part of the elite group of thought leaders on LinkedIn by visiting his profile and noticing the “Follow button” – I’m already following and have met him numerous times at AGC events. See how his profile has a large Follow/Following button rather than a connect button:
Add to the Recommended Construction Thought Leaders List
Now there are many other talented people that serve and are dedicated to the construction industry that are authors, bloggers, business leaders, educators and innovators that often share their wisdom. Apparently LinkedIn doesn’t know the construction industry that well so I though we could get a list going of who should be considered and help Architecture, Engineering and Construction learn at a more rapid pace. Please add to this list with your thought leader recommendations in the comments.
Brent Darnell – Construction Communications Wizard
Anirban Basu – Economist
Andrew Abernathy – Virtual Construction and Collaborative team building
David F. Carr – Construction Tech News
I’ll update this post weekly with all your additions. Once we have a list of 25+ compiled I’ll see if we can get them submitted to LinkedIn. This is obviously a join effort and with the help of the industry we can leverage the construction industry expertise and share best practices, critical thinking, technology and leadership that can propel the future.
Suggest Topics for Thought Leaders in the Construction Industry
Here are areas I’d like your suggestions for:
- BIM
- LEED
- LEAN Construction
- Civil Engineering
- Construction Finance
- Construction Business Strategy
- CAD
- Business Intelligence
- Equipment/Fleet Management
- Project Management/Operations
- Estimating
Again make suggestions in the comment section.
We’re all missing out on tribal knowledge. Let’s pool it together. Thanks for your submissions and please share this with others.
Arizona Construction Career Days A Huge Hit October 10, 2012
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry Hardware.Tags: Arizona Construction Career Days, AZ Construction Career Days, career, construction, Construction Career Days
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While the construction industry is predicting a shortage of skilled workers, Construction firms are doing something about it with Arizona Construction Career Days, an annual event for all high school students in the state.
This year over 1000 teachers and students toured the exhibits and had opportunities to operate power tools, heavy equipment and experience the diversity of work that the construction industry offers. Whether you have a high school diploma or a college degree, the jobs in construction offer good pay and a career path that can take you from laborer to CEO.
Here’s a pictoral story of the 2012 event held at the Army National Guard facilities in Phoenix:
To participate in next year’s event as an exhibitor, sponsor or school visit the official Arizona Construction Career Days Website.
Construction Team Meetings: Where Baby Boomers and Gen Y Collide August 24, 2012
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software, Document Imaging, records retention, Sharepoint, web conferencing.Tags: construction managment, construction team collaboration, construction team meetings, construction technology
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Team meetings in construction offices are transforming as we speak. After reading this CNN article, ‘Generation Y’ set to transform office life and a tweet from Jennifer Hicks it made me think about what is happening in the AEC industry. We’re all so mobile that unless we can all work together on our own schedules and collaborate effectively we’re doomed to failure.
Conversations are Team Meetings
What the construction industry is counting on is technology to make our communications clearer. Industry leaders use video conferencing to have conversations – important to capture body language cues and readily available, apps abound on many smartphones and social networks today. Seems like the project managers I know send an email following a conversation to recap and document what they just said.
Project Documents are Changing
Our documents are easily accessible from Sharepoint, Construction Imaging, project management team portals, or Box.net as all generations are wanting access from anywhere, anytime. (If you haven’t made the transition to electronic documents you better be thinking about it before you get busy again.) Mark-ups and edits occur on documents frequently and the construction plans seem to pose the biggest challenges. Versioning control is a decision everyday. Your records management integrity depends on it.
Collaborative Construction Communications Technology
What do construction team meetings look like today? They’re collaborative, mobile and transparent. At least the successful ones are. If you expect to collaborate solely with email you will need more hours in your day. It’s time to transform your methods and it needs to work for internal and external teams. One such solution is gaining respect in the industry. It’s called Bluebeam Studio and I’m luckily part of their partner program. Watch this short video and see what you think. Your socks are about to be blown off!
The value is in working simultaneously or on your own time. If you can’t make it to the Studio session it can be left open for you to chime in later. If you’re running a pre-construction meeting you can meet virtually and work together. The flexibility is all there. Have you used Studio? Would you like to experience it for yourself? Leave a comment and I’ll invite you and your team to a Studio project and collaborate together today.
This crosses all workforce generations and makes a visual record that’s easy to learn, review, share and save to your project document repository.
The Construction Workforce Future: Where Will They Come From? August 14, 2012
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software.Tags: career, construction, human resources, talent
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With the construction industry losing skilled labor and management to retirement and attrition (thanks to the sluggish economy), all the construction associations are talking about where will we find the workers in the future? Some think they can use Facebook to attract welders, electricians and laborers. The opportunity to be in front of high school students and influence them with the construction career path is key to success. It’s not so much you going to the classroom, but bringing them to the field classroom. Letting them have hands-on experiences without adding risk to a jobsite is tricky but there’s another way…Construction Career Days!
Construction Career Days is an excellent opportunity for high school juniors and seniors to learn about rewarding careers in the commercial, and highway construction industry. It’s also the perfect place to meet face-to-face and share your passion while giving hope to students of a rewarding and high paying job. As the volunteer coordinator for Arizona Construction career Days, I’m calling on everyone in the industry to get involved in your state’s events. Here are a few upcoming career day events:
Arkansas Construction Career Days Sept 12-13, 2012
Ohio Construction Career Days Sept 19-20, 2012
Southern Colorado Construction Career Days Sept, 20, 2012
New Hampshire Construction Career Days Sept 20-21, 2012
Oklahoma Construction Career Days Sept 21, 2012
Colorado Construction Career Days Sept, 25-26, 2012
Kentucky Construction Career Days Sept 26-27, 2012
Arizona Construction Career Days Oct 4-5, 2012
If you are in the Phoenix metro area, please get involved and become an exhibitor, sponsor or volunteer at Arizona Construction Career Days. We need heavy equipment (and operators), concrete, steel, utility, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, masonry, and even general contractors there so the kids can see the diversity and income the construction industry has to offer. Don’t sit on the sidelines and complain that there aren’t any workers. Do something about it!
Arizona Construction Career Days is in October but we need commitments to sponsorships and advertising early to get the info to the printer. Act Now and Share This with everyone in the construction industry- suppliers, subcontractors, tradesmen, associations, career centers, etc.
Construction Project Team Communications Innovation July 26, 2012
Posted by carolhagen in Construction Industry - Software, Document Imaging, web conferencing.Tags: Bluebeam Studio, collaboration, communication, construction, construction project management
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After reading “Collaborating in the New AEC World” by Al Douglas it is apparent that whether you are a subcontractor, general contractor, architect, engineer or project owner you must have a single place to effectively communicate in order to reach all project team expectations. Email will not suffice and often project management systems do not deliver on live collaborative sessions that occur during pre-construction and intermittently throughout a project lifecycle.
Construction communication challenges often arise as preferred technologies (BIM, IPD, CAD) often leave non-techie types out of the conversation loop. Everyone in construction operations is visual and depends upon drawings, plans and models to convey ideas. Being proficient in all these technologies can take a lifetime and the project only lasts 12 months. How do you get everyone speaking the same language and invite every team member to engage in the conversation? The solution has to be easy to learn, offer a place where a multitude of document types can be shared and offer a simple way for mark-ups and conversations to be captured. If you want everyone to use it it also has to be affordable and documents should be easily shared without need for special software. Remember the PDF?
The PDF standard hasn’t left the construction industry. Most general Contractors still exchange plans in PDF format because everyone can open them. The problem arises as you share plans, typically via email or offer an FTP download. Now there are 100s of copies and everyone is marking-up their own set. Have you ever tried to look a 4 versions at once and compare the differences? It’s challenging and frustrating. It’s even more challenging in the pre-construction process as you need to get all the project subcontractors in one room along with the engineer and architect. Inevitably a few people miss the meeting or must catch-up later. There is a simple solution…
To see the Bluebeam Studio solution in action as part of Bluebeam Revu. Start at minute 5, if you’re not interested in how to set-up and invite others to this on-line web collaboration studio session for construction teams or watch this 14 minute video from the beginning to see all the steps.
Disclosure: I’m convinced that every construction firm should be familiar with this tool and am a Bluebeam Partner myself. If you’re interested, comment or email me and I’ll invite you to a Bluebeam Studio Session – yes you can invite your team too!
