Service management software solution enhances workflow
Suitable for HVACR contractors involved in service work, construction and facilities management, SAM Pro Enterprise by Data-Basics Inc., www.databasics.com, is an integrated modular based software solution that is designed to help proactively manage daily business operations, end to end. ...
Students reduce building's energy consumption by 90% — Pt. 2
In last month’s article, I promised that we would look at the major items contributing to the energy consumption reduction of The Learning Source building located in Lakewood, Colo. ...
Cheap, easy ways to increase hydronic system efficiency
Compared to the cost of a new high-efficiency boiler, lots of things are relatively cheap. While it would be nice to sell a new boiler, there are easier and less expensive ways to reduce hydronic system energy usage. ...
Using Internet videos for marketing – Pt. 2
This is the second of two articles on using video to market your company. The first article published in the September issue of CONTRACTOR addressed video production. This article focuses on strategies to maximize your online viewership and use your videos to drive traffic to your website....
What contractors should know about fear, doubt
The reason why so many contractors aren’t reaching their financial goals, or worse, going out of business, is because sales training is the most undertrained skill in the industry. Why is this so? Most contractors fear it like the plague. They believe it will turn their team of caring and trusted professionals into a band of thieves. ...
Managing your business for operational consistency
Gaining and keeping control of the little things that siphon your profits and working capital is not hard to do. Sometimes making the decision to do it is the hard part. If you are an organized person, you probably already have some system in place to catch some of the waste, so turning that system up a notch should not be all that difficult....
The battle is over
The sheer joy that comes with creating something marvelous, from scratch, generates an upbeat and infectious mood that’s impossible to avoid when visiting the Solar Decathlon's student teams and their faculty advisors/mentors. ...
Contracts, negotiations in 2011 and beyond
The marketplace today has changed so drastically, and in so many ways, that it is difficult to form a complete list. The one constant though, is that contractors still exist (at least for the immediate future) and subcontractors still engage in commerce with them....
Hurricanes and floods, oh my!
A quick call to our agent with copies of the letters from the agencies strongly suggesting no repairs are made were included. Hours later, we had an official reply: we would likely be covered if at some point in the future, any problems arose, but that would not prevent a lawsuit being filed based upon our having ignored the warnings while performing repairs instead of replacements. Their advise: repairing flooded appliances exposes us to increased exposure to liability and they strongly urged we replace or walk away from the work. ...
Help your CPA help you
This article is about a simple strategy that few CPAs, lawyers and other professionals know exists. As you are about to learn when this strategy is used, those clients and their families who use it enjoy a huge increase in the amount of their wealth, tax-free, and no additional out-of-pocket cost....
Mechanic's liens in a tough economy
Mechanic's liens are creatures of state statutes, so they vary tremendously as to who has rights, how they are protected and how they are enforced. But there are some issues that are common to many states’ schemes for liens that we can consider...
Family business succession planning
Succession is a once in a lifetime event. Often, it’s often fraught with emotional issues for all family participants (sometimes even for employees), financial issues and ultimately stressful to the family as well as the family business. Good reasons to look at succession planning as a process rather than some singular event. ...
The please do, please don't of the times
The times we are living in from the perspective of your friend, the mechanical contractor...
Letters to the editor
I think that the time frame for acceptance of residential sprinklers will be much shorter than your sprinkler industry sources say (cite issue and page). They are looking at the systems through the eyes of sprinkler contractors, and are not considering the cost advantages of making the sprinklers part of the cold water distribution pipe. ...
Reducing commercial buildings' energy consumption by 90%
Recently, I was approached by a key member of this group with the intent of bringing us all together as a consulting team to tackle the task of addressing the energy consumption and conservation needs of light commercial buildings (less than 100,000-sq.ft)....
When nothing is left but the business
One Tuesday morning, he gets in to the office around 6:30, turns on the coffee and gets ready for the day. By 9:00, he notices that the bookkeeper, Hillary, hasn’t shown up for work. ...
Software for here, there and everywhere
Singletouch, www.singletouch.com, a real-time data capture solution for industrial contractors doing large installations, covered in this column a couple of years ago, now takes advantage of touchscreen technology and includes capability for data capture on handheld tablets on jobsites regardless of the quality (or absence) of Internet connectivity. ...
New boiler legislation coming soon
In the Oct. 6, 2006, Federal Register, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a proposed rule to amend the federal minimum efficiency standards for residential furnaces and boilers. Though the 59-page document is sometimes unclear and incomplete, it is slated to go into effect in September 2012, less than a year from now. When I surveyed three smart plumbers and three astute manufacturer's reps, none had heard of it. ...
Financial ancient history vs. right now
Contractors, even if they know their numbers, do a bad or non-existent job with budgets and cash flow projections. The vast majority of them make a profit of 1% or less a year. That was the message that the Quality Service Contractors heard from consultant Gary Elekes, a former contractor himself with a business degree from Ohio State and an accounting degree from Roosevelt University. ...
Cloud computing
Cloud computing is an increasingly popular way of software developers delivering productivity software applications and users accessing them through any Internet-enabled browser as if the applications were installed on the user's own computer. Users benefit from software applications without investing in new infrastructure, additional personnel, or outlaying money to purchase packaged software. ...
Outdoor reset has arrived
The purpose of outdoor reset is to reduce energy use and cost without sacrificing comfort. The controller lowers boiler water temperature when the outdoor temperature is warmer and increases it when the outdoor temperature is colder. ...
Keeping tools on the jobsite
Powered equipment that sprouts legs and walks away... Hand tools that vanish into thin air… These are the phenomena that plague jobsites. ...
Trade, craft and technology; ever evolving
Looking at our trade from a strictly historic viewpoint, and disregarding the political and economic conditions of today, we see a steady if not always constant progression of improvements in the way it has grown and evolved....
Five steps, one must do, to start being lean
Lean is not a fad diet but is a way that manufacturing companies have used to become more competitive and successful. Construction companies are just beginning to apply it. Some contractors mistakenly feel they are already as lean as they can get. Here are 10 questions that will tell you if you are in need of Lean thinking...
Internet leads to sales opportunities
With folks turning to the Internet more frequently, it’s not unusual for customers to have a pretty good idea of what they want before they call you. ...
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