Roots, Roots, and More Roots
YOUVE AUGERED the main line with both a retriever and root-cutting head; removed a bundle of tree roots; and youve convinced the owner to pay for a video...
Future Hydronics: Waste Heat Recovery
COMMERCIAL WASTE heat recovery systems have been around for a very long time. Their recovery efficiencies are a known fact, and their savings have been...
There Are Times to Use the 'F' Word
AS I WRITE THIS, quite a bit of media attention has been given to the word. Im not referring to the word that our society and the shock jocks have corrupted...
The New Project Management Paradigm
HOLD ON TO YOUR hats for the big winds of change headed our way sometime in the next couple decades in the way jobs are run and buildings built. The traditional...
Get Income From Your Business After You Retire
YOU ARE ABOUT to read a real-life, tax-war story. Joe, a reader of this column from Wisconsin, founded and ran his family business, Success Co., for 28...
Unethical Acts Bring Only Short-Term Gains
THE NEW REPORT from FMI on ethical practices in the construction industry states that a breakdown in trust and integrity is bad for business. No kidding....
What?! A Mechanic's Lien is Unconstitutional?!
WHAT COULD BE more sacred to a vendor or contractor than the right to file a mechanics lien? How could a court even think about limiting that right? Well,...
The Bull Elephants in Our Midst
I HAVE AN INORDINATE amount of respect for medium, large and super-size contractors. Over the years I have studied them and I have come to conclusions...
Reason for Optimism Among 2004 Giants
SOME GIANTS MUST feel that they cant catch a break. After enduring three or four years of rugged business conditions, these large mechanicals finally...
What Reverse Auction Bidding is All About
WITH THE UNIVERSAL presence of computers and the nearly universal reach of the Internet, you are probably aware of the widespread use of online auctioning...
LCD Monitors Are Bigger, Brighter, Affordable
MANY CONTRACTORS SPEND a heck of a lot of time in front of their computer screens. If you are still working with a bulky CRT monitor, the time might be...
Future of Hydronics: Waste Heat Recovery
RESIDENTIAL WASTE HEAT recovery holds one of the greatest potentials in the effort to reduce energy consumption. Properly applied, it can reduce the thermal...
Protecting Tools, Materials from Jobsite Theft
I BELIEVE IT WAS Mark Twain who once said the locks on doors are meant only to keep honest men out. When I was a kid growing up in a strip of rural countryside...
Turn $1,058,220 into $9,082,290 Tax-Free
THESE ARE TOUGH times for investors. The stock market mimics a roller coaster. Uncertainty prevails. The conservative investor struggles to find safety....
Cameras Prove Themselves for Root Removal
LINE BREAKS AND roots have been a recurring problem when it comes to cleaning sewer lines. Over the years, weve used mechanical equipment designed to...
How to Protect Against Steel Price Increases
IT IS NEVER NICE to take advantage of someone elses misery, but the current horrendous problem of the steel industry in not being able to obtain reasonably...
The Next Great Place to Find Business
DO YOU KNOW where your new customers are coming from? Around the country, more and more consumers are using Internet search engines to find services,...
Hydronics Move Into Condensing Technology
THE COMBUSTION process has taken a major leap forward with the introduction of smaller, easily controllable, variable-speed high-pressure blowers. Although...
PM's Skill Sets Should Match the Project
IT STILL AMAZES me that some mechanical contracting firm owners who dont have project management or field backgrounds think that a project is a project...
Plumbers Battle City Hall Over New Fees
MY HOMETOWN OF York, Pa., is short on cash, but its getting long on weird ways in which to stave off bankruptcy. Some of the ideas are creative and just...
High Performers Know the Score
QUALITY GURU Philip Crosby once told a story about a football team that lost its first two games in the season, both by a score of 14-13. The coach reasoned...
Understand and commit to Flat-Rate Pricing
FLAT-RATE PRICING is all around you. It is the common form of commerce for most of the things you buy and almost all of the things you consume. The doctor...
Law Would Address More Than Health Care
THE PRIMARY REASON that the contracting industry should support association health plans is that they would help to make health insurance more affordable...
Roots Prove Difficult to Eliminate
IMAGINE YOURE walking along a street filled with pastry shops, bakeries and restaurants. Delightfully tantalizing odors fill the air as you stroll along...
High Performers Manage Processes for Success
The fifth characteristic of high-performing contractors is they manage their processes. All work is a process. We go through a series of steps to get...
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