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There’s a new gadget on the horizon that has the potential to infiltrate markets that maybe Apple hasn’t considered yet.  In keeping with the theme of the site, let’s look at a few ways that contractors could utilize the portable tablet.

1.  Safety/Toolbox Talks:

It’s hard to get your guys to listen to you when you want to give a safety talk, and all they want to do is punch the clock and get to the job site.  Instead of prattling on about something they aren’t interested in, how do you think they would respond if you pulled out your nifty new iPad and played them a safety video.  Here’s a link to over 3,000 on Youtube.  Using only what is available from Youtube would give you enough information for daily safety talks for 11 years.  Granted, I know a lot of construction company owners that have more than enough information for safety talks, but lack the resources to give them to their employees.  Now that Apple has developed a portable device that can show videos wherever and whenever, you have an electronic safety director.  If you want to make some quick money, make an Apple App or podcast that delivers daily safety talks specifically tailored to your industry.

2. BIM:

You know it’s coming.  Instead of having everyone on the site trying to coordinate inside a single trailer and look at a computer, you could take your iPad and your 5-D graphic for that project out to the jobsite and study the specs right then and there.

If you have any other ideas on how this new technology can benefit contractors, please leave a comment.

Original Post Since my post about employee cell phone use on company time while driving, some pretty significant precedents have been set.  They were covered in this morning’s Advisen Front Page News

In December 2007, International Paper Company settled a personal injury lawsuit for $5.2 million with an Atlanta woman who lost an arm after being rear-ended by one of the company’s employees. The International Paper employee was driving a company sedan and was on her company-issued cell phone at the time of the accident. Even though the company had a policy in place that only allowed employees to use hands-free phones while driving for company business, the company still decided to settle the suit rather than let the case go to trial. In October 2004, a Virginia law firm settled a $30 million lawsuit for an undisclosed amount after one of its attorneys struck and killed a 15-year-old pedestrian. The attorney was driving her vehicle and talking on her cell phone to a client at the time of the accident. In December 2001, a Florida jury awarded almost $21 million to a passenger in a car that was struck by a salesperson who was using a cell phone while driving. The employer was found liable because the salesperson had been driving for the employer at the time of the accident. In February 1999, a large Pennsylvania investment firm paid a $500,000 settlement to the family of a motorcyclist killed by one of its employees who had been making a work-related call after hours on his own personal cell phone while driving. As these and similar cases illustrate, employers can be liable for accidents caused by their employees when an employee is driving a company vehicle or using his or her personal vehicle while engaged in business-related activities. Moreover, employers face potential liability for accidents caused by their employees’ use of cell phones while driving if the company provides the phones, or if the use of cell phones is an expected or encouraged part of the job. Employer liability in these types of cases is based on a legal doctrine called respondeat superior. The doctrine of respondeat superior exists throughout the United States, including Minnesota. Under this doctrine, an employer may be responsible for the harm caused by its employee if that employee was acting within the course and scope of his or her employment at the time the accident occurred. In addition to arguing that an employer is liable for the harm caused by one of its employees, some plaintiffs have argued that the employer is directly liable for its own negligent conduct in failing to provide adequate training or instructions on safe cell phone use, or failing to restrict usage.
As the legal precedents have shown, even guidelines in employee handbooks are superceded by the fact that the accident happened in the normal course of employment.  Now would be a great time to buy your staff bluetooth devices to talk on when they’re driving, or tell them that no client phone call is important enough to risk a 20 million dollar lawsuit over.  I’m sure the people who dismembered or killed another human being thought that they were good enough drivers to talk and drive at the same time.  I’m sure the family of the victims disagreed.  Next time your phone rings when you’re driving, switch it to speakerphone(90% of phones on the market have this feature) or call the person back when you have parked.  To make it even easier for you, here’s a LINK to some wireless headsets that are priced at $14.99 and above.

From IRMI

Diligently Manage Subcontractor Default Risk

Reports of a spike in subcontractor defaults are already surfacing, and most industry observers expect the situation to worsen through 2010 and into 2011. With margins on projects already squeezed by competitive pressures, contractors must take steps now to manage their exposure to this risk. Some basic steps contractors can take include the following.

1. Pick the right people. Use subcontractors you know and with whom you have developed a good relationship. Good communication will be crucial in avoiding bad outcomes.
2. Prequalify all subcontractors at a higher level. Double the frequency at which you review their financial statements. Interview their sub-tiers, vendors, and employees to see if payments are being made on time (make sure you have the contractual right to do so). Ask a lot of questions.
3. Diversify. While it is important to use familiar subcontractors, don’t expose every project you have to the same risk, especially for major subcontractors.
4. Watch for signals of distress. Aging of receivables and payables may be signs of liquidity problems, and a bid that is drastically lower than those of other bidders may signal desperation. Failure to return phone calls or e-mails or to show up at regularly scheduled meetings is a red flag. Train project managers to report any early signs of distress.
5. React promptly. If appropriate, help the subcontractor over a short-term hurdle, but don’t throw good money after bad. Use a funds control service to make sure the funds you pay the subcontractor are being used to pay suppliers and sub-subs on your project. When a default occurs, take remedial steps quickly to avoid a domino effect on other aspects of the project.

It’s been a snowy winter for several parts of the country that don’t typically see this type of weather.  Specifically the Mid-Atlantic, where cities like Baltimore have already received 5 feet of snowfall, and we’re only halfway to spring.  While citizens of New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine normally relish these levels of precipitation, they have gotten less than two feet of total accumulation.  Which has been a boom to their public works budgets but a bust for ski resorts without a lot of man made snowmaking capabilities…anyways, for those of you not familiar with driving around when the roads are white, here’s a list of things that can make your drive safer in the event of getting stuck.  Let’s say that the forecast is calling for 6″-12″ of snow with blowing winds and the temperatures are in the mid 20s(not unlike the weather in Maryland yesterday) and you are about to head into work, but expect to be battling the storm on your way home.

1. Have a full tank of gas.  You never know when you will get stuck, but being able to stay warm in the car/ recharge a dead phone/ and keep the headlights on to signal to rescuers is crucial.

2.  Winter clothes.  In case you need to spend the night in your vehicle or venture out into the storm to get help, you will be glad you had a heavy blanket, gloves, hat, and warm boots(nothing like walking in a blizzard wearing 3″ heels)

3.  Flashlight or headlamp.  They’re cheap and don’t take up much room in your trunk, console, or glovebox.  Helpful for signaling to rescuers,  morale, and lighting up the work area if you have to change a tire or dig yourself out.  I like maglites or black diamond head lamps.

4.  Collapsible shovel.  Crucial for clearing snow away from a stranded or a stuck vehicle.

4.a  Kitty litter is a great thing to use if your tires are still spinning after you cleared the snow.  Dump a bunch around and under your tires then try moving again.

4.b  Your car’s floormats can also be used to gain traction if you’re stuck.  When I lived in Colorado, this got my 4 wheel drive truck unstuck on more than one occasion.  Jam them under your tires in the direction you are trying to go.  Replace when done!

5.  Something red like an old t-shirt, bandanna, or underwear that you can affix to your antennae.  If your car doesn’t have an antenna, use your onstar!  This is so that rescuers can see you if your car has gone off the road.

6.  Food/Water.  If you know you are stuck and aren’t going anywhere for a while, you’d be amazed what kind of morale boost having a snack and staying hydrated can be.  Power bars and bottled water stay good for a very long time if unopened.

7.  If you know you will be driving in crappy weather, let someone know!  This can be as easy as a phone call, email, facebook update, tweet, etc… if you let someone know you are hitting the road, but don’t reach your destination, they can be instrumental in alerting the police and rescue personnel to your situation and location.

8.  If you live somewhere that it snows regularly.  Regularly get new snow tires.  They’ll bolster your winter driving confidence as well as your car’s ability to handle the snow.

I’ve never been in a situation where I was on the side of the road and was looking at staying the night snowbound in my car, but the general rule is do not get out and walk! (unless you know precisely where you are going).  I’ve also never been ran over by a DOT plow, but that’s one of the likely scenarios of what will happen if you try to start walking for help on a snow covered highway at night.  Also, say you leave your car and start walking.  It’s still snowing, so your tracks get covered up almost instantaneously.  How would rescuers know which way you started walking?  They wouldn’t; that’s why you stay in the car.  If you have any other ideas besides staying home and stocking up on liquor, please add them.

Don’t be this guy.

I do a bit of lurking on several contractor forums and it’s very obvious that there are a LOT of talented workers out there with nothing to work on right now.  It’s my assumption that a lot of them own pickup trucks with 4WD.  It may be too late in the season, or it may  not be possible to secure insurance coverage for residential plowing, but there are going to be a lot more people in the Mid-Atlantic tomorrow and Thursday that would gladly throw money at anyone that has a plow, snowblower, or a fast shovel.  Since the Mid-Atlantic is not as well prepared for significant amounts of snowfall as other parts of the country(lack of plows, lack of shovels, lack of sled, lack of snowfort building experience)  there seems to be a large differential between driveways and people available to rid them of the several feet of snow that is currently covering them in addition to the 10-20″ that is expected in the next 36 hours.  I guess you can look at it two ways.

1.  I’m an experienced contractor and it would be below me to use my strength and laboring skills to shovel and plow snow.

or

2. I don’t have much work lined up, and some manual labor and plowing could be a very easy way to make some money fast.

Considering the amount of money that people are willing to pay to not shovel, you could easily clear several hundred dollars a day and with the legendary snowfall, the market is ripe for the picking.   This situation should be on wikipedia under the title of “low hanging fruit”.

If you do decide to step out of your comfort zone and make some quick money, please read these safety tips first:

Shoveling Safety

Cold Weather Safety

Earlier today, a natural gas line ruptured and caused a massive explosion at the soon to be completed, Kleen Energy facility in Middletown Connecticut.  There are still lots of contractors unaccounted for in the rubble.  Please send some thoughts and prayers to them and their families, as well as the brave men and women that are participating in the search and rescue operations that are still ongoing.

Hartford Courant

CNN

Kleen Energy Plant

Just got back from a few days skiing in Utah.  Here’s a few pictures of some new construction(crane pictures are of a hotel being built at Deer Valley, and dream homes that I saw at The Canyons. The last picture is of the author at Snowbasin.  In addition to the helmet, I’m also wearing an avalanche beacon.  Just because it’s fun, doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe.  Avalanche danger was low-moderate, and because of the stability of the snowpack and the mellow angle of the slope(less than 35 degrees), we were able to ski that area with confidence.  And the ski patrol had bombed the hell out of it that morning.  Even on vacation, I can’t escape risk management.