dp

Wrote a couple new posts on the blog at Construction Risk Advisors.com  about what GCs and Subs can do to strengthen their contracts and improve their additional insured language.

General Contractors

http://www.constructionriskadvisors.com/construction-risk-blog/bid/57637/Additional-Insured-Issues-for-Connecticut-General-Contractors

Subcontractors

http://www.constructionriskadvisors.com/construction-risk-blog/bid/57571/Additional-Insured-Tips-for-Connecticut-Subcontractors

This isn’t a new Google product designed to make you more regular.  It’s Google’s newest foray into FIOS.  They’re currently taking submissions from cities around the country to be one of the test sites for this new service.  Basically, Google has developed fiber optic cables that have the capability to pull data at 1 gig per second.  You could download an entire movie in under a second at that speed.  A lot of people are already poo pooing the idea, that Google can’t compete with the infrastructure already in place with companies like Verizon and Comcast.  Pretty sure people said the same thing when their only search engine options were AOL and Netscape navigator.  Regardless of whether Google succeeds in this grand venture or not is a moot point right now, but what it does mean is that there is about to be a few billion dollars worth of cable to be laid.  From my perspective, it sounds like a great way to get a lot of out of work contractors back to work, and to pay for it with private money.  Here’s an example of some of the advantages that the city of Boulder Colorado is mentioning in their public bid to get a first crack at hosting Google Fiber.

Over the weekend, I was catching up on some reading of a few ski magazines that have been collecting dust on my coffee table.  In this month’s issue of Powder, one of their contributing author’s wrote a piece on how to build a rescue sled, if you or one of your backcountry partners is injured in a way that leaves them unable to move on their own.  Not planning on going into detail about how to do this, but the author, Mike Hattrup added an interesting point about why he teaches things like this, and why he brings safety equipment with him into the backcountry everytime.

I’ve never needed to build a rescue sled.  But I’ve never needed my avalanche tranceiver, either, nor have I needed airbags in my car.  The ability to build a rescue sled our of your skis is similar-it’s insurance.  Like all insurance, you hope you never have to use it.  But if you need it and don’t have it, you’re in a world of hurt. -Mike Hattrup

Take this philosophy to heart next time your insurance agent or broker suggests raising your General Liability Aggregate or increasing your umbrella. We all hope that we are never in a situation that requires a 5 or 10 million dollar umbrella to max out, but imagine what life would look like for you and your construction firm if you had to write that size of a check out of pocket.  Would your doors open again?

1. Share photos from job sites, industry events, and of completed projects-Do this so prospects can see your capabilities and experience.
2. Use Twitter to find online industry sites and forums and connect with your peers in other marketplaces
3. Research prospects and prospective employees before meeting them. You can gain a lot of valuable information just from scanning their tweets, profile and contacts.
4. Stay in touch with industry insiders and colleagues. You ever know when a friend of colleague might have a hot lead for you.
5. Find vendors and suppliers
6. Publish your Twitter ID on all marketing collateral, including business cards, email signature, email newsletters, web sites and brochures, so Project Owners/GCs/Subs/Insurance companies can learn more about you.
7. Announce job openings.  Use twitter to find the best available talent both in the office and in the field.  As the industry recovers, unemployed workers will soon be using social media to find an employer.  Make yourself easy to find(this goes for the party hiring and the party looking for work).
8. Don’t just write about yourself. Post information that can help your peers, clients, potential clients.  No one wants to hear about what your cat had for breakfast or how nice the weather is(unless you post a picture of your bulldozer underneath a beautiful sunrise)
9. Always be cordial, even if your post is in response to something that someone else wrote.
10. Follow other thought leaders in the construction/safety industry.  They will have a lot of followers and               followees that will increase the strength of your feed, and the access to great information that you wouldn’t find otherwise.

Always be yourself.  People don’t like being surprised by your real temperament when they meet you in person.  If this all sounds like Greek, drop me a line at www.twitter.com/dphelan and I can probably help point you in the right direction.