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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

September 21, 2011

Glassdoor.com Gives Employees an Advantage over Employers
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

In the past, construction employers have had tremendous advantages compared to construction employees. That’s one of the reasons construction unions started and have continued. Since the skills needed for all levels of construction work are difficult to test and clarify, highly competent employees contemplating job changes struggle with how to convince potential employers of their sterling skill set.  So many excellent construction employees continue to work for the same firm, even when not treated well.

Now I’m a free market fan, believing that the world’s better off if we can all concentrate on doing what we do best. Yet I don’t like the bumpy playing field that gives construction employers too much power in the employment negotiation. So, when I found this Glassdoor.com website, I was intrigued. Launched in 2008, the site provides info on 120,000 companies worldwide. Employees and former employees can anonymously share their perceptions of the company, salary levels and even oddball interview questions.

For example, I looked up Kinsley Construction in York, PA and saw an interesting review. To make this site really work, though, more folks in construction need to join and submit reviews. It’s free and anonymous and only takes a few minutes. I challenge you to check it out, rate your current and past employers. Strike a blow for employee power in the construction world.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

September 20, 2011

Google Plus Goes Live Today: Hello Construction World
Filed under: Computers in Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

Wired broke the story that Google Plus went from an invitation only Beta site to live today. Now anyone with a Gmail account (if you don’t have one, get one right now), may signup to participate in Google Plus. This social network should be much more useful than Facebook. I think G+ will change the way design and construction teams collaborate.

Google improved the Hangout feature in G+, which will allow scheduled and impromptu virtual meetings. We can video conference from our smart phones or desktops, share screens, SketchPad and Google Docs all at the same time. We can also create information circles around a particular project that keeps everyone in the loop and on current documents.

In an earlier post, I encouraged you to jump in with Google and smart phones.  The reasons to stay current with technology just got stronger today. I’m going to download the G+ app to my Android and see where it takes me.

Has anyone gotten any results yet or have anything to share on this topic?

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

September 14, 2011

Roman SketchUp
Filed under: Computers in Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

Google SketchUp could be one of those planet (and construction industry) changing products. Developed a few years ago, the free drafting program from Google allows almost anyone to easily draw 3D models. It’s an open source program that has thousands of users creating models of things like steel beam shapes and windows that allow users to grab items without lots of extra work.

Imagine if AutoCad lost its iron grip on computer drafting and a free program took it’s place. Think Microsoft operating systems being replaced by Linux. To me, it’s a when, not an if, question. You might think, “Ok, so maybe SketchUp saves design professionals lots of money on licencing fees and allows me to work at their level for no cost, but how does that change the world?”

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqMXIRwQniA&feature=player_embedded

Folks use SketchUp to model the ancient city of Rome, as shown above, as well as the current city of Rome, as shown below.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwuHiu3wmUA&feature=player_embedded

Take a few minutes and watch those videos. It’s astounding the work that has gone into SketchUp modeling. Now think about every city and town being modeled in that way. There will be some weird folks in every location that will derive satisfaction from the mastery of creating the models and the camaraderie of working on the team.

Everything changes when a decent model of the built environment exists. Imagine how GPS will be different as you travel. Or think about all the things advertising could do with sites like Yelp and positioning software on your phone. I think this is a big trend and we’re in the early stages. As I’ve often said, “It’s a valuable skill to spot future trends early and position yourself accordingly.”

If you’re currently under-employed in construction, take the time to learn Google SketchUp. It’s free and a skill that will have future value. If you’re busy with work, think about the value of devoting some time to learning it. Remember, where you end depends on what you do now. If you do nothing extraordinary now, don’t expect to end anywhere special.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

September 6, 2011

Knowing Where the Money Is
Filed under: Industry outlook,People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

When Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” When thinking about construction work, learn to know where the money is.

Yesterday, an old friend stopped by and told me about his good job with a local CM firm. The owner of this large and multi-faceted construction outfit predicts 2012 will be the worst year we’ve ever endured. My friend plans to retire next year (I think he’ll be 62) and start a small consulting business helping banks and bonding companies close out projects of bankrupt contractors. My friend has some other job opportunities available and stated something I’ve always thought, “For good guys, there’s always work.”

He also mentioned that his firm had nailed a couple of large sewage treatment plant projects and had been looking for capable project superintendents to run those projects. They have been unsuccessful in finding any first class supers with appropriate experience. The firm had previously paid some headhunters huge commissions for supers that didn’t work out.

So here are a few great opportunities for the right folks. Here are a few pots of gold, but how do you find the rainbow to follow?

Of course, you can keep checking Monster.com for construction job postings, though that site isn’t particularly construction focused. You can also think deeply about whether you’d be willing to relocate for a great job…or for any job. If you’re willing to move, you have a whole world to study for opportunities.

An article in The Economist shows the amazing clout the emerging economies now have. For example in 1990 the emerging economies made up less than 20% of the world GDP. In 2010, the emerging economies account for almost 40%, compared to the developed economies. The graphic below shows many other fascinating trends.

Steel consumption and copper consumption are both already at 75% for emerging economies. Let’s assume lots of those materials go into manufacturing, but factories need to be built to get that done. So even though construction, like politics, tends toward the local, your experience and skill set may be in demand in the international community. Give it some thought.

If you excel in your job, effectively completing projects on time and with profits, meeting all the performance goals, you should still be in demand. If you’ve limped through your career, putting in the least amount of effort to get by, you’re probably already reaping what you’ve sown. So I’m talking to the life long learners, the high performers when I say: don’t get discouraged, start doing rainbow research to see where the construction gold pots reside. Then go get yourself one.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

September 1, 2011

The Lies of the Tour Guides
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

Maggie Koerth-Baker wrote a fun little blog post in BoingBoing about a lighthouse spiral stairs in Sand Island, Wisconsin. The tour guide claimed that no one knows how these mystery stairs were built.

Since the stairs are built in a cylindrical masonry enclosure and aren’t attached to the walls, except at the two landings, they do appear to float in the space.

Of course, the mystery really only exists if you can’t imagine the center pole that each of the stair treads is slipped down over. An installation catalog illustrates the method.

I remember helping solve a similar problem with a friend who was building a castle (don’t ask). The intriguing thing to me is why tour guides so consistently lie. I understand the desire to make a good story…to keep it interesting. But to do so at the expense of the truth, that’s a big mistake.

As you struggle through your weeks in this tough market, don’t succumb to the temptation to lie. Keep telling the truth, there’s so much less to remember that way.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 30, 2011

US Housing Market Really is That Bad
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

This graph in The Economist illustrates how bad the American housing market has become. The housing market historically hangs around 5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the chart below shows our current doldrums.

I thought the take away line in The Economist article “The Economy’s Prospects: Waiting for the Earth to Open” was:

Whether recession is avoided will therefore depend heavily on luck and the wisdom of policymakers.

Are you feeling lucky?

You know what? For some odd reason, I think I am.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 29, 2011

The Changing Times
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

The photo below by Chicago-based industrial photographer James Kay (click on it to really see the details) makes me think of two competing thoughts. On the one hand, there really is nothing new under the sun. This beautiful bell tower built in Cologne, Germany required all the wits the builders could muster. It’s complicated and precise, working good and looking good.

On the other hand, our newest challenges in design and construction push us to build more, better, faster and for less…as well as modeling it digitally to increase the long term investment. As we work for our current clients, we should be striving to provide value like the bell tower builders provided, but consistent with today’s environment.

Whether we do 3 D drawings, Building Information Modeling that ties into long-term operations, or just great as-builts, we need to be looking to the long term value we provide our Owners.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 26, 2011

The Laptop, The SmartPhone and the Cloud: Where We Stand
Filed under: Computers in Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

You’re probably busy trying to make a living (and a life) in these exciting times. Don’t make the mistake of letting technology get too far ahead of you, don’t miss the efficiencies  that can improve your life and expand your options.

Let’s start with the SmartPhone. If you don’t have an Android or an iPhone, you’re missing opportunity. The Blackberry just hasn’t kept up. The apps aren’t being developed quickly enough and the platform just has too many phones and too many holes to work well. Androids and iPhones, on the other hand, provide unlimited useful apps, and the ability to access all your files, drawings and the internet where ever you have phone service.

Tethering your laptop to your SmartPhone to have internet access (either with a chord or a local WiFi hotspot) is a must to really be able to adequately access your files and drawings. Of course, you need to be backing up all the “My Documents” info on your harddrive onto the cloud by using either Dropbox.net or Box.net. I find that Dropbox offers a better user interface and makes a constant web back-up easy.  It’s wonderful to have all your files and drawings available to you at any time or location, as long as you have phone service.

So that coordinates your hard drive data and makes it accessible to you, but what about collaborating with others? You can’t beat Google Docs for online documents that a group can work on, improve and complete. One superb feature of Google Docs is their Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. You can scan or import pdfs and the OCR software will turn them into searchable text documents for you.

So all of the above doesn’t take too much effort and really leverages your ability to resolve problems on the jobsite. Now what about the iPad and the new Google Chromebooks? Lex has been pushing me to buy a couple of these, though I just don’t see the value yet. I don’t get how they are an improvement from a tethered laptop to a SmartPhone. Especially when you can buy a great laptop for $225 and already have a SmartPhone.

Anyway, here’s Lex’s analysis, see what you think.

Features:
Boots in 8 seconds, resumes instantly
Connects to internet via Wifi or the mobile 3G networks that cover most of the nation
Can keep working on documents and emails even when not connected
If you lose your computer, all your settings and apps are saved in Google. Just need to log in to your account and everything is back.
Easy to share – people can log in with their own google accounts and never see any of your stuff

Computers:
Only two manufacturers – the Samsung Series 5 line and the Acer AC700
PCWorld seems to favor the Samsung. It’s 80 bucks more but has bigger brighter screen, a VGA port for plugging in a monitor (amazing tool for efficiency if you haven’t tried it) and slightly longer battery life
Acer has HD audio support and an HDMI output (HD video)

Components:
comes in silver or white case
reviewers agree that it feels solid and well built
2 USB 2.0 ports
comes with 16GB SD card
SIM card slot for plugging in phone network card for 3G internet
VGA output for plugging in a monitor
small power charger
strong display
mouse trackpad – reviewers not too impressed, I recommend a logitech wireless mouse
keyboard – the F keys along the top replaced by function keys – backward, forward, and refresh buttons, along with ones for toggling between windows and entering / exiting full-screen mode. You’ll also volume, mute, and multimedia keys, as you would on most any other laptop.
1 megapixel camera for video skyping
nonremovable battery – 8.5 hrs – uses no juice when closed

use:
netbook like processor – handled a dozen open tabs easily – only faltered once opening a bunch of Youtube videos
no harddrive/local storage – this means your only apps come from the web and the Chrome app store – still small but growing – contains the basics like image resizer, audio recorder, crude media player and file manager for downloads
doesn’t support Skype or Netflix yet…
can’t print yet – must printto computer on your network or use the HP ePrinter that supports google’s beta Cloud Print

an app called Citrix reciever still scheduled for near release – will allow any app sitting on the a computer on your network to be run – can run your accounting software, adobe photoshop, etc

costs:
$430 for Wifi only version – prolly good enough for a casaul user that has Wifi at their home – most apps still available when not on the internet and will sync later

$499 for 3G version – prolly needed for Dad & I – 3G handled by Verizon with 100 MB/month free for two years (but that’s a token amount)
even to get free amount, must provide name and credit card info to verizon

3G costs:
$50 for 5 GB
$35 for 3 GB
$20 for 1 GB
$10 for unlimited day pass

So, should I pull the trigger and buy one of these to see how it works? Or wait for a better sense of the value? You get to vote.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 25, 2011

A Revolution in Learning
Filed under: Productivity — Tags: — nedpelger

A Wired article, How Khan Academy is Changing Education, begins with:

“This,” says Matthew Carpenter, “is my favorite exercise.” I peer over his shoulder at his laptop screen to see the math problem the fifth grader is pondering. It’s an inverse trigonometric function: cos-1(1) = ?

Carpenter, a serious-faced 10-year-old wearing a gray T-shirt and an impressive black digital watch, pauses for a second, fidgets, then clicks on “0 degrees.” Presto: The computer tells him that he’s correct. The software then generates another problem, followed by another, and yet another, until he’s nailed 10 in a row in just a few minutes. All told, he’s done an insane 642 inverse trig problems. “It took a while for me to get it,” he admits sheepishly.

Carpenter, who attends Santa Rita Elementary, a public school in Los Altos, California, shouldn’t be doing work anywhere near this advanced. In fact, when I visited his class this spring—in a sun-drenched room festooned with a papercraft X-wing fighter and student paintings of trees—the kids were supposed to be learning basic fractions, decimals, and percentages. As his teacher, Kami Thordarson, explains, students don’t normally tackle inverse trig until high school, and sometimes not even then.

The software package this 5th grader was using wasn’t some expensive, highly researched package. It was a free website, KhanAcademy.org, that one man developed in his free time. Sal Khan has a knack for presenting challenging concepts in a clear manner. Take a few moments to watch the video on Simple Equations below to get a sense of how Sal teaches.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ek61w1LxSc&feature=player_embedded#!

Then go to the KhanAcademy.org website and look at the 2,400 lessons Khan has already created. Bill Gates was so impressed with his teaching that he funded him to continue. With almost 72,000,000 lessons delivered around the world, he must be doing something right.

I challenge you (and me) to get in the habit of watching lessons. Brush up on some things you did know and learn some new things. Exercise that brain.

And spread the word to young folks entering this great construction business that don’t have a good educational background. Here’s a way for them to level that field.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

August 24, 2011

Church in a Tree
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

Lex sent me a BoingBoing post about a tree in small village near the Normandy region of France. Apparently, in 1696 lightning burned a hole through the tree and the local priests saw divine intent. They built a small worship space and a staircase to provide access. When that proved popular, they constructed a second small chapel in the tree. The sketch below gives a sense of the cool structure. I love the look and feel of the church in a tree.

As the times have changed, the tree church went from being beautiful to an eyesore.  The cable stays and other bracing, the cheap siding and the lack of greenery illustrate a desperate holding onto the past.

As we consider our businesses and our lives, we need to look hard at now, this very moment. How are things working now? We need to let go of sentimental attachments and other silliness. We need to make the best possible decisions for what to do in the present moment. It’s not easy, but it’s an adventurous and rewarding way to live.

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