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Construction Audit and Big Data
A construction audit is a review of various aspects of a project to ensure that payment are accurate, controls are in place and are performing appropriately and in keeping with the contract. Since construction projects typically involve several entities performing several concurrent tasks, a construction audit is a crucial tool for keeping everything on track and under budget. Using big data to analyze all ..
Project Scheduling for Beginners
Introduction to project scheduling in the construction industry: theory, concepts and definitions. The intro also includes the importance of project scheduling (why schedule projects), bar charts, and logic networks. The seminar covers the steps to create CPM (Critical Path Method) schedules: Breaking down the project into activities Estimating activities’ durations Defining logical relationships (interdepe..
Creating the CPM Schedule: Steps and Tips
Introduction to project planning, scheduling, and control in the construction industry: theory, concepts, and definitions. The intro also includes the importance of project scheduling (why schedule projects), bar charts, and logic networks. The seminar series covers the steps to create CPM (Critical Path Method) schedules: Breaking down the project into activities. This topic covers the balanced way of brea..
Construction audit and change orders – controlling the chaos
Change orders refer to modifications or amendments made to the scope of work, schedule, or contract terms of a construction project after the initial agreement has been established. These changes can arise due to various reasons such as design modifications, unforeseen site conditions, client requests, or changes in regulatory requirements.Change orders can have significant implications on project costs, ti..
Construction Fraud – Ripped from the Headlines
Construction fraud refers to any deceptive or dishonest activities that occur within the construction industry with the intention of gaining an unfair advantage, financial gain, or causing financial loss to others. It can involve various parties including contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, employees, or even project owners. Construction fraud can take many forms, including: Billing Schemes: This involv..
Calculating Contractor Jobsite Overhead Delay Costs
Learn about the recoverability of extended field office overhead costs in the event a compensable delay arises on a project General Contractors and subcontractors will gain information on the various accepted methods of calculating this element of delay damagesOwners will be exposed to various methods of specifying this element of delay damages in contracts to avoid disputes later should a compensable delay..
Changes and Change Order Management
In order to deliver successful projects on time an in budget, owners and contractors must know how to manage changes to the work during the construction period. This webinar discusses how and why changes arise during the project’s construction phase; what owners can and cannot change; the types of change to the work in progress; how each type of change order should be handled on the site; the rules of contr..
Construction Cost Estimating Using RS Means Database and Online Estimating
This webinar contains two major components: An explanation of the RS Means database and its categories and components. The webinar explains all the displayed numbers and how they are calculated and how they should be adjusted. A quick overview of the RS Means Online system and how it can be used for itemized (detailed) estimates, assemblies, and summary estimates.Areas CoveredA quick overview of the RS Mean..
Construction Lending and Real Credit Administration: Evaluating, Underwriting, and Monitoring Construction Loans
Most bankers acknowledge that construction lending is riskier than other types of commercial lending:Repayment ability depends on successful completion of the construction before the project can generate cash flow from the sale of the finished property, from rental or lease of the real estate, or permanent take-out refinancingDuring the construction period, the collateral is literally work-in-progress and o..
Construction Projects Cash Flow and the Progress Payment Cycle
The seminar starts with definitions and the importance of cash flow diagrams, mainly for contractors. Secondly, we go into preparing these diagrams and updating them. Several issues and scenarios will be discussed. Thirdly, we explain the cycle of progress payment requests and connect it to cash flow diagrams. Lastly, we discuss the importance of these diagrams and mutual impact on other aspects of the proj..
Differing Site Conditions – Who Really Owns The Risk?
The Differing Site Conditions clause is one of the oldest clauses used in construction contracts, having been created by the U.S. Federal government in 1926. It is generally accepted that the object of the clause is to transfer the risk of latent site conditions to the owner, thus enticing contractors to reduce their contingency cost at the time of bid. The promise of the clause is that if the contractor en..
Direct Versus Indirect Expenses in Construction Projects
This seminar discusses construction expenses, their type, and classification. It goes into each category and explains it in simple terms. We discuss labor, materials, equipment, other (government fees, lab tests), subcontracts, job (project) overhead, general (main office) overhead, contingency allowance, profit allowance, and inflation/escalation allowance. We then go into a brief analysis of all these exp..
Early Completion Schedules – Benefits, Risks and Defenses
A contractor’s right to complete work early was acknowledged by U.S. Courts in the 1960’s. Delayed early completion claims arose shortly thereafter and became somewhat common in the industry. It was then, and remains now, a controversial issue in the construction industry with many project owners refusing to accept early completion baseline schedules. Others crafted contractual mechanisms to defeat such cla..
Early Warning Signs of Construction Claims and Disputes
It is axiomatic that claims and disputes on a project do not simply appear out of nowhere. Experience indicates that when a dispute occurs, there is normally a back story or history of events, decisions, lack of decisions, etc. that can be traced back from a few weeks to several years that gave rise to the dispute. It is these past events or decisions that are identified as “early warning signs” of cl..
Evaluating, Underwriting, and Lending to Construction Contractors
Volatility of construction risk in economic cyclesSupply chain risk for contractorsPayment process for contractors and subcontractorsContractor status report and key elements in contractor accounting and financial statementsProgress billings, retention, and collateral valueRole of sureties in providing bonds to contractors—lien prioritiesEvaluating contractor downside cash flow, collateral , and guarantors ..