Article written by John Chaney (CEO and co-founder of Seattle, Washington-based Dexter + Chaney) for Construction Business Owner.

How companies are turning to millennials & technology to bridge the skilled labor gap

The economy is performing well, construction projects are back in full swing and jobs are plentiful. But where are all the workers? That’s a question that has been asked frequently over the last couple of years, as skilled construction laborers, project managers and subcontractors have left the industry—either retiring or moving on to other roles in order to survive the recent recession. Fewer workers are returning to the industry, and training new generations of laborers could become a daunting challenge. It has become one of key issues for the industry to address for the present-day and long-term health of companies.

Higher Yearning

According to a June 2015 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of available jobs jumped significantly from the previous year, adding more than 273,000 to companies’ payrolls. However, the talent pool is taking a hit as a whole generation of baby boomers—the largest segment of construction workers in the past 3 decades—has begun to retire.

It's easy to identify why construction ERP systems are advantageous for executives and accounting departments, but how can they benefit project managers? In this podcast, Dexter + Chaney’s Wayne Newitts and Mark Schwartz discuss why project managers should embrace ERP software and why it will make their jobs easier.

Key takeaways from this podcast:

• 1:35 - Wayne asks: "Why do you need ERP software in the field?"
• 2:35 - Mark explains that software is meant to make your job easier.
• 3:00 - Conversation moves to mobile software, accessible in the field.
• 4:34 - Mark talks about the disadvantages of just using spreadsheets and why an ERP system saves time.
• 5:49 - The main advantage for the project manager is the automatic sharing of information.

In this podcast, Dexter + Chaney’s Wayne Newitts and Mark Schwartz have a conversation about construction accounting and why your company may need an ERP software package. Many companies are still using multiple systems for business that may or may not easily share information. Construction ERP systems help consolidate your business so that all departments are sharing information seamlessly.

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems are business management software, usually comprised of integrated applications, that are used throughout your company for nearly all aspects of daily business—including data storage, data management, information collecting, business management, accounting, inventory, human resources and more.

Original article by Curt Westberg on Dexter + Chaney

I have run into about as many theories of equipment costing as there are companies, but one of the major decisions an equipment-intensive company faces is the decision to attribute costs to the piece of equipment, or to the jobs where the equipment is used. There are three basic ways that I have seen this done in the industry.

Article written by Wayne Newitts and originally appeared on the Dexter + Chaney blog

This is ultimately a blog about construction software, but stay with me as I put on my “Top Gear” hat and take you on a trip through an automotive analogy.

I remember first learning how to work on cars a number of years ago, a number that is becoming disturbingly large. This was back in the day when owning a timing light was pretty standard and checking the points, plugs and condenser was pretty routine. Opening the hood of my ’72 Nova, I could actually identify just about everything I saw there.

Fast forward to the much more recent past when I thought I’d teach my daughter a thing or two about car maintenance. Open the hood of her 2006 “Dad’s tired of driving me everywhere” car, and, well, I see the battery, master cylinder, umm, think that’s the alternator…but mostly I see a big block of plastic with two computer ports.

So I told her to just get the oil changed every 3,000 or so, check the tire pressure regularly, and I went to sit under a shade tree to reminisce.

Article written by John Chaney and originally appeared on the Dexter + Chaney blog

Just about every contractor today has some form of business and construction management software playing a vital role in keeping projects moving and revenue flowing. Odds are, you’ve worked with or at least entered data into some of these systems. However, when your company outgrows its current software or the software fails to meet specific needs, it may be time to start looking at what new solutions are on the market.

Article written by Krista Lambert (Director, Engineering & Construction Strategy, Oracle Primavera) and appeared on the Oracle EPPM Blog.

Tales of the Unexpected

Expect the unexpected. That’s a mantra every construction manager could do with heeding. But it’s easier said than done. The one thing we don’t want is the unexpected.

The bigger the project the harder it seems to keep it on track. In the US, the Big Dig, which involved rerouting and tunnelling Boston’s Central Artery to the heart of the city centre, was set to be finished by 1998. In December 2007 the project was finally finished, with a cost overrun of 190 percent at $14.6 billion, much of which was attributed to unexpected changes.

Such is the complexity of these mega-projects it’s tempting to think that overruns and cost inflation are inevitable. Certainly change is unavoidable in a project of this scale and length. But how you manage change, can make a big difference.

Article written by Guy Barlow (Director, Industry Strategy, Oracle) and appeared on the Oracle EPPM Blog.

The impact of maintenance on the bottom line has never been greater. By skimping on maintenance, you run the risk of increased downtime and decreased revenue generation.

Millions of dollars and the success or failure of critical projects are on the line every time a skilled craftsman lays a wrench on an important piece of machinery.

Similarly, maintenance is tasked with keeping equipment running longer and more efficiently as the combination of an aging infrastructure and many new plants coming online challenge a diminishing maintenance work force.

As a result, maintenance and reliability teams are being asked to do more with less.

Labor represents most maintenance expenses and is naturally a target for efficiency improvements.

In an emergency or reactive type of maintenance organization, craft workers are usually only 20 to 40 percent productive, according to "Physical Asset Management for the Executive," a study by Howard Penrose.

Article originally appeared on the Oracle EPPM Blog.

In September 2015, the US government pledged US$160 million in new funding as part of a sprawling smart cities initiative. It came on the heels of new commitments for new infrastructure projects throughout the world, including China’s announcement that it will spend US$1.1 trillion dollars for roads, bridges, and other resources in the years ahead. In the following interview, Oracle Director, Industry Strategy and Business Development for Oracle’s Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management Guy Barlow explains how public sector agencies throughout the world can derive the most value from large-scale infrastructure investments while mitigating risk.

Q: What’s behind the ongoing interest in smart cities initiatives?

Article written by Krista Lambert (Director, Engineering & Construction Strategy, Oracle Primavera) and appeared on the Oracle EPPM Blog.

The average engineering and construction firm only wins one in every four bids for capital asset projects. For a $1 billion company, that’s around $75 million wasted on failed bids every year.

The industry has always worked this way, and some executives will justify the waste as a cost of doing business. But there is another way of looking at it.

Given the costs, it’s no surprise that engineering and construction businesses are picky about the jobs they bid for. The question is, whether they can target more profitable work, improve their chances of winning each bid, or launch more bids with fewer resources? The answer is they can do all three.