Session 7 – Estimating is the first line of defense in the worry of landing a losing project. During this session, we will focus on the basics of estimating; such as plan reading, review of specifications, quantity takeoffs, labor production units, material pricing, and quantifying of overhead. This is an entry level course to give you the organizational skills and tools necessary to ensure that your bid is comprehensive in order to minimize the risk of landing that “one bad job.” This session will focus on the requirements of preparing a comprehensive Request for Proposal document including typical requirements such as non-collusion affidavits, bonds, subcontractor listings, and bid breakdowns. We will also discuss best practices in submitting private work proposals and the presentation skills needed to increase your opportunity of landing the projectProject Scheduling – The Powerful Tool for Project Management

Session 7 – Hiring mid- and upper-level managers in today’s market is extremely difficult. While hiring from the outside has been a leading strategy for those experiencing growth, the staff shortages being realized today call for stronger approaches to recruiting, engaging, training, and retaining top talent. During this session, we will explore proven strategies for growing your staff from within by investing in your employees. During this session, we will: • Discuss the concept of bottom-up growth and its value to the overall organization • Discuss the need for definition of success for each operational position • Outline the skillsets necessary for development and growth • Define the processes required for employee engagement and learning • Discuss compensation structures as a means for retainage

Session 8 

The schedule in a project is the cornerstone for planning.  The schedule shared  from the general contractor to the subcontractor may or may not be accurate.  We will discuss the need and detail necessary to analyze the bid schedule, contract schedule, updated schedule, and the look ahead schedule.  We will also discuss the powerful usage of an internal project schedule in order to have real time status on any deliverable necessary to drive planning and execution. During this session, we will:

•  Discuss the components and accuracy of a bid schedule
• Outline how to evaluate the differences between the different types of schedules used in our industry
• Describe the use of schedule analysis for change order management and management of the general contractor/owner
• List the components of an internal project schedule and its value

Session 8 – Well defined, scalable systems and processes deployed with technology and used consistently by everyone in the company are the foundation to minimizing risk and achieving predictable results. Many contractors know and understand this concept, and many have, at some point, defined their processes. Perhaps they are sitting on a bookshelf right now and are rarely used or even referenced in order to understand the company procedures. The more a company grows the more difficult it becomes to develop and deploy these systems. Yet the need increases dramatically. We will discuss how to define standard procedures in your organization, generate buy in that will operationalize their use, and how to utilize them as a platform to build bench depth that will move the organization to the next level.

Learning Objectives:

• Illustrate the value of workflow documentation and provide examples of how best of class contractors develop and document standardize workflow • Demonstrate how to leverage technology in the deployment of standardized processes and procedures that create consistency and predictable results.

• Describe the keys to successfully operationalizing processes including staff training and metrics that provide visibility on compliance and the bottom-line impact.

Session 9 – The second greatest risk for electrical contractors is the ability to positively affect the supply chain for materials. In this session, we will discuss concepts behind effective material planning strategies, enterprise level purchasing methodologies, and managing the service levels of our material vendors. Attendees include field leaders, project administrators, project engineers, project managers, project executives, group/branch executives, financial managers, owners. Learning Objectives:

 How to properly leverage preconstruction planning to drive a proactive purchasing strategy

 How to align risk management between labor and material in order to produce valuable project insight

 Vendor partnership agreement and vendor managed inventory structures and their proper deployment

Session 9 – With the technology available to the industry, it is entirely possible to price work utilizing data in lieu of estimating software with the “hope” that it contains the right information to help land the job AND not lose profit. During this session, we will discuss the life cycle of estimating and the critical path of information that must be shared through the get work, do work, and keep score functions to allow for this critical information to be gathered, extracted, and utilized. Learning objectives:

• Define bid selection criteria - not all opportunities are good ones

• Discuss the utilization of data and data mining in bid strategy

• Outline the link of consistency required between estimating and work breakdown structure

• Show the critical role of the estimator in the essential preconstruction planning process

• List the lessons learned needed to close the information loop. This is the most valuable information that is so seldom shared

Session 10 – This is the change order management description Effective change order management can dramatically reduce a subcontractor’s risk and increase profitability. This four-hour interactive course explores the change order process from a subcontractor’s viewpoint and provides participants with hands on training in recognizing, scoping, pricing, and negotiating change orders. This course culminates in a mock negotiation where participants can immediately practice the skills that they have learned. Learning Objectives:

• How to properly notify owners and general contractors of changed conditions to reserve your rights

• How to scope, price and sell a change order

• Negotiation strategies to maximize outcomes

Session 10 – Case studies dispel common myths and pitfalls of typical field productivity approaches. Case studies illustrate effective Crew Level Production Planning techniques, including visual batching of work, input worksheets, resource (manpower) loaded scheduling, and labor cost analysis, simple daily productivity tracking and forecasting, and effective, measurable improvement strategies. Following this course, participants will be able to: • Clearly and simply define and measure productivity. • See first-hand case studies and real examples of planning tools designed to set targets and manage labor productivity for superior results.