Despite modern bookkeeping software and other tools, many construction companies remain bogged down by accounting functions. This has a lot to do with the nature of the industry, in which contractors have to juggle projects, sites and subcontractors. Of all accounting functions, payroll often wastes the most time. It creates headaches for all businesses, which must account for federal and state taxes, FICA, Medicare and state unemployment deductions as well as 401K plans, vacation pay, health insurance and garnishments. For construction firms, reports and payments of union deductions and fringe benefits add to the process. Contractors can handle payroll internally
Contractors spend considerable time negotiating contracts before signing up to do a project. Particular attention is often paid to provisions that shift risks between the parties, such as liability for damages, non-payment, insurance, delays and concealed job-site conditions. By the time a contractor executes a contract, he usually knows exactly what he is signing. But the same attention may not be given to language in other contract documents that are signed during the course of constructing the project, such as payment applications and releases. Provisions that a contractor accepts after thorough negotiations can be drastically modified with the simple stroke
In an economic downturn, many firms cut public relations budgets. Is that wise? It depends. Review your strategy to make sure you are reaching your customers–and potential customers–while cutting extraneous activities. More isn’t necessarily better. Targeted public relations can yield more results than a shotgun approach. The bottom line–think strategy. Every effort must yield a return on investment. Know Your Brand Before undertaking a PR effort, know your organization and what it stands for. A brand is what your employees, customers, competitors and stakeholders feel and say about your product or services. A review of critical strategic checkpoints will confirm
PROJECT COST: $389.5 million Image Courtesy PCL Civil Constructors Interstate 4/Crosstown Connector Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts The $389.5-million Interstate 4/Crosstown Connector in Tampa was another long-awaited Florida Dept. of Transportation project kick-started into life by roughly $100 million in stimulus funding. The remaining $289.5 million of the design-bid-build-finance project�s funding will be contractor-financed until federal funding begins in 2013 or 2014. A joint venture of PCL Civil Constructors of Tampa and Archer Western Contractors of Atlanta holds the design-bid-build-finance contract. PBS&J of Tampa is the project�s engineer. The project involves constructing multiple, elevated, one- and two-lane ramps
PROJECT COST: $360 million Photo Courtesy Odebrecht Construction MIC Earlington Heights Connector Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts A joint venture of two Miami-area firms is leading the construction of the $360-million Earlington Heights-MIC Connector, a 2.4-mi rail line that will link the Miami Intermodal Center, under construction next to Miami International Airport, with Miami�s Metrorail transit system. The joint-venture construction team is a 50/50 partnership between OHL USA of Miami and Odebrecht Construction of Coral Gables, Fla. The OHL team also includes two OHL subsidiaries, Community Asphalt and Tower-OHL Group. The line will be built between the MIC
PROJECT COST: $300 million Photo: Jim Hinnant, Forscom Public Affairs FORSCOM Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts The United States Army Forces Command and U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort Bragg, N.C., will be consolidating command and operations and providing office and conference space for nearly 2,800 military, civilian and contracting personnel. The two commands will retain separate identities. Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Chantilly, Va., received the $300-million, design-build contract in 2008 and broke ground on the 700,000-sq-ft project in February 2009. Scope includes the headquarters building and four support and information technology structures, totaling about 40,000 sq
PROJECT COST: $250 million Image Courtesy BE&K Building Group Boeing 787 Dreamliner Final Assembly Plant Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts Boeing Co. tapped three firms with connections to its existing facilities in North Charleston, S.C., to build a second final assembly plant for its 787 Dreamliner. Boeing selected North Charleston as the site of its new facility after the South Carolina Legislature approved incentives valued at an estimated $450 million. The Boeing plant is expected to deliver about 3,800 jobs to the area. BE&K/Turner, a joint venture of the BE&K Building Group of Greenville, S.C., and Turner Construction
PROJECT COST: $515 million Image Courtesy Populous Florida Marlins Ballpark Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts The new home for the Florida Marlins will be a baseball-only facility constructed on approximately 17 acres in the Little Havana section of Miami, at the former site of the Orange Bowl. The ballpark will seat 37,000 fans under a three-panel retractable roof. A joint venture of Moss & Associates of Fort Lauderdale and Hunt Construction Group of Scottsdale, Ariz., in association with Mars Contractors of Miami, is managing the $515-million, public-private project. Populous, formerly HOK Sport, of Kansas City, Mo., is the
PROJECT COST: $160 million Photo Courtesy Hensel Phelps Construction 7th Special Forces Group Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts The 7th Special Forces Group, one of five active special forces groups providing support to combatant commanders, will relocate to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, next year, following completion of construction of a new complex. Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando broke ground on the first $160-million phase in March 2009. The contractor will build eight buildings, including a group headquarters building, a battalion headquarters/company operations facility, a combat readiness training facility, a group support battalion headquarter and operations
PROJECT COST: $559 million Photo: Community Asphalt SR 826/SR 836 Interchange Reconstruction Related Links: Back to Top Project Starts The $559-million reconstruction of the interchange connecting State Road 826 (Palmetto Expressway) and SR 836 (Dolphin Expressway), one of the most heavily congested areas in Miami-Dade County, is funded through a partnership between the Florida Dept. of Transportation and the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority. Funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act helped push forward the long-awaited project. A joint venture of three Miami contractors is leading the work: Community Asphalt (a subsidiary of OHL USA), Condotte America and the DeMoya Group.
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