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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 11, 2009

Amish Breeding Season
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

I was talking with my friend Randy Meyerhoffer last night, he’s a Construction Supervisor and amazing Craftsman. We got to telling stories.

He was working with a crew forming sidewalks at Yoder’s Restaurant in New Holland, PA. A car, obviously tourists, pulled up and the woman rolled down her window and asked, “Do you know where we could see some Amish?” Asking this question in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch County seems reasonable enough.

Randy, however, being anything but reasonable, replied with a completely straight face, “Maam, this is the Amish Breeding Season. They like to all have their kids at the same time in summer, so they hole up this time of year. You probably won’t see any around at this time of year.”

The woman replied, “I never knew that.” While the rest of the crew managed to keep serious faces and nodding heads until after the tourists drove away. Then, of course, Randy and the crew laughed like crazy. Randy says this little jewel just popped into his head as the woman asked the question.

If you have a favorite construction story, please share it here or on the Forum at ConstructionKnowledge.net.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 9, 2009

Construction Phone Apps Part 2
Filed under: Phone Apps for Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

From the onset, my idea driving ConstructionKnowledge.net was to help Construction Supervisors and PMs do their jobs better and advance their careers. By having useful technical and people skill information easily available, Supers and PMs can learn and grow.

To some extent that concept has worked, but being on a jobsite and stopping to get connected to a website just isn’t convenient. I thought more Supervisors would look up items at home on their off time, but I guess people have lives. When a Construction Supervisor would benefit from knowing the exact dimensions of a steel I beam, for example, he should be able to grab that info in 30 seconds. That’s the beauty of the Construction Phone Apps.

The second construction phone app I’ll be releasing in a few weeks will solve that very problem.

Steel Hot Rolled Shapes
Concept: Have all the hot rolled steel tables available in your phone.
Details: Find the dimensions and weight if you know the member name (W8x18) or find the member name with the dimensions of an existing steel member.
Example: The structural drawings show a C12x21 that gets notched into a block wall. You need to find the dimensions in order to properly saw the block wall. This app allows you to quickly get to a screen that shows the important dimensions of steel rolled shapes. On the other hand, perhaps you have a steel beam on an existing building and know the dimensions but need to find size.
Price: $1.99

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

Construction Phone Apps Part 1
Filed under: Phone Apps for Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

I’ve been working on a new venture that I’m ready to share with the world. Lots of folks (about 8,000 per month) find ConstructionKnowledge.net website helpful in solving problems. Lots more would benefit if they could get common specific questions answered more quickly…say 30 seconds. This venture makes that happen.

I’ve written 6 phone apps that can be kept in your phone (iPhone, Blackberry and Android) and will help you better do your job. I’ve mostly completed the programs and am working with a firm in India to write the code. The launch should be within a few weeks. Here’s the first Construction Phone App.

Code Help for Accessibility and ADA in Construction
Concept: Have the most common accessibility requirements at your fingertips
Details: The most commonly used requirements for accessibility issues from IBC 2006 and ANSI A117.1 2003.
Example: You are laying out sidewalk and need to know that 5% (5/8” per foot) is the maximum slope and 2% (1/4” per foot) is the maximum cross-slope unless you want your sidewalk to be considered a ramp, which then needs railings.
Price: $1.99

So what do you think? Would you consider buying this or recommending others purchase it?

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 5, 2009

Contracts and Change Orders
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

I’ve been working on a few large renovation projects recently and been getting hammered on change orders. When I saw the photo below that Jim Stewart posted on the Forum,  I laughed out loud.

Hope it amuses you as well.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

19.4% Construction Unemployment in November
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

Last year the November unemployment rate was 12.7%, but ENR just reported we are now at 19.4% for construction unemployment. That’s about 1 in 5 construction workers now out of a job. That sucks.

It’s difficult to see what 2010 will bring. Lots of the Owners I work with are considering pulling the trigger on new projects, but wary of the economic recovery. The ability to procure construction financing also keeps some projects from starting.

The ENR article also noted that the federal highway and transit spending looks to decrease about 20% from 2009 to 2010, due to all the stimulus money in 2009.

Let’s hope the entrepreneurial spirit that made America strong will kick into gear. Then Owners will see opportunity outweigh fear and take the risk to move forward.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 3, 2009

The Times They Are A Changing
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

We all need occasional motivation to do the best things. Take five minutes and watch this video. You will be challenged to really think about the future and where you may fit into it. Remember the Secret of Success: A Successful Person does those things that an Unsuccessful Person doesn’t want to do and won’t do. Take a few minutes and watch the video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL9Wu2kWwSY]

If you watched it, you should be challenged to get out of your comfort zone, to realize that life next year isn’t going to be like life last year. You can either be a victim of the changes or get involved in planning your direction.

Hearing that the Top 10 jobs in demand in 2010 didn’t even exist in 2004 was sobering. So was the 31 billion Google searches every month. As the world changes, please take the time to ponder where you could best fit. Read, think and plan. Don’t expect things to continue as they have in the past.

Life amazes when you seize the initiative.

Conversely, to quote the wonderful WC Fields, “Don’t be a moon calf, don’t be a fuddy duddy, don’t be a jabbernow. You wouldn’t want to be any of those things, would you Og?”

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