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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 7, 2013

Beware Revision Clouds
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

My buddy Kneal sent me this photo that made me laugh out loud.

Before you decide I just fell off the turnip truck, I know that no one really saw this revision cloud and hole sawed that opening. I’m sure some wise guy looked up and saw the cloud-like shape and had a great idea for PhotoShop.

The photo reminds me of a story from my friend Bob Navitiski. He was working as an inspecting engineer down at the Philadelphia Ship Yards in the 1970s. He warned the contractor that their was a buried water line in the vicinity of their digging. They spent a day or so carefully digging pits and trying to find this rogue line.

After he went back to the drawings, he realized that what looked like a line on the old prints was actually a fold in the paper. They had been searching for a fold.

Construction isn’t for the perfectionist or the faint of heart. We do our best and keep moving forward, otherwise this crazy business would drive us to drink.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 5, 2013

Construction Unemployment at 16.1% in January
Filed under: Industry outlook — Tags: — nedpelger

While I still believe the US construction market is coming back strong this year, the 16.1% unemployment rate for January reported in ENR is sobering. January 2012 had a rate of 17.7%, so we are seeing some improvement. In fact, this year’s rate is the best in the past five years.

Nevertheless, nobody is giving high fives about 16% unemployment. The national average is down to 7.9%. So construction continues to lag in this recovery.

Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America chief economist, said, “We are likely to see continued strong growth in single- and multifamily homebuilding, moderate increases in private nonresidential construction and shrinking investment levels for the next several months.” He added, “Those trends, in turn, will lead to a steady increase in the number of construction jobs.”

I’m thinking this is one of those “Darkest before the dawn” moments. Here’s hoping.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

February 1, 2013

Friday Fun: Effective Counseling
Filed under: People Skills — Tags: — nedpelger

When I was writing Joyful Living: Build Yourself a Great Life! I worked with John and Sharon Charles as my editors. They also ran Abundant Living, a counseling ministry. They thought TBW and I would make great marriage counselors and I agreed.

Our first couple had a guy who worked as an electrician in construction, so I thought I’d have extra special insight. During our first meeting, they shared their problems (people sure do crazy-assed things), and we agreed on an action plan.

Two weeks later, they came back, complaining about a new set of problems and I asked them how they did on our action plan. I got blank stares. The next two week visit yielded the same response. Turns out I have little empathy if people don’t keep their commitments. Turns out, TBW and I were about the world’s worst counselors.

I love the video below. It shows my counseling philosophy. Invest the six minutes to watch this video and change your life!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLMTvxOaeE

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