I’d like to reflect on the conventions of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry and the American Subcontractors Association, both of which were very well attended. In my opinion the two associations offered up “real world” professional development workshops. Those of us who attended the workshops came away with a better understanding of the industry trends that are changing our business environment.
Here are a few examples of the many challenges we as subcontractors can expect to face.
- The pros and cons of labor brokers.
- Wrap-up insurance programs—OCIPs/CCIPs with less than an eight-year tail.
- Unrealistic schedules, such as general contractors who play with CPMs at our expense.
- Untimely processing of COs.
- GCs transferring as much of their risk to subs as possible.
- GCs and owners holding our retainage for six to 18 months and trumping up undocumented back charges, reducing our retainage even more.
As subcontractors, it is paramount that we define the true cost of our risk and price our scope of work accordingly.
I would like to thank everyone who attended the workshops and task force committees. The time that you invested will be compensated through your newfound ability of learning how to identify new ways of doing business. These ideas will help your companies be more competitive and profitable.
I’d also like to very much thank Mat Glover, president of the ASA, for presenting me with the ASA’s President’s Award. It is a great honor to be a recipient of this award and it came as a wonderful surprise.
And, signing off, I must applaud the AWCI staff, exhibitors and speakers for a great AWCI convention and expo. You deserve a pat on the back for a job well done.
