If you could have one work-related wish come true in 2006, one that would solve a big problem, what would you wish for?
An adequate amount of skilled labor to handle our desired workload.—Jason Gordon, Heartland Acoustics & Interiors, Inc., Centennial, CO
That general contractors, construction managers and other trades learn about how to do their jobs and care enough to do them competently.—Rob Aird, Robert A. Aird Inc., Frederick, MD
Have insurance premiums lowered. —Anonymous
My wish for 2006 would be for the general contractors to better train their superintendents as far as scheduling goes. I think their lack of construction knowledge impacts us on a daily basis. Almost 99 percent of the time when they call us to the job site, it is not ready, therefore wasting our money and time because they do not know what they are looking for.—Shaun R. Patterson, S. Patterson Construction Inc., Bakersfield, CA
Better trained, more experienced GC Supers!—Stephen Togher, Construction, National Acoustics, Inc., New York, NY
An EIFS contractor in the Carolinas wishes EIFS suppliers would not sell to uninsured EIFS applicators.—Marc Duncan, Dundee Co., Raleigh, NC
A more skilled and plentiful labor force.—Anonymous
People to pay their bills on time!—Thomas Olsavsky,Valley Acoustics, Inc., Youngstown, OH
Honor and self respect among GCs and CMs.—Tim Vellerath, Wesconn Co., Inc., Plymouth, CT
I wish all my competitors would play by the same rules: no double breasting, no paying their men cash (and no benefits), or paying their men for fewer hours than actually worked.—Arthur Di Gianno
Our wish is that every design professional would wake up on Christmas morning to find “magic dust” in their stocking. When sprinkled on a set of contract documents, this “magic dust” instantaneously corrects all errors, omissions, conflicts, contradictions, dated information and coordinates all aspects of a particular project, regardless of the fee structure or how much time was allowed for the design process by the owner.—Brent Allen, South Texas Drywall Inc., Columbus, OH
Unity.—Anonymous
Fair contracts.—Richard Vap, South Valley Drywall, Inc., Littleton, CO
That every employee would work safely and do their job properly without my nagging them.—Rinmore Drywall Services Inc., Ontario, Canada
Dear Santa,
Please find attached my Christmas list. I know that you can only give me one present, but I thought that since I was a fairly good boy this year you might see fit to give me a couple of them. The is not a complete list; if you are feeling generous, I can come up with more.
– Owners who do not withhold retention.
– Architects who complete the drawings.
– Construction managers who know how to manage construction.
– General contractors who know how to run a job site.
– GC schedulers who know how to schedule a project.
– GC project managers who actually walk the job site.
– GC superintendents who know how to build a building.
– Competitors who are competent and knowledgeable.
– Employees who are loyal, skilled and safe.
P.S. Santa, if these wishes are out of the question, how about a year’s supply of Rolaids for the heartburn?—Tim Wies, Wies Drywall & Construction Corp., St. Louis, MO
People paying their bills on time.—Mark Cline, Plaster Inc., Garland, TX
That the unions would stop giving Target Money on Bid Jobs that are bid to the non-union contractors. The non-union contractor does not have a chance as the union gives that target money back to the union contractor. This makes it impossible for the non-union contractor to compete. Let’s make this wish come true by making it fair for us all—union or non-union. Thank you.—Tri-State
To be given the same durations I bid on, to have a more reasonable turnaround on change orders, to be paid on ticket work more promptly … Oh, I’m sorry. I was daydreaming—what was the question again?——Doug Parrish, Donaldson Acoustics, Hauppauge, NY
