Ontario Erectors Association

Understanding Your Construction Contract: This 16-hour course (2 full days) will be held on July 13-14, 2015 and will focus on the terms and conditions in construction clauses. The course is designed to increase each contractor’s awareness of contract language that assigns liability to the contractual parties and to accurately identify each party’s legal responsibilities. During this course, participants will learn the principles of contract formation and what constitutes a breach of contract. Participants will also learn how to identify the documents that make up the contract, how to review and understand the general conditions clauses, the impact of changes on the contractual terms, and the relationship between the subcontract and the general contractor’s agreement with the project owner. As part of this course, participants will review insurance requirements and indemnification liabilities. An essential element of this course is the review of numerous case studies to understand how courts decide the outcome of disputes. Furthermore, participants will take part in a contract review process.

The Job Profits Program: This 8-hour course (one full day) will be held on July 15, 2015 and will focus on the influence of field management personnel on job profits. Field supervisors must know exactly how their efforts affect company profits and why profits are so important. The Job Profits Program will teach your field managers why profits are important, how lean profits are in the construction industry, and what specific steps field managers can take to improve profits. This is a rare opportunity for field personnel to hear a very important message — that they are critical to the bottom line of the business. The company’s success is their success. This workshop will reinforce the impact of the field manager’s decision-making on job profits by identifying:

• The role of a foreman and superintendent in managing job profits
• How to become a low-cost producer by working smarter
• How to identify weaknesses in your company’s current field management practices
• How contractors keep score and measure profits
• How small changes in productivity create large changes in your bottom line
• The 11 habits of a highly productive field manager

Technology Tools for Cost Estimating: This 8-hour course (one full day) will be held on July 15, 2015 and is designed to introduce participants to software that augments the cost estimating process. Participants will be introduced to the digital take-off process using OnCenter’s On- Screen Takeoff (OST) software and the real-time pricing of bid items using RS Means Online. Specific specialty areas that will be covered include steel erection (using the Steel Erection Bid Wizard), reinforcing steel (using OST), and fabrication (using FabSuite). Given the importance of preparing accurate bids and winning projects, this course will give you the confidence to transition from manual cost estimating to digital cost estimating in order to prepare bids that will win work for your company. The course will be conducted in a computer lab, and participants will receive hands-on training in the use of cost estimating software.Getting Paid: This 8-hour course (one full day) will be held on July 16, 2015 and will focus on the essential topic of how to get paid for work that has been completed. In our current economic environment, contractors work tirelessly to get ahead of the curve. Clients’ expectations are high, margins are thin and competition is fierce. Every effort is taken to ensure integrity of schedule, budget, safety and quality. Learn some of the proven approaches that will make you more proactive in dealing with your customers on credit and collection practices and avoid issues related to collecting all of your receivables. Key subjects for this program include:

• The fundamentals of cash flow
• Understanding contract language in order to successfully collect on retentions and change orders as early as possible
• Closing out the project and getting paid

Technology Applications for the Field: This 16-hour course (two full days) will be held on July 16-17, 2015 and is designed for foremen, field supervisors, and project managers. This course will provide an introduction to the use of an iPad, the use of iPad applications (including basic forms, Bluebeam, and BIM 360), an introduction to Building Information Modeling (BIM) and its many uses for site and project management; and an introduction to Sketchup. Participants will learn how to open up floor plans in Bluebeam, mark up the drawings, and review or develop change orders and Requests for Information (RFIs). Participants will also learn to open a BIM model and navigate through the information provided in the model. Using these technology tools, participants will learn how to plan locations of site equipment and facilities, review the planned erection sequences, submit requests for information or change orders digitally, coordinate among disciplines, and resolve installation conflicts before, during, and after construction begins. The course will be conducted in a computer lab, and participants will receive hands-on training in iPad use and the use of AutoDesk’s Revit and Navisworks softwares. Participants should bring an iPad in order to participate fully in the class.

Construction Sales Skills: This 8-hour course (one full day) will be held on July 17, 2015 and is designed for business managers and business agents. This course will focus on the essential topic of how to market the Ironworker and the local union to prospective contactors in order to secure more work for Ironworkers. The course will address how to target specific customers, develop and execute a marketing plan, develop techniques for providing extraordinary customer service, methods to listen and openly question contractors in order to learn about and serve their needs, implement a “give-to-get” strategy to increase your value to the contractor, and handle objections to your message by responding with feasible options.

Construction Contracting Business Fundamentals Academy: This 40-hour course (five full days) will be held on July 13-17, 2015 and is designed for current and future contractors (including ironworkers interested in starting a business) who desire to develop fundamental business skills. This course will focus on the skills needed to start a contracting business or strengthen an existing business. The course will address how to develop an operations plan, obtain financing, set up an accounting system, collect money from customers, understand contract terms and conditions, identify insurance requirements, establish a safety program, find work, and avoid problems that will compromise success. This program will provide the business foundation that will strengthen a contractor’s ability to be profitable during the early startup of their company.

The Contractor Courses, offered in conjunction with the Ironworker Instructors Training Program, at Washtenaw Community College, 4800 East Huron Rive Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48105.