Budgeting Archives

17 Dec Ten Warning Signs A Project Is In Trouble and What To Do About It

Posted at 14:10h in Budgeting, Business, Communication, Construction, Design, Development Solutions, DRB, DRB Consulting, DRB Development Solutions, DRB Project News, Economy, Estimating, Expert Witness, Global Construction Projects, Labor, Project Management, Project Management Services, Property Improvement Plan (PIP), Staffing, Uncategorized, Warning Signs

Construction Industry has been extremely active stretching the resources of the contractor and designer’s staffs. One common cause of project disputes is that the industry attempts to put a “B” team on a project that requires the “A” team. This often results in project difficulties or worse - disputes. The...

14 Aug “Designing To a Budget” Rather Than “Budgeting A Design”

Posted at 19:52h in Budgeting, Business, Communication, Construction, Design, Development Solutions, DRB, DRB Consulting, DRB Development Solutions, Estimating, Uncategorized

One of the most common mistakes made by Owners is failing to provide a budget for the design team to achieve. Too often we find that an Owner has provided the designers a concept or idea of what the project is to achieve, seeking some...

25 Jun Tariffs Effect On The Construction Industry

Posted at 23:29h in Budgeting, Communication, Construction, Development Solutions, DRB, DRB Consulting, DRB Development Solutions, Economy, Estimating, Labor, News, Project Management, Tariffs, Uncategorized

In March, the US Government announced their intention to level new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Tariffs on steel were to be 25% and aluminum was to be 10%. The United States Department of Commerce indicates that the U.S. is the world’s largest importer...

13 Feb A Mandatory Tool for your Business Tool Kit

Posted at 13:05h in 2018 Economic Forecast, Budgeting, Construction, DRB, DRB Consulting, Economy, News

Over the last 10 years, we have found the track record of Alan Beaulieu, a national economist with the Institute for Trend Research (ITR) to be incredibly accurate (94.7%). For 25 years, he has provided insight to thousands of business owners and executives. His January...

06 Nov The Lack Of Skilled Laborers

Posted at 16:25h in Budgeting, Construction, DRB, Labor, News, Staffing

The Ongoing Concern for Skilled Laborers in the Construction Industry is Getting Worse During the last seven years, the construction market has demonstrated healthy and steady growth. The recent natural disasters across the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean can only continue to impact the ever increasing gap...

30 Mar 7 Tips for the PIP

Posted at 18:51h in Budgeting, DRB, Estimating, Leadership, Project Management, Property Improvement Plan (PIP)

A Property Improvement Plan or “PIP,” not to be confused with Gladys Knight & the Pips, is a detailed list of property improvements required at specific times in the hotel property life-cycle. The purpose of a PIP is to maintain brand standards and keep the hotel appearance...

09 Aug Lack of Capacity is Driving up Cost

Posted at 12:52h in Budgeting, Construction, DRB, Economy

The Federal Government inflation information clearly does not match current Construction industry pricing where everything is rising. Engineering News Record reported that the year over year growth in prices is 3.4% - significantly higher than the Federal Government inflation rate of 1% (the government continually...

31 May Because They Can

Posted at 19:38h in Budgeting, DRB, Economy, Labor, Staffing

Over the last 40 years, I have found construction cycles to be fairly consistent and a good method for forecasting the construction business trends. Coupled with leading indicators, they often will provide a clear vision of the future before it arrives. Prices Rising Recent increases in material...

07 Mar Leading Indicator – Predicting or Confusing?

Posted at 17:48h in Budgeting, DRB, Economy, Global Construction Projects, International Business

The stock market’s wild ride has provided many to pause and consider what the future will hold. In the past, the stock market has been a “leading indicator” for development and construction. This indicator has often confirmed or predicted the economic trend six (6) months...

27 Jul Physics – What Goes Up, Must Come Down

Posted at 16:58h in Budgeting, Construction, DRB, Economy, Global Construction Projects, International Business

Leading indicators provide insight to future economic events; Three events occurred during July 2015 that offer insight to the future economic challenges we face. The impact is not immediate; however, these events will affect the US construction market in the next two years. The first indicator is that...