Live Contractor Courses

IMPACT offered its first-ever Contractor Courses at the 2011 Annual Ironworker Instructor Training Program, and as a result of incredible positive feedback from contractor attendees, now offers a variety of contractor-specific trainings throughout the year.  Some recent course topics include "Getting Paid," "Effective Project Management," "Cost Estimating and Bidding" and "Building Information Modeling (BIM)."

TWO COURSES ARE CURRENTLY SCHEDULED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE IRONWORKER INSTRUCTORS TRAINING PROGRAM, JULY 15 - 18, 2013, IN ANN ARBOR, MICH.

Project Leadership & Project Management (July 15 - 16): This 16-hour (2 full days) course will focus on how to provide project leadership and management based on FMI’s Project Leader Model. Explore the differences between Project Witnesses and Project Leaders and how contractors can foster these behaviors among their Project Managers to build best-in-class performance. Participants will learn collaborative negotiating, how to identify and track project key performance indicators, how to improve communication skills, and how to become a better leader through mentoring, coaching, and performance management. This course will also focus on building and creating powerful project teams, planning projects to maximize profits and customer satisfaction, understanding financial controls to enhance performance and developing profitable long-term customer relationships.

Bidding To Win (July 17 - 18): This 16-hour (two full days) course will focus on improving the estimator’s take-off skill, recognizing the total cost of the job, and using technology to improve the estimate. In order to be successful in winning work through competitive bidding, an estimator must be able to find projects out for bid, prepare a thorough quantity take-off and apply the labor, material and equipment costs with the appropriate overhead and profit. We are finally on the road to recovery with total construction spending up 4.3% in 2011, ending at $816.4B. Where are the projects? What will it cost to build that project? This course will take you from finding which projects are bidding using the Dodge Reports and Reed Construction Data, winning the work through preparing a competitive bid estimate with hands-on estimating, and wrapping up with an overview of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Participants will be expected to bring portable computers with MS Excel installed so that the attendees can participate in the hands-on workshop.

Past Course Offerings:

Cost Estimating and Bidding: This 8-hour (full-day) course will help estimators improve their take-off skill, recognize total job cost and use technology to improve the estimating process. Construction estimating isn’t rocket science, but it’s not a walk in the park, either. In order to be successful in winning work through competitive bidding, an estimator must prepare a thorough quantity take-off and apply the labor, material and equipment costs with the appropriate overhead and profit. Participants will be expected to bring portable computers with MS Excel installed so that they can participate in the afternoon, hands-on activity.

Effective Project Management: This 8-hour (full-day) course will focus on how to elevate project management performance and expectations based on FMI’s Project Leader Model. This session will focus on building and creating powerful project teams, planning projects to maximize profits and customer satisfaction, understanding financial controls to enhance performance and developing profitable long-term customer relationships.

Getting Paid: This 8-hour (full-day) course will focus on getting contractors paid. Contractors work long and hard to get work, particularly in today’s market. Then you get started, do the work, then oftentimes wait, and wait to be paid. And even worse, sometimes you do not receive the amount that you billed for a variety of reasons. This session is designed to help you get paid on time, in full, for the work completed. Key subjects for this program include the ins and outs of cash flow, key ingredients of credits and collections, the impact of change orders on cash flow and finishing the project and getting paid.

Building Information Modeling (BIM): This 24-hour (three-day) course is designed for Site Superintendents and Project Managers. Put the torn, rain-soaked and mud-covered paper plans away and plan deliveries, crane placement, erection procedures, information requests and change orders all within the single central repository of the BIM model. Participants will work in a computer lab to learn how to navigate the model, extract reports for estimating, verify anchor bolt layouts, identify safety issues, plan locations of site equipment and facilities, create animations of planned erection sequences, identify clashes and raise RFI’s or Change Orders. The course will also cover how to track and report your work progress effectively to ensure accurate and timely payments.