SUBBYs: Who is nominated?  The nominations are in – are you on the list? Companies or individuals are nominated for Subby of the YEAR for nine company categories and five individual awards. Check the ASAMW Website next week for a list of the nominees.   

Some awards have already been chosen.  The ASAMW Board selected these Subby Awardees:

Best Owner’s Representative for Prompt Change Order Process is Paul Elias with Redbrick.

The Industry Achievement Award winner is Jeffrey Belfield, retired executive with Scaffold Resource. 

Why not be a SUBBY Sponsor?  Be a Superhero in the construction industry and Sponsor the 61^st annual SUBBY Awards.  Click here for a list of the sponsorship opportunities. 

Void Provisions
There are a number of subcontract provisions in your contracts that are void and unenforceable by laws in the DMV. Your attorney can give you the list, but here are some brought to mind by our sister association in Albany, New York, Northeastern Subcontractors Association:

1. Be sure any litigation is conducted in your state and not in another one that is far away. A clause stating litigation will be held outside the area is null and void in New York.
2. Clauses that state that a sub cannot stop work for lack of payment.  Such clauses are void in New York and many other states.
3. A clause that states that you waive your lien rights by signing the contract are null and void in some jurisdictions.
4. A clause that states that payment by the owner to a general contractor is a condition precedent to an obligation of a general contractor to pay a subcontractor may be null and void in some jurisdictions.

Laws to protect subcontractors are only worthwhile if you demand them. Watch for an event in 2025 that will cover the laws in the DMV. 

Payment Transparency
Check your payment software. It has been reported that GC Pay and Textura show the status of payments from the owner to the GC and on to the subcontractor. Have you found this?  If so, please report back to this email so that we can share with other subcontractors. Payment transparency is available on public work in the District by clicking here. You must have a user name and password to get into Virginia and Maryland payment transparency portals. 

Subcontractor of the Year
36 members were nominated for subcontractor of the year, but three got the most nominations. The nominees are: Miller & Long, Press Mechanical and Telligent Masonry. The General Contractor Partners of ASAMW made these nominations and will be asked to vote on the winner in a few weeks. The Safety Subcontractor is also being selected by the GC Partners. 

United Airlines Expansion at Dulles is $500B
This ENR Article reports on a large project at Dulles Airport that is expected to complete in late 2026. ASAMW will be meeting with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) after the first of the year to discuss ways they can protect subcontractors on their projects. In the past we have been able to influence a change to their Owner Controlled Insurance Policy (OCIP) to raise their deductible to a reasonable level for most subs. We were also able to help get payment for stored materials. Is there anything else you want to make sure they address in order for you to be a bidder on MWAA work?  Reply here. 

Artificial Intelligence
Dr. Perry Doneshgari with MCA, Inc. predicts “A global architecture, engineering, construction consortium will replace current segmented industry” when AI takes a more dominant role in construction. An article in IEC Insights Magazine suggests change orders as a good place to start. The key is to develop DCI which stands for Digitalization, Commonization and Interconnection and it means “transferring all individual notes, yellow and green sheets, excel files, individual tracking files, smart sheets or any other means of data and information into a database craven collective depository.” I will provide a copy of the article to anyone interested by reply to this email.   

PM Workshop
There are a few spots left in the 2025 Project Managers’ Workshop, which starts on January. Consider the PMs, APMs, Estimators and others in your company who could benefit from some of the best instructors covering the issues PMs face every day. Classes start at noon on Jan. 9^th and run every two weeks for six weeks. Click here for the curriculum and to register.

January 9, 2025 - PM Workshop Series (Six Sessions)

January 14, 2025 - Subcontractors/Suppliers Information Exchange (Members Only)

January 30, 2025 - Formula1 Arcade Event 

February 12, 2025 - SAVE THE DATE - Wohlsen Meet and Greet

February 22, 2025  – Annual Subby Awards Gala

April 22, 2025 - SAVE THE DATE - Crew Communications Event