ASAMW Newsletter May 30, 2025
What is Fair in Payment? Backlog |
What is Fair in Payment? Backlog |
Delegated Design - What to Know
If you are seeing delegated design in your contracts for the first time, or if you see this phrase regularly, be aware of the pitfalls for subcontractors in delegated design projects. This article from ConcensusDocs provides a good primer. Some things to consider:
There are cases where subcontractors benefit from delegated design projects, but only if they are aware of the risks.
Crew Communications
Register Now – April 29th is just a few days away and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to give your crew members valuable education to empower them to speak up in project situations. We are asking each of our GC Partners to be represented and you do not want to miss out.
Scheduling your foremen, superintendents, APMs and PMs to be out of the field is a commitment, but it will be well worth the investment.
Economy/Cash Flow
Trimble, a project management software company, studied approximately 1,000 of its customers including specialty contractors on new project starts, contract values, hiring and cash flow during Q3/Q4 of 2024 and determined the following:
They concluded that “specialty contractors should experience growth potential for new work and profitability of that work, provided they have the capital and capacity to perform.”
Are We Ever Going to Do Something About Slow Payment?
Everyone knows that subcontractors finance construction. Why has nothing changed in the last few years? If you look at your accounts receivable, how much is wrapped up in unpaid change orders and in retention?
ASAMW has joined forces with the National Association of Minority Contractors, DMV Chapter and the Metro DC Hispanic Contractors Association to formulate a short paper that explains the issues and what can be done. The recommendations proposed require a commitment on the part of owners to:
SUBBYS RESULTS
Outstanding General Contractor companies and individuals were honored at ASAMW's Annual Subby Awards on Saturday, Feb. 22nd, 2024. While all participants demonstrated excellence, click here to see all the recipients and nominees. The following companies received multiple awards:
• Clark – Project Engineer and Scheduling
• Coakley & Williams – Project Manager and Scheduling
• DAVIS – Base Building and Interior
• HITT – Superintendent and Great Team (Redbrick, Owner)
Nominations come from multiple sources, making each nomination a meaningful recognition. Each ASAMW Member gets one vote to select the recipients.
As subcontractors increasingly affect the outcome of project awards by their bidding preferences, a SUBBY nomination is used as a criterion in determining who and how to bid on projects.
Were you one of the 444 attendees at the SUBBYs? Check out these photos from that memorable Saturday night.
TARIFFS AND BUY AMERICA
Members are raising questions about how tariffs will affect material and equipment prices in their bids. While these concerns shift daily, members should note that Buy America requirements remain unchanged from the previous administration. This Construction Dive article addresses BABA (Buy American, Build American).
SUBBYS is TOMORROW! Why Didn’t You Register?
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THE SUBBY AWARDS GALA IS ALMOST HERE! ARE YOU REGISTERED? The votes are in and Lanigan Ryan is determining who will receive the iconic trophy that recognizes the SUBBY recipient. We rarely say “winner” because every nominee is a winner. |
SUBBYS IS ALMOST HERE! DID YOU VOTE?
The highlight of our year as a subcontractors association is the SUBBYs. Each member has a representative who is charged with voting in each of the categories for companies and individuals who exhibit the characteristics of the BEST for that particular award. You might not know the individual being considered, but your vote still counts. Read the description of the award and vote for someone with a company that you think deserves the recognition. Click here to view the 2025 Subby Nominees. Are you REGISTERED to attend? Early bird registration ends on January 31, 2025.
SUBBYs: You Will Soon Vote Are You Registered to Attend? |
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: |
Last Chance to make a Nomination is Today! 1 K St. SW |
Here is your SUBBY Nomination Form Make a Nomination Today!
You know an individual or company that deserves recognition for a job well done. Please include them in a Subby Nomination here. Obviously, this takes some effort on your part but it means a lot to those who are nominated. Subby nominations are an obligation if you support or are a member of ASA of Metro Washington. For 61 years, this has been the opportunity to recognize the GCs, Owners and other industry stakeholders for outstanding performance in creating a fairer and more efficient industry in the DMV. How will your company be sure it makes nominations?
Subby Nominations
Subby nominations are an obligation if you support or are a member of ASA of Metro Washington. For 61 years, this has been the opportunity to recognize the GCs, Owners and other industry stakeholders for outstanding performance in creating a fairer and more efficient industry in the DMV. This can be an interesting company function. For instance, one company asks its PMs, APMs and Estimators to discuss the nomination form and then each person is responsible to submit one nomination. How will your company be sure it makes nominations?
Report from the Summit with GCs and Subs on Scheduling
Both GCs and Subs learned about the unique challenges finishing subcontractors face when they come on a job site. Seven of ASAMW’s GC Partners listened to their trade partners and collaborated about possible solutions to scheduling issues by both parties. Significant improvements will take place when we focus on GOOD COMMUNICATION. Your suggestions on how to foster better communication are welcome. Some other take aways:
Delays/Handoffs/Conflict and How They Relate To Scheduling
This Construction Dive Article reiterates some of the issues that were raised in our Summit reported above. Handoffs between trades is by far the leading cause of delays according to this TouchPlan blog. The Summit discovered some solutions to this in our discussions. Members who would like a copy of the PowerPoint may request by reply to this email. Additionally, conflicts are going to happen. According to this article from Building Design + Construction, conflicts happen in over half of the interactions between GCs and Subs on a daily basis. In most cases the Sub loses.
1099 Event |
Status of Hispanic Workers in the DMV
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Oct. 1 Summit on Scheduling – We Need You There
Copies of the PowerPoints used are available to members. |
Straight (and confidential) Talk about Using Independent Contractors
What risks do you need to assess before deciding to use independent contractors? Many of our members resort to second-tier subcontractors on their projects. What must you do to comply with current laws regarding independent contractors? If you do not comply, what is your risk? At this event on Sept. 25th at the law offices of Lerch Early & Brewer in Bethesda, members will not only hear current information but can also ask confidential questions about their operations to assess the risk they are taking. Click here for more information and to register.