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ELECTRI Updates
WHAT’S STANDARD? – For electrical contractors, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) can help define their business and success. SOPs help build consistency, standardization, teamwork, and a common vision for how projects are executed. With the shortage of workers and the generational changes, SOPs are becoming critical for the success of the construction project (productivity, cost, schedule, quality, and communication), transferring skills, and the overall continuity of electrical contractors. ELECTRI is launching a research project on “Setting up the project for success with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)” . This initiative aims to define, assemble, deploy, and evaluate SOPs to provide NECA contractors with the foundation to standardize some of their processes and build consistency across their projects. We invite you to participate in a survey to provide the research team insights into existing SOPs and help advance the electrical construction industry. Here’s the link. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/62J2P6D Thank you for your help!
IF YOU’RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD – EC contractors across the country are taking advantage of new ways to learn more about industry advancements and – at the same time – connect with very smart young professionals interested in EC industry careers. ELECTRI’s Industry Connect is partnering with NECA Chapters and has three upcoming programs. We hope you will take time to join an event near you: April 25 - Northeastern Illinois Chapter NECA, April 26-27 - St. Louis Chapter NECA, May 12 - Oregon-Columbia Chapter NECA. For additional information about these sessions or to learn how to schedule an Industry Connect for your NECA Chapter, contact Anna (Trapane) Jochim, ELECTRI’s Director of Future Workforce Development at 240-446-6294 or anna.jochim@electgri.org
KEEP IT VISUAL. KEEP IT REAL. – 360-degree photo documentation tools are a low-cost, low-effort means of having complete visual project records. On site, someone walks the job and captures 360-degree photos and videos. Then, software automatically organizes these photos and videos by location and date of capture. There is a new class of easy-to-deploy photo record-keeping solutions on the market. ELECTRI research, conducted by Thomas Czerniawski, has produced a Guide to 360 Photo Project Documentation. The results include an implementation checklist designed to provide a step-by-step guide for electrical contractors to deploy 360-photo management successfully. The checklist includes five key steps:
- Organizational Policy and Strategic Plan
- Technology Ramp Up
- Execution - Suggested Standard Operating Procedures
- Experimenting with Advanced Features
Access the complete project at this link to go straight to project results.
HOW WELL DO YOU MANAGE? Managing materials outside of the gate has a direct impact on project performance. Doing it well provides electrical contractors the means to be proactive, effectively plan for materials (from early project phases to delivery) and avoid costly mistakes during project execution. Today, electrical contractors are pushed to address pressing materials concerns while continuously wrestling with long-standing challenges. This interactive ELECTRI effort, launched in collaboration with Graybar, strives to advance the EC industry’s thinking about materials management. This report documents outside of the gate materials management practices of those electrical contractors who are at the forefront of industrialized construction adoption. Want more? Download a self-evaluation tool to see where your company stands on managing outside the gate. Click here for the report and excel tool.
A SECOND CHANCE TO LISTEN & LEARN – You may want to listen again or maybe you missed the live conversation. ELECTRI’s March 29th Council Room on new third-party pre-qualification standards connected to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements was packed with information and solid advice. The panel explored how/why the ESG pre-qual requirements are making their way into projects for owners. This Council Room panel gave all of us a better understanding of the way these requirements have impacted our larger industry partners and shared how other contractors have addressed these requests on past projects. Here’s the link to the full Council Room session.
A NEW LEADER STEPS UP – One of the St. Louis area’s oldest electrical contracting companies, Schaeffer Electric Company has named Justin Kohlman, P.E., as President succeeding Timothy Chettle who will serve as Chief Executive Officer. Founded in 1935, Schaeffer has grown to become one of the region’s leading residential, commercial and industrial electrical contractors. Schaeffer is an employee-owned company that reported revenues of $25.5 million in 2021 and has 96 employees.
Yes, Justin Kohlman does Think Like a Leader. He has orchestrated industrial electrical projects for nearly 20 years, serves on the Board of Directors for NECA’s St. Louis Chapter and is active with ELECTRI. Being willing to challenge and then taking time to listen to the other person’s perspective are two of the guiding principles that have helped Justin become the leader he is today. He regards spending time with his workforce – at every level – to be the most important element in achieving team success. Here’s the link to his recent interview with ELECTRI. We congratulate Justin on his new appointment as President of Schaeffer Electric.
NEW AND IMPORTANT – ELECTRI is honored to announce its newest ELECTRI Council volunteer initiative – the Construction Technology Committee (CTC). The Committee’s mission is to foster and advance construction technology and innovation. At its organizing meeting, the members of the CTC identified two core objectives: to provide guidance, resources, work flows and best practices for adoption, implementation and integration of Construction Technology (CT) and to identify, analyze and evaluate emerging technologies that have the potential to transform, and are relevant to the electrical contracting industry. ELECTRI extends its appreciation to the industry leaders who have agreed to serve on the new CTC:
Toby Mitchell, CTC Chair - Classic Electric & Consulting Corporation
Firas Alkhayri – The Superior Group
Maria Davidson – KOJO
Quintinus Henry – Graybar
Rob Heimann – Columbia River Electric Maintenance
Alex Huntoon – Newkirk Electric Associates, Inc.
Justin Kohlman – Schaeffer Electric Company
Mason McPhee – Phalcon USA
David Reed – VECA Electric & Technologies, LLC
Sam Rokowski – Maddox Electric Company, Inc.
Maria Saavedra – B & D Industries
Brianne Stewart – Milwaukee Tool
Craig Wojciechowski – BESCO Electric Corporation
IT’S A REAL CHALLENGE – Join ELECTRI’s Council Room on April 27 @ 11:30 Eastern as we focus on Buy America provisions and ways NECA contractors are complying with these requirements on Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) federal projects. The expanded list of American-made products required on the jobsite becomes more challenging with the supply chain shortages and delays. Recent investments in American manufacturing have not yet resulted in materials being available in the U.S. Participants of this Council Room session will have the opportunity to share their insights, best practices, and pain points on the process of bidding this work, acquiring and meeting requirements, or accessing waivers. Industry partners in attendance will be able to notify contractors of the availability of American-made products and any updates to the supply chain challenges. Here is the Zoom invitation:
ELECTRI is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: ELECTRI - April Council Room - Buy America Requirements
Time: Apr 27, 2023 11:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84977716508
Meeting ID: 849 7771 6508
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2023 ELECTRI Council Meeting
July 17 - 19, 2023
The American Club
Kohler, WI
ELECTRI is excited to announce that registration is now open for the July 2023 ELECTRI Council meeting at the American Club in Kohler, WI. The meeting will take place July 17-19. Register for the meeting here. Once you register, you will receive the phone number to call to make your hotel reservation. All reservations must be made by calling the American Club directly as there is no online link.
Highlights of the meeting:
· Keynote speaker Steve Richman, Group President, Milwaukee Tool
· Breakout sessions on a variety of topics
· Discussion and voting on a new round of research opportunities
· Golf at the famous Whistling Straits course (costs generously covered by Graybar)
· Tactical Shooting activity (costs generously covered by BreezEV)
· A tour of Milwaukee Tool’s newest facility in West Bend, WI. This tour will end at 1PM on Wednesday, July 19th. Transportation will be provided to the Airport or back to the resort by Milwaukee Tool. Please make your travel plans accordingly.
Make your plans now to join ELECTRI this summer for an exciting agenda. If you have any questions, please contact Laura Holmes @ Laura.Holmes@electri.org
WELL WORTH YOUR ELECTRI TIME –
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Council Room, April 27, 11:30 AM Eastern, will focus on Buy America provisions and ways NECA contractors can comply with these requirements on certain federal projects.
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ELECTRI at NECA Now, April 17-20, to learn about our programs and projects, offer your recommendations for new initiatives, find ways to engage with the Foundation.
WAY MORE THAN COOKIES – ELECTRI recently joined forces with Mark One Electric in Kansas City to host Girls in Charge! welcoming 60 Girl Scouts from Grade 2 through 7. This program is designed to encourage young girls to explore STEM by learning about the EC industry and leaning into their leadership, communication, creativity, and problem-solving skills through hands-on activities. The one-day pilot project agenda at the Mark One facility focused on three opportunities:
- Diving into the world of Legos, the Girl Scouts learned to lead others through a pre-designed building project. Each girl had the chance to share her ideas, learn from her teammates, and build an awesome project.
- Students learned about the program TinkerCAD. They designed their own bridge with a pen and paper, built the design in the virtual program, then used Legos to build the bridge in real life.
- The Scouts created flashlights using everyday supplies.
Read more about the event here. For information on bringing an In Charge program to girls and boys in your area, contact Anna (Trapane) Jochim, ELECTRI’s Director of Future Workforce Development at Anna.Jochim@electri.org.
YOU GET TO DECIDE – There are 14 NECA Student Chapters participating in ELECTRI’s 2023 Electrical Contracting Innovation Challenge. Next, our industry leaders get to review the project proposals and select the three finalist teams to make in-person presentations during the NECA Convention in Philadelphia. If you are interested in learning where the most talented, industry-ready students can be found, please consider volunteering as a member of the jury for the ECIC competition. For additional information, contact Laura Holmes at laura.holmes@electri.org
WELL WORTH WATCHING – ELECTRI’s recent ConTech and Coffee webinar focused on Material Management Software. EC panelists reviewed their Material Management software journey. The conversation covered how they chose the software, how it got implemented in their workflow, and how it was integrated from their previous material management workflow. To watch and learn from the discussion, click the link here.
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