For the near term, today’s construction landscape appears to be stable. However, with the recession still in our rear-view mirror, a relatively slow recovery underway, an aging workforce, limited numbers of younger folks joining the trades, and many construction company owners nearing retirement age - the smell of transition is in the air.

There has been a lot of press about P3s as of late, especially in Indiana.

A P3, or public private partnership, is a service or business venture funded by a partnership between a government and one or more private companies.

With the continued stress on governments trying to either maintain or expand services and infrastructure in the midst of budget constraints and often inadequate or declining tax revenues, the idea of being able to get things done with the help of the private sector is intriguing.

Have you heard? The accounting gods have spoken and have changed how leases are to be accounted for on your financial statements. Why, you may ask, do we need to change the methodology for accounting for leases?

Unless I’m talking to a contractor, people often give me a blank stare when I say I lead our surety bond practice. “Surety, what the heck is that?”

Given this apparent lack of knowledge of what I do on a day-to-day basis, I submit a Surety 101 to educate the masses!

What is it? Can you use it? Why would you want to use it or not? If you are a subcontractor, do you want to be in an SDI program? So many questions…

Unless you’ve been buried underneath a pile of bidding documents or work in process reports, you’ve likely taken notice of the volatility in the stock market over the last few weeks. A correction, as I’m told.

The construction industry has done a good job of focusing on safety and quality. This mindset has been driven down to the smallest of contractors. They know safety and quality not only impact what work they can secure and for which owners and contractors they can work, but it also drives the cost of their insurance program. Prequalifying contractors based on their safety experience and program is the norm.

The prequalification process, however, should not be limited to safety. Financial prequalification should receive adequate attention as well.