The Nigro Firm Collective

Murphy’s Law and Its Variations

noreply@blogger.com (Natalie Nigro) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 22:45:00 +0000

Today I had quite a chuckle…

In the early afternoon, I received a call from one of my clients about a project… he wanted to know if we had received the drawings and specs yet. I told him “no,” and that I didn’t expect them to arrive today. I assured him that I would let him know when they did.

And… what do you know… 20 minutes later, UPS delivered the drawings and specs. So, far, no big deal. It’s like UPS waited for me to call him before delivering! Sometimes it just happens that way.

Keeping my promise, I promptly emailed my client that the packages have arrived… and I mentioned something about this being a funny sample of Murphy’s Law, that the declaration that we haven’t gotten the drawings caused them to appear.

Shortly thereafter, I received a response

“I typically operate under O'Toole's Law, which is, Murphy was an optimist. I received this email seconds after I emailed the architect to assure me that we were on track. Timing is everything.”

Well, this was hilarious. LOL (laugh out loud). Ok, I couldn’t let this go. I wasn’t familiar with O’Toole’s Law, so off to Google, and subsequently to Wikipedia I went! I became enlightened with the many variations and adaptations to Murphy’s Law:

Murphy’s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Murphy’s Paradox: The more you plan, the more will go wrong. The less you plan, the more likely that you will fail.

Murphy’s Extended Law: If a series of events can go wrong, they will do so in the worst possible sequence.

O’Toole’s Commentary on Murphy’s Law: Murphy was an optimist.

Silverman’s Paradox: If Murphy’s Law can go wrong, it will.

Finagle’s Law of Dynamic Negatives (Corollary to Murphy’s Law): Anything that can go wrong, will – at the worst possible moment.

I also found other laws, with a similar view as Murphy:

The Unspeakable Law: As soon as you mention something, if it’s good, it goes away; if it’s bad, it happens.

Non-reciprocal Laws of Expectations: Negative expectations yield negative results. Positive expectations yield negative results.

Howe’s Law: Every man has a scheme which will not work.

Zymurgy’s First Law of Evolving System Dynamics: Once you open a can of worms, the only way to re-can them is to use a larger can.

Skinner’s Constant: The quantity which must be multiplied by, divided by, added to or subtracted from the answer you get to give the answer you should have got.

Law of Selective Gravity: An object will fall so as to do the most damage.

Barth’s Distinction: There are two types of people: those who divide people into two types and those who do not.

Ninety-Ninety Rules of Project Schedules: The first 90% of the job takes 90% of the time, the last 10% takes the other 90%.

I was amazed at how many of these laws directly apply to the construction industry!

~Natalie Nigro
President of Nigro Firm, Inc.

What does the economic stimulus package mean to the construction industry?

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Newly inaugurated President Barack Obama reports that his $825 billion stimulus package will create or save 3 to 4 million jobs. But what does this mean to the construction industry?

By doling out about $90 billion towards building and repairing highways, bridges, mass transit systems and other infrastructure projects, including "greening" of existing structures and renovating schools, 670,000 new construction jobs are expected to be created by the end of 2010.

Other types of construction related companies could also gain thousands of jobs, according to a study funded by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, including steel makers, concrete, cement, glass, rubber and plastics manufacturers.

How does this effect companies like the Nigro Firm? Our company is a pre-construction service company that performs construction document coordination reviews. We have many years of experience in reviewing construction drawings for public buildings like schools, mass transit structures, fire houses, police stations, libraries, museums, hospitals, universities and more. We expect that we will continue performing these types of reviews and will greatly benefit from the funds filtering into these types of projects. So we are anticipating positive results if the stimulus package is approved and implemented as outlined.

See,

Meltdown 101: What jobs might the stimulus create?

Obama Speaks on Trade, Manufacturing

Small Business Marketing: White Papers

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:34:00 +0000

The infamous white paper... Just what are they anyway? Can your company benefit from a collection of them?And should you write them yourself?

We just recently started working with an account executive (sales professional) who has spent many years working in the technology industry. In that industry, the white paper is a standard piece of sales collateral and he asked us if we had such a thing. And we sadly did not. So we have started to work on pulling much of our sales material, industry information and studies into something that can be called a white paper.

So what is a white paper?
White papers started out as an "authoritative" guide to solving a problem, originally as a parliamentary paper enunciating government policy. Currently, white papers are better known as a piece of marketing material, often focusing on how a specific product can offer a solution to a perceived or real industry problem.

What are the benefits of white papers?
White papers give you the opportunity, with quite a bit of text and detail, to explain how your product and services can solve a problem for your potential clients or customers. In our case, we will focus on how our construction document review services can save interested parties tons of money. It is difficult to quantify how well white papers work, but marketers and many companies believe they do and 46 % of content marketers are expected to devote funds to white papers in 2009. (See Marketers focus on content in 2009).

Should you write them yourselves?
This could go either way. In one respect you and those in your company know your product inside and out and know what kind of image you want to project. Also, some white paper writers are expensive, some writers advertise at $2000-$7500 per white paper. On the other hand, professional white paper writers have experience. It takes experience to know how to narrow focus in on a product and present information in a clear and concise manner. You could also write them yourself and then hire a professional editor to review it, which can run about $40/ hour depending on who you work with. Other editors charge per word or per contract.

Since The Nigro Firm likes the hands on approach and is a relatively small company compared to most construction service companies, we are going to write our own and have them peer edited and professionally edited. So, look forward to seeing those soon.

For more information, check out:
Writing White Papers
White Paper Source
Study Guides and Strategies, Writing White Papers
Writing a White Paper

Cartoonist: Working with Chaise Payan

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:21:00 +0000

We have been working with cartoonist Chaise Payan for a while now, he has created many colorful, creative and fun cartoons for us, many of which are featured on Blueprint Bluepers. Working with a cartoonist is interesting, especially considering he has to take our ideas and real construction document errors and turn them into art. This is one of the first so-called "professional" contracts this young artist has had, it has been a unique experience for him to migrate from creating art that he wants to do, to creating art that a client wants. But he has met the challenge and is doing a great job, we really like working with him.

Here are some thoughts from the President, Natalie Nigro, about working with Chaise.

1 – His attention to detail is amazing. Not only that, there is almost always fun stuff hiding in his cartoons, for example look more closely at “I Heart F...” in the cartoon "Dead End Exit," the text wraps around the mug out of view, we keep wondering what word the F starts?

2 – He always comes up with stuff that we would never expect or be able to think up ourselves… but his cartoon ideas are always fabulous! All we have to do is give him the gist of an idea, brainstorm with it a bit, and he runs with it. He knows us and what we like and then comes up with highly creative, wonderful pieces.

To turn the tables, when we asked Chaise what it was like to work with the Nigro Firm he said, "One thing I find interesting in creating images is how people react to them, so it's nice to work directly with a team of people that are responsive to what I'm making."

We have four new cartoons coming up, here is a sneak preview of one that we are getting ready to publish.

We haven't come up with the text yet, but we can't help but compare this cartoon beagle to real canine behavior.

Someone even created a porcelain replica of a beagle enjoying a doggie "water fountain."

Well, come back soon and visit Blueprint Bluepers to see our great cartoons created by Chaise.

Small Business Marketing: Branding and naming your product

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 07:49:00 +0000

One of the steps in every companies marketing process is the branding of their product. The Nigro Firm faces a challenge that many companies have faced, how do you name or brand a product that is so hard to describe in only a few words?

Our services are referred to in a variety of ways, as constructablity reviews, construction document reviews, design coordination reviews, interdisciplinary coordination reviews, construction document cross checks and our favorite, since it is the most accurate, construction document coordination reviews. However, none of these terms or phrases roll of the tongue and none of them are that creative, they are just a description really.

So, when it comes to branding the Nigro Firm product we are faced with a unique challenge. How do we turn "construction document coordination review" into something that is easy to say and remember? We haven't come up with anything yet, but in the thinking process we are going to keep a few points in mind:

The name should some how relate to the service.
The brand name should not be so close to a competitors name that they get confused.
Don't get so creative that people can't figure out how to spell it or say it.
Since we work with companies all over the planet it should be something that is flexible enough to be used in any country.
The name should make sense and send a clear message.
It should be something that is not dated, it should be able to stand the test of time.

Well, we are off to the think tank; we will let you know when we come up with something.

About the Nigro Firm: Working with Natalie Nigro

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:51:00 +0000

It may sound cliche, but we all know that a company is only as good as its' people.

So in order for you to get to know us a little better, from the inside out, I am going to tell you about the inner core of the Nigro Firm. I am going to tell you a little about Natalie Nigro our President. And not the kind of stuff you typically see in a resume or a company portfolio, I am going to tell you a little about her, what she likes and dislikes and what it is like to meet her.

First Meeting
When I first met Natalie Nigro, I was coming in to talk to her because I heard from a friend that they were looking for someone to help out in the office. I think I actually met Natalie and Shirley, her mother and partner, on a Saturday afternoon, to accommodate my work schedule at the time. My first impression was that she was cheery, personable and curious about me, how I worked and how I thought. It turned out that I did not fit the position she was looking for, but she thought she could fit me into the company in a different capacity. She asked me when I could start and I said, "Right now." And she took me up on it. Our first project, believe it or not, was to install an office corner desk. A few seconds into the project I already figured out how Natalie and Shirley work together, how their different talents and strengths could be focused into a single project. Shirley was working the tools and lying under the desk taking care of the "infrastructure" so to speak and Natalie had the level out ensuring "quality control." As soon as I saw Natalie pull the level out and REALLY use it, I knew what kind of lady I was going to be working with.

Personality Traits
Natalie is a dynamic and intelligent woman, but here are a few of the highlights:

She is a list maker and actually completes her tasks.

She is a researcher... she never starts a new endeavor without knowing what she is getting into.

She has a big brain... she can understand complex topics, mathematics, physics and tedious procedures.

She rarely gets angry, but if she does, she has a really good reason.

She is a good communicator and knows how to handle delicate or stressful topics without stressing out who she is talking to.

She is extremely flexible, except when it comes to deadlines.

She is always willing to lend a helping hand, which is why she has to get out of the office from time to time, otherwise she would never stop helping reviewers.

Things she likes (not work related):

World of Warcraft (WOW)... she would play all night if she could.
Beagles and cute kitties or any stray that needs a home.

Raw, vegan, vegetarian and organic food, though if she has to cook, pizza delivered is good enough.

Collectible swords, shields and medieval weapons... she even has a spear in her office.

American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

Dog training and organic pet diets... she makes the beagles' dog food every day, no store bought bags of dog food for them.

Things she does not like (not work related):

Yard work, mowing lawns or snow removal... if on her own she would have a condo.

Heavy metal or hard rock and roll... Barbra Streisand and Abba suit her fine.

Spicy food... mild is her version of "hot and spicy."

Uncomfortable clothes... no high heels or business dress for her, unless she absolutely must.

Mornings... though she does often work in the early hours of the morning, she would rather work at the crack of noon.

Well, now you know a little about Natalie Nigro. So next time you call her up to plan a coordination review you can ask her how the beagles are and how late she stayed up the night before playing WOW.

And if you want to read a little about her in a professional sense see, The Nigro Firm's President Natalie Nigro.

Or check out, Who answers the phones at the Nigro Firm.

You are also always welcome to just give her a call, she will tell you all about construction document coordination reviews.

Authored by:
Pamela S. Stevens, Content Development and Writer

Top 10 Ways to Save Money in Construction Costs in 2009 (Not Really)

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:58:00 +0000

We like to have fun every now and then and inject humor into our sites, as the new year approaches we have created our top ten ways to save money in your constructions costs and the cost of running your company in 2009...not really, meaning really DON'T follow these tips, they are just for fun.

Top Ten Ways to Save Money for Construction Companies in 2009...Not Really

10. Require all offices to run the coffee maker TWICE per each load of coffee grounds and reuse the filter.

9. Replace all toilet rolls with single ply paper and only allow each employee to use one square per visit.

8. Save costs on gas by only working on projects downhill from the construction supply center.

7. Reduce the number of porta-potties on site and supply a bucket for overflow.

6. Instead of providing a weekly box of donuts just buy a single bag of M&Ms and give out one to each person.

5. Cover worn tread on work truck tires with duct tape, duct tape fixes everything right?

4. Use error ridden construction drawings to line the inside of worn out work boots to keep your crews feet warm and dry.

3. Replace all company cell phones with two cans and a string or pagers recovered from 1989.

2. Go back to dial-up, it will slow down your Internet service to the point that your employees will get frustrated with trying to shop on Amazon or check their MySpace and will actually get bored enough to ...work.

1. Call us...seriously, no kidding, joking aside we can save you tons of money. Give us a call.

New Construction Cartoon: Seasons Greetings from the Nigro Firm

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:39:00 +0000

We here at the Nigro Firm wish you a
happy holiday and a PROSPEROUS and busy New Year!

The above holiday cartoon is the newest cartoon on our construction humor site, Blueprint Bluepers. It was not inspired from an actual construction drawing error, though we have seen toilets placed in showers and in the middle of a waiting room...so we didn't think this was pushing it.

Coming up with the "one-liners" used in our cartoon is always fun, here are the runner ups:

Santa may be in a hurry… but this is pushing multi-tasking a little too far.
A simple porta-potty on the roof would have sufficed.
Just because the economy seems to be tanking, no reason to flush Santa down with it.
Unfortunately, Santa’s amazing fireplace skills cannot compete with the Tidy Bowl man.
Whoever left the lid up is getting coal in their stocking.
Santa suddenly realizes why the chimney stack looked surprisingly similar to a roof vent.

If you would like to avoid these kind of silly construction errors, please give us a call, we would love to review your drawings so you don't run into any of these "humorous" and expensive errors onsite.

Construction News: Obama Construction Bailout?

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 19:14:00 +0000

Before even taking office, President elect Barack Obama released a tentative construction stimulus plan intended to help municipalities finish projects or complete desperately needed infrastructure projects and provide jobs for millions of construction workers.

If this funding goes through, it is reported to be the largest investment in the nation’s infrastructure since President Dwight D. Eisenhower created the interstate highway system in the 1950s.

The plan is to "save or create" 2.5 million jobs and includes plans to make public buildings more energy-efficient, build new roads and bridges, and increase broadband Internet connections, according to Obama's weekly radio address.

How would a stimulus package effect small pre-construction service companies like the Nigro Firm?

Though the Nigro Firm does not perform construction document coordination reviews for roads, bridges or highways, it does perform these reviews for buildings, quite often public buildings like fire houses, schools, public works buildings, court houses, libraries and so on. This could mean an increase in work for the Nigro Firm, which would be greatly appreciated.

Full Text from Reuters Below:

By Ryan Vlastelica - Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barack Obama delivered an early Christmas gift to investors in the construction, materials and engineering sectors with his pledge to roll out the biggest infrastructure spending binge in half a century to dig the U.S. economy out of recession.

Shares of companies connected in any way to public works projects rocketed on Monday after the president-elect outlined his plan to throw billions of dollars at everything from highway construction to sewer repairs, with a priority shown to those projects seen as "shovel ready."

The Dow Jones U.S. Heavy Construction index shot up by more than 10 percent, about three times the magnitude of the broader market's advance on the day. Shaw Group, a large construction and engineering firms, surged more than 15 percent; Dow component Caterpillar gained 11 percent.

"The great thing is that because of a seizing up in credit, (these) sectors have been pummeled and now represent value, especially in light of these policy moves," said Doug Kass, president of hedge fund Seabreeze Partners Management, who profited from betting against U.S. stocks over the course of the credit crisis.

The question now is whether Obama's promised largess is merely grist for a bear-market bounce or the seed of a genuine recovery in a group hit just as hard as banks by the housing slump and ensuing credit crisis.

STIMULUS ALREADY BAKED IN?

Indeed, investors had already been anticipating the Obama plan, which remains little more than a broad promise at the moment. The construction index has rallied some 67 percent from last month's low, including a 40 percent advance in the last week of November alone.

That has some analysts worried that investors have gotten overly enthusiastic, particularly given how long it can take to get big projects moving and generating profits for these firms.

"The problem is that these projects don't occur quickly, even when state governments have projects on the shelf that they can put to work quickly," said Charles Bradford, a metals analyst at Soleil Securities. Bradford said that the program was "bound to be helpful," though he didn't see any benefit for at least six months after the bill was signed.

In fact, when valued against prospective earnings, the group has grown 50 percent pricier in the space of just 11 trading days and now trades at about 8.8 times estimated 2009 earnings compared with 5.8 times forward earnings on November 20. That may still look a bargain relative to their multiple of nearly 26 in mid-2007 but can seem an unsettlingly rapid valuation inflation in an otherwise deteriorating earnings environment.

"Even if you had all the permits, these are complex projects," he said. "I would say that if you could get something started in six months, you're doing extraordinarily well. The typical lead time is two years."

Currently, the size of the package -- as well as how it will be distributed -- hasn't been detailed, though Obama on Saturday called for the largest infrastructure spending since the Eisenhower administration's interstate highway construction spree in the 1950s. New York Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer said the package should be between $500 billion and $700 billion.

At a meeting with Obama last week, state governors said they needed an estimated $136 billion in repairs to bridges, airports and other infrastructure, while Schumer's estimate included such new construction as hospitals, schools and other projects.

SHAW, JACOBS SEEN PROFITING

Obama does not take over from President George W. Bush until January 20 but has said he wants lawmakers to have a stimulus bill aimed at creating 2.5 million jobs ready for him to sign upon his inauguration.

Obama's campaign website proposes the creation of a national infrastructure reinvestment bank that will receive an infusion of $60 billion in federal money over 10 years.

Investors have tagged Shaw Group as a likely winner in the construction sweepstakes. Sameer Rathod, who covers the company for Macquarie Research Equities, said the company has the ability to construct transport infrastructure. If the scope of the bill were broadened to include energy, "they would benefit from the inclusion of nuclear power," Rathod added.

Since the announcement of the package, Shaw Group shares have surged 65 percent from a low of $11.47 reached on November 20. On Monday they rose more than 16 percent to $19, hitting a one-month high along the way.

Chase Jacobson, senior analyst of the Global Industrial Infrastructure group at Sterne Agee, speculated that Aecom Technology and Jacobs Engineering both stood to benefit from the package, though "the benefit is going to replace money that they would've gotten from other places, like state or local budgets that had to cut back."

Since reaching a low on November 20, however, Jacobs shares have soared 85 percent to $48, including a 13 percent advance on Monday. Aecom shares, gaining nearly 10 percent on Monday, have now more than doubled from their low on October 24.

Are such gains sustainable?

Jacobson, for one, said that while the stimulus "will certainly help," it wouldn't be enough to keep the group rallying at their current pace. "My view on the whole group right now is that long term, infrastructure is something we need around the world. Short term, customers will be prudent with cash. So this may not be an 2009 story."

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica, Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Construction Cartoons: Blueprint Bluepers Newest Cartoon

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:22:00 +0000

This year we had our artist, Chaise Payan create a Thanksgiving construction cartoon just for us. You can see this cartoon and others on our construction humor site, Blueprint Bluepers.

A thanksgiving note from our president, Natalie Nigro:
It's Thanksgiving time and we are thankful to have had the opportunity to help cities, universities, hospitals, developers, etc. to save time and money on their construction projects! We are looking forward to continuing our rewarding service into the future. We thoroughly enjoy performing construction document coordination reviews for commercial and governmental projects. Best wishes to all.

New Construction Humor
We also posted some new construction humor on Blueprint Bluepers, including some interesting definitions for a few architectural terms, including sexfoil, ever wondered exactly what that is?

Construction News: Dubai acts as property sales cool

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:40:00 +0000

AP, BLOOMBERG

Worry over Dubai's once red-hot property market has prompted the Government there to set up a high-level committee to tackle the impact of the financial crisis.

There are growing signs the decade-long property boom is over and real estate agents report a slump in activity.

Morgan Stanley warned in August that Dubai could see a 10 per cent price fall by 2010 and there are reports of discounting of new projects of 40 per cent.

Shares in the emirate's biggest developer, Emaar Properties PJSC, tumbled this week to the lowest in almost four years after it was reported the company will allow customers to defer payments because of the credit squeeze.

Less than 10 per cent of Dubai's income derives from oil and it is estimated property and construction account for about 30 per cent of the economy.

The Government committee is exploring ways of restoring confidence and follows the Finance Ministry's decision to pump $19US billion ($32.5 billion) into the financial system to support banks' continued lending to local projects and companies.

Real estate agent Timur Usmanov told the Associated Press of investors trying to flee the market just two or three years after diving in.

"I saw fear take over. There are too many sellers and not enough buyers ... [But] who wants to buy now?"

Interest in unbuilt or incomplete property, once such a hot commodity that it could be resold in a matter of minutes, appears to be drying up.

Some investors who bought in hopes of collecting double-digit or better annual returns are now looking simply to cut their losses on unfinished, or "off-plan" properties, agents said.

"People are saying it's like a tsunami that will attack the country in a few months," said one broker, who sells property for a major Dubai developer and spoke only on condition her name not be used because she did not want to hurt her business.

The broker said one client recently asked her to list an investment property at a markup. But just days later, "Now they are saying they don't want a premium, they just want to sell," the broker said. "They are scared."

At the same time, banks face harder times getting access to cash. That is forcing them to tighten the rules on who can get a loan, and for how much.

No longer do many buyers qualify for mortgages at 10 per cent down, as they did as recently as a few weeks ago with some lenders.

Islamic finance company Tamweel, one of Dubai's largest mortgage providers, is among those offering customers less.

"All the [mortgage] providers have done some element of tightening," chief executive Wasim Saifi said. "That way you're able to do a larger number of loans. The idea is to spread your resources as much as possible."

HSBC, among the emirate's biggest international mortgage lenders, said it was also cutting back on amounts given to borrowers.

Unlike in New York or Hong Kong, many windows in Dubai's newest skyscrapers stay dark - some because they were empty holiday homes for rich visitors, others because their owners failed to find a renter or buyer willing to pay enough to make a profit.

But warning signs of a more serious slowdown gathered on the horizon some time ago.

Colliers International said earlier this month that its index of Dubai home price growth had slowed considerably from the first to the second quarter this year. The real estate consultancy also warned developers are relying too heavily on "high-end" projects at the expense of more affordable housing.

Standard Chartered Bank and Egyptian investment bank EFG-Hermes have likewise said the market is due for a slowdown. "You did see a lot of speculative money come into the property sector," EFG-Hermes analyst Sana Kapadia said. "I think what you're seeing is an effort to let a lot of the froth exit the market."

Still, many remain hopeful.

Millions of dollars were poured into just the scale models of new towers unveiled at the city's recent Cityscape real estate expo. Vendors there said foot traffic remained as brisk as always, and brokers repeated the assurance that the Dubai market is "different" because its development is being closely guided and partially bankrolled by the emirate's ruler.

Tamweel's Saifi said he thought Dubai's fundamentals remained sound. "The issue to be watched is sentiment because of negativity and issues globally," he said.

Yet some have doubts. Richard Rodriguez, the former CEO of the Dubai division of Emaar Properties, the builder of the world's tallest building, said too many builders in the emirate have focused on return-seeking investors rather than people looking for homes to live in.

"Some of those heightened, frenzied launches with all the developers took on the characteristics of pyramid schemes. If you got in early, you were guaranteed to make money," he said.

"The developers that will survive are the ones who can market and sell to the end user," he said. "And that hasn't existed in Dubai so far."

Green Construction News: Kudos to The Christman Company

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 11:14:00 +0000

Congrats to the Christman Company, a development firm in Lansing, Michigan that is the first to earn Platinum ratings in both the LEED for Core and Shell and the LEED for Commercial Interiors rating systems.

We at the Nigro Firm, like to follow the green building and design news and strive everyday to make our company more efficient while maintaining a small environmental footprint. And we can help you reach this goal as well. Our construction document reviews have been proven to reduce rework, decrease buildtime and change orders, which in turn saves money and reduces waste. Give us a call, we will be happy to tell you how we can help you.

Here is the full article about the Christman Company's accomplishment.

Michigan Building First to Earn Double LEED Platinum Certification

10/20/08

By Allyson Wendt

The Christman Company, a development firm based in Lansing, Michigan, has announced that its new headquarters is the first building to earn Platinum ratings in both the LEED for Core and Shell and the LEED for Commercial Interiors rating systems.

The renovation of a historic building in downtown Lansing was designed entirely by SmithGroup and included efficient lighting and mechanical systems, low-flow plumbing fixtures, and materials with low emissions of volatile organic compounds. The building is expected to use 34% less energy than a comparable conventional building. Almost all—92%—of the existing walls, roof, and floors were reused in the renovation, which followed the standards for historic renovation set by the Secretary of the Interior.

The Christman Company has developed a green housekeeping program and will commission the building continuously for the first year, then once every five years. More information is available at www.christmanco.com.

This article was produced by BuildingGreen, LLC.- www.buildinggreen.com

Construction Cartoons: Our Featured Artist Chaise Payan

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:42:00 +0000

Our site Blueprint Bluepers features the art of Chaise Payan. He creates original construction cartoons especially for our company based on errors actually found in construction drawings that we have reviewed. We have had a great time helping him develop humorous drawings for us.

However, he does more than just what you have seen on our sites. Here is a peak into his sketchbook.

Necromancy

Um, excuse me, do you-

Mad Hatter

Mademoiselle

Chaise Payan is currently finishing up his senior year at Weber State University, he is expected to graduate with a BFA with a 2D emphasis. Check him out at Linkedin.

To read more about how we look for artists and how we found Chaise, click here.

See more of our original cartoons created by Chaise.

Check out some of the sketches created while thinking about our cartoons.

Thanksgiving Humor

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:40:00 +0000

Anyone that has read our blogs or visited any of our sites, knows that we have a grand sense of humor, and we love cartoons. We even have our own original construction cartoons on our site Blueprint Bluepers.

For Thanksgiving we have collected a few cartoons from the web for your enjoyment.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Utah Construction News: Big-D Construction Hires Hopkins as Director of Pre-Construction Services

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 23:59:00 +0000

We like to keep an eye on the local construction news and today we saw an article announcing that Big-D Construction has a new Director of Pre-Construction Services. Big-D Construction is a well-known company here in Utah and they have been in business here for nearly 40 years. This construction company through the years has worked on projects ranging from commercial projects to public spaces to medial facilities to resorts. Whenever you pass a large construction site here in Utah there is an extremely good chance you will see a Big-D Construction sign.

We found this interesting since our company specializes in the pre-construction service area, specifically construction drawing coordination reviews. We are not sure who Big-D contracts with (if they do not do them in-house) to perform drawing reviews for their clients, but we are very interested in finding out.

Here is the article in full:
SALT LAKE CITY, Nov 26, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today Big-D Construction announced the hiring of Will Hopkins as the director of pre-construction services.

Hopkins' focus will include managing/developing new customer bases and supporting existing relationships; leading and managing design/engineering; and managing and assembling strong internal management teams to provide superior processes to support our existing and new customers' building needs.

Hopkins started with Big-D in Phoenix in 1992, and moved to Utah in 1994 to work in the Ogden Corporate Headquarters. He was involved in a notable number of projects that changed the look of downtown Ogden, such as the David Eccles Conference Center, Peery's Egyptian Theater and the Weber County Conference Center.

Additionally, Hopkins was instrumental in helping Big-D with key accounts such as Sysco Foods, Smith's and Las Vegas MOBs, among others. In 1996, he led the preconstruction and contract administration effort on Micron, which at the time was the largest project in Big-D history ($125 million).

In 2004 Hopkins formed his own consulting firm, with Big-D Construction Corporation as a signature customer. He has supported many of Big-D's current projects, including the Utah Natural History Museum and Unified State Lab.

About Big-D Construction:

Big-D Construction has over 40 years of experience providing design-build and construction management services to customers from a wide variety of industries. As one of the largest construction companies in the country, Big-D employs more than 600 associates throughout the western United States. The corporation is strategically located in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Lindon, Utah; Pleasanton, California; Bellevue, Washington; and Jackson, Wyoming. For more information, please visit Big-D's new website, http://www.big-d.com/.

Green Construction News: Is the cost of building green worth it?

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 05:34:00 +0000

Recently we found an interesting article via SmartBrief titled Panel: Green Revolution is Already Here. The article was authored by Paul Bubney and will soon be featured in the December issue of of Real Estate New York magazine.

This article attempts to answer the commonly asked question of whether the expense and effort required to build green is worth it in terms of ROI and market competitiveness. We here at the Nigro Firm are as interested in this question as most people in the construction industry.

This article relates that not only is it worth it, but it will soon become the construction norm.

Here is the full text of the article.

NEW YORK CITY-Eighteen months ago, recalled construction attorney Kenneth Block, discussions about green building tended to revolve around the question of whether the cost and effort were justified. Now, said a panel of experts Monday evening, everyone from tenants to lenders to government is making it all but essential.

"The state of the art will be green," said Block, partner at Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP. "There’s no question about that." Block pointed out that as part of their more stringent standards, lenders will insist on the-state-of-the-art when it comes to financing new construction. Moreover, government is leading the way in mandating green standards, he added.

Noting that the crux of the issue for commercial real estate is cost effectiveness, moderator Robert Freedman said that owners and developers, "no matter how enlightened they are," are still responsible to the realities of the marketplace. In a business of ROI and payback thresholds, "Can green be sold effectively in the context of this marketplace?" asked Freedman, president and CEO of Williams Real Estate, in kicking off the panel discussion.

Tenant demand can be one factor in answering this question affirmatively. "Is there going to be a green market at all? Actually, I think there’s going to be more of a green market" because owners will need to differentiate their buildings as vacancy rates slip and tenants have more choices, said Nora Fay, principal of Lehr Construction. Freedman commented, "Enlightened tenants can legislate enlightened practices."

Catherine Barton, corporate director of business development at Green Depot, cited municipalities that have implemented incentive programs to encourage sustainable real estate, from the Long Island communities of Babylon and Hempstead to New York City, where the Bloomberg administration rolled out its PlaNYC in the spring of 2007. Within government buildings, too, the green movement has taken hold. Panelist Emily Baker, regional administrator of the US General Services Administration, cited a study showing "real results" in 12 of the sustainable buildings within GSA’s purview.

Additionally, going green does not always entail a cost premium. Andrew Padian, senior housing specialist at Steve Winter Associates, said there are many no-cost steps that building owners can take. "This is not about cutting-edge technology," said Padian. "This is about things that are 20, 30 or 40 years old and most people are familiar with."

If you would like to learn more about how the Nigro Firm can help you build more efficiently and more environmentally responsibly, see Working Green:The Nigro Firm can help you become more enviromentally responsible.

Nigro Firm News: More Reasons to Love Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:39:00 +0000

There are many reasons to love Seattle - Pike Place Market, the Space Needle, views of the Puget Sound, a stellar night skyline and now, the City of Seattle has partnered with the Nigro Firm. After an extensive RFQ consultant selection process, the Nigro Firm was selected as the City of Seattle's Fleet and Facilities Department's sole source for construction coordination reviews.

The Nigro Firm has begun helping the City of Seattle save money on it's new and/or renovated fire stations. So far, we have reviewed the drawings for the new Fire Station #38 and #39. The old stations are pictured below:

While researching the City of Seattle and its' fire stations we discovered the the city has many historic and architecturally interesting fire stations, such as:

Fire Station #6
Fire Station #13
To see all of Seattle's Fire Stations click here.

In November of 2003, 69% of voters in Seattle approved the Fire Facilities and Emergency Response Levy. This nine-year program that began in 2004, will use levy proceeds and other funding to upgrade, renovate, or replace 32 neighborhood fire stations and to construct a new training facility, a new Fire Alarm Center, and more. We are very excited to be a part of the city's Fire Facilities and Emergency response improvements.

To read more about how the Nigro Firm can help your city save money and time with a construction document coordination review, see the Nigro Firm. Or just give us a call, we would love to talk to you.

Costruction Humor: Fun construction cartoons

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:34:00 +0000

As many of you know, the Nigro Firm publishes construction cartoons and construction humor on the web site Blueprint Bluepers. However, from time to time it is fun to check out other web sites that offer construction humor.

Here are a few cartoons we found online that we would like to share with you, just for fun.

Construction News: NY crane regulations get tough

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:15:00 +0000

Construction industry: NYC regulations overzealous
By AMY WESTFELDT

NEW YORK (AP) — It takes a lot of paper to raise a crane in New York City these days.

On top of maintenance records and operator certification tests, engineers have to sign off before cranes are raised or dismantled. The city also requires documents that prove a safety meeting was held before work begins.

It may seem like a lot to ask for, but New York is seeking to become a national example after two deadly crane collapses in Manhattan killed nine people this year.

This year's spate of deadly accidents in New York and other U.S. cities, including Houston, Miami and Las Vegas, triggered the federal government in September to propose updated crane regulations for the first time in 40 years.

But New York has introduced more stringent rules governing constructions in addition to those required by the federal government, including laws that require training for tower crane workers, limit the use of slings that hold loads, and overhaul licensing requirements for mobile crane operators.

"We have worked closely with industry officials to develop checks and balances that are making construction sites safer than ever before," city Department of Buildings spokesman Kate Lindquist said. "There are thousands of construction sites in New York City that are managed without incident every day, and there is no reason why developers cannot build safely to avoid any preventable delays."

But the city's construction industry says the rules are difficult to follow, hard to enforce and often cause costly delays. Contractors say sites are often shut down for days or weeks for minor violations, like a missing piece of paperwork, and stopping work at a high-profile site can cost more $100,000 a day.

"In some respects, it's already overkill," said Louis Coletti, president of New York's Building Trades Employers Association. "You've got new rules and regulations coming out every day."

In midtown Manhattan, where a crane crashed into a town house on March 15 and killed seven people, a crane still hasn't returned to the high-rise development site. A crane at the site of a May 30 collapse that killed two workers was not re-erected until September.

Work stopped at both sites for months, and the latter site was ordered to stop again a week ago because of a missing permit.

Coletti said contractors have received orders from multiple inspectors with conflicting interpretations of building codes, and finding an inspector to lift an order can be as challenging as fixing the violation.

Contractors are most up in arms over a requirement for engineers or manufacturers to certify plans to raise tower cranes. They say professionals would be unlikely to approve plans for work they can't supervise.

Alfred G. Gerosa, executive director of the Cement League, whose members often contract out crane work, said in September that the rule could "shut down the entire tower crane industry in the city."

Frank Bardonaro, president of a suburban Philadelphia crane rental company and head of the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association's crane safety task force, called New York's rules "unenforceable."

"Are you going to test every bolt, nut, bracing?" he asked.

The city maintains the regulations are standard across the construction industry and are necessary to ensure safety.

We at the Nigro Firm have been concerned about crane safety since the incidences in New York and Miami and we are happy that the City of New York is taking crane safety seriously, though the new requirements may seem tough, if they prevent just one injury they are well worth the paperwork.

See:
Construction News: Crane inspector arrested after two New York incidences
Construction News: Crane collapses in Miami, kills 2, injures 5

Green Construction News: Comcast Builds Green in Philadelphia

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:00:00 +0000

We like reading news like this.

Sustainable Construction Reaches New Heights in Philadelphia with NewCem High-Performance, Environmentally-Friendly Slag Cement

Lafarge North America Inc.

The new Comcast Center in downtown Philadelphia - featuring 1.25 million square feet of office, restaurant and retail space - now has the distinction of being the nation's tallest green office building. A spectacular addition to the city's skyline when it was officially opened this summer, the high-performance skyscraper was constructed with a concrete mix consisting of 40 percent Lafarge NewCem brand slag cement and 60 percent Type I cement.

Engineered for high strength and long-term durability, NewCem slag cement helps achieve greater strength potential, reduced permeability, and increased resistance to chemical attack in concrete structures. Soaring 58 stories and 975 feet, the Comcast Center tower required 50,000 cubic yards of concrete, of which 36,000 cubic yards had to be 10,000 psi-specified for its inner core. The mix used in the project reached strengths as great as 14,000 psi, which is one of the key reasons why the NewCem slag cement was selected for this high-performance application. An additional 3,000 tons of the product also was used for the lighter weight concrete on each floor.

NewCem slag cement was also a strong contributor to the tower's sustainable building design, which is expected to earn the Comcast Center a LEED silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The use of slag cement in concrete saves virgin raw materials, consumes less energy, and makes use of a of a recyclable by-product material of the iron-making process that might otherwise be disposed of in landfills. The result is high-performance concrete with less environmental impact.

To learn more about LaFarge and it's products see their corporate web site.

To see the above article in it's original context, see ForConstructionPros.com.

Is the Comcast Center the type of building that could have benefited from a construction drawing coordination review from the Nigro Firm?

Definitely, large structures like the Comcast Center are more likely to stay under budget and on schedule with the application of a coordination review. For more information about the Nigro Firm's construction drawing review services, see Our Services.

Green Construction News: Kudos to JC Penney

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:17:00 +0000

The Village at Fairview shopping center in Texas, is getting a new JC Penney store, but it will not be a traditional box store, it is expected to be 41% more efficient than similar sized stores.

Ground broke Thursday for the 115,000 sf building that will be Penney's first store to obtain the high-performance building certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Some of the energy saving features of this building include a reflective white roof, energy efficient lighting, recycled construction materials and cotton insulation made from recycled denim. Plumbing fixtures are expected to reduce water consumption by 20 percent and construction waste will be recycled instead of going to landfills.

Other large retail/grocery stores that are building with improved environmental standards include the H.E. Butt Grocery Co. in San Antonio, which is under review for the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design certification, Safeway Inc. opened a solar-powered store in California and Best Buy Co. plans to reduce its' greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent per square foot by 2012.

Interested in green building ? Check out some of our related articles:
San Jose sets some progressive green build standards
Green Roofs and Green Buildings
Building on the green agenda, TED talk by Norman Foster
Building Green: Green Roofs

To learn how the Nigro Firm can help you build more green, see:
Working Green: The Nigro Firm can help you become more environmentally responsible

Construction News: Non-residential construction index plunges: AIA

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:29:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A forward-looking measure of U.S. nonresidential construction activity plunged last month as more architects reported cancellations of projects amid the ongoing credit crisis, an architects' trade group said on Wednesday.

The Architecture Billings Index fell more than 6 points to 41.4 in September, according to the American Institute of Architects. A reading below 50 indicates a decline in billings, a leading indicator of construction activity about nine to 12 months in the future.

A separate measure of inquiries for new projects fell to 51 from 52.4 in August.

"Many architects are reporting that clients are delaying or canceling projects as a result of problems with project financing," AIA chief economist Kermit Baker said. "Conditions are likely to get worse before they get better."

Demand also dipped for projects such as schools, hospitals and government buildings, with the institutional category of the index falling below 50 for the first time this year, the AIA said.

All the other sectors tracked by the group were also below 50, as were all four of the geographic regions.

Companies that sell to the nonresidential construction market include diversified manufacturer Honeywell International Inc; lighting maker Acuity Brands Inc; electrical components maker Thomas & Betts Corp; Ingersoll-Rand Co Ltd.; and Johnson Controls Inc, which provides heating, ventilation and cooling systems.

An October 14 research note by analysts at UBS also highlighted exposure to the sector among Caterpillar Inc, Terex Corp, Manitowoc, and Illinois Tool Works Inc, among others.

NCI Building Systems and Perini Corp get the bulk of their profit from the sector, according to UBS, while some companies including Cooper Industries Ltd have proved to hold up relatively well in past downturns.

(Reporting by Nick Zieminski; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Where the Nigro Firm Stands on this News

Most of our work comes from non-residential projects, with the exception of large condo/apartment buildings, so of course we are a little nervous and worried about the future of our work and the construction industry in general.

The bright side we see is that the focus of our work is saving our clients money, so those that do get financing in this shaky market can more easily reduce their cost over runs and complete their projects on time. Wonder how we do this? Give us a call we would be more than happy to tell you...and no, you will not have to talk to a sales person or an account manager, our President answers all of our calls....really.

See, Who answers the phone at the Nigro Firm?

Construction Humor: Who is reviewing your construction drawings?

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 23:53:00 +0000

Hmmm...bad idea.

Give us a call instead...we have many more years experience than your cat...and we have oppose-able thumbs.

Green Construction News: San Jose sets some progressive green build standards

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:06:00 +0000

The City of San Jose gets serious about green building standards. It has been about a year since the city adopted it's Green Vision policy, since then the city of San Jose has agreed upon environmentally friendly building standards in an attempt to reduce energy and water consumption in new residential, commercial and industrial construction projects.

The 10 Green Vision goals, approved in October 2007, includes building or retrofitting 50 million sf of construction to green standards and reducing per capita energy consumption by an impressive 50 percent. To put together their new green building policy, the city obtained input from 200 representatives from construction, engineering, development, design, architectural and electrical firms; trade, labor and professional organizations; and real estate, property management, environmental and green building groups. Fifteen meetings were held to acquire feedback.

Larger projects, such as commercial and industrial buildings of over 25,000 sf will be required to meet LEED Silver standards. Residential developments of 10+ units will be expected to meet basic LEED certification standards or achieve 50 points under the Green Point rating system. Housing structures over 75 feet high will be requited to meet basic LEED standards.

This is a progressive move, though for a city known for technological innovations, it seems like a logical step. We are sure that other city's will soon follow the City of San Jose and adopt their own green building standards.

Want to know how the Nigro Firm can help you build more green?

See, Working Green: How the Nigro Firm can help you become more environmentally responsible

Construction News: Rising material costs hit home

noreply@blogger.com (The Nigro Firm) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:35:00 +0000

Rising material costs over the last few years have made a huge impact on the cost of constructing schools in Utah. Though this is not just a local problem, rising material costs effect all construction projects.

For example, in 2003 the Jordan School district in Utah built a school for the total build cost of 7 million, today the same building plan will cost them 15 million.

The dramatic difference has been pinpointed to two factors, the rise in material costs and the increase of the price of land in the district. Increased copper prices have driven up the cost of the electrical system by 200%, drywall cost rose 90% and the price of land has skyrocketed from around $50,000 per acre to nearly $300,000.

Could the Nigro Firm have helped this school district reduce costs?
At this point, likely not, since they are working from a set of drawings that have already been built from, we would like to assume that the errors on the drawings have been discovered and corrected. However, we can help reduce total build costs by reviewing original sets of drawings. Our construction coordination reviews catch errors on drawings and if they are corrected before materials are ordered and construction has started, cost over runs can be greatly reduced.