Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

Managing a construction project requires effort from many people within the company. Some companies have dedicated project coordinators or project assistants while other companies utilize administrative personnel to assist the project manager. No matter how the company is set up, the people who assist the project manager and their skills are critical. They allow the project manager to manage the project rather than administrate the project. The more time the project manager can spend managing the project the better project outcomes are. Titles and duties may vary form company to company, but every company needs people skilled in the duties of assisting a project manager. While the position of project coordinator is an important role to fill, until recently there was no formal training available. This course will use a sample project to guide participants through the project life cycle – from acquisition to close-out. Participants will learn what is occurring during each step of the project life cycle and will also discover everything a project coordinator could do to support the project manager and field team including but not limited to billings and associated attachments, change orders, purchase orders, subcontracts, requests for information, submittals, O and M manuals, procurement of permits, meeting minutes, document control, and support of the field foreman. Recommended hard skills such as knowledge of spreadsheet and word processing software will be discussed using examples from the sample project. In addition, the importance of soft skills such as listening, communicating, asking great questions, assertiveness, prioritizing, and the ability to multi-task will be discussed. The course can be taught in single or multiple day sessions.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

Now more than ever, contractors must pay close attention to the written records they keep on construction projects. Solid project documentation is a company’s best defense against problems that occur. This all-day seminar will cover important documentation topics including, but not limited to: contract language, submittals and RFI’s, close-out, scheduling and schedule delays, tracking and managing owner-furnished equipment, notification requirements, change orders, and jobsite organization. Attendees will learn their unique role in protecting the company against damage.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

This course is designed for business owners. It explores the risks and potential rewards of being a business owner, the traits needed for success, planning an exit strategy, how to value the company, and the three phrases a company goes through.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

This course is designed for new company owners that have come from the field. It explores those skills needed to run a business; which are not the same as the skills needed to run a project. Topics covered include the course of events from apprenticeship to business owner, surrounding yourself with brilliant people, your dashboard for success, and procedures you will need to implement.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

This course is an education course for those interested in setting up a bonding line or increasing a bonding line. Discussion will take place on how to establish a relationship with a bonding broker, what they look for in a company, and the risk the surety assumes. Special focus is placed on financial statement preparation.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

Many contractors do not understand the serious implications of failing to monitor and forecast projects monthly. Companies that do not produce project status reports and work-in-progress reports could be receiving erroneous financial information and are making ill-advised business decisions based on that information, better financial planning enables project staff to maintain and run more profitable, less problem-prone projects. Some of the topics to be explored are: how are monthly project status reports and work-in-progress reports produced; how should these reports be interpreted and what do they mean to the company; what are over-and under-billings and why is it critical to book them monthly; how do financial statements work and what do they mean; what do surety companies look for.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

Many construction company owners believe that accounting and financial management are the same. This seminar will explore the differences, explain why companies must have both, and show how a company can use financial statements to measure, benchmark and forecast. Participants will learn the language of “financial ratios” & will understand how to use them.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

Financial statements are frequently the most underutilized and misunderstood part of a construction business, yet they are one of the most valuable tools company owners and management can use to analyze and make decisions about their company. With examples and interactive exercises, participants will learn the fundamentals of construction accounting, including the terminology, how to read financial statements, what reporting methods are commonly used for tracking company finances, and the pros and cons of each.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

Many construction company owners and managers believe that if they manage their construction projects, the company will run itself. Nothing is further from the truth. Running the projects and managing the business require two completely different skill sets. Owners and managers must work in the business as well as on the business. To remain competitive and profitable, construction companies must examine and make every facet of their company as efficient as it can be. In this 4-hour seminar participants will learn the fundamentals of managing the business. Through discussion, exercises and examples, participants will be given tools to assist them with the business end of the business.

Instructor: Kathryn Crosby

In these uncertain times, managing cash is more important than ever. During this session participants will learn what cash flow is and is not, how some companies treat extension of credit as an afterthought and actually train their slow payers, and strategies to establish and administer a credit policy. Also discussed will be monitoring the cash-hungry items that add no significant value to the company, managing overhead, and tools to measure effective management of cash.