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ELECTRI International Reports Store
Electri International Overview
CECA is a founding member of ELECTRI International-The Foundation for Electrical Construction

ELECTRI International funds and conducts research on issues that impact the electrical contractor. 

CECA members have access to all ELECTRI research reports and training programs. This Catalogue contains ELECTRI International reports.
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A 21st Century Action Plan for Electrical Contractors and their Workforce PDF Download
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Index: F9803

Electrical contracting faces many challenges today; therefore, an ongoing process to define and redefine the business process enterprise is required. Strategic planning provides focus and direction for activities and resource allocation. This report contains a method to chart a course, examines the future, provides general guidance to contractors, and a process to visioning their company's future. A simple model and questionnaires guide contractors through the strategic planning process. Conducted by Dr. Mark O. Federle and Dr. James E. Rowings of Iowa State University.

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A Comparison of Operational Cost of Union vs. Non-Union Contractors PDF Download
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Index: F2210

A Comparison of Operational Costs of Union vs. Non-Union Electrical Contractors was commissioned to investigate the main differences between unionized electrical contractors and open-shop contractors, as well as to identify the main cost drivers and how they differ between the two. 
Through this study we determine the impact of various cost drivers on union contractors. Their impact on cost can be ranked as:
 
1) Operational Model, 
2) Office support, 
3) Labor management and cost, 
4) Crew ratio, 
5) Labor hiring, training and loyalty, 
6) Application of prefabrication, 
7) Procurement, 
8) Composite crew mix. 

The research was conclusive about the importance and impact of these cost drivers. This study determined that the convoluted expectations and regulations of the labor union are an added cost without providing any added value to the stakeholders. On the other hand, the open shop contractor enjoys a higher level of freedom and therefore lower cost. The conclusion of this research is both provocative and essential for the future growth of union electrical contractors. To secure your business future by expanding your productivity, profitability and therefore your market share. 

Author: Dr. Perry Daneshgari, MCA, Inc

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A Guide for Entering the IBS Market PDF Download
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Index: F2703

This guide offers perspective on the future of the electrical contracting industry through integrated building systems (IBS) work. The guide, authored by Thomas Glavinich and published by the Foundation, is the result of research on developing strategies for successfully entering the emerging information technology market. It is designed to help an electrical contracting firm diversify into the IBS market. The guide walks users through potential barriers to entering the market and what factors and assets can help the firm overcome these barriers. An overview of the IBS market and 10 critical success factors are outlined, as well as diversification, marketing, and branding strategies for the new IBS electrical contractor.

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A Human Resource Management Primer for Company Leaders PDF Download
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Index: F2707A

This primer by Dr. John E. Schaufelberger collects and integrates some best practices into a resource that would allow the company leaders to quickly identify strategies for success when selecting an approach that responds to the requirements of their employees and organization.  The success or failure of the firm depends on the number, quality, and  dedication of the employees that the company is able to attract, develop, and retain. 

You might also consider: A Human Resource Primer for Supervisors, by A. Thomas Taylor, F2707B.

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A Human Resource Primer for Supervisors PDF Download
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Index: F2707B

Human resources represent the social capital of an electrical contracting firm and should be nurtured and managed with as much care as financial assets and capital investments.  This primer by A. Thomas Taylor would be of value to all supervisors. 

You may also be interested in A Human Resource Management Primer for Company Leaders, by Dr. John E. Schaufelberger.  Index No. F2707A.

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A Strategy for Improving the Electrical Construction Industry PDF Download
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Index: F2603

The electrical construction industry is increasingly fragmented, a trend that threatens to compromise its most important characteristic - productivity. 

The new study published by ELECTRI International "A Strategy for Improving the Electrical Construction Industry", by Perry Daneshgari, Ph.D., addresses the leading causes of their fragmentation and offers recommendations that yield a better organized and more profitable operation.

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A Survey of Job Performance Evaluations in The Electrical Contracting Industry PDF Download
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Index: F9902

When the subject of improving performance and productivity is examined, it is important to know what tasks workers are doing and how well the workers are doing them. 

This report examines industry practices concerning job performance evaluations. Electrical contractors may use this information to either start or improve their own system of evaluating job performance. 

This report looks at several questions including: how electrical contractors evaluate the job performance of workers; what criteria and/or attributes should be considered in the evaluation; and for what purposes should the results of a performance evaluation be used. 

Conducted by Dr. Awad S. Hanna, PhD, PE and Jacqueline M.K. Brusoe, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Achieving Greater Customer Satisfaction Through Labor-Management Partnership PDF Download
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Index: F9802

Market share for unionized contractors has declined over the last 25 years. To regain it, organized labor must partner with contractors to address customer needs. This project designs a cooperative program to create a labor-management partnership. The goal is an environment within which customer satisfaction can be achieved and the volume of work performed by unionized contractors and their craftsmen increased. 

Conducted by Dr. William F. Maloney of the University of Kentucky

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An Economic Analysis of Portability PDF Download
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Index: F3202

Opportunities in the construction industry for union contractors and labor are becoming increasingly more competitive as the marketplace shifts to one where there is greater nonunion competition. Signatory contractors have watched their market share decrease over time and must find ways to hold on to their existing clients and develop new ones. Restrictions in portability make this increasingly difficult. The data compiled in this research will demonstrate that signatory contractors must increase their bids to account for the lack of portability when working out-of-local, which makes them less competitive to in-local contractors and, more importantly, nonunion contractors that are seeing their market share grow.

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Applications for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Electric Utility Construction PDF Download
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Index: F3415

Commissioned by ELECTRI International – The Foundation for Electrical Construction, Inc.

Investigative Team
Professor Lonny Simonian, PE, PMP - Principal Investigator
California Polytechnic State University

Assistant Professor Matthew E. Taylor - Co-Investigator
Washington State University

Every day, more and more businesses must deal with Drones, UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), sUAS (small Unmanned Aerial Systems), and RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircrafts).
The cost for these flying robots is plummeting while their capabilities are soaring and multiple business sectors are likely to be disrupted by this new technology.

The landscape of quickly improving hardware and solidifying FAA regulations brings about a critical opportunity to establish a cutting-edge program to leverage UAVs for utility system monitoring, along with requisite qualifications, safety, and training.

This report
  • Provides a bread overview of current capabilities and US regulatory framework.
  • Proposes a set of applications that can be useful for electrical line construction and maintenance, along with example training and operating guides. 
  • Offers a starting point for interested businesses to come up to speed quickly on the opportunities and challenges related to UAVs in the current technological/legislative landscape.

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Best Practices and Benefits of Estimating Techniques and Technology PDF Download
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Index: F3302PDF

In this presently challenging economy, two old adages in the electrical construction industry seem to ring as true as ever: the electrical construction industry is an incredibly competitive market to operate in, and the foundation of remaining successful within this competitive market place begins with accurate estimates. Estimating software producers have recognized this and have created take-off software that has been designed to address these challenges by providing a platform to perform faster and more accurate estimates. Based on a combination of extensive interviews with electrical contractors and the results of a national questionnaire, this report outlines the present day role of this software in the electrical construction industry and highlights some effective estimating strategies that electrical contractors have implemented both with and without this estimating software. 

A thorough examination of the present state of electrical estimating has revealed that there is tremendous variability in the electrical estimating landscape. This is likely no surprise to estimators and executives alike within the industry, who know that it is part of their job to manage that variability and produce timely and accurate estimates. Among many factors that will be discussed in depth later in this report, this variability can include the type of the job to be estimated, the structure of one's estimating department, the characteristics of the estimators within the estimating department, what time restrictions are on the estimate, the overall goals of the company, and certainly of the use, non-use, or partial use of estimating takeoff-software. It is because of this variability that there exists no one perfect estimating software solution that can be adopted by every electrical contractor across the country. 

Instead this report outlines the benefits of the electrical estimating takeoff software, but also the obstacles to their implementation. In addition, this report includes many strategies that electrical contractors of varying characteristics have used to maintain the accuracy and timeliness of their estimates. Depending on the goals of the electrical contractor, some have decided that a completely manual estimating process is best for them, others have chosen to selectively use one or more estimating takeoff software, and last some have chosen to fully implement estimating takeoff software across their estimating department. Based on this collection of strategies and information, an electrical contractor can decide if there are new approaches that they can take within their estimating department that will benefit the company.

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Best Practices: Prefabrication for Electrical Contractors PDF Download
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Index: F2903

For electrical contractors, there are still opportunities to achieve some or all of the benefits of prefabrication.  The purpose of this document is to present a series of "best practices" for prefabrication for electrical contactors who wish to start a prefabrication process or improve an  existing prefabrication process. The use of prework includes prefabrication, pre-assembly, and modularization - strategies that have the potential to: Significantly reduce project duration, Improve productivity, Reduce labor needs and costs, Improve safety The end result is that prework can increase profit within a company. 

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Blueprint for Electrical Contracting Firm Business Development PDF Download
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Index: F3401

ELECTRI International commissioned this study to provide the electrical contracting firm with an understanding of business development, explain why business development is critical to the future success and survival of the electrical contracting firm, and show how to successfully implement a business development program through examples and case studies. This manual applies to electrical contracting firms of all sizes. However, the focus of this manual is on smaller electrical contracting firms that may not have the time and resources to dedicate to business development like a larger electrical contracting firm might have. These smaller electrical contracting firms make up the bulk of the electrical contracting industry and the future success of these smaller electrical contracting firms will determine the future of the electrical contracting industry.

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Book Two -- Operational Model Needed to Compete in Industrialized Construction PDF Download
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Index: F3409b

Book 2 will help you understand how you can maximize the transfer of tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge and develop a full-scale operational model for your company to compete in the industrialized environment. In Book 2, learn what other companies have gone through in the period of industrialization in order to come out successful at the end.

The planning, prefab, vendor relationships, productivity tracking, and other things you "already do" must be done systematically across the company to achieve your competitive advantage. Tasks must be accomplished by the person responsible for work outcome - a foreman, general foreman, superintendent, etc. You need to read Book 2...

  1. If your foreman is not spending at least 10% of the job's labor hours on pre-job planning
  2. If your prefabrication ideas come only from a catalogue or after visiting other contractors 
  3. If your labor management practices do not include a company, project, and crew level assessment of what classification of labor is needed for what tasks
  4. If your current labor tracking consists of measuring hours or quantities only to compare to the estimate.

Industrialized Construction is truly a different business model than the traditional electrical contracting business model of "bid the work", "do the work", and "collect", in which the better the workers you have, the better the job turns out. The model required in Industrialized Construction centers around managing the work independent of who does it, where it is done, and when it happens. It starts with knowledge transfer and simplified capture of the knowledge.

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Change Order Guidelines for Electrical and Low Voltage Contractors PDF Download
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Index: F3405apdf

Electrical and low voltage contractors are routinely asked to prepare change order proposals on construction projects. The single most common area of dispute in the change order process is its cost. Among cost-related disputes, items related to recoverable direct cost, overhead-profit percentages, and impact factors resulting in consequential costs constitute the vast majority of the disagreements. All types of change orders can have these disagreements but change orders that do not address an agreed upon price are particularly prone to disagreements.

The two obvious cost categories of a change order include direct costs and overhead-profit costs. Direct costs are easily identifiable and quantifiable. Overhead-profit costs are generally quantified as a percentage of the direct cost or of the total change order amount. In addition, there is a third category of costs, known as consequential costs due to impact factors. These are difficult to identify and quantify and, therefore, are a source of conflict and controversy when included in a change order.

Electrical and low voltage contractors must often address situations where they are not allowed to include in the change order all of their direct cost items and/or an appropriate percentage of overhead-profit. Most electrical and low voltage contractors believe that change orders are generally not profitable for them. As a result, they end up doing the change order work with a smaller markup than the initially bid project. In addition to lack of adequate cost recovery, change orders often have a negative impact on the project's overall progress and budget due to their impact on rest of the project.

The main purpose of this project is to develop guidelines that provide a systematic, standardized, fair process for the pricing of change orders for electrical and low voltage contractors. This study identifies various costs categories and items, investigates overhead-profit practices, and identifies various impact factors and methods used to calculate associated consequential costs. Although the main focus is on electrical contractors, interactions with and/or input from many related industry groups, are also taken into consideration.

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Change Order Guidelines: Quick Reference PDF Download
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Index: F3405b

Change orders are an essential part of every construction project. These are issued to accommodate changes to the construction contract. Electrical and low voltage contractors are routinely asked to prepare change order proposals on construction projects. The single most common area of dispute in the change order process is its cost. Among cost-related disputes, items related to recoverable direct cost, overhead-profit %, and impact factors resulting in consequential costs constitute a vast majority of the disagreements. The purpose of this Change Order Guidelines is to provide a fair and reasonable process for the costing and pricing of change orders.

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Combining Charging Station Installation with Energy Efficiency Upgrades: An Emerging Market PDF Download
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Index: F3301

Plug-in vehicles fall into one of two main categories: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) or Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs) sometimes referred to as Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs). PEVs/BEVs are all-electric vehicles with no internal combustion engine (ICE). Collectively, all of these are more commonly referred to as Electric Vehicles (EVs). Both categories of electric vehicles differ from fossil fuel-powered vehicles in that they are able to consume electricity which could be generated from a wide range of sources, including fossil fuels, nuclear power, renewable sources (such as tidal, solar, or wind power) or any combination of these. 

A plug-in hybrid's all-electric range is designated as PHEV-[miles] or PHEV [kilometers] km in which the number represents the distance the vehicle can travel on battery power alone. For example, a PHEV-20, also designated as a PHEV32km, can travel twenty miles (32 km) without using its combustion engine. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 defines a plug-in electric drive vehicle as one that:

--draws motive power from a battery with a capacity of at least 4 kilowatt hours, 
--can be recharged from an external source of electricity for motive power, and 
--is a light-, medium-, or heavy-duty motor vehicle or non-road vehicle. 

This distinguishes PHEVs from regular hybrid cars mass marketed today, which do not use any electricity from the grid. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) defines PHEVs similarly, but also requires that hybrid electric vehicle have the ability to be driven at least ten miles (16 km) in all-electric mode (PHEV-10; PHEV16km), while consuming no gasoline or diesel fuel. General Motors is referring to its Chevrolet Volt series plug-in hybrid as an "Extended-Range Electric Vehicle".

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Competing in the New Construction Environment A Compilation to Lead the Way PDF Download
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Index: F3409PDF

Construction is facing a revolution.  No industry will remain untouched by the technological improvements in the communication, processes and tools. The construction industry is no exception.  The telltale indicators are arriving.  Building Information Modeling (BIM), prefabricated high rises, Google glasses and many other information management tools are showing up on every jobsite and in every industry segment. The signals of market shift, which happened in other markets that industrialized, are here in construction. 

Like so many other industries, the construction industry is under constant pressure to improve productivity and to reduce cost and waste in its operations.  In the era of new industrialization, the construction industry can no longer be content with the "Know-How" of skilled tradesmen but will be looking for the "Know-Why" of resource management.  The missing element to make this transition possible is the content, which only exists in the gray cells of the tradesmen.  Transferring "Tacit-Knowledge" from its current residence in the heads of skilled tradesmen to an "Explicit-Knowledge" environment requires a careful application of the "Principles of Scientific Management" that developed in the early years of the 20th century. 

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Contract Benchmarking & Analytics 2023 Document Crunch Report
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Index: F3446B

In 2021, Document Crunch partnered with ELECTRI International (NECA), the John R. Gentille Foundation (MCAA), and the New Horizons Foundation (SMACNA) with the objective of assessing the benchmarking their members' contracts.

This report discusses the top 10 contract issues for Trade Contractors

  1. Pay if Paid
  2. Right to Stop Work
  3. Consequential Damages
  4. Liquidated Damages
  5. Liability Caps
  6. Indemnity
  7. Delays
  8. Subsurface Conditions
  9. Hazardous Materials
  10. Design Responsibility

This report updates the 2022 report.


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Defined Benefit Transition Program PDF Download
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Index: F2805

The purpose of this self-contained project program is to provide an accurate and reliable assessment of the pension plan condition specific to the U.S. electrical contracting industry. A thorough and first-of-its-kind assessment of the retirement landscape within the electrical contracting industry will serve as the foundation for change.  Once the current situation is defined, action planning for the long-term health and sustainability of pension plans for the industry's employees can be developed and supported.

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Developing a Curriculum for Electrical Building Construction and Contracting PDF Download
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Index: F9401

This research project presents two curricula for a university program in electrical contracting. One curriculum is oriented to an electrical engineering program; the other is oriented to a school that emphasizes a construction management program. The report includes survey results from over 80 contractors and universities. Conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Lew and Dr. Perry Achor, Purdue University

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Effectively Recruiting and Retaining Field Supervisors and Project Managers PDF Download
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Index: F3103

To effectively retain field supervisors, a formal plan-which should include a recruitment plan, a training plan, an induction process, a career development plan, and a motivational strategy-is required. Using the 12 pillars of successful supervision as a general framework, strategies can be implemented to evaluate potential job candidates for field supervisory positions.

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Efficiency and Continuous Improvement: Survival of the Unfits PDF Download
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Index: F3417

Being fit in today's electrical construction environment may be a weakness tomorrow.  Today's fittest may not survive the future environment and today's unfits may be tomorrow's survivors. It is not the "fittest" that survive; it is the ones that are able to adopt and adapt.

  • To survive changes coming at the EC industry, contractors must: 
  • Recognize them, 
  • Accept them, 
  • Adjust for them, 
  • Integrate them in a business operation model, 
  • Plan for continuous improvement. 

This fourth and final book in the series Industrialization of Construction® explains how to use the first three books that had focused on the effectiveness of your operations, becoming more efficient, and planning to survive both the current environment and all the upcoming changes in technology, business models and market shifts. 

As companies, industries, and the world around us continually transform, Book 4 addresses efficiency and continuous improvement. Book 4 will be your guidepost for finding and using ways to deal with change. Book 4 shows how to predict the winds, characterize their pattern, and deal with their impact. 

EC industry survivors will stand strong through their ability to maneuver in any weather.

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Electrical Contracting Best Safety Practices - Pocketguide PDF Download
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Index: F2704A

This pocket-sized guide for workers includes in-the-field tips that complement the company-wide safety program set forth in the complete guide Electrical Contracting Best Practices

For the full size Best Safety Practices book, see Electrical Contracting Best Safety Practices.

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