A contractor’s track record of performance on a project in the area of quality is a huge factor in their success. Not only in earning repeat business, but also in attracting new customers. It’s inevitable that a contractor will experience at least some failure in the form of non-conformance items (services or constructed/installed items that do not meet specified requirements). What separates the successful contractor from the rest is their ability to learn from these mistakes as well as calculate the cost of these failures or mistakes.

Many agencies may feel a little overwhelmed when they first look at their aging campgrounds and are told to bring them up to current ADA regulations. You want to maintain the natural character of the campground without turning it into a concrete jungle. After all, the natural environment is why the public has been coming there for years. So, where do you start?

When an owner discusses issues with their contractor, unintentional oral change orders are something to be careful about. Even though the contract probably contains language requiring change orders to go through a formal written process, oral change orders can be a gray area.

I recently sat down with Brian Ranney, Senior Engineering Geologist and Trenchless Installation designer at GeoEngineers. GeoEngineers is a leader in the trenchless technology industry – they designed the first successfully completed US Direct Pipe ® installation under a USACE-regulated levee and have been ranked in the Top 25 Trenchless Design Firms by Trenchless Technology Magazine for the last eight years. We discussed the top four issues you should consider the next time you tackle a horizontal directional drilling (HDD) project.