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WRITING EDITING DESIGN
www.eastmillstreet.com
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John Fulmer
WORK HISTORY
East Mill Street Studio, Belcamp, MarylandFreelance writing, editing and design. Specializing in trade magazines, business writing and production-oriented graphic
design with expertise in InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, FrameMaker and QuarkXPress. September 2005 to present.
Mountain Home, Wellsboro, PennsylvaniaManaging editor for regional magazine. As freelance contract employee, managed freelance staff, planned editorial content,
wrote everything from 5,000-word cover stories to 300-word blurbs, took photographs, and copyedited and laid out 48-page
book with InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. March 2007 to April 2008.
Electrical Contractor, Security + Life Safety Systems, Bethesda, MarylandEditor of trade magazines from July 2004 to September 2005. Supervised four-person staff, developed editorial calendar and
writers budget, and gave 20-plus freelancers assignments and story direction. Contributing writer from February 2003 to July
2004. Associate editor and Products editor from June 2002 to February 2003. Did layout with QuarkXPress and Photoshop.
The News & Advance, Lynchburg, VirginiaNewspaper copy editor from January 2000 to August 2001. Edited copy and designed pages with Quark and Photoshop.
The Sun Herald, Biloxi, MississippiEntertainment coordinator for daily newspaper from December 1997 to May 1999. General assignment reporter from March
1988 to July 1989. Freelance writer from 1995 to 1997.
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MississippiGraduate assistant and adjunct faculty member. Taught composition, technical writing, creative writing and literature. January
1994 to October 1998.
Georgetown ReviewEditor of nationally distributed literary magazine. Coordinated promotions, subscriptions and business operations, and did
layout with PageMaker. August 1996 to December 1997.
The Mississippi Press, Pascagoula, Mississippi
General assignment reporter for daily newspaper. May 1987 to March 1988.
EDUCATION
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Masters degree in English. Creative writing emphasis. Transatlantic Prize winner for ction.
Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. English minor.
1220 Independence Square
Belcamp, Md. 21017
410.272.2352/814.512.1482 cell
814.975.1144 fax
johnsfulmer@hotmail.com
CONTENTS
ustainable buildingED (The Electrical Distributor)
ortable generator reviewsonsumers Digest
oodrow Wilson Bridge project proleectrical Contractor
05 Construction Forecastectrical Contractor
04 Prole of the Electrical Contractorectrical Contractor
EED feature
onstruction Expo
onstruction FinancingUILDERnews
rade show previewSI (Roofng, Siding & Insulation)
nergy-efcient lightingED (The Electrical Distributor)
SIS security conferencecurity + Life Safety Systems
page 3
page 4
page 6
page 9
page 15
page 25
page 26
page 28
page 29
page 30
Bruce Fowle,FAIA,LEEDSENIORPRINCIPAL,FXFOWLE ARCHITECTS
OnGreenEnriching theHumanExperience
SPECIAL SHOW EDITION
MAY 2007
constructionmonthly.com
7Smart StrategiestoCutCosts
HowtoAvoid theLow BidTrap
Howdo theyAffectYou?
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Sustainable buildingalso known as
green buildingis a constructionprocess that focuses on energy-
efficient design, products, and
applications. Integrated building systems,
a frequently used term in sustainable
building, typically describes HVAC, elec-
trical, lighting, security, and other systems
that work together to minimize energy use.
For instance, a software-based lighting
control system can automatically cut off
fixtures when it senses they arent re-
quired, or dim electrical light in individual
rooms as sunlight levels rise.
Of course, the major problem with
sustainable building is that sophisticated
lighting control systems arent cheap
and contractors and designers have to
convince owners theyll be blessed with
long-term energy savings while being
cursed with expensive initial product
costs.
Another issue is that as energy costs
increase, so does the momentum for
green buildingand there soon may be
little choice but to go sustainable, es-
pecially in public sector construction.This can be problematic, because while
the average American consumer buying
a household appliance is aware of the
Environmental Protection Agencys Ener-
gy Star rating system, contractors, dis-
tributors, and manufacturers are some-
what uniformed about the sustainable
movement.
Dick Schmid, vice president of mar-
keting at Crescent Electric Supply in East
Dubuque, Ill., said that while he wasnt
fully versed on the topic of sustainable
building, he was aware that contractors
were talking about it.
I do know they are being pushed from
the architectural level on the plans and
drawings and in the specifications,
Schmid said. Distributors need to under-
stand that to have an efficient and effec-
tive supply chain we have to be on the
same page.
Many times the contractors seethings before we do, and weve just got
to be prepared, he continued. Other-
wise, were going to be in a reaction
mode. Im concerned because I dont
think were paying enough attention. For
us to do our jobs with our channel part-
nerson both sides, the manufacturers
and the contractorswe have to be pro-
active and, if noth-
ing else, a liaison
for the information.
Sustainable
initiatives
California, a front-
runner in environ-
mental issues, re-
cently revised its
Title 24 energy codes (which went into
effect Oct. 1). Title 24 is a comprehensive
building code that includes provisions for
energy-saving electrical products and
applications. Title 24 dispels the notion
that all high-efficiency electrical applica-
tions need to be expensive, as the stan-dards allow a mix of low- and high-
efficacy products to meet targets. (The
standards can be downloaded from the
California Energy Commissions Web site
at www.energy.ca.gov/title24/index.html.)
Other states have similar codes. On
Sept. 22, the Massachusetts House of
Representatives passed a bill that man-
dates energy-efficiency standards on a
wide array of electrical products. In ad-
dition, the Energy Policy Act signed into
law this year by Congress has numerous
energy-efficiency provisions, and certifica-
tion in the U.S. Green Building Councils
(GBC) Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design (LEED) program is increas-
ingly seen as an important resume builder
for architects, engineers, and designers.
LEED looks like the future
of construction
LEED sets guidelines for building perfor-mance and the construction partners
ability to meet sustainability goals. The
program promotes new methods for sus-
tainable site development, water and
material use, and energy efficiency.
LEED offers project certification, profes-
sional accreditation, training, and practi-
cal resources. (Theres much more to
LEED; learn more
about it at www.
usgbc.org.)
LEED is a volun-
tary federal pro-
gram, but as indi-
vidual states con-
tinue to set energy
codes, there will be
an outcry for na-
tional standards in energy-efficient de-
sign and products. The National Elec-
trical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)
has already protested the Massachusetts
legislation, calling it part of a patch-
work quilt of state laws and saying
its authors failed to include input frommanufacturers.
The Massachusetts bill, as it now
stands, would create barriers to interstate
commerce and no doubt create conflict
between Massachusetts standards and
those of other states, not to mention fed-
eral standards," said NEMA President
Evan Gaddis in a press release.
But Gary Flamm, lighting program lead
for the California Energy Commission,
Building a better future
BY JOHN FULMER
UPFRONT
18 T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 5 w w w . t e d m a g . c o m
Sustainable building is changing the future of business.
Continued on page 20
Buildings that meet the highest
environmental standards are economical
to run and do not compromise the
health of the environment, the builders,
or the buildings occupants.
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CONTACT US:
814.512.1482/814.975.1144 fax
johnsfulmer@hotmail.com
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40 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.05 www.ecmag.com
FOCUS
By John Fulmer
A group of these gurus assembled at the Reed Con-
struction Datas North American Construction Forecast
conference and the McGraw-Hill Outlook 2005 Executive
Conference in Washington, D.C., last fall. At Reed, the
consensus was the current economic downturn is tempo-
rary, but the experts there were cautiously optimistic. They
felt a recovery would begin this year and gain momentum
through 2007 in the face of higher interest rates and slow
job growth. Several industry sectors, such as industrial
with 14 percent growth and public works with 2 percent,
will have a good two-year run.
With the Federal Reserve expected to raise the federal
fund rates above 3 percent in the last half of 2005 and
worries over oil and building-supply prices, the McGraw-
Hill group thinks the economys expansion will idle downto 3.5 percent, down one-half percent from 2004. They
also spotted some general trends: Moderate job growth will fuel demand for offices and
multifamily housing, though residential building may scale
back from 2004s record pace because of higher interest
rates Looser lending standards will offset higher interest rates
and free up construction funding An improved economy will ease the states fiscal woes
and pump up the institutional building sector Bridge and highway construction will rise while electric
utilities will decline 8 percent. In the latter area, a lossin plant construction will be partly balanced by transmis-
sion-line work
The big picture
So how does this translate into cold, hard cash? Robert
Murray, vice president of economic affairs at McGraw-Hill,
said the contract value of total U.S. construction should
reach $585.5 billion in 2005, a 2 percent jump over last
years figure, but a rather disappointing number considering
construction spending rose 9 percent between 2003 and
2004. (See chart on page 41.)
Murray noted this all hinges on single-family housing
and said that sector should drop 3 percent in 2005 after
achieving double-digit dollar growth the previous three
years. McGraw-Hills estimate reflects construction starts
and varies significantly from Reeds figure for 2005s es-
timated U.S. total construction spending (or put-in-place
construction), which tops the trillion mark, a 4 percent
jump from 2004. But, again, the growth rate weakened
when compared to 2004s estimated 7 percent increase.
Reed also includes renovation construction, which isnt
listed in McGraw-Hills estimate. Heres the breakdown
from Reed: $384 billion in new residential spending; down 4 per-
cent from 2004 $138 billion in residential improvements; up 7 per-
cent $317 billion in nonresidential; a 13 percent hike $181 billion in nonbuilding a 7 percent jump
In general, the economy may decelerate significantly
in 2005 according to Merrill Lynch chief North Ameri-
can economist David Rosenberg. He sees a growth rate
of just 2.5 percent in the first quarter of next year. And
according to Peter Morici, a University of Maryland busi-
ness professor: Gross domestic product, the value of all goods and ser-
vices produced, will grow at a 3.5 percent annual rate,
down 3/10 to percent from 2004
The economy will create 144,000 jobs per month andthe unemployment rate will fall only modestly Inflation, influenced by international commodity mar-
kets, will register at 2.4 percent in 2005, down 1 percent
from 2004.
However, Morici projects the consumer price index will
settle down as gas prices continue to fall.
That pulls a lot of prices with it, he said.
Single- and multifamily housing
David Seiders, the National Association of Home Build-
ers chief economist, also called housing volume a key to
the economy and thinks, as Murray does, housing starts
Last years ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORs Construction Forecast
went halfway out on a limb to prognosticate that 2005
may be a big year all around. Its easyand wiseto be
tentative in predicting this years economy, and some in-
dustry gurus have done just that, sticking with maybe.
Construction
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41 www.ecmag .com JAN.05 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
will recede. Still, single-family starts will
remain positivethough unable to match
the phenomenal growth of the past two
yearsand multifamily will keep a steady
pace. The national homeownership rate
will continue to growalbeit more slowly
than in the recent pastand will hit a re-
markable 70 percent by the decades end,
Seiders said.
New and existing home prices, accord-
ing McGraw-Hills Murray, should increase
by 11 percent, and he envisions burgeoning
specialty markets for single-family housing,
including home theater, Internet alcoves
and separate male/female offices. Reed
forecasters expect mortgage rates to climb
a bit from a 5.94 percent annual average
in 2004 for 30-year fixed rates to 6.43 per-
cent in 2005.
In raw numbers, 1,425,000 new single-
family starts are expected this year, accord-ing to McGraw-Hill, down from 1,530,000
in 2004, which translates into a 7 percent
loss. Multifamily will have 445,000 starts,
a 2 percent gain from 2004s estimate of
435,000. The contract value of single-
family will drop to $267.6 billion, a 3
percent loss from 2004s total of $276.6
billion, while the 2005 multifamily num-
ber is $48.8 billion, a 7 percent gain over
2004s $45.4 billion figure. (See charts
page 42.)
McGraw-Hill expects the Midwest to beup 1 percent in single-family starts, the
only region with an increase. The South At-
lantic and West will be big losers at minus
5 percent. The Northeast at minus 7 per-
cent is the only region facing a decline in
multifamily starts, while the Midwest and
West should see double-digit expansion. In
fact, western states can expect a whopping
19 percent growth rate spurred by building
in cities such as Las Vegas.
The metro markets will be amazing,
said Murray.
2005Forecast
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
350 400 450 500 550 600
2001 186.9 103.1 83.690.8
8.1 24.1
2002 214.2 94.0 87.990.0
5.4 12.0
2003 242.3 99.5 82.889.9
6.5 8.9
2004 276.6 110.0 85.991.2
7.0 6.0
2005 267.6 119.7 87.497.4
8.0 5.5
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42 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.05 www.ecmag.com
Haughey wrote. In the leasing market, va-
cancy rates for leased buildings, while still
high, are declining. Overall rents are now
stable or slightly rising. This increase in
cash flow for building owners is prompting
more construction.
He outlined some other signs for nonresi-
dential expansion: Hotels reacting to rising room and oc-
cupancy rates Retailers adding space after a 7 percent
annual-sales jump Office expansion due to higher employ-
ment levels
Retail, industrial and real estate
At Reed, Glenn Mueller, Johns Hopkins
University professor and Legg Mason Inc.
real investment strategist, noted a physi-
cal real estate cycle reflects supply and
demand for space and drives occupancy
and vacancy. That sets rents and stimu-
lates construction. In the financial cycle,
changes in real estate capital affect build-
ings prices. In these cycles, sluggish expan-
sion is followed by precipitous decline.
We bottomed out in 1990, then peaked
in 2000. But it only took three years to go
back to the bottom. Well now start climb-
ing back up. This is a typical cycle, he
said.
Rental growth, he said, is slow nearly
everywhere except Southern California
and Florida, but should start moving up by
2006. Mueller believes the nations indus-
trial sector will grow in 2005, and as thejob market improves, so will the multifamily
and real estate. His colleague at the confer-
ence, Edward J. Sullivan, the Portland Ce-
ment Associations (PCA) chief economist,
has even higher hopes. He sees industrial
climbing strong and steady, reaching $35
billion by 2008, up from 2004s level of
just over $10 billion. Its a height industrial
hasnt reached since 1998.
Its optimistic, Sullivan said. But I
dont know if many will agree with that.
The chart on this page, Industrial Con-
struction Outlook, shows this dramatic up-
swing, with separate projections for spring
and summer of 20032008. In an e-mail,
Sullivan explained: I make three forecasts
per year. The spring forecast refers to my
projections made in the spring and the
summer [forecast], my forecasts made in
the summer. The intent was to show what,
if any, changes I have made regarding my
outlook for each of the sectors.
Despite good vital signs, Mueller thinks
hotel occupancy wont pass the 65 percent
average until 2007. Retail is the stron-
gest, most recession-proof market, and low
interest rates and home refinancing have
given consumers a lot of spending cash.
The average retail occupancy86 per-
centwill begin to grow in 2005.
Warehouses and RFIDIn 2000, warehouse construction hit 304
million feet but dropped to 184 million in
2003, a stunning 40 percent loss. What
happened? In the 1990s, a strong retail
sector and Internet sellers looking for stor-
age space boosted construction. But the
fabled dot-com bust and lukewarm retail
activity put speculative warehouse projects
on hold indefinitely and slowed build-to-
suit projects.
But vacancy rates, which peaked at
11.7 percent in third-quarter 2003 and fellto 11.2 percent a year later, are turning
around. Successful retailers are planning
distribution centers, and McGraw-Hill says
this sector, after 5 percent growth in 2004
(193 million square feet) will leap 14 per-
cent in 2005 to 220 million.
With warehouse construction, the Mc-
Graw-Hill report noted the rapidly develop-
ing use of radio frequency identification
(RFID) tags in tracking inventory. As Thom-
as E. Glavinich wrote in ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
in April 2004: Wal-Mart is requiring itstop 100 suppliers to put RFID tags on their
pallets and cases by Jan. 1, 2005. Simi-
larly, the Department of Defense (DOD) is
requiring suppliers to put RFID tags on its
shipments by 2005.
For electrical contractors, RFID technol-
ogy could mean limited opportunity in Cat
5 hard-wiring for stationary scanning sys-
tems and unlimited opportunities in wire-
less network installations. But the technol-
ogy is evolving and its potential is as yet
untapped.
2004 2005
Millions of starts
2.0
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.21.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
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44 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR JAN.05 www.ecmag.com
To what extent the use of RFIDs will af-
fect warehouse demand is uncertain, the
report stated, but at the least it will increase
our need for new warehouse designs to be
able to accommodate new technology.
The institutional sector
Normally a steady performer, institutional
building has stumbled since 2002 and re-
corded its third straight decline in 2004
with minus 4 percent. McGraw-Hill blames
state and local governments poor health
and their taxing structure, which is, in turn,
tied to the economy. The states fiscal for-
tunes are irregular, but, in general, condi-
tions are improving, the bad times having
peaked. The report said: This should set
the stage for an improved performance by
institutional building in 2005, and the
broader forces affecting the pattern of in-
stitutional building are generally positive.
These forces are the following:
Rising student enrollments A growing elderly population
The population shift to the Sunbelt A large number of bond issues passed
recently The residential sectors strength in
20012004 will introduce need for insti-
tutional facilities
In short, the report stated institutional
will have a 3 percent gain to 518 million
square feet with slight improvement in
schools, healthcare facilities and trans-
portation terminals. Public buildings, such
as courthouses and churches, will suffer a
decline.
Building in education
In response to escalating student enroll-
ments and heavy state and local funding,
education construction hit a peak with
273 million square feet in 2001. But in
two years, it slid 12 percent to 241 million
square feet with the biggest losers being
Midwestern and Northeastern states. Cali-
fornia was the exception to the trend, rack-
ing up an increase of 3.2 million square
feet in 20012003.
In 2004, the pattern continued. Uni-
versity-related construction fell 19 percent,
triggering an 11 percent drop in high school
construction, a 13 percent decline in el-
ementary schools and a 14 percent skid in
junior high school construction. Community
colleges had a slight increase, but museums,
libraries and labs were down. At the time
of the report, educational construction was
a facing a possible 10 percent across-the-
board drop to 217 million square feet, the
skimpiest total since 1998s 203 million.
McGraw-Hill predicts that though in re-
treat, this sector will bounce back. Growing
enrollments in 2005 will continue through
2013. The bulk of this activity will happen
in the West, with an 11 percent gain, and in
the South, with a 5 percent increase.
Healthcare and other institutional
Healthcare construction in 2003 took a step
backward, dropping 5 percent to 92 million
square feet, according to the McGraw-Hill
report, and dropped 1 percent in 2004 to
91 million. Though this sector has seen de-
clines recently, it has grown considerably
in the past seven years. In 1997 through
2003, new construction averaged 93 mil-
lion square feet, up 28 percent from 1990
1997s 73 million-square-feet average.
Several factors will help this area grow an
estimated 3 percent to finish 2005 with 94
million square feet in new construction: Medicare reform and corresponding big-
ger reimbursements
Hospitals are investing in new technology
and replacing older facilities in the face of
competition from specialty outpatient clin-
ics
Bigger demand for healthcare exists as
baby boomers grow older
The fiscal woes of governments have
squeezed financing of prisons, police sta-
tions, courthouses, and post offices. Steady
at 44 million square feet in 20002001,
this building type took a cut to 35 million
in 2003 but was expected to rebound 10
The China, oil, green axisIF A THEME DEVELOPED at McGraw-
Hill and Reed, it was a concern over
fuel prices, Chinas emergence as
an economic giant, and the impor-
tance of green building, which
was especially apparent by frequent
mention of the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) ac-
creditation. A voluntary, consensus-based national standard for develop-
ing high-performance, sustainable
buildings, LEED seemed to be on
everyones mind. During a McGraw-
Hill panel discussion with three of
the countrys leading architects,
Carl Roehling, president and CEO
of SmithGroup, said many younger
architects see a LEED accreditation
as an essential resume-builder and
half of our clients ask for a LEED
building. (For more visit www.us-
gbc.org/leed/leed_main.asp)
At the time of the conferences,
oil prices were hovering at $55 a
barrel, yet Jim Haughey, in Reed
Construction Forecast Monthly,
said high energy prices, reduced
consumer confidence and lower
capital spending were mere bumps
in the road to continued economic
development. Job losses such asthose that occurred in previous oil
crises should not be a factor, his
report said.
As oil price-shocks go, this one is
minimal. Prices are higher but sup-
plies are readily available without
waiting or searching. Gasoline prices
would have to rise more than 60
centsto above $2.50 per U.S.
gallonto match the impact on the
economy of the 1991 oil shock. This
is very unlikely to happen, Haughey
reported.
China and commodities
Though Chinas commodity gobbling
caused building-material shortages
here, Haughey asaid Chinas oil
thirst was slaking and an absence
of lineups at the gas station would
seem to indicate the price of oil is
headed down soon.
He supposed the price per bar-rel would drop $5 in the next few
months, which proved to be pre-
scient. On Dec. 10, 2004, the price
of light, sweet crude for January
delivery had fallen to $42.53.
Also in late 2004, the oil markets
continued volatilitythe tensions
and troubles in Iraq, Russia and
other production areashad Edward
J. Sullivans Portland Cement Asso-
ciation adjusting its 2004 gross do-
mestic product projection, dropping
it from 4.4 percent to 3.9 percent,
and lowering 2005s GDP estimate
from 3.8 percent to 3.4 percent.
The downward adjustment to the
current forecast primarily reflects
significantly higher oil price as-
sumptions, the PCA reported in a
revised forecast. PCA fully incor-
porates the likelihood of continued
oil supply disruptions in the context
of strong global demand conditions,
resulting in a downward rigidity in
current oil price levels. The higher
oil price scenario will weaken over-
all economic growth. With higher
oil prices, consumer spending will
be partially compromised, inflation
will run stronger, job gains will be
smaller, and sentiment in both the
consumer and business areas will
be more sedate. Combined, these
factors lead to roughly a 50 basis
point reduction in PCAs previous
forecast for real GDP growth.
FOCUS / CONSTRUCTION FORECAST 2005
http://www.usgbc.org/leed/leed_main.asphttp://www.usgbc.org/leed/leed_main.asphttp://www.usgbc.org/leed/leed_main.asphttp://www.usgbc.org/leed/leed_main.asp -
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45 www.ecmag .com JAN.05 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
percent to 38 million square feet in 2004,
before dipping to 36 million in 2005. Other
points for these institutional areas: In 2002, religious building reached 52
million square feet, a high not seen since
the early 1960s. It dropped to 43 million
in 2004 Amusement-related buildingconven-
tion centers, sports arenas, theaterswas
at 94 million square feet during 19952000
but fell sharply in recent years, landing at
65 million in 2003. Its expected to make a
minor comeback to 73 million square feet
in 2005.
Manufacturing
For several long years in the recent past,
manufacturing was a wasteland, hitting the
skids at 67 million square feet in 2002.
There are reasons for the falla strong dol-
lar in the late 1990s that made U.S. exports
more expensive and manufacturers who
moved production overseasbut whatever
the case, this depressing decline has been a
sore point for many electrical contractors.
But remember the good old days? In
1997, this sector was at 191 million square
feet. A small part of that was regained in
2003 with a hike to 71 million square feet,
and 2004 saw another small increase to
73 million, spurred in part by auto plant
construction in Oklahoma, Texas and Mis-
sissippi; the $600-million conversion of
an Arizona Intel semiconductor plant; and
a $300-million expansion to a California
biotech manufacturer. These projects, and
others like them, will help manufacturing
reach 80 million square feet in 2005, a 10
percent jump, according to McGraw-Hill.
Public works, electric utilities
Moribund government spending affected
this sector, too, as public works money be-
gan drying up in 2003 after several years
of growth. But in 2004, prompted by the
need for water and sewer works, these proj-
ect types jumped 4 percent to reach $85.9
billion.
A 2004 bill by Congress set forth these
spending levels: Highways up 4 percent (from 2003 lev-
els) to $33.6 billion
Mass transit increased 1 percent to $7.3
billion
Airport grants didnt budge, remaining
at $3.4 billion
Army Corps of Engineers construction
funding cut 3 percent
EPA water infrastructure grants raised
3 percent
The EPA Superfund account received an
8 percent bump upward
But in 2005, President Bush set a 0.5
percent limit on discretionary funding and
things look tight, except for the Transpor-
tation Security Administrationhomeland
security was exempt from the limitwhich
received a 20 percent increase, including
$250 million slated for airport upgrades.
At the time of the report, 2005 levels were
not set by Congress, but they look similar
except for a 13 percent EPA cut and a 7
percent raise for the Corps.
Closing the books
Sullivan, who delivered the U.S. construc-
tion overview at Reed, noted many signs
of a brighter economy. After a 20012003
drought, investment spending has made a
strong return and will no doubt help replen-
ish funding for manufacturing construction
and other sectors that have fallen on hard
times. Job growth looks good. The fiscal cri-
sis in most states, he said, is fading. Still,
the signs portend only a modest recovery in
most sectors and slight declines in some
others. And oil prices are the most frighten-
ing bugbear, the biggest wild card for many
an economic pundit. Not a real boom year,
yet certainly not a bust. Just a time to be
cautiously optimistic. EC
FULMER is editor of ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTOR and SECURITY+LIFE SAFETY SYSTEMS.
He can be reached at 301.215.4516
orjfulmer@necanet.org.
Still China was a focal point.
Haughey said Chinas decision to
cool down its blistering-hot economy
caused cuts in worldwide orders in
every sector.
China accounted for more than 25
percent of world economic growth in
the last year, so the canceled orders
had a significant impact immedi-
ately, Haughey wrote.
Because China had been hoardinginventory of many commodities, the
countrys MayJuly (2004) orders
were probably below their consump-
tion and will have to rise later in the
summer Haughey added.
The Green Approach
The oil price spike, Chinas grow-
ing needs and green building are
related. Limited supplies of fossil
fuels and competition from nascent
economic giants such as China for
those supplies have forced U.S.
builders into innovative design prac-
tices. During a Reed industry panel
discussionand throughout the
conferenceit was common to hear
talk such as this, which comes from
the Greenway Group Inc., whose
chairman, James P. Cramer, was the
conference moderator:
Green and sustainable design
and development are shifting
gears into increasingly high
demand.
Intelligent and integrated build-
ings are becoming the norm.
Some dont have a clue about
[LEED] but its coming to this
industry.
In short, contractors will be forced
into using new and unfamiliar
design criteria if they wish to com-
pete, especially for government
contracts, a sector that will most
certainly employ the most stringent
green guidelines for sustainable
buildings.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%
Most Significant Design Trends Over Next 5 Years
% of respondents
Smart growth/livable communities
Building security
Increased use oftechnology in design
Rehabilitation vs.new construction
Integrated internationalbuilding code
Other
Green architecture
Healthy buildings; mold
SOU
RCE:McGRAW-HILLCONSTRUCTION
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CONTACT US:
814.512.1482/814.975.1144 fax
johnsfulmer@hotmail.com
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The 2004 Profile ofIn journalism,
its conventional
to tell readers the
who, what, where,
how and why of
a story, and thats
what weve done
in interpreting the
survey results
from the 2004
PROFILE OF THE
ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTOR.
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23 www.ecmag .com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
By John Fulmer
A COMPREHENSIVEPICTURE
THE BIA NNUAL PRO FILE, a feature of
this magazine for more than four decades,
aims for a comprehensive picture of con-
tracting from your perspective, providing an indi-
cation of where your business fits into the overall
industry, while giving us a guide to the news and
information that is important to you.
The survey garnered 865 respondents, an
increase of 152 from the last survey in 2002. Itwas the first time we employed the Internet, and
the majority of responses (505) came through
that source. Is that a coincidence? Probably not.
Our survey reveals most of you have discovered
the business benefits of computers. Since 2002,
a slightly higher percentage of respondents used
computers for word processing, Internet access
(including buying supplies online), accounting,
e-mail and other basic office functions. However,
technology as a construction tool has grown by
leaps and bounds:
Estimating-software use is up from 54 percent
to 70 percent Job-cost control and analysis use grew by 20
percent CAD use doubled from 20 to 40 percent.
Why? Because construction softwares ability
to streamline and consolidate project manage-
mentfrom estimating to change orderscan
give a competitive edge. And the construction-
software industry has responded to contractors
needs by improving existing programs, delvinginto new areas, and designing lite or graduated
versions of their products to fit contractors of
all sizes.
And heres a programming note: Weve des-
ignated small firms as those with up to nine
employees; mid-size with 10 to 19; large
with 20 to 99; and very large as those with
100 or more. Sixty-two percent of responses
came from small firms while 10 percent came
from mid-size, 15 percent from large and 11
percent from very large firms.
theELECTRICAL
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR has taken this mountain
of data and explained:
WHO YOU ARE(size and revenue of company,and its race and gender breakdown)
WHAT YOU DO(project type)
WHERE YOU DO IT(new construction, retrofitor maintenance)
HOW YOU DO YOUR WORK (working with specs,material purchasing and computer use)
WHY YOU CHOOSE THE WORK YOU DO
CON
TRAC
TOR
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2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
WHO ARE YOU?
SEVENTY-ONE PERCENT of firms
interviewed took in annual revenues
of $1 million or less and just 10 per-
cent made $10 million or more (See Figure
2). The majority of contractors have some
college education (8 percent who responded
had electrical engineering degrees) and their
firms are diverse in race and gender, though
in somewhat surprising ways. For instance,
while 42 percent of firms polled employ
women, they are woefully underrepresented
in traditional job categories such as jour-
neymen at 3 percent or apprentices at 4
percent. As you might expect, women make
up a sizable portion of clerical workers, but
the executive category, which includes
owners, has the next-highest percentage of
women employed at 13 percent. Its doubt-
ful all of them are owners and therefore
probable many are hired into marketing,
accounting and human resources.
This is the first time our survey takes race
and gender into account, so its hard to draw
big-picture conclusions about the work force
in those two areas, except that Caucasians
at 87 percentand males dominate. We can,
however, parse the data to find 37 percent of
firms have minorities in management or field
positions, and those with women (in execu-
tive or field positions) or minorities are usually
mid-size to very large contractors with $1 mil-
lion plus annual revenue. Also, firms hiring
minorities for management or field positions
often hire females for nonclerical jobs, sug-
gesting the firms are either more diverse or
these employees may be minority females.
Firms hiring minorities tend to be located
in the West and South with Northeast firms
lagging behind in minority personnel. Texas,
with its large Hispanic population, charts as
one the states with the most diverse electri-
cal-contracting work force.
An educated work force
Its pretty safe to compare education data
for 2004 with those from 2002; the fig-
ures havent changed appreciably. Two
years ago we reported 68 percent of survey
respondents had some college, 18 percent
had a BA degree and
14 percent an AA
degree. Our 2004
survey shows: 60 percent of you
have had some college 13 percent earned
an AA degree 15 percent a BA
degree.
As noted earlier,
8 percent of contrac-
tors had an engineer-
ing degree, a figure
that doubled since
2002 and which may point to a growing
trend in integrating power distribution and
low-voltage projects and the continued high
popularity of design-build. (But more about
that later, when we talk about what you do.)
In general, firm size has little to do with
higher education; the figures are more or
less evenly distributed. The biggest gap is in
BA degrees and occurs between very large
firms where 24 percent of employees had a
bachelor degree and small firms where 13
percent of employees earned one.
To get a more personal perspective, we
asked about hobbies, also a first-time ques-
tion. About half the respondents engaged in
four or more of the leisure-time activities
listed, and we found the highest percent-
age, 59 percent of those surveyed, like to
work around the house in their spare time.
Yet another why, but one thats pretty
easy to answer. Contractors work hard
and feel a sense of accomplishment in
what they do for a living, in building and
improving things. So its no surprise that
home improvement tops the list and that
a contractors work ethic and pride in a job
well done is put to good use on days off.
Contractors love to travel (51 percent) and
enjoy the great outdoors: 39 percent chose
hunting and fishing as the third-favorite
hobby. Watching sports came in fourth, musicand theater placed fifth and woodworking
came in sixth, indicating there are some sofa
spuds, culture vultures and closet carpenters
in our ranks. The eternally frustrating game
of golf notched in at seven, followed by clas-
sic/antique cars, playing sports, cooking and
wine, and last, a group listed auto racing as
their favorite pastime. A diverse and interest-
ing bunch, indeed.
FIGURE 1. Firm Size: Number of Employees
19
62%
1019
10%2099
15%
100+
11%
FIGURE 2. Revenue Less than$250k44%
$250k to$1 million
27%$1 million
to $2.5 million10%
$2.5 millionto $10 million
9%
$10 millionto $25 million
6%
$25 million+4%
FIGURE 3. Racial Composition of Firms
Otherincluding Asian
3%Black orAfrican-American
4%
Hispanic6%
White orcaucasian
87%
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25 www.ecmag .com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
WHAT DO YOU DO?
THESE DAYS, contractors are
involved in more types of projects,
especially with the growth of high-
tech and security and life/safety systems.
Our survey listed 17 project types and asked
contractors which they performed in 2003
(See Figure 6). On average, 50 percent of
firms worked in eight of the 17 categories
and very large, large and mid-size contrac-
tors were more apt than small ones to work
in multiple categories. In fact, 84 percent
of very large firms worked in eight or more
categories, compared with 40 percent of
small contractors. In all, more than 90 per-
cent of the firms surveyed worked in four or
more of the categories.
The old standbys
While emergingand mergingtechnologies
will be a huge part of the industrys future,
contractors know power distribution and
lighting, which we subdivided into controls,
fixtures, ballasts and lamps, is todays bread
and butter. These five traditional categories
top their lists, and are performed by between
81 and 90 percent of firms surveyed while
25 www.ecmag .com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
Contractor age, employee diversity remain a problemThe average contractor age continues to be a cause for
concern. For example, the 2004 survey shows:
Most of you are middle-aged (48.6 years old on average)
You have spent an average of 24.6 years in the industry,
most of your working life
Only 8 percent were 25 to 34 years old, almost exactly the
number (7 percent) of respondents 65 and older
These figures hew closely to those of the 2002 report, which
also noted that contractors under 35 were notably absent.
An inclusive work force
Other factors may significantly affect the industry. The Aspen
Institute, as reported in The New York Times, says enormous
demographic changes are afoot for the next two decades.
With declining birth rates, a leveling off of women entering the
work force and baby-boomer retirements at hand, the Institute
predicts: The labor force may grow as little as 16 percent
The percentage of native-born workers ages 25 to 54 wont
grow at all
Workers with any college education might increase by only
4 percent.
Contractors already know how difficult it is to find educated and
qualified workers, and these projected changes could have a big
impact on the available labor pool and productivity. Atul Dighe, a
futurist with Social Technologies LLC and recent NECA convention
speaker, thinks inclusion, looking at everyone as a possible
employee, is vital. Hispanic and Asian workers are quickly
becoming a large and influential part of the labor poolold
news to folks in California and the Southwest, but something
novel in other parts of the countryand President Bushs newimmigration policies would allow 8 million undocumented
immigrants to obtain renewable, three-year visas.
In an e-mail, Dighe wrote that young people today are the most
ethnically diverse in our history and if any industry wants to attract
talent in the future, they will have to figure out how to make their
industry reflective of this more diverse population mix.
Todays youth, he wrote, will seek employment situations that
have a diverse work force. Quite simply, todays youth will seek
employment situations that have a diverse set of people in it.
As your research indicates, many of the current contractors are
entering their 50s and 60s and, unlike in the past when the nextgeneration was ready to take the baton of ownership/leadership,
many contractors are finding that the next generation is not
interested, Dighe added. Inclusivity here could mean thinking
about passing the business on to someone outside of the family.
Contractors need to think carefully about identifying whos next in
the leadership pipeline and working with those people to develop
their skills and abilities. Looking outside the family to longtime
associates, key supervisors, and even in the current labor pool may
be a potential solution.
FIGURE A. Respondent Age
50%45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Company SizeTotal 19 1019 2099 100+
AGE
1824
2534
3544
4554
5564
65+
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2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
alternative-energy projects such as fuel cells
at 3 percent and wind generation at 4 per-
cent barely registered. We also discovered,
regardless of company size, just about every-
one worked in the four lighting categories.
Rounding out the Top 10: datacomm systems at 62 percent backup power at 61 percent fire/life safety systems at 46 percent CCTV or access/motion security systems
at 38 percent energy management/power quality at 34
percent.
Future workWe also wanted to know what type of work
contractors expect to do, and which cat-
egories they think will change in volume
over the next few years, regardless of
what they do now. In general, contractors
expect to increase or stay the same across
all categories. Few expect a decrease in
any category.
If a contractor doesnt work in a cer-
tain category, we found theyre unlikely to
express an opinion about a future there. So
we focused first on firms participating in a
given area, then looked at those who hadnt
done that same type of work in 2003.
Among those who worked in a particular
category, large and very large firms usually
predict increases in all categories, except
ballast and lamps, where we find no dif-
ferences by company size, and home auto-
mation/theater/security, where small firms
expect greater future volume compared tomid-size, large and very large firms.
On average, small firms that dont work
in backup power, datacomm and fiber optics
pick those as growth areas more frequently
compared to all others firms not working in
these areas. In contrast, 16 percent of very
large firms predicted growth in fuel cells and
17 percent predicted an increase in wind gen-
eration projects compared with all other firms.
Overall, alternative-energy projects, including
solar at 10 percent, wireless networks (11 per-
cent), home automation/theater/security and
energy management (both at 9 percent) were
anticipated to be high-growth areas for firms yet
to tap into those sectors.
On the leading edge
We also compiled a list of seven leading-
edge projects ranging from configuring a
CISCO router (7 percent of firms) to com-
munications/data systems moves, adds andchanges at 34 percent, a type of work done
frequently by contractors of all sizes; however,
these percentages are even higher for large
and very large firms. Overall, 51 percent said
their firm performed this kind of work in 2003
compared to 37 percent two years ago.
FIGURE 4. Respondent Education
Total
19
1019
2099
100+
Attended HS HS Grad Apprentice, Trade, Vocational Attended College AA Degree BA Degree MA Degree +
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35%
FIGURE 5. Volume will increase among those working and not already working in category
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Power (60-HZ)
Lighting Controls
Lighting Fixtures
Ballasts
Lamps
Backup Power
Energy Management/Power Quality
Biometrics (CII)
Fire/Life Safety Systems (CII)
Security Systems (CCTV/Access/Motion) (CII)
Home Automation/Security/Theaters (Res)
Communications/Data Systems
Fiber Optics (Datacomm and Lighting)
Wireless Networks
Fuel Cells
Solar/Photovoltaics
Wind Generation
Currently working in categoryCurrently not working in category
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2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
A simple formula for success: E=PC2
As we said, 84 percent of very large firms worked in
eight or more categories compared with 40 percent of
small contractors. In all, more than 90 percent of the firms
surveyed worked in four or more of the categories.
This points to an ever-developing integration trend, one
thats seen strong growth for the last decade and has affected
commercial/industrial/institutional projects and single-family
residential contractors alike. Dr. Tom Glavinich, a regular
contributor to ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR, has devised the formula
E=PC2 to explain this simply. That translates into E for markets,
P for traditional power projects, and C stands for control and
communications work. The contractor that puts P and C together
will have plenty of Gs. And that stands for greenbacks.
The ability of a contractor to group traditional power
installations with various combinations of security, lighting
controls, fire alarm systems, automated building systems,
datacomm and even biometrics is a powerful sales tool,
providing a one-stop shop where an owner can get 120V
power, Category 5 cabling, HVAC thats computer-controlled
for optimum efficiency, an energy-saving lighting system that
dims at peak sunlight and spotlights an after-hours intruder
with the help of the integrated security system, and amenities
such as state-of-the-art home theater and sophisticated
sound systems.
Figure B shows 95 percent of our respondents did some type
of traditional power or lighting project and 65 percent did
a power-quality project, which includes backup power and
energy management. We also found some interesting figures
on what we call core integration projects: almost two-thirds of our contractors did some type of
automation/control systems project for commercial/industrial/
institutional (CII) or residential markets 55 percent of respondents did a CII automation/controls
system project almost one-third did a residential automation/security/
theater project 66 percent did a communications low-voltage project
and 10 percent of all contractors did a alternativeenergy project with 20 percent of very large firms involved in
this sector.
Home-theater work is an especially lucrative niche market, and
many, if not most, new homes are being wired for more than
120V power these days. Residential contractors who cant do
more complex wiring tasks could be left in the dust.
FIGURE B. Contractors work in many areas in addition to traditional power
Total 19 employees 1019 employees 2099 employees 100+ employees
Any Traditional Power/Lights
Any Power Quality
Any CII or Res Automation/Controls
Any CII Automation/Controls Systems
Residential: Home Automation/Security
Any Communication/Low Voltage
Any Alternative Energy
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Regardless of whether their firm per-
formed this type of leading-edge work in
2003, respondents were asked to predict
their future volume in each area over the
next few years. Almost all expect to stay
the same, few predict a decrease, and
firms not working in a given area usually
didnt guess about a future there. However,
we discovered mid-size and large firms are
most likely to predict increases in all cat-
egories. For those not yet performing work
in these areas, 3 percent of very large firms
predicted a rise in low-voltage systems-inte-
grator work, and 10 percent predicted a rise
in datacomm work for a CLEC.
The whys for all of these predictions
are hard to discern, but surely, some con-
tractors for any number of reasonssecurity
in whats known, how local markets shape
up, etc.stick with their bread and butter
and probably will say the same when we
conduct our next survey. Were sure they
do what they do well, have a good business
reputation and a streamlined operation
that keeps the contracts coming, and see
no need to expand their business into more
arcane or risky projects.
Thats not to say fruitful opportunities dont
exist for the more adventurous contractor or
one whose market is rife with low-voltage or
alternative-energy work. As our survey shows,
those jobs and the number of contractors
performing them may rise in the future.
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2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
WHERE YOU DOYOUR WORK
OUR CONTRACTORS repor t
they get 41 percent of revenue
from new construction, 31 percent
from modernization/retrofit and 28 percent
from maintenance/service/repair. However,
maintenance is a high-revenue generator
for small firms, while the percentages for
new construction rises as firms grow larger
(See Figure 7). In what could be seen a
disturbing trend, the portion of new con-
struction has dipped 9 percent from our
2000 survey when we proclaimed it was a
good year to be an electrical contractor.
Its still good. Many think voice/data/
video will make a strong comeback and
renovation will be the wave of the future.
When baby boomers latch on to their
parents inheritancea sum estimated
in the low trillionssome experts think a
good chunk of that will be spent on real
estate, especially if empty nesters leave the
suburbs for the cities to take advantage of
FIGURE 7. Types of work by sector
Total 19 employees 1019 employees 2099 employees 100+ employees
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
New construction Modernization/retrofit Maintenance/Service/Repair
FIGURE 8. Types of electrical projects by firm size
Total 19 employees 1019 employees 2099 employees 100+ employees
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Electrical power/distribution Communications/data systems Security/Life Safety Systems Total building automation Sound and video
FIGURE 6. Currently Work in Category
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Power (60-HZ)
Lighting Controls
Lighting Fixtures
Ballasts
Lamps
Backup Power
Energy Management/Power Quality
Biometrics (CII)
Fire/Life Safety Systems (CII)
Security Systems (CCTV/Access/Motion) (CII)
Home Automation/Security/Theaters (Res)
Communications/Data Systems
Fiber Optics (Datacomm and Lighting)
Wireless Networks
Fuel Cells
Solar/Photovoltaics
Wind Generation
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2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
their culture, nightlife and restaurants. If
this prognostication proves true, renovation
work should turn up aplenty.
In general, our 2004 survey showed: regardless of company size, electri-
cal/power distribution is by far the largest
revenue source, accounting for an average
of 69 percent of sales total building automation registered at 11
percent and accounts for more revenue of
mid-size firms than firms of any other size communications/data systems (low volt-
age) at 10 percent, is less important to
small firms similarly, security and life safety work, only
6 percent of total sales, grows in importance
as the company size grows; it accounts for 4
percent of small-firm revenue and 9 percent
of very large-firm sales sound and video accounts for 4 percent
of revenue on average with no significant
difference by company size.
But there are no huge gaps anywhere;
the biggest difference is only 9 percent in
power distribution sales, with small firms
at 71 percent and mid-size firms at 62
percent (See Figure 8).
Residential vs. commercial
Across the total sample, contractors get 34
percent of their work from single-family resi-
dential, 8 percent from residential multifam-
ily, and 52 percent for business from com-
mercial, industrial, institutional and public
places (CII). Airports, highways, power lines
and other nonbuilding projects account for
a mere 4 percent of the business.
The biggest difference in work performed
comes when comparing company size. Small
firms report 46 percent of their work comes
from single-family residential, while very
large firms say its a miniscule 5 percent of
their business. CII projects, however, account
for 79 percent of the work for very large firms
and 41 percent for small firms. Very large
firms also do four times as much nonbuild-
ing work as small firms. No big shock here.
Big firms take on big nonbuilding projects
and residential construction has always been
a mainstay of small firms.
HOW YOU DO YOURWORK
C
ONT RA CTO RS SAY 46 per-
cent of their revenue comes from
design/build, which allows con-
tractors total or near-total control of their
job. Its particularly important to small
firms, which claim it makes up 53 per-
cent of their work. (Mid-size, large and very
large firms all claim its 35 percent.) We
designated three more categories related to
engineering and design: work in which the contractor made sub-
stantive changes to specs and drawings work in which slight changes were
made work in which someone elses specs and
drawings were followed.
Contractors said they made substantive
changes in 13 percent of their jobs, and
also made slight changes in 13 percent of
their work, but in a hefty 28 percent of their
work, they followed specs and drawings to
the letter.
An even closer look shows small firms
FIGURE 9. Building categories
Total 19 employees 1019 employees 2099 employees 100+ employees
90%
80%70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Residential (single family) Residential (multifamily) Commercial/industrial/institutional Non-building (e.g., airports/highways/power lines)
FIGURE 10. Extent of contractors changes to specs and drawings
Total 19 employees 1019 employees 2099 employees 100+ employees
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Design/build Made substantive changes Made slight changes Followed others specs and drawings
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2004 CONTRACTOR PROFILE
use design/build on 53 percent of their proj-
ects; couple that percentage with the small
firms propensity to do single-family resi-
dential (remember, it took up 46 percent of
their work) and its a good guess deign/build
is being used in a lot of home construction.
Small firms say they followed specifications
faithfully only 23 percent of the time, a
percentage thats at least 12 percent lower
than that of the bigger firms.
Also, mid-size, large and very large firms
score much higher percentages than small
firms when asked if they followed specs and
drawings faithfully. Another why? An edu-
cated guess is that public-sector projects,
normally off-limits to design-build, are done
less often by small firms.
How contractors purchase
Respondents were given four specifications
options for installation and asked how their
company had to fulfill obligations on the
job. We found: a single brand is specified 21 percent
of the time multiple brands are used at 28 percent or equal to products can be used at a
37 percent rate performance-specified brands are
required 15 percent of the time.Note that a single-brand specification is
a requirement for small firms 25 percent
of the time, a rate that falls incrementally
as companies get larger, dropping to 13
percent for very large firms.
Its no revelation that distributors get the
lions share74 percentof the market,
with warehouse home centers lagging far
behind at 14 percent. As companies get
bigger, home centers play a smaller role:
very large firms buy only 5 percent of their
supplies from that source.
Almost all contractors surveyed buy from
multiple sources, the number of which
climbs with firm size. For example, 11
percent of small firms and 32 percent of
very large firms buy from all four sources;
however, a majority of small firms54 per-
centsay they buy from just two sources,
perhaps because larger companies are both
located in more places and involved in more
different types of work. Online purchasing
is still a small factorjust 6 percent of
all firms buy over the Internetbut very
large firms do 9 percent of their purchasing
online.
Computer use
Computer use is no longer the way it will be
done; its the way it is done. Forty percent of
large and 74 percent of very large firms use
computers in eight ways or more compared
to 15 percent of small firms and 10 percent
of mid-size firms. This patternmore useby small than mid-sizesuggests a concen-
tration of small firms that specialize and
need the tools to compete in selected areas.
The fact that almost all very large firms said
they used computers for four or more tasks
hints at the opposite, that they are involved
in many different sectors.
As noted earlier, Internet access/e-mail
is used almost universallyin fact, all large
and very large firms say they use it. Also: 97 percent of large and very large com-
panies use computerized accounting a whopping 94 percent of very large
firms use computers for estimating and
job-cost analysis and 88 percent say they run AutoCAD.
This part of the survey yields some puzzling
and interesting data. There are some unex-
pected results in computer-program use that
on the surface dont seem to be cost-effective
for small firms. For example, 34 percent of
small firmsthats just one to nine employ-
ees, remembersay they have computerized
equipment and tool inventory, and 9 percent
say they use computers for fleet management.
Now that could be something as simple as a
customized Excel spreadsheet or it could be
specialized software. In any case, contractors
have put their computers to good use.
This data is probably skewed toward nor-
mal office use of computers, but PDAs and
laptops have been common tools in the field
for some time. Reported use for field laptops
is 42 percent and 33 percent for PDAs, andwe found 23 percent of firms order material
with handheld devices. In the future, large
and very large firms expect increased com-
puter use from these already high levels.
You as key specifier in supply procurement
Our 2004 survey found con-
tractors choose the brand
72 percent of the time. Small
firms choose more often (74
percent) than very large firms
at 65 percent. In the latter
case, we hypothesize the
projects may be far larger and
more complex, and purchas-
ing may be controlled by the
general contractoror that
small firms are involved more
in single-family residential
design-build and have more
purchasing control.
Guesswork aside, we think the
electric contractors capacity
to make product choices is
terribly importantin terms
of costs savings and getting
the job done on time with a
minimum of change orders.
When it comes to purchasing
electrical material and sup-
plies, they know whats best.
Unless there are overriding
reasons, why should someone
else choose for them?
In his report to the Electri21
Council, Procurement
Chain Management in the
Construction Industry, Perry
Daneshgari, a consultant and
contributor to this magazine,
said general contractors con-
tend it saves money, provides
faster occupancy and wider
product selection when they
control procurement. Danesh-
gari disagrees somewhat.
While his study admits the
general contractor procurement
method (GCPM) adds value
through bulk purchases and
by cutting out the distributor
or subcontractor (and their
markup), and allows procure-
ment earlier in the project, this
method may cause lost time
later in the job due to lack of
expertise. Daneshgari says the
specialty contractor procure-
ment method (SCPM) provides
the owner value through service
and knowledge. These are some
of his crucial points when it
comes to SCPM vs. GCPM:
A subcontractors product
knowledge and installation
skill is vital to most owners
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35 www.ecmag .com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR 35 www.ecmag .com JUL.04 ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR
Tools and vehicle use
Of course, almost every one of you owns a
company vehicle and youd much rather buy
one than lease, though the latter option is
more prevalent as firms grow in size. The
same goes for tools. Youd rather own than
lease. We asked about the tools purchased
most frequently in 2003 and found 90 per-
cent of firms bought power tools followed by
hand tools at 89 percent, multimeters at 79
percent of firms and mobile phones/two-way
radios at 57 percent. Lifts and scaffolding
(23 percent) and digging and boring equip-
ment (16 percent) were at the bottom. Its
no shock that these two types of heavy,
construction-site equipment were the most-
leased tools in our survey, the only ones to
have a lease rate higher than 10 percent.
FIGURE 11. Specification options
Total 19 employees 1019 employees 2099 employees 100+ employees
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%10%
5%
0%
Single brand Multiple brand Or equal to Performance specified
in managing, validating and
optimizing equipment speci-
fied in the design; general
contractors lack the electrical
knowledge to pass on impor-
tant new product information Distributors provide a
valuable role for manufactur-
ers; with no distributor, man-
ufacturers need to increase
customer sales and support
roles thus adding cost; dis-
tributors offer services that
can dramatically reduce the
specialty contractors labor
cost
Owner may experience
project delays or additional
cost from material delays or
material handling; electrical
contractors know importance
of fast job-site delivery andavailable inventory
GCPM assumes general
contractors can bypass dis-
tributors and contractors and
buy manufacturer-direct; but
many manufacturers require
all customers to go through
distribution, thus limiting
product selection
General contractors order
material and have it shipped
from the manufacturer to
the job site where its stored
until it is installed; in SCPM,
distributors and specialty
contractors schedule mate-
rial flow to the job site. It isdelivered as needed and can
be packaged according to the
area where it will be installed
We feel you should be the key
specifier for electrical products
and supplies. You know what
works best in a given applica-
tion, and you have developed
relationships with distributors
that ultimately work to the
owners advantage. Job-site
roles have become more
flexible in the past decade,
leading some general contrac-
tors to believe they should
make all purchasing decisions.
But this same flexibility canallow you to take the reins
of a project, especially if the
traditional general contractor
has become nothing more
than a dealmaker who puts
projects together on paper. This
flexibility also relates to the
ascendancy of design-build
where, from the very beginning,
you work with a team to map
out design and procurement.
METHODOLOGY/ABOUT THE SURVEY
The survey was conducted by postal mail
and via the Internet between April 8 and
May 10, 2004, among a random sample of
ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR subscribers.
During that period of time, a total of 865usable surveys were completed, 505 via
the Internet and 360 via postal mail. There
were no follow-up mailings. An incentive
was offered for participation in the survey:
For each completed survey,ELECTRICAL
CONTRACTOR magazine would contribute $5
to charity.
The margin of error on the total sample of
865 respondents is +/- 2.8 percent at the 90
percent level of confidence.
Tables and figures contained in this article
come from the data generated by this
years Electrical Contractor Survey, whichwas conducted by New York, N.Y-based
Renaissance Research & Consulting Inc.
an independent marketing research firm
that specializes in construction. They can be
reached at smetzger@renaiss.com.
CONCLUSION
WHAT LIES AHEAD? Its a pretty good
betin fact, bet the housecom-
puter use, especially with sophisti-
cated construction software, will grow. The
rumored death of VDVto borrow from Mark
Twainhas been greatly exaggerated. As we
said, look for more contractors to integratelow-voltage with traditional power and light-
ing. And we think three key areas will affect
contractors in years to come: contractor age,
procurement control and a possible decline
in new construction. An infusion of minorities
in the workplace could cure the stagnation
in average contractor age, and were sure
youll seize greater control in procurement
and adapt to a possible retrofit/renovation
upswing. All of these somewhat cloudy issues
may have a bright, shiny copper lining. We
say 2004and beyondwill be very good
years to be an electrical contractor. EC
FULMER, a Baltimore, Md.-based
freelance writer, can be reached at
johnsfulmer@netzero.net.
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0 CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY l new york 2007
why not LEED?
For a long time, most people believed greenor sustainable buildingwas the province of granola-gobblers who built homes ou t of recycledtires and equipped them with hideous-looking solar panels the size of
garage doors. Perhaps they used hay bales for insulation. And they all
lived in California.
Then, environmentally conscious construction began to enter the
mainstream, and some early adopters in the commercial sector went
with the ow. The problem green-leaning contractors always had was
convincing owners that higher initial construction costs would pay
o in the long run with a buildings reduced energy consumption.
The feel-goodfactor, prodding owners to a loftier level of ecological
awareness, was an even harder sell, especially in a low-bid world.
All that has changed in an incredibly short time. The U. S. Green Build-
ing Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
designation, which got its start in the late 1990s, may be the biggest
single development in this arena. As little as two years ago, mentioning
LEED to contractors and vendors was often met by blank stares. Now
LEED Professional Accreditation is seen as an important resume-builder
for architects and designers and many forward-thinking contracting
rms have accredited professionals (LEED AP) on sta, individuals
who have passed an exam in one of three areas: new construction,
commercial interiors and existing construction.
More important, every contractor should be aware of the LEED rating
system. While the USGBC is a nonprot, nongovernmental agency and
achieving LEED statusthere are dierent levels and categoriesis
strictly voluntary, many public-sector projects are beginning to require
LEED-based guidelines.
By John Fulmer
LEED 101
So what exactly is LEED? The USGBC (www.usgbc.org) describes itself as a community of more than 7,500 organi-
zations from every sector of the building industry united by a common purpose to transform the building market-
place to sustainability by rating construction practices. LEED divides construction into eight categories, such as
residential, schools, and new commercial construction. If you wanted to try for LEED certication, rst register
your projecttheres an online form on the Web siteand begin accumulating points in the six categories listed
on the rating system documents, which are also available online.
The categories for new commercial building are:
sustainable site
water eciency
energy & atmosphere
material & resources
indoor environmental quality
innovation & design process
0 CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY l new york 2007 new york 2007 l CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY 3
GETTING BROWNIE POINTS
Each of these categories has a total number of availablepoints. For instance, its possible to score a high of
17 points in Energy and atmosphereand a low of 5 pointsin Water eciency.There are subcategories that explainhow a builder/developer can amass points. Some criteriaare required, such as a fundamental commissioning of theenergy system. An advanced commissioning will award
builders an extra point.
The new commercial rating system has a total of 69 points,but a builder need not hit every target. The USGBC rates the
performance, tallies up the points and awards the certica-tion in four levels:
Platinum 52-69 points
Gold 39-51 points Silver 33-38 points Certied 26-32 points
SCORING POINTS
Some of the ways points are awarded would seem obvious,such as energy-ecient lighting systems and buildingenvelopes with advanced insulation techniques. But LEEDis a comprehensive program that awards points in often
arcane and oblique ways.
For instance, in a commercial project, LEED gives pointsfor easy access to public transportation and installation
of bike racks, with the idea that gasoline consumption isreduced. Builders would losepoints if they had equipmentand materials trucked in beyond a 500-mile radius becausethat increases diesel-fuel use. A quick look at a ratingsystem.maybe not that quick since the new-constructionPDF is 81 pages longwill outline requirements for carpet
systems and adhesives use. It will prohibit developmentin proximity to wetlands and in ood plains. Fenestrationthat maximizes daylightingand cuts the electric bill willput you in LEEDs good graces. It blesses construction that
implements recycled and regionally produced materialsand curses HVACR systems lled with refrigerants that cause
ozone depletion.
WHATS THE POINT?
Whats does it matter if you get a gold or silver star on yournew building? Why go green at all? Well, how about tax
breaks? The New York State Green Building Tax Credit for(GBTC) provides $25 million in income-tax credits over nineyears for several types of construction, including manycommercial classications, with a minimum building sizeof 20,000 square feet. GBTC criteria could even be consid-
ered more stringent than the LEED system, but the two arevery similar. In fact, the USGBC was among the parties thatprovided input on the New York requirements.
New York is one of dozens of U.S. cities that have LEED-based building requirements or incentives, and mostexperts agree that green-building momentum is unstop-pable. In various jurisdictions, LEED oers other benetssuch as grants, fast-track permitting and special loans. In
some cases, building-permitting fees are slashed in half forLEED projects and zoning variances are allowed for higherdensity. Why? Because LEED seeks to improve interiorenvironments, and one of the intangible benets that green
building proponents point to is that LEED-type buildings areconsidered more healthy. This may, in turn, cause insurancecompanies to drop mold-exclusion clauses and cut premi-ums, another example of the type of softbenets greenieslike to talk about.
Youll have partners, among them the New York StateEnergy Research and Development Authority. NYSERDA canassist with computer modeling and charrette coordination,help you gain LEED certication, and guide you on Execu-
tive Order 111, Gov. Patakis 2001 directive to state agenciesand authorities to become more aware of sustainable build-ing principles. NYSERDAs Web site highlights The Bank ofAmerica Building under construction in midtown Manhat-
tan. The two million-square-foot oce building is the rsthigh-rise to go for a LEED Platinum rating.
And a trend has emerged in which RFPs, owners andprojects all look for a rm with LEED APs. Yet this is a
simplistic overview. LEED certications and requirementsare complex, and estimators need to gure in LEED admin-istrative costs. However, as energy prices skyrocket andresources are depleted, owners will beginhave alreadybegunto understand that long-term energy savings
may outweigh savings on cheaper but less-energy-ecient construction.
new york 2007 l CONSTRUCTION MONTHLY 3
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w w w . t e d m a g . c o m J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R 55
Ask those in the electrical industry
about the retail market and theyll
tell you its mostly about lighting.
Ask what kind of lighting, andtheyll answer the energy-efficient kind
which should be obvious, since energy
costs are astronomical and lighting eats
up a big chunk of a retailers utility bill.
But there are nuances to retail lighting
and a storeowners desire to cut energy
costs. For instance, it cant be lousy light.
Ideally, retailers want light with a high
color rendering index (CRI), a one to 100
value that indicates an artificial light
sources ability to replicate natural light.
They also want components to last and to
be near zero maintenance. And, as if all
of that werent enough, they want a part-nership between form and function: The
lighting fixtures and design scheme must
be attractive as they are essential in en-
ticing customers into the store and luring
them closer to the merchandise.
Storeowners look at a lot of energy-
efficient applications, but in retail, its
about whats the best lighting application
for the customer to display their prod-
ucts, said Ken Hawley, vice president of
sales at Venture Lighting.
Property management
Replacing cheaper, less energy-efficient
fixtures, lamps, ballasts, and controls with
more expensive but energy-squeezing
retrofits is a big issue. Its often difficult for
a distributor to upsell an end-user when
the price of new-generation fluorescents
and HIDs seems prohibitive. Sometimes
the deck is stacked against a retailer who
wants to be a good environmental stew-
ard. As Mike Lancaster, sales develop-
ment manager for retail and property
management at GE Consumer & Indus-
trial, explained, many mall stores have
leases that require them to pay a prede-
termined assessment or share of the
malls total energy consumption based on
their square footage.
Lancaster has one customer with hun-
dreds of stores across the country. In some
stores the company uses an energy-
efficient 50W lamp that allows it to reap the
benefits of reduced energy savings. How-
ever, in malls where stores arent individu-
ally metered, the retailer continues to use
older, less expensive but less efficient
75W lamps. Theres no incentive to the
store to reduce its individual energy con-
sumption, said Lancaster. As a result,
were seeing malls adding submetering
equipment that allows better manage-
ment of costs and more equitable billing
of individual stores.
Retail construction
Retrofits are only part of the retail land-
scape, and malls represent the declining
side of new store construction. Enclosed
malls are losing favor with consumers
and being replaced by open-air lifestyle
centers that aim for a smaller footprint
MARKET FOCUS BY JOHN FULMER
When it comes to retail, energy efficient is what theyre shopping for.
MARKETS &TRENDS
While retailers desire lighting that entices customers into stores and lures them closer tomerchandise, they are also beginning to appreciate the benefits of energy-efficient lighting.
Know whats in store
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56 T H E E L E C T R I C A L D I S T R I B U T O R J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 6 w w w . t e d m a g . c o m
and a cozy, village-square approach, ac-
cording to the McGraw-Hill Construction
Outlook 2005.
McGraw-Hill said retail turned the
corner in 2003, with a 10% increase in
construction, followed by a 4% increase
in 2004. In 2005, the figure dropped to
1%, but that still means 297 million
square feet of new retail space was
added. The report ties retail to new home
starts, which McGraw-Hill expects to
drop 5%, and projects new retail con-
struction to also fall 5%, but that still
translates into an additional 283 million
square feet.
Reed Construction Data backs up
those growth figures and projected that
$70.4 billion would be spent on retailconstruction put in place in 2005. Reed
expects put-in-place growth to continue
in 2006 with $72.9 billion spent and in
2007 with $76.7 billion spent. Spending in
this sector had been growing steadily
until the post-9/11 downturn, when it
slumped to $63.2 billion in 2002 and
$62.1 billion in 2003, after hitting $67.9
billion in 2001. In 2004, retail construction
put in place began moving upward
again, ending with $66.6 billion spent.
If you look at market segments, retail
spaces are the largest in terms of square
footage, and lighting can represent more
than 50% to 60% of the electric load in the
facility on average, said Nick Bleeker,manager of business de-
velopment for Day-Brite/
Capri/Omega. With those
statistics, retailers need to
know how important light-
ing can be to address
their particular needs.
Design and
implementation
Bleeker said his lighting
companies use a tailored
approach to customers
needs, taking into con-
sideration the stor
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