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                Improving the knowledge, operations and success of subcontractors, suppliers and service providers.
 

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Welcome to the ASA of Michigan

The next meeting of ASA of Michigan will be Wednesday, June 17, 2009. Breakfast meeting at the Pinnacle Center. CLICK HERE to register for the meeting.

On May 12, 2009, ASA and ABC hosted the BIM Boot Camp Part 2

    
More than 90 people attended the event and learned about the future of construction projects.

CLICK HERE for more information from and about that event.

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Thank you to:
 Ken Bailey, Dan Clappison and Norm Noordeloos of Rocford Construction
who came to the April 29, 2009 General Membership Meeting and participated fully in the discussion about
"Working Together to Improve Construction in West Michigan."
It was a very interesting, informative, and useful exchange of ideas.

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Meeting Summary - March General Membership Meeting The BPI session was the highlight of the meeting. BPI, or Business Practice Interchange, is an open discussion activity where the business practices of GC's and CM's are discussed. Specific practices of Christman, Rockford and CSM were covered and various subs offered their experiences. Shown at the right is president Jack Austhof participating in the BPI discussion.

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Meeting Summary - February General Membership Meeting – Those who attended the meeting on February 18 first heard from Bryndley Byrd , (shown at the right), of the Capital Area Construction Council about the event they put on to help attract high school age students into the construction industry.  For more information you can contact Bryndley at bbyrd@camw.net or visit their web site at www.cacconline.org.

The second part of the program featured a panel of legal experts including (l to r)
Tim Ryan of McShane Bowie,
Nate Plantinga of Miller Johnson, and
Bob Stone of Smith Haughey. The panel members providede information about the Employee Free Choice Act, the Family Medical Leave Act, E-Verify, and related topics. They provide vey valuable and insightful answers to questions from the audience. As as always the Q & A  portion of the meeting provided significant additional value to the members who were present. You can contact members of the panel for additional information or services by clicking on their name above which will send the selected person an email.

 

The January General Membership Meeting was very well attended with more than 60 people in the audience.  They heard a very informative presentation by Rachel Snyder, of BCT Benefits. Rachel explained an interesting new concept that will help subcontractors meet “prevailing wage” requirements on jobs with that requirement. Since there are likely to be a significant number of new jobs with prevailing wage requirements coming out of President Obama’s stimulus package, you will want to learn about this solution and be ready. You can learn more about BCT Benefit Plans (an ASA of Michigan sponsor), at http://bctbenefitplans.com/

 

 

The main topic of the meeting, Design Liability, was presented by Steve Hilger, who is always interesting and informative. He helped those in attendance learn how to “Avoid the pitfalls of assuming design liability under a traditional construction subcontract. Subcontractors have protection against design responsibility as long as the contracts are properly drafted and the risks are properly avoided. Learn how the design liability can be avoided during the submittal process.”

Audio/video recordings of the meeting are available. Contact C.J. Shroll for details.

 

Our December General Membership Meeting

Jeff Burmeister presented information about how subcontractors can keep track of and manage the information that is important for successful projects , while at the same time increasing productivity by using the Autodesk Subcontractor software. More than ever, subcontractors are experiencing more complex projects, fiercer competition, more demanding clients, and shrinking margins. Those who attended the meeting learned how to respond to deliver better projects on time and with reduced cost. They learned how to increase productivity and professionalism, and at the same time improve processes and accountability across the organization.  More information about Subcontractor is available at

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=8838377

In our recent local meetings you have heard about the need to protect your payment rights by ensuring all of your lien documents are in place, you have heard about the need to reduce the ratio of overhead expense, you have heard about the importance of completing change orders in a timely manner, you need to be able to track RFI’s and responses across all projects, and you have heard about the need to document all aspects of your projects. Those Attending this meeting learned how to accomplish all of these requirements while reducing overhead costs and improving operations.

 

November General Membership Meeting Summary

This meeting will featured a panel of bankers and financial consultants who discussed: “How Subcontractors will be affected by the current and future financial environment.” Our thanks to panel members Tom Rosenbach of Beene Garter, Mark Hoffhines of Mercantile Bank, Fred Lake of Huntington Bank, Bill Paarlberg of Macatawa Bank, and Curt Walburg of Walburg + Associates (L to R above). The Q & A session answered may questions from the audience and produced some very interesting discussion. This was another meeting that continued our series helping subcontractors and related businesses, to improve their knowledge, operations, and success.

 

 

October General Membership Meeting Summary

Curt Walburg of Walburg + Associates provided a program about how companies can increase their profitsby identifying, controlling and reducing costs. In today's very competitive market, it may be difficult to raise the prices charged in order to maintain or increase profits. The other way to increase profit (the difference between revenue and cost) is to reduce your cost of doing business. This is first of what will be several meetings that will help subcontractors, and related businesses, to improve their knowledge, operations, and success.

 


Future meetings will be held on the following Wednesdays: November 19, December 17, January 21, February 18, March 18, April 15, May 13, and June 10. All meetings will begin with a breakfast buffet at 7:00am. The program begins at 7:30 and usually concludes by 9. 


Legislative & Regulatory Updates

On Oct. 23, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced plans to take steps in “days” to ensure that its highly publicized no-match rule takes effect. The supplemental final rule provides safe harbor procedures for employers that receive a no-match letter.

 The attached ASA Special Report outlines the details of the DHS rule, including specific procedures required to obtain safe harbor. At this time, the supplemental final rule is not in effect; however, DHS intends to ask the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to lift its preliminary injunction that has kept the rule from taking effect previously. The final rule is expected to be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. ASA will keep members apprised of the status of the new rule in publications like ASAToday.

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There is great interest in eliminating or reducing the 22% surcharge on top of the Michigan Business Tax (MBT). Any reduction in the surcharge will likely have to show an equal or greater reduction in state spending to avoid a veto by the governor. "Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM said at Mackinac Island this May she'd cut the Michigan Business Tax (MBT) surcharge in exchange for prison reforms," according to a report from the The Detroit Chamber. This report includes detailed recommendations to reduce prison system spending by $800 million. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce reports that, "The Detroit Chamber cracked open the appropriations process and found $806 million in potential reforms Thursday that cut along both sides of the political fence. The business group suggested a 10 percent chop in the Department of Corrections' (DOC) front office and privatization of food service and other services, as Republicans have suggested."

"The seven-point plan also proposed rolling back sentences and letting out some non-dangerous inmates out early for good behavior, as some Democrats have suggested." Click here to read the report.

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A meeting convened by the office of State Representative Barbara Farrah was held on September 25 to discuss the Prompt Pay and Retainage Reduction legislation she sponsored and introduced through here committee. ASA of Michigan was present at the meeting representing its members. Other at the meeting were MiTA, AGC, NECA-Michigan, and MP/MCA along with with representative of several universities. Good progress was made. While it doesn't look likely that any further legislative action will take place during this session, some agreements were reached that will help this legislation move forward in the next session. Contact ASA Michigan Executive Director C.J. Shroll for more information. Click here for draft copies of the legislation.


ASA of West Michigan is delivering significant and valuable benefits to its members. Programs with significant content have been provided dealing with Retainage, Pay If Paid / Pay When Paid, the new Michigan Lien Laws, Part 1 of Insurance issues, and Tips & Tricks for making Change Orders fun and profitable. The picture shows Steve Hilger delivering one of his excellent presentations at a General Membership Meeting.

Any one of these programs provided information well worth the cost of membership.

During the same time, as an initial effort in the governmental relations area, ASAWM has been engaged in tracking and reporting on the developments dealing with the changes in the Michigan tax structure, and has provided useful information to members, as well as engaging in the process to shape the legislation.

 The BPI (Business Practice Interchange) sessions at membership meetings provide a unique opportunity for ASAWM members. During these sessions members questions about the business practices of subcontractors, suppliers, and customers will be responded to by other members in attendance. This structured learning activity is far superior to the "trial and error" method of learning. This activity is unique to ASAWM.

 When a company joins ASAWM, they also become a member of the national association. This provides many benefits in addition to those available locally. The national organization works in the areas of  legislative, legal, and subcontractor development initiatives. 


Jack Austhof, President of Sobie Company is serving as the President of ASA of Michigan for 2008-09. Click here for complete list of officers and board members. Contact any of them for further information and to learn how ASAMichigan can help you and your company be more successful.


Guidelines for a Successful Construction Project is a publication jointly developed by the American Subcontractors Association (ASA), the Associated General Contractors (AGC), and the Associated Specialty Contractors (ASC). It contains numerous sections based on the collective best and desirable practices for construction jobs. It is available here for ASA members convenience. Click here to access the document.


If you have not yet sent in your membership,  do so right now.
Don't wait. Start getting the benefits immediately.

CLICK HERE to learn more about ASA of West Michigan

CLICK HERE for a Report on the ASA Champions Academy 2008