MichelleForsyth

Although we rarely recognize it, mythology continues to be strong part of our culture. Folklore has evolved significantly, as America’s legendary heroes have been frontier trappers,
cowboys, policemen, soldiers, masked men, caped
superheroes and science fiction men-of-action
such as Buck Rodgers, Flash Gordon, Han Solo, and
of course…Captain Kirk of the Starship
Enterprise.

Replacing Indians (the Native American kind), “commies”, and Nazis with Aliens as the bad-guys, and foreign lands as undiscovered planets, from September 8, 1966 – September 2, 1969, Bill Shatner kicked extraterrestrial ass for 79 episodes using World War II Judo and Jujutsu.

Amazingly, with all the far-out and high-tech
phasers, photons, and other assorted high tech
junk they could have used to save the day, Kirk
and his boys often reverted back to the
hand-to-hand combat moves they must have learned
from their great-great-great-great-great-grandfathers.
(That, or in the future the military actually
bought a clue and decided to start teaching what
actually works again!)

Now, whether you’re a pointy-ear-wearin’
“Trekkie” or not, definitely check out an episode
or two next time your surfin’ by the Sci-Fi
channel.

You’ll notice that the aliens that the crew
encountered were often physically dominating and
at times much larger and stronger, therefore
calling for a smarter and more effective approach
to combat than the wildly thrown “haymaker”
punch.

While actual terms like close-combat, martial
arts, Jujutsu or Judo were left out of the
script, the knowledgeable observer will
immediately recognize where the devastating edge
of hand strikes, brutal kicks, and ferocious
throws come from. In the famous episode “Arena”, Captain Kirk has
to fight the reptilian commander of an enemy
vessel in one-on-one combat. Kirk attacks the
alien with a flurry of blows including all those
found in the WWII military combative systems we
teach.

In “Day of the Dove”, Kirk and the rest of his
crew are pitted against Klingon warriors in
close-combat as both sides are restricted to only
their own respective warrior codes for guidance.

My own personal favorite, “Bread and Circuses”,
Kirk, Spock, and McCoy use fists, swords, and
anything and everything else they can get their
hands on to battle technologically advanced
Romans.

Although there is no real Vulcan neck pinch, Gene
Roddenberry and the others who helped to create
Star Trek were products of a generation that knew
how to fight. In fact, Roddenberry himself had
law enforcement experience and piloted a B-17 in
the Pacific during WWII.

During this time, the United States military
practiced hand-to-hand combat training based off
of what was taught by W.E. Fairbairn and other
pioneers of REAL close-combat. After the war,
many military veterans jjk mahito Hollywood stunt men
and when fight sequences were setup, did what
came natural to win a fight…Their training from
actual combat.

While many fight sequences of the 60’s were still
choreographed in the classic style of the Western
barroom brawl, only Star Trek utilized these
authentic, proven combat methods in the majority
of its scenes.

As time marched on, and the world became
“sissified”, martial arts shown in TV shows and
films changed dramatically in order to appear
more impressive to the audience. After all,
nobody likes to see the hero drop his opponent in
only a few “ugly” moves (Except for maybe Austin
Power’s recent “Judo Chop”…Edge of hand anyone?).

No, they want high-flyin’ wirework, drunken
monkey foolishness, and ridiculous
split-the-crotch-of-my-pants high kicks.

But given a real, drag out, no-holds-barred,
fight for your life, I’d put my money on Kirk and
his “Crew” as opposed to Neo, Morpheus and the
rest of those Matrix computer geeks any day of
the week. (And Kirk would have beat the snot out
of that flashlight-wielding sissy Vader too)

Many contemporary martial artists shun the practice of kata. Why? They will tell you it is a waste of time and you cannot use the techniques in a real fight. That is true if you believe kata is 1) a fight sequence, 2) involves nothing more than punching, blocking, and kicking.

First of all, kata is not a fight sequence. No one would ever be attacked in accordance with the embusen or line of the kata. There are more techniques in the kata than meets the eye. Master Funakoshi Gichen in his book “Karate-do Kyohan, The Master Text” stated that he had simplified the kata. In ‘Japanese speak’ that essentially means that he took out parts.

The kata is a catalog of techniques and an encyclopedia of pressure points and striking angles. There is a code in the kata and if you can crack the code the kata makes consummate sense.

There has been so much garbage taught in the martial arts over the years it is hard to separate fact from fiction. I began my martial arts study in September 1967. I learned the Shotokan kata from a very honest and honorable instructor whose skill was incredible. Unfortunately some of the things he was taught were not really true. For example he taught us that Heian Shodan was over 1500 years old. Not true but that is what he had been taught. The Heian kata were developed around 1903-1905 at the request of the Japanese Ministry of Education for a program to get the youth physically prepared for future military service. A major requirement for this program was to develop a system to get students physically fit yet not teach them the maiming and killing techniques present in the original Okinawan martial systems. It would not be a good idea to have students armed with these techniques during a schoolyard scuffle. In 1922 Master Funakoshi presented this “school children’s art” in Japan. I have read that he wanted to call it his “Japanese Karate” and was uncomfortable having it named after him. Shoto was Master Funakoshi’s pen name. Kan may be translated as house. Shotokan: the house of Shoto. His students won out and the style was named after Master Funakoshi.

The Heian kata still contain some serious techniques. We were taught, as were many, “Just keep practicing. Don’t ask questions”. Why were we not allowed to ask questions? Was it because our instructors did not have the answers? I think so.

Even though I was faithful in my kata practice I knew something was missing. I saw there was a big difference in the way we did kata and the way we did free style sparring. Why the difference? One reason is that if we got to close to our opponent we would get hit or kicked. After twenty-five years of practice I decided to explore what was actually in the kata. The given explanation (bunkai) of the techniques did not make a lot of sense. For example in Heian Shodan movements 8, 9, and 10 were presented as upward blocks. Now if someone is punching at my head and stepping back why would I ever step forward just to block? Just does not make sense. Besides, why would I pull my opposite hand to my hip and leave my face wide open to attack? I would not. There had to be another explanation. There is. After beginning to earnestly study jujutsu some of the mahito jjk kata moves seemed familiar but I could not quite get it. But in the past 15 years or so of study and research I have found that about 75 percent of the kata techniques are jujutsu techniques.

To best understand the kata you must also have an idea of Chinese Medicine Theory and the concept of ki flow along the lines of the meridians. The kata outlines these points along the meridians and the angle at which they must be struck. You must also consider the following:

1. Techniques must be up-close and personal. Some techniques are downright intimate.
2. Look at transitional movements for techniques.
3. Think three dimensionally.
4. Stances indicate the position you are in relation to your opponent. No sane person would stand in front of someone in a horse stance or even fight from a horse stance.
5. There are no blocks in the kata. Kata techniques are offensive, not defensive.
6. Hand positions mean something. No you are not prepping for the next movement. If you are such a billybadass you can stand sideways to your opponent with your hands stacked, then you are truly an awesome martial artist. Personally I am a mortal and cannot afford to take that kind of foolish chance.

Let us take these one a time and give them a “Shoden” approach to the kata.

1. The techniques must be up-close and personal. In order to hit someone they must be at a certain distance. It is easier to hit them if they are within “punching range” or about 4-6 inches beyond your fingertips. Farther way and you must close the distance before you can hit them. What appears to be an oi-zuki may not necessarily be an oi-zuki (lunge punch). Some techniques require body-to-body contact such as throws and take downs.
2. Look at transitional movements for techniques. In the kata no movement should be overlooked. Perhaps the originator of the kata did not mean for the transitional movements to contain techniques but that does not mean I cannot. One motion with lots of applications available to that motion. Take Heian Shodan again (most karate ka know Heian Shodan or a similar basic kata). Lets look at the transitional movement from technique three to technique four. Technique three is a right lunge punch with long turn through180 degrees to the right with a downward block (really?). Consider doing that movement with a single-hand hold. The energy created by that movement would surely dislocate the eight little bones of the wrist and might even spiral fracture the forearm. Hmm, not a block!

The following are examples of why someone trained in Jujutsu has many different skills or methods of fighting.
Evading (Tai Sabaki) is one of the main concepts that make up the core of most jujutsu methods or systems (styles) of jujutsu being taught today all over the world. There are many ways to evade the attack. You can move your feet to move your body out of harm’s way (ashi sabaki). ASHI = means foot / SABAKI = meaning movement.

You can sway your body left or right to slip on coming head shots just by leaning. You can bob and weave to evade angular attacks. You can pull your hips way back to evade a belly slash from a knife attack. You can turn your right shoulder backwards to go with your opponents shove or push to your right shoulder by twisting your waist. You can also step up invading your opponents space (get right in his face) to evade a baseball bat swing or a roundhouse kick to your head. You can fall to the ground to evade a sword attack or you can dive roll over a wall or high fence to avoid being shot.

Ate Waza / or Atemi Waza = striking can be like Karate. How to punch properly. How to use open handed strikes. How use knee and elbow strikes. How to kick with your ball of foot or heel, ankle, shin etc. How to hip check, head butt, strike with your shoulders, your back, and your belly jujutsu kaisen characters with your neck. Forearm smashing & hitting with your biceps and tricep muscles. How to body slam into some one using your entire body like a battering ram which was very popular thing to do back then with your armor on after getting out of the way from a spear attack or sword attack.

Atemi Jutsu is the ability to use ate waza along with strategy and science of anatomy and pressure points. Also to use your strikes in combination with everything else. ATEMI = means to strike.

Note: Atemi waza only means striking techniques and the study of anatomical pressure points on the human anatomy, but Atemi Jutsu is the science of all these striking techniques coupled together with fighting strategy of life and death. It is the science of how it all fits together during violent encounters.

Joint Locking techniques (Kansetsu Waza) is how to control an opponent that does not want to be taken alive. Back in the day when everyone was wearing body armor, punching and kicking did not do so well. Joint locks, however, worked great with someone wearing armor. The armor didn’t stop their joints from being twisted but it did protect them against punching and kicking attacks. So today this is what most Police personnel use all over the world today.

Throwing techniques (Nage-Waza) is one way of ending a fight fast and using your opponent weight against themselves. Throws and foot sweeps along with reaps work really well when practiced properly. You can throw a person double your weight and size. This can be a major plus when defending against more than one opponent or an opponent wearing body armor or a winter jackets. A throw can and will end a fight quick or give you that added advantage over stronger people. With little practice any one can learn good throws and foot-sweeps or reaps.

Escapes (Fusegi) is a very effective set of skills to have. This is where others grab you and place you in a head-lock or bear hug or even place you into a painful joint lock. You can get out of just about any lock or hold. This knowledge is a great confident builder. Escape choke holds, arm bars and more. Fusegi also means defense.

Rolling & Falling (Ukemi) I cannot believe how many people have thanked me already for teaching them how to roll and fall. This past winter there were a lot of people who automatically tucked their head when they slipped out on the ice. No injury. Rolling and falling also helps you get out of joint locks and grabs. They are ways to counter different joint locks. If someone picks you up and throws you to the ground (SLAM!), you can fall without injury and then counter them. Rolls are also used in Jujutsu ground fighting to actually fight. By rolling into your opponent, you can break his lower limbs or even take down multiple opponents by rolling around and slamming into your attackers. Remember you were wearing armor and movement on the ground was limited. Log rolls, triangle rolls, forward and backwards rolls are all great for fighting with.

Bone Breaking (Kopo Jutsu) in Jujutsu, is when we learn how to strike and break bones. A broken bone is no joke. Some time fights were ended with just a broken collar bone or tail bone etc. How about a broken rib? Ouch! Breathing would then become very difficult. In Jujutsu we have but are not limited to, bone breaking and bone shattering.

Disarming is being able to take your opponents weapon away from them and then use their own weapon on them. Again this is great for Law Enforcement.

I am often asked by people the question “What is Jujutsu?”

Wow what a cup of tea this question is! Before we begin our journey on tea tasting we must first empty out our tea cups to the last drop. We do not want any of the old, leftover tea inside the cup so when I start pouring in my flavor of tea, there will be no mixing of the flavors. If the cup is completely empty you will be able to get a good taste and good idea of what I am sharing at this moment in time.

Well our journey starts in Japan a few thousand years back. You see, when people went off to battle or war they brought their weapons, their armor, and their mind. On the battlefield your opponents (the enemy or bad guys) also wore armor. Now when the two armies met out in the middle of the battle field they first would use their weapons. If the opponent got around the weapon or if the jujutsu kaisen mahito broke or was dropped, then they would have to use their empty hand. Now in Okinawa this was called Karate. But back in the day in Japan it was called Jujutsu. Before we can understand what jujutsu is, lets first break down the word jujutsu and learn what it actually means.

Ju in my mind feels like a Concept. A concept if you look it up in a dictionary says idea or thought. So this means that the first half of the word ju-jutsu (JU) is the idea part.

The idea behind this meaning of Ju is “to be gentle”, “to give way”, “to yield”, “to blend”, “to move out of harm’s way”. But Ju is only the concept or idea, it is not an action.

Jutsu is the principle or “the action” part of Ju-Jutsu. In Japanese this word means science or art.

Science is the understanding of how, why, where and when something works.

Art means the type of method that is used. For instance, the art could be the format of how you move your body or how you posture your body while moving during confrontation. So the meaning of Jutsu can also stand for war or something very serious and violent in nature in terms of fighting in a war. It can stand for a way to preserve your own life. So when you put the two together and it becomes Ju-Jutsu.

We now have what I feel or know it as the art or science of giving way by way of crippling or killing your opponent. In my opinion, Jujutsu is a very complete martial art. What this means is in Jujutsu we have many different skills or little methods of martial arts, like a mixture of different fighting philosophies that blend well together that helps make Jujutsu such an effective fighting method back then on the battle fields of Japan and here in modern times on the streets of the USA. In Part 2, Sensei Peter Freedman will discuss many of the different aspects of Jujutsu and why it is such a powerful martial art.

What most people do not know about Jujutsu today is that back in the day of Samurai, there were NO Jujutsu Dojo or schools. There were only schools of weapons. So first, you would learn the sword and then after mastering the sword you would learn empty handed methods of killing or crippling your opponent to then take their weapon away to replace what you have lost during battle.

Also there were schools in spear fighting (so Jutsu), schools in staff fighting (bo Jutsu). Also – Jo Jutsu / Hanbo Jutsu / Yawara (hand stick) and there was also knife fighting (Tanto Jutsu).

So here is the philosophy behind the thinking back then. You can’t do a good job defending against something you don’t understand. So if you did not know how a knife or sword was used, then how will you ever be able to properly defend against it? You must first learn to fight with a knife so that you can learn how it will be used against you so you can properly defend yourself against that weapon of choice being used against you.

Multiple opponents (Randori): In jujutsu, we learn how to mahito jujutsu kaisen deal with more than just one person. Sometimes there can be five or six opponents. Body positioning, angles and timing are crucial. Timing is a must! Every time we teach anything in Freedman’s Method, we always want to make sure to remind each student to always remember that they are never just fighting one opponent, even though it may first appear like they are fighting one opponent. We teach our students to always cover your back and be aware of your surroundings. Always treat one opponent as two opponents. Treat two opponents as three opponents and so on.

Ground Fighting (Ne-Waza): I teach my students to try to do their best to get right back up onto their feet as soon as possible. The faster, the better. However on those days when you can’t get up and you are stuck there, no worries. We learn to deal with these issues of ground defense. We do not like to tie ourselves with just one opponent on the ground and wrestle around, trying to submit the person or make him give up. By doing this my question would be, what about his three buddies standing by while you wrestle around on the ground trying to submit him? You either become a human kick ball or worse, a pin cushion! Our method of ground work is finish him off quickly and roll up to your feet.

Working in a construction site has a lot of dangers and risks. This is because being a construction worker, you will need to do a lot of dangerous works such as cutting, riveting, sawing, building, and all other sorts of industrial activities. No matter how technically advanced the safety measures and work protocols are, there will always be a possibility that an accident will happen.

One must take note that injuries suffered from construction work site accidents stem to a broad range of damage that can be as simple as work stress or as grave as, say, the fatality of the construction worker. Depending on the seriousness of the injury suffered, a construction worker who becomes a victim of a construction site accident might be deluged with financial dilemmas brought about by piling medical bills, loss of income source, and lack of monthly salary. To understand the most common ways Top notch norstrat workers in construction site suffer injury from, here are some of the most common construction site accidents.

One of the most common ways on how a worker gets injury is through falling accidents. This is understandable as construction work employees are, more often than not, required to go to elevated sites to complete a certain job. It is then not uncommon to hear of construction workers suffering from serious injuries brought about by falling from scaffoldings, makeshift girders, and other high building structures. In fact, even falling from a modest height can already cause life-threatening injuries.

Sometimes, other than the construction worker falling, the accident culprit could also be falling objects themselves. This is due to the nature of construction work where usually, a lot of construction materials are disassembled, put together, and moved around places within the construction site. Hence, if an unsuspecting construction worker is working from below, falling objects have much chance to wreak havoc. Apart from these simple hand tools, the machinery and equipment used in the construction site also tend to cause injuries especially those that depreciate through time.

Chemical spills, exposures to toxic substances, and other unwanted interaction with them are also a serious cause of injury for a lot of construction work employees. To carry out the overall construction plan of a certain building or structure, construction workers have to use strong cleansers, lubricants, and other harsh chemical solutions which put the construction workers’ health at risk due to overexposure. Worse, there could even be a fire or explosion that may occur within the construction work place due to these chemicals, thereby causing third-degree burns and other injury complications.

Overview Of The Construction Industry

Many construction businesses are struggling currently; due partly to the changing economic climate, but also to the countries recession.

The nations population is ballooning however houses are not being built to house the population sufficiently. With growing population comes the need for facilities (schools, libraries, businesses) also which are not being build quick enough.

The problem lies with the funding; because many clients are being careful with their money it is not being spent on capital projects. The big construction firms are therefore struggling due to big projects being put on hold or canceled (which costing millions of pounds each is a big loss) which is then cascading down to the smaller construction firms, electricians, builders, plumbers etc.

The large companies have financial reserves that they can draw on, or can cost cut in order to ease cash flow up; however the smaller companies (or freelancers) are hardest hit as they may rely on the feed of work.

Marketing In The Construction Industry

Construction companies historically do not really market themselves (as a general rule) but do historically rely on word of mouth or on recommendations from friends in the trade.

The need therefore needs to be on construction companies being more proactive and actually hunting down work. This is a change from years gone by when work did used to be plentiful and business was booming construction companies had the freedom to pick and choose. However as work had dried up, it is a case of taking what they can get. One other thing that makes things harder is that during the boom years of the 2000’s many new construction companies started up and quickly grew, now things are hard many are now competing on the existing projects that are left so competition is high.

Construction businesses are great at construction but not very good at construction marketing; most have not done marketing in the past and do not really understand how it works. Many construction companies do not have websites or done any marketing historically – as the industry has been busy, word of mouth has been used.

Marketing Options For Construction Companies

All construction firms are different (architects, builders, M&E etc) but there are marketing options that each can utilise.

As the industry is deep in recession, all construction companies Norstrat candlescience need to ‘shout’ in order to pick up new business. Shouting would be done through marketing – by being seen an heard will mean they will pick up contracts and construction projects.

Websites For Construction Companies

First and foremost, all construction businesses would benefit from having a website. This gives a ‘virtual’ presence and a chance for customers to find out more without the need of a phone call or visit.

As we are now in a digital world, the construction industry as a whole needs to modernise and get on board.

PR for Construction Companies

Another good marketing tool for construction firms to do for starters, would be to talk to construction experienced PR agencies that may well be able to help them with industry exposure.

PR is all about generating exposure and by talking to a industry experienced PR agency construction firms should be able to stand out in the crowd and get more sales enquiries.

The type of marketing that construction firms would need would depend on the sector that they are involved in. PR has been generally known to be effective for most industries however within the construction sector; there are other forms that may be more suited.

Telemarketing For Construction Companies

Construction companies may well benefit from using telemarketing as a way to generate new sales leads; this is generally acclaimed to be a fairly quick form of marketing in generating new sales enquiries. Although it may be expensive in the short term, in the long term it should prove worth while. Telemarketing is a very pro active form of marketing and as such would certainly boost new enquiries in the short term.

Under the field of civil engineering and architecture, construction is a method that consists of assembling or building infrastructure. Usually, this work is managed by a project manager and supervised by a construction engineer, construction manager, project architect or design engineer. There are several types of construction projects such as industrial construction, building construction and heavy or civil construction.

Building construction is a process of adding small or big structures to land or real property. Most of the building construction jobs are small reconstructions like adding bathroom or reconstruction of a room. Often times, the titleholder of the property acts as a designer, paymaster and laborer for the entire job. However, all the building construction jobs include several elements in legal norstrat consulting, financial and usual design.

Building constructions are procured publicly or privately using different delivery methodologies such as management contracting, hard bid, construction management at risk, design & build bridging, and negotiated price.

Residential construction technologies, resources and practices should conform to the codes of practice and local building authority regulations. The materials used are widely accessible in the market. The common materials used are timber, stone and brick. The cost of construction is on a “per square foot” basis. This is since homes can vary significantly on local site considerations, conditions, and economies of scale.

Heavy or civil construction is a procedure of adding infrastructure to the environment of a building. The builders are usually government agencies both at the local or national level. These also have legal and financial considerations. This project primarily serves the public interest. They are undertaken and supervised by some large private corporations such as power companies, golf courses and whoever oversees the construction of access dams, roads and railroads.

Industrial construction requires highly specialized skill in construction, planning and design. Holders of this project are normally industrial, for profit or large corporations. This corporation can be found in industries such as chemical, medicine, power generation and petroleum manufacturing.

There are many reputable construction companies in the US. The Turner Construction Company is one of the most commendable. It works with a number of national sector groups that concentrate on a usual building type. Their famous clients include Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical, Justice, Healthcare and Breen Building as well as Aviation, Sports and Public Assembly.

Turner Construction Company also offers additional services of supply chain management, Turner Logistics, TCS or Turner Casualty and Surety that provides loss control programs and proactive safety. It is one of the largest construction running companies in the US.

Another company is Anderson Construction Group. It provides professional builds or designs, general contracting, wind mitigation, SoftPlan construction documents and construction managements. This company delivers a large variety of industrial, residential, medical, industrial, and specialty services and projects. It is one of the leaders in providing value added construction services to their consumers by making a successful partnership with them during the construction processes.

IHC Construction Company is another trusted US construction company. It manufactures concrete blocks packed by hydraulic pressure. IHC Construction Company has construction management, pre-construction, underground contractors and horizontal drilling. The horizontal drilling of IHC is the future of underground conduit and pipe construction.

The Lean Construction Journal in a 2009 white paper pegs the ratio of non-value-added or wasteful activities in a typical construction project at 55% to 65%. The white paper-Creating Value: A Sufficient Way to Eliminate Waste in Lean Design and Lean Production goes on to say, “Creating value and only value is the best way to reduce waste in design and construction.”

Needless to say, the construction industry is badly broken and needs fixing. How does the industry rise up and meet the challenges of customer demand for higher quality, improved profitability, and the shortage of skilled workers? The first step is to cast aside the not invented here syndrome and embrace a time tested manufacturing solution -the Toyota Production System-commonly called Lean.

Why should construction company managers even consider Lean as a way to improve their business? Here are some eye opening facts about the U.S. construction industry:

60% to 85% of construction time is spent waiting or fixing mistakes
The average construction worker operates at 40% efficiency
Critical shortages exist in qualified and skilled workers
The return on equity for construction pales in comparison to all other U.S. industries
Customers are frustrated with poor quality, confrontation, excessive change orders, and scheduling delays
These are some of the same or similar issues Japanese companies like Toyota faced in the 1950’s. Lean construction can help remediate the dire conditions described above. While Lean is no silver bullet, lean construction offers substantial improvements to the problems facing the construction industry. If construction companies want to prosper in the 21st Century then they should move toward lean thinking.

Why so Much Waste?

Why so much waste? Construction projects are so fragmented. Many times subcontractors do their work disregarding how what they do impact the work of other subcontractors. We call this the “throw it over the wall’ mentality. One functional department ( in this case subcontractor) completes its part of the project and throws it over the wall to the next department (subcontractor) who throws it back over the wall because it isn’t right. This mentality sub-optimizes the performance of the entire project creating quality and schedule problems.

Lean thinking is a new way to manage construction. Many people object because they believe lean is a manufacturing strategy and has no application in a “unique” industry like construction. The goal of Lean Process Improvement is to maximize value and eliminate waste using techniques like one-piece flow, Just-in-time delivery, and inventory reduction.

There is a small but growing movement to apply lean principles to construction. Applying lean principles to construction really means applying them to project management. This transformation involves mapping your construction processes, determining the most efficient work flow and establishing a pull system. How do you create a pull system? As a contractor you can begin by looking at what the completed project should be, and then work backwards, identifying each preceding step. Downstream processes determine what the upstream processes will be and when they should take place. Taking this view of the project will help you control the work flow. You should also look at creating value stream or process maps of your job support processes as well as project processes. Processes like job setup, estimating, payroll, accounts payable, purchasing, tool and material handling are good candidates for mapping.

The Need for Change

The construction industry is broken and the five facts below demonstrate why the industry needs to change:

If it takes six months to build a house, then 85 percent of the time is spent on two activities: waiting on the next trade to show up, and fixing mistakes
Clemson’s Professor Roger Liska conducted an analysis of productivity on the construction industry and found that the average construction worker operates at only 40 percent efficiency.
Critical shortages of qualified, skilled workers are predicted to only get worse.
Despite the construction boom of 2006, Business Week’s 2007 Investment Outlook Report indicated the return on equity (ROE) for all U.S. industries was 17.9 percent, while the ROE for the construction industry was a mere 9.7 percent.
Industry customers are frustrated with poor quality, confrontation, excessive change orders in quantity and dollar value, scheduling delays and litigation.
Adding Value

Lean construction focuses on identifying and delivering products or services on which the client/owner places high value. Clients often place high value on:

No or limited change orders
High quality-meaning conformance to requirements/specifications
On-time delivery of the project
To learn what a particular client values, the contractor must effectively communicate, then collaborate, with the client to achieve those desired results. While it may be easier to accept this concept in the negotiated arena, it also works in the highly competitive bid marketplace.

While there are fewer options in the bid market than in the negotiated environment, there are still numerous ways contractors can add value to the construction process for owners that cost the contractor little or nothing. Simply by eliminating confrontation and reaching out through better communication and collaboration, the contractor can substantially increase value for the owner.

Profitability

When contractors focus on delivering maximum value to clients, they usually find that profit margins increase. This is not surprising, since in virtually any industry the cheapest products usually produce the smallest profit margin. Therefore, if a contractor competes on price, the contractor is forced into a low margin sector of the industry. Industry data supports the belief that highly competitive bid markets are the least profitable. Secondly, since lean construction is about reducing waste, this means lower costs. Therefore, the contractor is under less pressure to lower its profit margins. Toyota was able to almost immediately double its productivity. When you consider the average construction worker is working at only 40 percent efficiency, the construction industry should expect dramatic improvements. Before blaming the worker, it should be noted that Roger Liska’s studies revealed that the majority of the lost efficiency was due to poor management-20 percent results from waiting for materials or supplies, 20 percent results from inefficient company processes and 15 percent results from work rules or congested work areas.

Shortage of Skilled Workers

Another challenge the industry faces is a shortage of skilled workers. If the industry wants to attract workers, it must change the perception that construction work is undesirable. Again, lean construction is a valuable tool in that battle. When there is a lack of workers, there is a tendency to reduce the job requirements to find additional workers. To make this work, the requirements tend to be revised downward so lower skilled workers can qualify. While this works in the short term, it creates boring jobs that highly skilled workers don’t want. Further, this approach tends to reduce productivity and increase the downward pressure on wages because wages reflect productivity. Throwing money at a problem is never a candlescience, but wages are a factor in the equation. Therefore, emphasis must be placed on increased productivity so highly skilled workers can be attracted and wages increased. This isn’t a delusion because lean manufacturers have already proved this concept works.

While there are no panaceas, Lean offers substantial improvements to the challenges facing the construction industry. Those contractors that want to prosper in the 21st century should move toward thinking lean to improve their processes.

The Power of Lean in Construction

Lean construction is a systematic application of lean thinking to the design and construction of buildings that do what clients and end-users want-provide value. Evolved over the last 50 years, lean thinking has revolutionized some parts of manufacturing and is now facilitating significant improvements in the way service organizations like hospitals, banks, etc. are meeting customer requirements.

Adopting lean thinking requires sustained work over a number of years. There are no instant solutions. For most people, lean requires a change in the way they think and the behaviors that support their actions. There are many things that lean organizations do that can be copied — partnering, supply chain management, value stream analysis, flow, etc. — but they are only lean when they are done with lean intent. That requires lean thinking around how the organization works.

Not all construction firms accept waste as a necessary prerequisite for doing business. They minimize or eliminate it by using Lean tools and techniques. Some examples of companies using Lean principles and tools to overcome poor quality, poor delivery and less than stellar profits are: Boldt Construction, Linbeck Construction, Mortenson, Sutter health, Veridian Homes, and the Walsh Group

Conclusion

Lean process improvement isn’t a new concept, but it is relatively new to construction. There are many skeptics who believe Lean is a manufacturing strategy and is not suited for the construction industry. Many aspects of the Toyota Production System and other lean tools can and do apply to the construction process.

Courageous, out-of-the-box thinking construction organizations such as Boldt, Turner Construction, and Messer Construction along with others, are leading the way by demonstrating that lean process improvement can reduce waste in construction with results mirroring other industries.

Lean principles hold the promise of reducing or eliminating wasteful activities, costs, and inefficiencies in construction, creating a system that provides value to customers.

Grow Your Local Construction Company With The Right Website

The simple fact of the matter is that most people search online before making local small business purchases. If you aren’t online, you aren’t an option. Even if you are online, if you aren’t on the front page of Google for the keywords consumers use to find products and services just like the ones you sell, you’ll likely never be found.

So what can you do to grow your local construction company online?

Read below to see why you need a construction website, how it will help your local construction company grow and the best solution for your construction website needs.

9 Reasons You Need A Construction Website – Why You Need A Construction Website

Good construction websites promote you and your company to your largest source of prospects – internet users – 24 hours a day. Without a website, you are recklessly ignoring up to 75% of your potential customers.

Better construction websites make it easy for prospects to contact your company, whether by email, contact form and/or preferably, social media. Your construction website should act as the hub for your social media and email marketing, two of the best (and cheapest!) ways to market your company. In fact, more and more small businesses are pouring more and more money into social media marketing, and email marketing returns an astounding $44 for every $1 invested!

By using a combination of publishing your own content, social media and email marketing, costs per lead are reduced by 60%!

But the BEST Construction Websites should do all this and more. Your website should help you grow your business, include features that benefit you and your prospects and act as your most efficient, profitable and valuable salesperson.

While we think there are at least 27 good reasons for you to choose us, here is a list of things our construction websites are designed to do for you:

Showcase Your Products & Services – Your website showcases your products and services for everyone to see, through photos, videos and more. Explain benefits, compare with other products/services, and show testimonials from happy customers. The more you show the more new customers you’ll make.

Save Costs – By integrating systems and automating certain tasks relevant to your business, your website will actually save you money. How it saves you money is up to you, but here are 11 ways to get your mind working.

Reach a Larger Market – Our commitment is in helping small, local businesses grow, but that doesn’t mean your target market has to remain limited to your backyard. In fact, your website can help you build relationships with strategic alliances, referral partners and affiliates and establish your construction company as a thought leader regionally, nationally and even internationally, opening up opportunities you’ve never dared to think of.

Generate (Free) Leads – The overall success of your website is limited only by the amount of time, smarts and effort you put into it. The name of the game is content, and the more of it you have, the more leads your construction website will generate. Think of the internet as television and each website as its own TV show. Without continuous, new “episodes” (content), the search engines (TV guide) stop broadcasting your show on channels related to your show (search engine result pages related to your site). But if you have a smart content strategy, your show will be a hit. Check out our website packages to see how we help you have the most popular show in town.

Educate – The more popular your show, the more traffic your site is going to get. Unfortunately, too many small business websites have poorly written sales copy, are focused on what they do, not what they can do for the prospect, and don’t engage, entertain and educate the prospect in any way. As a rule, education = conversion. Best construction websites come with professionally-written sales copy focused on customer benefits and establishing you as the expert in your local market.

Update Information Quickly – If you haven’t noticed, the world and the marketplace are moving faster than ever. Printing materials has almost become a hazard, not to mention very expensive, and forget about it if they include a typo. Having a website that is easy to edit and update on your own is vital in today’s information economy. Prospects cannot get enough information about the companies they are thinking about doing business with. Give it to them or lose out to competitors who do!

24/7 Sales Tool – In addition to the amount of information they expect, consumers also demand information to be available to them 24/7, 365. Gone are the days of requesting more information. Make a database of the things your prospects and clients ask most and develop a continually updated frequently asked questions page. Create or suggest additional online resources for your products and services and by all means, include testimonials, reviews, recommendations and media mentions of your company to sell your company while you sleep.

Control Your Content – Content makes the internet world go round and brings in free leads. The best construction websites act as a hub for all your content and transform your construction company into a virtual media outlet. Once your content is published, it can then be spread around the internet – to social media sites, bookmarking sites, article directories, local and regional media, and other strategic outlets – all leading back to your website.

Improve Branding – Branding helps your construction company stand top notch consultants reviews out from the competition, but it can cost a fortune branding through traditional means. With your website, it’s free. Your logo, your sales pitch and your content combine online to build your brand and scale with your business. Without a website, you may not even exist in the mind of your prospect. But with BEST Construction Websites, you even the playing field and can even the stack the deck heavily in your favor.

Who Needs A Construction Website?

So now that you have an idea of why you need a website, you may be asking yourself whether a website will help your local construction company. The answer is YES!

Regardless of what type of construction you do, Best Construction Websites will get you to the top of your local search results and become your most valuable marketing tool.

Besides good search engine rankings, your new construction website:

automatically captures prospect email addresses keeps track of traffic information easily publishes new
content showcases your work in pictures and videos allows prospects to connect with you
And if you think of something else you want your construction website to do, ask us and we’ll show you how it can be done with one of our video tutorials.
Not sure if you need a website for your construction business?

Look at some of these numbers:

Construction companies – 368,000 monthly searches
General contracting – 165,000 monthly searches
General contractors – 164,000 monthly searches
General contractor – 135,000 monthly searches
Building contractors – 74,000 monthly searches
New home construction companies – 74,000 monthly searches
Residential construction – 49,500 monthly searches
Commercial construction – 49,500 monthly searches
That’s just on Google.
Each and every month.

Sure these terms are generic, but it proves that your local prospects are searching for the services you offer online – and if you aren’t online, you aren’t an option.

But if you are an option, the leads you get are red hot and ready to buy. And the higher your construction website ranks for your targeted keywords, the more of these red hot leads you’re going to get.

Imagine ranking on the front page of Google for terms like these in your area:

Your City Construction contractor
Your City Construction company
Your City Residential construction company
Your City Commercial construction company
Your City Independent contractor
Your City Building contractor
Your City Building construction
If you reached the front page of Google for just 5 of those terms, with an average of 50 searches a month, you’d get no fewer than 5 of those red hot prospects every month. The sample above is for the 10th position. Those numbers increase dramatically as your rankings increase.
For example:

9th position = 7.5 hot prospects a month (150% increase) 7th position = 9.5 hot prospects a month (190% increase) 5th position = 15.25 hot prospects a month (305% increase) 3rd position = 23.75 hot prospects a month (475% increase) 1st position = 91 hot prospects a month (1820% increase)

Again, this is just an example, but a very realistic one. Depending on the amount of searches in your area, the amount of hot prospects will go up or down, but the ratios remain the same1.

Are you starting to see the importance of creating the content needed to secure these top positions? Can you see how many leads you are throwing away (and worse, they are going straight to one of your competitors) every month?