MCA is dedicated to the innovation and advancement of the industries it serves. As such, it has been involved in many joint efforts to analyze the current market and trends of a variety of industries. On top of that, MCA has published a collection of books: The Industrialization of Construction. To view the publications MCA has been apart of, please see the table below.
Our Combating Construction’s Biggest Time-Wasters article made
EC&M’s – Most Memorable Articles of 2024 Read.
| Title | Publisher | Author | Date | Full Description | View | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | What Workforce Shortage? The Problem Is in the Planning | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore & James Sullivan | 2022 | Prior to, and exaggerated by, COVID-19, the problem among the construction workforce has been described as a “shortage.” However, the construction industry has not changed how its skilled tradespeople perform the work that does not explicitly require their skill, knowledge, or experience, resulting in a stagnant $0.38 of labor cost for every $1 spent on construction while industrialized industries (farming, automotive, manufacturing, banking, etc.) experience $0.09 to $0.15 on the $1. | Read |
 | Managing the true costs of change orders | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari & Phil Nimmo | 2022 | Change orders that are not proactively and properly managed account for unanticipated productivity and job profitability losses. This article explains how detecting and avoiding the side effects of change orders can help prevent these losses. It also explores why construction financial professionals (CFPs) must recognize that change orders, once official, only cover the portion that the customer has initiated. | Read |
 | Keeping an Eye on the Money: Streamlining Data & Departments | CFMA | Jennifer Daneshgari, Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2022 | Who has a hand in your company’s financials? Do you know where the money goes? Even though accounting departments are not revenue-generating, their work can be done more effectively with increased visibility and processes that are designed to streamline the flow of data and information among the field, office, and project management. | Read |
 | Rise of the Machines | EC&M | Tim Kridel | 2022 | In season 3 of the HBO series Westworld, robots are everywhere again, this time on construction sites. One model is George (Photo 1), whose skills include electrical and HVAC installation and site surveys. “Dull, dirty, and dangerous no more,” says Delos, George’s manufacturer. “Delos’ fully autonomous androids are capable of a wide range of tasks with only limited human supervision required. Day or night, rain or shine, they work tirelessly to ensure the buildings around us are constructed faster and safer than ever before.” Westworld is set sometime in the 2050s. Judging by today’s construction robots, George could be a reality by then. In fact, some of the marketing copy already sounds like George’s. One example is Hilti’s Jaibot: “Overhead work for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing installation is strenuous, challenging, and time-consuming for construction workers. With the industry experiencing a skilled labor shortage, taking good care of your workforce is now more | Read |
 | Planning, Ordering and Receiving Fixture Packages | IEC | Phil Nimmo and Dr. Heather Moore | 2022 | Material issues have been on the rise, and fixture packages have been and continue to be one of the most difficult areas to manage, | Read |
 | The Secret to Better Project Control: The pitfalls, benefits, and planning considerations of a data-driven project closure process | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Sydney Parvin, MCA, Inc. | 2022 | In the information age, contractors can no longer operate by relying on subjective, reaction-based decision-making. To guide a project, manage risks, and make decisions effectively as a project team, data-driven methods must be a part of a contractor’s process of project management (Fig. 1). Successful projects result from applying project control throughout all four phases of a project: planning, procurement, installation, and closure | Read |
 | Gang Boxes – Making them come alive with Agile Intelligence™ | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Heather Moore and Deanna O'Dell | 2022 | Gang Boxes have been around as long as construction sites, and their purposes have evolved to “store” whatever is needed at the site, mostly tools and material. About 10 years ago, we described the concept of a “Productivity Integration Center”, as a part of the future Industrialization of Construction®, (January, 2017, IEC Insights Magazine - The Winds of Change and the Event Horizon, 2013, IEC Insights Magazine - Industrialization of the Construction Industry, Wikipedia; Industrialization of Construction®, Industrialization of Construction® Series by Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore Book 1 | Read |
 | Measuring and Improving Underbillings: A way to maximize your profits | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Jennifer Daneshgari | 2022 | Many of us live by and believe in the motto, “cash is king,” meaning that an overall positive cash flow will keep your business healthy and successful. Without positive cash flow, banks and other financial institutions may not allow you to continue to function. Cash flow is often measured via a cash conversion cycle. A long cash conversion cycle (CCC) means you’re funding jobs and even payroll from your pocket. A shorter cash | Read |
 | Article Ebook V | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2022 | • Industrialization of Construction® - Disruption • Working with Data • Measuring Productivity | Read here |
 | The Key Responsibilities of an Electrical Project Manager | EC&M | Dr. Heather Moore and Sydney Parvin | 2022 | In the traditional contractor model, a project was bid, awarded, and then thrown over the wall for the tradesmen to handle, according to “Optimized Operational Model for Maximizing Electrical Contractor’s Profitability” by Dr. Perry Daneshgari. In more recent years, project managers have taken on a stronger role to oversee the operations of a project, manage changes, and mitigate risks. In today’s construction environment, projects are happening at an even faster pace, changes occur daily — sometimes multiple times a day. Even a strong project manager cannot effectively align company resources for the project, meet the demands of the general contractor (GC), keep up with changes to the drawings, help the field stay ahead of the schedule, and deal with material delays, all while also maintaining a sense of ‘control’ over the project. Project managers are stuck in a cycle of trying to meet the needs of the project one email at a time. In doing so, often become a bottleneck between the project and the company, making time for actual ‘management’ work sparse. To keep up with the professional operational model, project managers need tools and resources to more effectively work with data, rather than dealing with discrete events. Project coordination is especially important on construction projects where: • Several different entities are involved | Read here |
 | How Visible is Your Pipeline and Backlog? | IEC | Phil Nimmo | 2022 | Construction contractors have been plagued with unique challenges when it comes to financial projections and long-term planning. One of the most significant contributing factors is the uncertainty that exists with future sales, not knowing what’s in the pipeline until it’s time to do the work. The pipeline, and even backlog, for the construction industry is a little bit of reality, a little bit of wishful thinking, and a whole lot of fudge factors and estimates. Not just because the estimates themselves are often just a best guess, based on history and not future realities, but also because once a contractor has more than one person running work, facing the customer, keeping track of what’s been committed, and what’s been bid is a nightmare. | Read here |
 | Labor Overruns: How to Measure & Manage for Peak Performance | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Jennifer Daneshgari | 2022 | Regarding the five steps of Industrial-ization of Construction®, this article focuses on the need for management of labor to predict project and company performance.1 Project Predictions When looking back at a project’s profitability, did it equal what the team was expecting? And do you know why? Can you use that information to predict | Read more |
 | Supply Chain Disruption: Are You in the Construction or Logistics Business? | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore and Phil Nimmo | 2021 | This article will explain various procurement models, their advantages and disadvantages, and their requirements for success. Procurement Chain Models “Procurement Chain Management in the Construction Industry” (PCMCI) by MCA, Inc.1 shed light on the actual cost drivers of construction projects. As shown in Exhibit 1, this research investigated and modeled the various methods of procurement, including the comparative risks, costs, and benefits of each of the procurement models. However, as the current state of production still heavily relies on the skilled trades, some of these procurement models and behaviors may or may not apply to the construction industry.2 | Read more |
 | PMs & CFMs: Increase Information- Sharing to Improve Profitability | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari , Dr. Heather Moore & Jennifer Daneshgari | 2021 | Mitigating Risk Business risk, technical risk, and integration risk are inherent in every project. While integration risk is the most underestimated and least measured of the three types, it has the highest impact on the other two categories and contributes the most to project mismanagement, which leads to a higher project volatility and lower performance projection accuracy. The PM’s role is to mitigate and make these risks visible. However, when PMs come from the field and/or | Read |
 | How Will Working from Home Catalyze Industrialization? | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2021 | Construction still strongly relies on the skilled trades for its final installation and any information and feedback leading up to that point, making physical presence and interaction by the jobsite and field workforce a requirement. But in the aftermath of COVID-19, remote work will be accelerated. The examples and methods provided in this article can help you down the path of visibility to the work environment, which will lead to expanding the horizon of prefabrication to be more than just building assemblies. | Read |
 | Executive Research: Ensuring a Correct Match for Your Company’s Future | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2021 | Every company that weathers the test of time will eventually require a replacement, succession, or enhancement to the founder, executive, leader, top-level manager, or the career path for top performers. Before getting to the point of promoting from within vs. hiring from outside, which both have risks and rewards, there are more steps and strategies needed to assure the smooth continuation of the company’s ecosystem. | Read |
 | Change Orders, A Curse Or A Blessing | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Heather Moore and Sydney Parvin | 2021 | Do change orders help or hurt your job productivity and profitability? The perception of most project managers is that they can make good money on change orders (COs) due to higher profit margins that can be charged for changes in project scope. In reality this is a dangerous and often a one-dimensional and misleading perspective. Research and studies conducted by MCA, NECA, universities, and other associations indicate that contractors more often end up with less money than expected despite higher priced labor using NECA 1, NECA 2, or sometimes even NECA 3 for their labor units. How come we add more revenue for new scope, and still lose profit? | Read |
 | How Industrialized are You? Measuring Your Company’s Progress | CFMA | Dr. Heather Moore and Sydney Parvin | 2021 | Building on MCA, Inc.’s research and publications on the Industrialization of Construction®, including articles in CFMA Building Profits,2 this article will provide a framework for companies in construction to evaluate their progress along the trajectory of industrialization. This article will also review the impediments to moving forward and revisit the role of the CFO with examples on how they can support industrialization. Industrialization of Construction® Industrialization, which occurs in any industry that is skilled-trade-centric (such as agriculture, manufacturing, and now construction), happens when work is transferred from the tacit | Read |
 | The Pitfalls of Owner-Supplied Material | EC&M | Phil Nimmo, MCA, Inc., Jennifer Daneshgari | 2021 | The name of the game in construction is increasing productivity and managing risk. Risk, specifically in construction, comes in many forms, and many stakeholders attempt to manage it. A current perception in the construction industry is that owners/end-users are dissatisfied with time, cost, and quality on the job. Their diagnosis is that there is an inefficient and costly procurement chain. The proposed remedy is that owners/end-users can manage risk and improve time, cost, and quality on the job by directly purchasing material and removing the middlemen (e.g., the electrical contractor). | Read |
 | Invisible Decisions What happens in the field on an electrical job site is often not visible to management. | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Sydney Parvin, MCA, Inc. | 2021 | Construction projects call for many decisions to be made during and prior to the job’s completion. For instance, simple decisions must be made in response to questions like: • When and where should the material be delivered? • Do we need a few more people onsite next week to help install luminaires, or can our current crew handle the work? These types of decisions are made every day. While some may seem small and insignificant, when you add them up, they can determine a positive or negative outcome of your project — and the relationship your company has with its customers. Is it clear which person in your organization is responsible for different project-related activities? Which decisions are made by electricians, and which are left to the responsibility of project managers, project admins, or other office personnel? | Read |
 | Invisible Decisions — Part 2 Identify the hidden decisions on an electrical job site to help make data-driven improvements. | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Sydney Parvin, MCA, Inc. | 2021 | MCA’s last Job-Site Intelligence column, published in the April 2021 issue of EC&M, examined the lack of visibility when it comes to job-related issues and decision-making in construction projects. The article summarized the extent of these issues, highlighting the findings from Dr. Heather Moore’s 2013 doctoral thesis, Exploring Information Generation and Propagation from the Point of Installation on Construction Jobsites, and pointing out that field personnel experience twice as many obstructions in performing their daily work as managers realize. In this article, we offer stepby- step guidelines for uncovering the hidden issues that kill job productivity and demoralize field personnel. When problems arise on a job site, many contractors simply rely on field personnel to “make it work.” This can lead to frustration and poor project outcomes. On the other end of the spectrum — and less often in construction — companies sometimes adopt a behavior of micromanagement. Rather than educate personnel about which decisions can be made onsite, they promote a culture with a lack of autonomy in the field. This can also negatively affect the project as well as hinder communication flow between the office and the field. | Read |
 | How to Maximize Your Money with Change Orders | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Phil Nimmo | 2021 | Change orders, along with death and taxes, are certain in life. Throughout 30 years of working with hundreds of companies and projects, we have yet to find a single project that makes it to the end without a change order. However, all the studies conducted by our company, universities, and associations indicate that if change orders are not managed appropriately, they will actually cost more than priced — and are one of the main reasons for unanticipated productivity and job profitability losses. | Read more |
 | Scientists Vs. Artist The Quest for Replicating Success | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Heather Moore & Sonja Daneshgari, MCA INC. | 2021 | Do you sometimes wonder how it is possible that with so much chaos and ever-changing requirements on the job site, most of the jobs still make money? And then, on the other hand, wonder why a great job ‘all of a sudden’ loses all its profit at the last 20% of completion? | Read |
 | The Operational Model for Modular Construction | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | In the modular and industrialized environment, the four steps of data quality management (DQM) – collecting, recording, reporting, and presenting – can help both accounting and operations more accurately predict and prevent construction risks. Tracking work, effort, time, and money as independently dependent variables is how other industries have moved to increased productivity and efficiencies. | Read |
 | Jobsite to Garage: Changing the Mindset of Prefab & Modular Construction | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | As the construction industry continues to head toward industrialization, modular construction (or multi-trade prefabrication) is on the rise. How will your company keep up? Given the current workforce challenges that require different skills and methods, especially as skilled tradesmen retire, this is the perfect time to amplify your company’s prefabrication efforts no matter how much you are (or are not) doing today. | Read |
 | Industrialization: Is Construction Next? | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | Like other industries that have gone through an industrial transition, it will be up to construction financial professionals to take the leadership role as the industry changes. | Read |
 | COVID-19: Another Tectonic Shift in Business Operation Models | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | Disruptions to business operations are seldom as abrupt as COVID-19 and other comparable tectonic shifts such as World War II, the Oil Embargo, and September 11. While modularization and the industrialization of the construction industry has been occurring for over two decades, the sudden arrival of COVID-19 will catapult the industry forward in ways we haven't seen before. | Read |
 | The Ins and Outs of Integrated Project Delivery | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | Why this multi-party method should, in theory, lead to better communication, collaboration, and lower costs than traditional approaches | Read |
 | Making Data Work for You | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | When it comes to electrical construction projects, jobsite intelligence implies a level of knowledge. It is es - sential to have that knowledge to express wisdom in the process of project management and e ective decision making. Knowledge is not inherited, and it is not gifted. Knowledge is developed through a well-defined hierarchy. | Read |
 | Research and Investment Go Hand in Hand | ELECTRI | Dr. Perry Daneshgari , Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | ELECTRI values its strong partnerships with researchers and industry partners across the country. We are pleased to present this first interview and look forward to many more conversations. For more than 20 years, MCA, Inc. has been involved with ELECTRI International, providing innovative research, construction industry expertise, and its own financial investment in the Foundation. From its start in the late 1980s, MCA has developed a positive reputation for its work, first with the automotive, aerospace, and healthcare industries. Today, close to 70% of its work is with the construction industry. | Read |
 | Article Ebook VOl IV | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2020 | This ebook is packed full of Agile Construction® related published articles on… Disruption Industrialization Talent Development Working With Data Technology Safety Download your complimentary copy today. | Read |
 | Five Keys to a Successful Project Handoff and Startup | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Sonja Daneshgari | 2019 | Everyone knows that if you plan work early, you will be more productive and profitable on a project. It’s also a well-known fact that it’s difficult to plan and run a construction job because of ever-changing job-site realities, which are often impossible to predict. However, based on MCA’s inhouse experience, research has shown that by using the fully integrated Work Environment Management® methodology every hour of planning can save up to 17 hours on job operations. The real question is: How can you successfully and realistically implement job planning before the job even starts? | Read |
 | Emerging Leaders | IEC, Insights Magazine | Phil Nimmo | 2019 | In January 2018 IEC published an article written by MCA with focus on the topic of recruiting workers (Recruiting for the Future, January 2018, Insights Magazine); hopefully by now you were able to successfully implement some of the concepts and it has satisfied your head count needs. The next step is of course to retain the best people that you have; the aspiring and capable leaders for your business. Offering more money is not always the solution. People are less motivated by money then what they want you to believe, and this is especially true of skilled workers. Money enables people to live a quality life, and to achieve a sense of financial security that is critical to success, but money is not a measure of success for most people. What we need in order to effectively retain our best skilled workers is to develop a business culture that recognizes and promotes those who desire an elevated career path. Your company needs to have an available career path for future leaders and a plan that allows them to navigate this path. | Read |
 | Construction Robots: Are They for Real? | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore, Sonja Daneshgari | 2018 | Robots that do the work of an electrician on an actual job site? Flying drones that check on a project’s progress? Robots that lay bricks (see Photo). Is this for real? Technology is finally creating disruption in the construction arena. But how can this robot fantasy match up with today’s reality? This article provides a practical overview of what modeling and simulation may bring to electrical construction in the near future as well as presents a few examples of | Read |
 | The Paradox of Managing Large Jobs | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2018 | Every electrical contractor dreams about “The Big Job.” The prestige and notoriety that come with it can springboard a company into growth, or at least provide a nice chunk of change in one fell swoop; or not. These jobs can also bring disastrous effects, worst of which is bankruptcy. The explosive nature of large jobs is what makes them difficult to manage. The amount of information and degrees of freedom to manage is exponential compared to a “normal” job. It becomes virtually impossible to fly by the seat-of-the-pants because the job cannot be managed with the traditional project management approaches. It requires using a data-driven approach to manage lead and lag indicators, and a company-wide team effort to support the job. No one project manager can do it alone, lest they become victim of the Killer Job that eats away all of the company’s profits for an entire year. Many project managers have tried, and somewhere mid-stream in the project, we have received a call/cry for help, to implement the principles and practices that are listed in this article. | Read |
 | Safety and Productivity: The Effects of Visibility and Planning on Safety Risks | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore and Michelle Wilson | 2018 | Construction is a risky business. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 3 million hours per year are lost due to nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the electrical construction industry alone, and the construction industry as a whole represents over 20% of all jobsite fatalities. | Read |
 | Recruiting for the Future | IEC, Insights Magazine | Phil Nimmo | 2018 | MCA, Inc and IEC have jointly prepared and distributed many articles in the past few years, and most of them focus on the shifting market and the demands that this places on business leaders. In addition to focusing on the business models and the business processes, we have to remain intently focused on the fact that our people have been and will continue to be the most critical component of our business success. It’s our people that serve our customers, that keep our promises and that follow the processes which ensure our profitability and future existence. Recruiting is what we do to ensure that the people we have on deck for tomorrow continue to excel and bring our business new success. Recruiting is much more than running a few ads and filtering through the candidates; recruiting is the entire process of motivating people to want to be a part of your team. Effective recruiting is effective motivation, so it never ends. | Read |
 | How to Make Money in a Good Economy: PREPARING FOR THE NEXT RECESSION | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2018 | The current economic cycle is the second longest expansion that our country has seen since the inception of economic growth measurement. The economy has been recovering since 2009 following the major recession of 2007-2008. While the economy has been expanding for the last nine years, some economists predict a slow-down or the next recession to begin around 2019 and onwards. Here at MCA Inc. working with our contractors we believe, based on the collective backlog and barring any major catastrophic events both naturally and socially that we may see the next slow down around 2022-2023. If there is a recession to follow, we don’t believe that it would hit until 2025. | Read |
 | Article Ebook VOl III | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2018 | This ebook is packed full of Agile Construction® related published articles on… Transformation Productivity Profitability Process Procedures Tools Measurements Download your complimentary copy today. | Read |
 | The Power of Peer Groups | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2017 | Every business starts with people doing things that they know how to do best. If what they do ends up being what the customer wants and is willing to pay for, then the business starts growing. In the Electrical Contracting business many contractors are able to do this by simply being good electricians, and it is very typical for the contractor to grow to be $ 2 to 5 million in a matter of a few years. | Read |
 | Work Breakdown Structure From The Field | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore, Sonja Daneshgari | 2017 | How to break down the installation work to identify risks at the beginning of the job | Read |
 | Winds of Change and the Event Horizon | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2017 | The “Winds of Change” is a discussion surrounding Agile Construction®, and specifically leadership of an Agile business. Agile is a business model that is capable of adaptation to meet changing needs, both in the short term and in the long term. Short-term Agility surrounds the needs to recognize and meet the needs of customers and vendors at the project, division, and overall business levels, while still maximizing the available profit opportunity. This requires effectiveness and efficiency throughout the business system. Longterm Agility comes from leadership. Leadership must recognize and respond to changes in the business environment. These changes are detected by knowing what to watch for in the “wind.” Rapid detection and early action based on these “Winds of Change” is effective leadership and the only way to ensure Winds the long-term success of any business. | Read |
 | Robots: The Next Wave! | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2017 | Advancements in robotic technology are being used in construction in two ways. First, savvy contractors are learning new ways to improve their existing labor’s productivity. Much like how Short Interval Scheduling (SIS®) helps contractors plan and schedule their labor's work each day and then all the obstacles that interrupt the planned work. In this case, advanced software and computer technology help identify the root cause of the interruptions on the job, allowing contractors to remove barriers early in their project and preserve or even improve profitability. The second way advancements in technology are used is to replace the time and effort of human activity with more consistent and predictable machinery. | Read |
 | Planning For a Safe Working Environment | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2017 | Last year, we presented two separate articles on the topic of safety and the correlation between safety and productivity (“A Safe Job Site Is a Productive Job Site” [2016 May/June Insights] and “Predict & Prevent” [2016 Sept/Oct Insights]). We have already presented the data that shows “why” this connection is important to an electrical contractor, and we have already presented the information that explains “what” needs to be done in order to gather relevant information from the field. In this article, we will dive deeper into “how” to use critical business processes to alleviate the risk of safety-related issues before they occur. Not unlike quality and customer care, the safety of any job site starts with the board of directors. If the executives, manager, and supervisors think safety first, then the job sites will be safer. | Read |
 | Contracting is a Great Small Business | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 2017 | Best methods in how to set up and layout a contracting business. | Read |
 | How to Integrate Apprentices Successfully | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore, Sonja Daneshgari | 2017 | The beauty of every young newcomer to any kind of trade or work is that he or she will not be bringing a lot “baggage” with them on “what the right way of doing something” is. This, in itself, can violate the structure and stability of a company’s processes. On the other hand, there is a lot of learning and training to be done, and if the teaching and guidance is not done correctly it can reduce the productivity of the whole team. Costly delays can occur by one newcomer not knowing the processes or lacking the necessary skills to do the job. | Read |
 | Green is Good, Green with Prefab is Better | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore, John Armitage | 2017 | As an increasing number of owners and jurisdictions adopt or specify Local, State, or International codes or standards for in support of Green Building options, strategies to cost effectively conform become increasingly vital for your organization. From the standpoint of a building’s or facility's total life-cycle cost and impact, Sustainable, Green, or Living Building design and construction can prove to be a viable option for lower total cost of ownership. The question becomes, do these methods necessarily imply greater cost of delivery? Yes and no. While materials, methods, and regulations may incur some higher costs, each phase of the project will have opportunities to better manage costs through skillful use of design, planning, and improved processes of project and resource management. When limits exist, innovation will provide success. | Read |
 | Measuring and Tracking Externalized Work to Support | 2016 MOC Summit | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore and Dr. Hisham Said | 2016 | The same principles that have made other skilled-trade-based industries more efficient are being deployed in construction through Industrialization, which requires understanding skilled trade work and segregating/externalizing the work from the jobsite. The construction industry still relies heavily on skilled trades and their tacit knowledge, while most of the information available at the points of installation is not passed on. A significant increase of work externalization requires a measuring and tracking method that can: 1) tap into this tacit knowledge as the basis for work planning and control; and 2) understand, quantify, and minimize the manipulation effort done onsite for the prefabricated assemblies. As such, this paper presents a planning and control framework for industrialized construction operations that integrates information entropy and the novel concept of work manipulations to monitor and measure the expected performance outcomes, in a more sophisticated approach beyond measuring “hours” and “quantities” of the work. The development of the proposed framework is based on the analysis of a set of case studies that illustrate the impact of information predictability manipulation strategies on construction prefabrication decisions. | Read |
 | Capitalizing on Market Intelligence | CE Construction Executive | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Winning battles requires good strategy and solid tactics. In a military setting, strategy builds on the mission and intelligence gathered about the terrain, enemy and conditions, while tactics translate this intelligence into a plan of action. In construction, contractors build their strategy on market data that illustrates trends, shifts and projections. his intelligence can lead to... | Read |
 | Partnering With Distributors for Efficiency | Construction Executive | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Construction industry members often assume all the tasks performed on a job site are necessary, and therefore firms focus on improving those tasks to improve the efficiency of the project. However, this assumes the tasks being performed represent the best way of completing the work. In reality, a company can perform a value-losing task very efficiently. Efficiency is output, whereas effectiveness is the goodness of output or the actual outcome. | Read |
 | The Real Ramifications of Rework | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Rework impacts the productivity of a project at least three times over. The logic is simple: First you spend time to do the task, and then you have to redo the task, wasting the time that you could have spent doing something else. In the end, rework has 300% negative impact on the productivity of that task. So, for example, if your rework is an average of 10% of the total work completed on the job, then its impact on the job is wasting 30% of the labor. | Read |
 | What it takes to be a Project Manager | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Say your boss, the owner or CEO of the electrical firm you work for came to you with some exciting news. He offered you a 500,000 hour job to manage. Of course your boss was excited. The job he just handed over to you will bring in approximately $65 million over the next 4 years. You, on the other hand, although excited, were shaking in your boots just thinking about it. In the past twenty or so years of working for this firm and the three firms before it, the largest job you ever managed was 200,000 hours and you almost lost your shirt. | Read |
 | Expert in Multiple Markets | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | So you’ve cut your teeth, and made a name for yourself by carving out your own special niche in your local market. You’re now known as the go to contractor for your specialty and it’s taken years for you to achieve that stature. You’ve watched the market fall and weathered the storm. Now you’ve been paying attention to the market around you, and while it’s coming back you have a feeling the market is shifting and not coming back in areas that have been strong holds in the past. You’re suspicious that other markets are taking off, but aren’t sure they are worth pursuing. | Read |
 | A Safe Jobsite is a More Productive Jobsite | IEC Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | A safe job site is a productive job site. Any injury on the job site not only eliminates the injured worker’s output, but also affects other workers’ performance while they attend to the injured worker and afterward. Safety is not only economical but also is an emotional issue on any job site. Few processes and tools assure both safety and productivity simultaneously. Agile Construction®, which is based on the application of ASTM Standard E2691 was developed with productivity and safety in mind over twenty years ago. | Read |
| The Great Idea Swap | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Over one hundred attendees from twenty-two companies were represented at MCA’s annual symposium (Fig 1). Attendees included owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and distributors. Contractors in attendance varied from electrical to mechanical, and included all stakeholders from executive management to foremen. They all collaborated on topics on increasing productivity and profitability within the construction industry. The group addressed three core concepts during the symposium: | Read |
| Teaching the Newcomers How to Manage Time | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | According to the online Cambridge dictionary the ol’ cliché “you can’t teach old dogs new tricks,” is said to mean that it is very difficult to teach someone new skills or to change someone's habits or character. With over 20 years of research in the field, MCA Inc. finds this definition to be true in just about every industry, and especially holds true in construction. | Read |
| Predict & Prevent: Using Company Processes and Feedback from the Source to Reduce Safety Risk | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Most electrical contractors (EC) would tell you that “safety is a top priority.” In fact, many institute company-wide safety programs that include training, procedures, and documentation, and they focus from top to bottom on safety. Construction is one of the most dangerous occupations in terms of safety, as the national level safety data and trends indicate. So, how is it that ECs have come so far in training and focus on safety yet we still are left with incidents and accidents? | Read |
 | Avoiding Killer Jobs with Better Accuracy | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | “Killer jobs,” we’ve all heard of them, or maybe even been unfortunate enough to have been involved in one. It’s these jobs that can single-handedly make the difference in a year-end profit or detrimental loss. And most result in tarnished relationships with employees, customers, and vendors. Sometimes bringing companies to their knees. | Read |
 | Article Ebook VOl II | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | This ebook is packed full of Agile Construction® related published articles on… Transformation Productivity Profitability Process Procedures Tools Measurements Download your complimentary copy today. | Read |
 | Measuring and Tracking Externalized Work to Support Industrialized Construction | MOC | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Until recently, the construction industry has suffered a technology bypass, relying on centuries-old processes and procedures to manage complex projects. Today, however, the same principles and applications that have made other skilled-trade-based industries more efficient are being deployed in construction through Industrialization, which happens with five steps: (1) Management of Labor (2) Management of Work (3) Lean Operations (4) Simulation and Modeling (5) Feedback from the Source | Read |
 | Bottom-Up Risk Management | PM Network, PMI | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | Most projects carry the highest risk in the area of integration—bringing together all the required components necessary to produce the final product or service in a timely, cost-effective manner and with expected quality. | Read |
 | Organizational Transformation Through Improved Employee Engagement | Strategic HR Review | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2016 | The purpose of this paper is to help businesses understand that as markets change, the way a company does business also must change to stay competitive in their industry. A company needs to know their share of the market to develop strategies to stay competitive and survive. This case study takes you through a successful company’s recognition and transformation involving all aspects of the organization. Cross-functional teams were developed to improve existing processes and develop new ones, as well as educate their people along the way. | Read |
 | Hardt Electric | US Builders Review | Tom Faunce | 2016 | When David Hardt was elected president-elect of NECA in 2013, Peter stepped up and became chief operating officerof Hardt Electric. “At that same time, we began working with MCA, a consulting firmout of Flint, Michigan, to instill the Agile Construction Process (AGC) into our firm,”says David. “We’ve had a lot of exciting transitional elements happening here in the past few years with me becoming president of NECA, Peter taking over the leadership and instituting a new management process.” | Read |
 | Prefabrication Increases Productivity | Building & Construction | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | Prefabrication is really a misnomer for what is happing in the industry. It’s not prefabrication that is happening, but rather separation of production from installation. Most find there’s no longer a choice to participate in productivity improving activities to improve time, cost and quality of the construction project delivery. | Read |
 | Reducing Labor Waste With Short Interval Scheduling | Construction Executive | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | Labor waste is a negative term from both workers’ and managers’ perspectives.They agree waste should not exist, but they deine it diferently. | Read |
 | Financial Implications of VMI for Electrical Contractors and Their Distribution Partners | Construction Executive | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | Contractors and distributors achieve top performance by minimizing both their variable and mixed costs through error reduction, process improvement and customer awareness. | Read |
 | Applying Scalable Prefabrication to Industrial Construction Work | Construction Executive | Dr. Perry Daneshgari & Dr. Heather | 2015 | The industrialization of construction is upon us. It is no longer a choice to participate in productivity-enhancing activities to improve the time, cost and quality of construction project delivery. Prefabrication is only the stepping stone in the application of industrialization through agile construction, the precursor of lean in construction. Please view the | Read |
| Partnering with Electrical Distributors for Improved Efficiency | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | Industrialization begins with management of labor and work, including identifying who should do what, when, and where. In other words, it doesn’t all have to be done on site as the schedule suggests. Using vendors to support the work — not just sell material — is one way to accomplish this. | Read |
 | The CEO’s Role in Information Management | Eiffel Trading Company | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | Often we believe that processes and information management will happen by themselves – but they don’t. Each company’s products and services are a direct reflection of its management’s commitment to time, cost and quality, as well as their customers, employees, communities and owners or shareholders. | Read |
 | Electri Newsletter - 5/2015 | Electri International | Electri International | 2015 | ELECTRI Launches Series on Industrialization ELEC TRI International has released the first in a series of four white papers on topics pertaining to the Industrialization of the Construction Industry. MCA Inc., under the leadership of Dr. Perry Daneshgari, President/CEO, is producing this series for ELECTRI. Book One - Here and Now is available from ELECTRI. The three subsequent texts will include Benefits from Globalization & Industrialization, Foundation and Future, and Efficiency and Continuous Improvement. These will be produced and released from 2015 to 2017. | Read |
| Electri - NECA Presentation | Electri International | Electri International | 2015 | ELECTRI International has forged strong partnerships with its Council members. At the recent NECA Convention, Dr. Heather Moore, MCA Inc. Dr.Heather Moore, Vice President - Operations for MCA Inc., presented two classes on Prefabrication and one session on Utilizing and Managing a Lesser Skilled Workforce. Both topics are directly connected to ELECTRI research. In the presentation on Prefabrication in Electrical Construction, Dr. Moore explained that Prefab is not just about building and assembling; it is looking for ways to externalize work®, which very often the field workforce does not recognize until they create a Work Breakdown structure. | Read |
 | Impact of Prefabrication on Industrial Construction Work | Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | Prefabrication is no longer a standalone approach to construction decided only by the “shop foreman” or “our prefab catalog.” | Read |
 | Process of Project Management | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2015 | A critical part of the Agile process is the Process of Project Management (PoPM). Your agility as a contractor is strengthened by employing a standardized Process of Project Management. | Read |
| MCA-Soft Product Updates | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2015 | MCA, Inc. has been hard at work developing a NEW process for data entry out in the field. That's right; a complete mobile app designed specifically for filling out your SIS® form and automatically uploading them straight from the jobsite right from your iPad or iPhone. | Read |
| Composite Crew Rate | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2015 | Improve your competitiveness by reducing labor costs, without reducing wages. How can you reduce labor costs without reducing wages? You have two knobs to turn: improving productivity, and reducing composite rate. | Read |
 | Article Ebook VOl I | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2015 | This ebook is packed full of Agile Construction® related published articles on… Transformation Productivity Profitability Process Procedures Tools Measurements Download your complimentary copy today. | Read |
 | How to Increase Your Market Share | Construction Subcontractors’ Monthly Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2014 | Like many other industries, construction is going through constant change to keep up with the new market realities have its new challenges, especially for large cities, which historical have been the strong hold of union contractors. | Read |
 | Slow and Steady | Constructor | Jackson, Sheryl S. | 2014 | A concern throughout the industry is availability of construction workers if there is a signifi cant upturn in construction spending. | Read |
 | Is Prefabrication Making You Money? | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2014 | Like many other industries, construction is going through constant change to keep up with market demands. Industrialization and globalization of the construction design, procurement, and build process has forced more and more contractors to adopt prefabrication and vendormanaged inventory processes and programs. | Read |
 | How to Manage Your Job Using Work Breakdown Structure | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2014 | Construction Productivity has historically lagged other industries in productivity, which until it is correctly measured, it cannot be improved. | Read |
| WBS - Work Breakdown Structure | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2014 | When faced with a job having the typical complexity of a large construction job, it can be a daunting task to see the whole picture. But fortunately, there is a simple tool available to help: Work Breakdown Structure, or WBS. | Read |
| SIS® - Foreman's Tool to Diagnose Daily Work Obstacles | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2014 | The construction job site is so fluid that unpredictable obstacles occur almost every day. To stay prepared for these obstacles, daily kick-off meetings and look-ahead schedules become increasingly important for field personnel (project manager, foremen, and crew leaders). | Read |
 | Principles of Job Productivity Assurance and Control (JPAC®)*** | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2014 | Job productivity has historically been measured from the accounting perspective.This method of measurement has alienated the labor; as a result the outcome is data that is not useful. | Read |
| JPAC® Change Orders | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2014 | As we all know, the jobsite is constantly changing. These changes can invoke anything from additions to the initial scope of work to unforseen obstacles. | Read |
| Agile Construction - SIS® | MCA | MCA, Inc. | 2014 | SIS® (Short Interval Scheduling) helps track the obstacles that affect productivity. | Read |
 | Construction Job Productivity Management | ASTM | ASTM | 2013 | As the saying goes, time is money.That’s true for many projects, construction and otherwise, and measurement can lead to process improvements and resulting savings. But how do you decide what to measure and how to measure so that you can make process improvements and reduce costs? | Read |
 | The Industrialization of Construction® | Dassault - Whitepaper | Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 2013 | Commissioned by Dassault Systemes and prepared by MCA Inc., this whitepaper focuses on industrialization of construction industry. It maps out the construction industry challenges, relates the history of industrialization in the manufacturing industry, and summarizes five critical aspects and approaches. Download the whitepaper and start accelerating the “Industrialization of the Construction Industry” through lessons learned from manufacturing and other industries. | Read |
| What Changes to FASB Requirements Will Mean to Electrical Contractors | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2013 | Most recently, in the 2010 Exposure Draft of FASB’s proposal 605, the Board proposed a comprehensive revenue recognition model for both U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and international financial reporting standards (IFRS), stating that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of goods or services to a customer in an amount that reflects the consideration expected to be exchanged for those goods or services. | Read |
 | Making Labor Cost Reduction a Reality | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2013 | In addition to the measurement and improvement of productivity, reducing the cost of building can also come from reducing the composite labor cost. | Read |
 | Gang Box Management | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2013 | According to inhouse research from MCA, up to 5% of an electrical laborer’s time could be spent looking for tools and materials on the job site. | Read |
 | Electrical Contractor Power and Integrated Building Systems | ECM | ECM | 2013 | There is nothing new about the general notion of prefabrication. Zhang Yue and other innovators may be adding new technology to it, but it has been around for centuries. | Read |
| Industrialization of the Construction Industry | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2013 | The quality of life for every American relies on the products of the U.S. construction industry. The construction industry accounts for between 4 to 7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually in the United States over the past 10 years and employs 5 to 9 million workers or 3 to 6 percent of the total U.S. workforce. But such a key industry is under constant pressure to improve productivity, reduce cost, and minimize waste in the operation. While the productivity in the manufacturing industry has improved by 400 percent over the last century, the construction industry’s productivity has, in the best case, stayed flat or turned negative. | Read |
 | Thinking Outside the Electrical Box | New Jersey Business | Birritteri, Anthony | 2013 | How IBEW Local 102 strives to make members and contractors succeed. | Read |
 | Application of ASTM E2691 Standard Practice for Job Productivity Measurement | ASTM | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2012 | This comprehensive manual describes the user’s experience with ASTM E2691, Standard Practice for Job Productivity Measurement (JPM). This manual includes individual efficiencies of labor and other resources, general contractor vs. subcontractor models, scheduling, planning, jobsite flow, on-site correction to reduce waste, and case studies. | Read |
 | New Productivity Measurement Standard Affects Revenue Recognition | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2012 | Construction Productivity has historically lagged other industries in productivity, which until it is correctly measured, it cannot be improved. FASB issued ASC-606 in 2014, with updates to the standard for revenue recognition. This articles explains how ASTM E2691 for Job Productivity Measurement complies with ASC-606. | Read |
| Journey of Transformation | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2012 | The journey of transformation is as much of a reward as the destination. Then, once a company crosses the transformation bridge, the goal becomes continuous improvement. | Contact publications@cfma.org to read |
 | In the Trenches: Real-life advice from a CFO who led transformation | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2012 | How a construction contractor transformed itself from a contracting shop to a vibrant, viable and good place to work business. | Read |
| Mastering the Electrical Work on a Mega Project | EC&M | Daneshgari, P.;Moore, H.,Werner, J.,Warwick, B | 2012 | Imagine being given the task of managing a 500,000-hour job scheduled to take place over the course of four years. Most contractors and electricians would jump for joy if they landed a project of this magnitude. An undertaking of this scope, however, carries with it a myriad of challenges and complexities. | Read |
| How to Thrive in a Tough Economy | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2012 | Practical tips for making money and satisfying the customer during tough economic times | Read |
| Measuring Productivity in Construction | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2011 | The construction market has a new standard for measuring job productivity. The American Society of Testing and Materials International (ASTM) recently adopted a new standard for measuring construction productivity at task, project, and industry levels. The new standard (ASTM E2691-09) is a fast-paced and real time measurement of productivity, which relies on true input from the field for measuring construction put in place — and reflects on any gains or losses of productivity instantaneously. | Read |
 | Application of the New ASTM Standard for Job Productivity Measurement in Construction | IEC Insights | Dr. Daneshgari | 2011 | The American Society of Testing and Materials International (ASTM) has recently adopted a new standard for measuring construction productivity at task, project, and industry levels. | Read |
 | Construction Productivity | The Engineering Society of Detroit Institute | ESD | 2011 | Identifying the Opportunities for Advancing the Competitiveness, Efficiency and Productivity of the Michigan Construction Industry | Read |
 | New Method Tested To Sharpen Work Measure | ENR | Buckley, Bruce | 2010 | Large contractors are putting a new standard for productivity measurement to the test in the hope of producing better project process controls. | Read |
 | Diversify your Electrical Business | Lowe's | Curley, Clare. | 2010 | Today’s economy leaves electricians little choice but to explore new markets. | Read |
 | Develop Your Strategic Plan | Lowe's | Mulligan, J. | 2010 | You may not like looking into the future beyond jobs you already have secured, but someone has to do the planning for your business. A strategic plan will help you achieve your goals and prepare you for industry changes. | Read |
 | The Secret to Short Interval Scheduling | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2009 | According to a multi-year nationwide survey conducted by MCA, job-site delays are a common complaint among contractors across the country | Read |
 | Putting Prefab into Perspective | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore, Phil Nimmo | 2009 | The impact of prefabrication on productivity and profitability, as well as its effect on electrical estimation, was the topic of roundtable discussions at this year's MCA spring and fall electrical contractors' symposiums held in Omaha, Neb., and San Diego. | Read |
| How to Increase your Profits by More than 30% by applying Short Interval Scheduling | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2009 | Find out why this project management strategy boosts productivity and reduces job-site delays in the field for electrical contractors | Read |
| Customer Positioning Tips for Electrical Contractors | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2009 | Customer positioning and control (CPAC®) method helps electrical contractors examine the quality of production by identifying the demands placed on an organization’s resources relative to the value produced | Read |
 | Productivity is Key to Profitability | ENR | Daneshgari, P. | 2009 | Recently, Lean Construction has been celebrated as the new fad among construction-management gurus. In reality, it is not the leanness of the construction that matters but rather its agility and responsiveness to change. | Read |
 | 52nd Annual National Convention Highlights (IEC) | IEC, Insights Magazine | Graybar | 2009 | This year's keynote speaker, Dr. Perry Daneshgari, an expert in the field of construction management, lit up St. Louis with his information-rich presentation. | Read |
 | Keeping Layoffs to a Minimum | MDM | Stelton-Holtmeier, J. | 2009 | Distributors increase focus on effi ciencies, cuts beyond the work force | Read |
 | Advancing the Competitiveness and Efficiency of the U.S. Construction Industry | National Research Council if the National Academies | Committee on Advancing the Competitiveness and Productivity of the U.S. Construction Industry, National Research Council | 2009 | Construction productivity--how well, how quickly, and at what cost buildings and infrastructure can be constructed--directly affects prices for homes and consumer goods and the robustness of the national economy. Industry analysts differ on whether construction industry productivity is improving or declining. Still, advances in available and emerging technologies offer significant opportunities to improve construction efficiency substantially in the 21st century and to help meet other national challenges, such as environmental sustainability | Read |
| Real Ways to Reduce Material Handling Costs | EC&M | Dr. Heather Moore, Phil Nimmo | 2008 | Form a partnership with your distributor to gain a competitive advantage | Read |
| Improving Estimation Accuracy | EC&M | Dr. Heather Moore, Phil Nimmo | 2008 | Estimating without historic data is like operating without long-term memory. Find out how to avoid killer jobs and increase accuracy in the process | Read |
 | Track the WIP | ECM | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Phil Nimmo & S. Shabander | 2008 | Work-in-progress report helps monitor and manage cash flow | Read |
 | Does Your Labor Know How to Be Productive? | ECM | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2008 | As an electrical contractor or a project manager, the million-dollar question is “How do I get the guys to be more productive?” | Read |
 | The Impact of Accounting on Job Management & Productivity | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2007 | Accounting's contribution to operations has been repeatedly validated in many industries. | Read |
| Making Sense of Shifting Markets | EC&M | Dr. Perry Danesgari, Michelle Wilson | 2007 | Missing a market shift may mean losing it entirely. As the electrical construction market changes, contractors must learn how and when to shift gears | Read |
 | Distributor's Impact on Contractors Profitability | ECM | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2007 | Electrical Distributors provide the essential connection between manufacturers and the owners and specialty contractors. | Read |
 | The Profitability of Agile Construction® | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2006 | Using Agile Construction®, you can adapt to change, react to jobsite changes rapidlly, complete projects efficiently, and capture more profit. | Read |
 | Shifting Markets | Electrical Contractor | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2006 | System productivity can help recover market share | Read |
 | The Impact of Job Planning on Profits | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2005 | Every CEO, CFO, PM, and foreman intuitively knows that planning improves production. However, until now, no one knew why planning helped – or how much. | Read |
 | Customer positioning model for Contractors | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson | 2005 | Some customers contribute more to the bottom line than others. Some projects are more profitable. Some subcontractors are more efficient. | Read |
 | Procurement Management in the Electrical Contracting Industry | Electrical Contractor | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Michelle Wilson & Phil Nimmo | 2005 | Supply Chain Horizontal Integration (SCHI): An alternative, low cost approach to supply chain management. | Read |
 | Operational Model for Improving System Productivity of Distributors **** | MCA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Frank Murdock | 2005 | Distribution in specialty contracting is facing a fork in the road in its role in the supply channel. | Read |
 | Procurement Management in the Construction Industry | NAED | Daneshgari, P; Harbin, S. | 2003 | Changes in customer expectations in the construction industry regarding project delivery, time, cost, and quality have forced the stakeholders to search for new operational models. | Read |
 | Helping Distributors Inrease Profitability | NAED - Direct | Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 2003 | Profitability is a growing concern as the recession of the early 21st century has caused declining sales for distributors. | Read |
 | Building a "how to" for distributor profitability | NAED - Direct | Daneshgari, P; Olmstead, B. | 2003 | NAED Foundation research update | Read |
 | Learning Based Total Vehicle Development | Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. | Dr. Perry Daneshgari & Larry Fletcher | 2002 | The complex task of Total Vehicle Development (TVD) has been a major challenge for automobile developers since its inception. The current approach to TVD is primarily resource based planning and execution. General Motors’ Vehicle Engineering, with the help of MCA, has developed a fresh new approach to TVD. The new TVD approach is a planning and execution philosophy that is focused on learning and prioritizing the learning. In this paper, the authors will explain the fundamental philosophical and technical differences between the two approaches and illustrate the advantages of the new approach. The new approach relies heavily on usage of: 1. Zero Based Learning 2. Risk Prioritization and Sequencing 3. Mathematical Models and Problem Solving 4. Rapid Learning Cycles 5. Rapid Engineering Prototyping This paper will describe the scientific application of Learning Based Total Vehicle Development. It will show examples of planning and execution, which will enable the product developing organizations to use the existing knowledge and reduce risk of new uncertainties. | Read |
 | The Power of Partnering | Electrical Contractor | Jim Mahaffie | 1998 | Read | |
 | Method and system for reducing development time of complex systems utilizing correlation matrices | United States Patent | Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 1998 | A method and system for reducing development time of a complex system such as an automobile engine utilizing correlation matrices are provided. | Read |
 | The Principles of Scientific Management | Taylor, Fredrick W. | 1910 | The Principles of Scientific Management | Read | |
 | How Can You Best Support Your Project Managers? | IEC, Insights Magazine | Sydney Parvin and Jennifer Daneshgari | 2022 | Who do you depend on in your company to ‘deliver the job’ on time, with quality, and at or below cost? Typically, the answer to that question is the project manager. It’s likely your company has the strong ones… and the not-as-strong ones. How can you tell them apart? And more importantly, when in the job do you recognize which is which? How can your organization ensure consistent results independent of the differences in skill sets? | Read |
 | 2022 Industrialization Update: Evidence & Projections | CFMA Building Profits | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2022 | This article provides an update on where the industry stands with industrialization — including metrics, supporting standards, and specific examples and evidence — and covers the novel approach of Integrated Material Logistics Solutions (IMLS®), which is beginning to gain traction among a few suppliers and will be required to get to the true construction megacenter approach (as introduced in “Industrialization: Is Construction Next?” from the January/February 2020 issue1 ). To see where your company stands, take the Industrialization Litmus Test at forms.gle/9P9dMkXY63Xp7bh1A | Read here |
 | Are Preventers the Real Heroes? Preventing Risk Pragmatically With Data | CFMA Building Profits | Dr. Heather, Dr. Meik Daneshgari and Sonja Daneshgari | 2021 | Risk is a risky subject. The term itself carries an abstract meaning and ambiguity for those trying to manage it. The definitions of risk, which all relate to probability and uncertainty, converge to what CFMs might call “lack of control of the projected outcome.” In construction, every CEO, CFO, and executive VP all the way down to project managers (PMs) and field personnel in a construction company manage risk at their own level. | Read here |
 | Congratulations. You Were Awarded the Contract! (Now What?!) Account for Your Pre-Contract Changes | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Heather Moore & Jennifer Daneshgari | 2023 | Have you ever received a contract and not been certain if the amount in the contract lines up with your bid? It happens and it’s happened to nearly everyone reading this article. How can that be? It happens because things change quickly during the estimating process. Drawings change, there are last minute negotiations, material substitutions, profit margin cuts in some areas to hit targets, and scope of work changes from being self-performed to being subcontracted or split out between companies. What is the best way to manage these changes? Is there help out there? | Read here |
 | Why Paying Attention to Branch Circuit Work on Electrical Jobs Is So Important | EC&M | Phil Nimmo and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | Having a "don't sweat the small stuff" attitude can cost you, especially when it comes to the often overlooked impact of branch circuits on a job. | Read here |
 | The Evolution of Prefabrication | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | How this concept has gone from criticism to skepticism to industry standard in the construction market. | Read here |
 | Founder’s Transition: The Time Is Now | CFMA Building Profits | Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 2023 | Companies start with people, function through people, thrive through their culture, and survive through their adaptation to the zeitgeist — the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time. The pain of separation and the anxiety experienced during the loss of a leader is very much like the five stages of grief; however, the organization and its departing founder can plan to avoid that pain and anxiety. | Read here |
 | What Your Daily Job Reports are Missing | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Heather Moore & Sydney Parvin | 2023 | What are Daily Job Reports? Many contractors use some form of a daily job report as a standard way of documenting project activities and issues across their projects. These reports are often completed by the field lead onsite to provide an update on what was worked on, if any issues came up throughout the day, and to note specific safety hazards. They also may be used for timekeeping purposes or to verify subcontractor / equipment present on the jobsite. Daily job reports typically include the following information: • Project Name / Location • Foreman / Supervisor • Activities worked on • Payroll information (Shift start time & end per person) • Subcontractor onsite (Manpower) • Equipment • Issues • Safety Hazard/ Corrective Action | Read here |
 | Using Data to Increase Job-Site Efficiency | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | veryone likes order, predictability, and a stable environment. However, electrical professionals all know that is further from reality in any job site today than you can imagine. You like to have order, but you’re not always willing to pay the price for it. MCA Inc.’s Dr. Perry Daneshgari mentions in his lectures to the industry, “Chaos is the norm, and order is the exception.” Obstacles are plentiful on construction job sites. The chaos on the job sites is created due to a multitude of degrees of freedom that have to line up for the building to be built. In addition to the job-site chaos, electricians face obstacles daily in | Read here |
 | Reducing Lost Labor Hours on Electrical Job Sites - Podcast #23 | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | In Episode 23, Editor-in-Chief Ellen Parson dives into the topic of how to reduce lost labor hours on electrical construction job sites with a panel of experts and contractors: Dr. Perry Daneshgari, CEO and president, and Dr. Heather Moore, vice president of customer care and support, from MCA Inc.; Neil Davidson, executive vice president of Commonwealth Electrical Company of the Midwest; and Rich Shumway, general manager for Wilcox Electric. For more information, read “How to Reduce Lost Labor Hours on Electrical Construction Projects” by Freelancer Tim Kridel, which was the cover story for our February 2023 print issue. | Listen here |
 | Reducing the Impact of Poor Job-Site Conditions Inferior site conditions on construction projects impact labor, morale, productivity, and quality of installation. | EC&M | Dr. Heather Moore & Sydney Parvin | 2023 | Contractors may be accustomed to dealing with just about anything on the job. Worse-than-expected job conditions can be overlooked or overshadowed by even bigger problems. As a result, poor job-site conditions can unknowingly create safety risks, impact the morale of on-site workers, decrease productivity, prolong the schedule, and ultimately increase costs. | Read here |
| Read here | The Benefits of Vendor-Managed Inventory on Job Sites | EC&M | Phil Nimmo & Sydney Parvin | 2023 | Let’s start this discussion by defining VMI. The simple translation is VMI stands for vendor managed inventory, but what does that mean, and how should that help you? | Read here |
 | Breaking the Mold: A Nonlinear Approach to Construction Financial Projections | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore, and Jennifer Daneshgari | 2023 | The role of a financial professional in construction is different than in any other industry. Managing the financial inputs, throughputs, and outputs in construction are complicated by the unpredictable nature of the source data. | Read here |
 | Why MCA? Real Results, Predictable Profits Get to Know IEC’s Exclusive Provider of Tools, Support, and Tracking Solutions for Overall Project Productivity and Short Interval Scheduling | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Heather Moore & Phil Nimmo | 2023 | Has your company ever implemented software with the following results: 1. Using the software actually put money on your bottom line 2. Using the software built a bridge to connect the office and the field 3. You can predict project outcomes months ahead of your financials 4. You have company-wide performance data to inform what work you go after, and how tight your estimates can be without adding risk | Read here |
 | Are Your PMs Ready, Willing & Able to Be Held Accountable? | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | Often entrusted to run multimillion-dollar projects and serving as the link between the office and the field, project managers (PMs) are essentially depended on to run a small business. As PMs take on bigger projects, they are expected to have stronger financial skills. For example, a project that generates 10% gross profit but takes 10 months to collect payment can break even or hurt a company’s cash flow. | Read here |
 | Job Porosity: Identifying the Risk Factors for Project Financial Outcomes | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | Every project has associated risks at the onset of project start up. These risks can be divided into three categories: business, technical, and integration. Most of the risks, which show up during the project’s life cycle, will not be known at the estimating and handoff stages of the project. | Read here |
 | Synchronous Modeling: Including BIM in the Project Schedule | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari, Dr. Heather Moore & Phil Nimmo | 2023 | The evolution of work and performance in every industry is tightly related to technology and its application. Centralization (when the skills are needed in one location for finishing the products), decentralization (when the technology allows parts and products to be produced away from the point of installation), and recentralization (when communication between | Read here |
 | Using Data to Increase Job-Site Efficiency | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | Everyone likes order, predictability, and a stable environment. However, electrical professionals all know that is further from reality in any job site today than you can imagine. You like to have order, but you’re not always willing to pay the price for it. MCA Inc.’s Dr. Perry Daneshgari mentions in his lectures to the industry, “Chaos is the norm, and order | Read here |
 | Managing Schedule Changes on the Job Site | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 2021 | As with any job site, the main crux of issues usually revolves around the general contractor (GC) schedule or lack thereof. An overall project schedule is usually produced prior to the job starting and passed on to all the respective trades, who then plan their work accordingly. As the project progresses, impacts and issues start popping up on a weekly or even daily basis. Areas are not ready as scheduled | Read here |
 | Measuring the Cost Benefits of Prefabrication | EC&M | Phil Nimmo and Jim Ford, | 2023 | Prefabrication in construction is a very broad topic. As such, it covers many different areas. Regardless of how much prefab work you are doing, where you are doing it, or who is doing it, the one common fact is that everyone struggles to see how prefab saves them money — and how much money it saves them. So, here’s a simple way to quickly recognize and measure the benefit of prefabrication | Read |
 | Combating Construction's Biggest Time-Wasters | EC&M | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2024 | Productivity, like any other word, is very often left to interpretation of the user. Unless it’s clear what it is supposed to represent, it could be a very confusing means of measurement. Definitions of productivity can relate to economic factors or individuals. An inquiry in any search engine will result in something like: | Read |
 | Using Business Software to Manage Your Manpower Needs How far can you see ahead to determine job-site requirements? | EC&M | Phil Nimmo | 2024 | It’s nearly impossible today to think of starting a business without software tools. We use software to manage our data, perform record-keeping services, and support our decision making. But for any software system to assist with management decision making and true projection/forecasting in a way that is useful, it must have real-time access to the same data from all the sources you utilize. | Read |
 | Stay Ahead of the Game – Use Your WIP Knowledge to Your Advantage | IEC, Insights Magazine | Jennifer Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2024 | Every job starts with estimated costs and projected profits. The field team is assembled and the vendors are selected. As the job progresses, here’s what is known by the company in some way, in some location. • The job costs to date • The billings to date • The cash collected to date • The commitments left to spend • … and likely the project manager has a good handle on what’s left to go Having the information digitalized, communized, and interconnected between your estimating, accounting, and field information in one place moves your data to information that you can use for | Read> |
 | The Disappearing Act: Fixtures and their Associated Work | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2021 | The electric lamp is around 200 years old, having been around about as long as the widespread use of the steam engine. What makes us think that fixtures and lighting as we know it will stay the same forever? We have all seen the trends in slow motion including LED, POE, and other technologies that have threatened to replace lighting hardware as we know it today. Along with the change | Read |
 | Can the Future be Predicted? Of Course it Can! | IEC, Insights Magazine | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Jennifer Daneshgari | 2024 | A Case Study using ASTM E2691: Standard Practice for Job Productivity Measurement Everyone wishes, at one time or another, that they had access to a crystal ball to see the future. We may want to see the future for ourselves, our friends and family, or maybe the outcome of the big game. For today, let’s focus on the outcome of our latest job / project. That crystal ball does need a bit of input to accurately tell the future, but it’s well worth it! | Read |
 | Transforming Construction: AI’s Role in Building the Future | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2023 | With each new change in process or technology, apprehension from users challenges the need to adapt their current methods and processes. When technology replaces an existing method or process, it is only sustainable if it offers something above and beyond what is currently in place. Some call this “disruption.” | Read |
 | Orchestrating Success: Connecting Work, Effort & Time | CFMA | Dr. Heather Moore & Phil Nimmo | 2024 | Much like the conductor who must understand the music, guide each musician’s contribution, and deliver a performance that resonates with the audience — all without playing a single note — the GC’s project manager (PM) orchestrates the timely and budgeted delivery of a building. They must harmonize the sometimes conflicting objectives of various trade contractors where any missteps with work, effort, and time can lead to diminishing results and profits, falling short of a perfect performance. | Read |
 | Connecting the Dots: AI & the Future of Construction | CFMA | Dr. Heather Moore, Dr. Perry Daneshgari | 2024 | Artificial intelligence (AI) is a friend — not an enemy. For now, it can’t exist without data and information created by humans, as the taxonomy of human learning, creation, and wisdom is based on the human intelligence learning sequence. In a follow up to the November/December 2023 article that laid out how AI will impact construction,1 this article expands on how AI is created. “Transforming Construction: AI’s Role in Building the Future” discussed the future of AI as it pertains to the construction industry and dismissed fears of AI taking the place of human workers.2 As explained in previous articles such as “Founder’s Transition: The Time Is Now,” both AI and Agile IntelligenceTM need to be developed upon good, accurate data and informa | Read |
 | The Chicken or the Egg: How Work & Money Are Interconnected | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2024 | Which came first: the chicken or egg? A similar question in construction is, which comes first: work or money? While the owner is a source of funding, constructing a building requires plumbers and electricians. A mason can build a masterpiece, but a contractor can go bust due to productivity issues. And although we have come a long way from the days of bartering in the street, the core interchange remains: currency is a means to measure and transfer value. The role of a construction financial professional (CFP) is to manage and oversee this exchange of currency at the company and project levels. While the money management itself is a challenge, linking the money to its source may be the biggest hurdle. This article explores how work and money are tightly linked and how both need to be managed accordingly throughout a company’s projects. By looking at the behavior of work and money as leading and lagging indicators, the measurement and management of a company’s vitals can be improved. | Read |
 | Project Management Tools for Efficient Job-Site Practices | EC&M | Phil Nimmo | 2024 | All our jobs are taken with the expectation that we create an accurate estimate and a good plan of attack to complete the work in a timely | Read |
 | Who's Calling the (Material) Shots on the job Site | EC&M | Jennifer Daneshgari and Sydney Parvin | 2024 | How often do you find yourself up three flights of stairs, tools and material in tow, only to realize you are missing a part and need to make another trip? Or worse, how often do you or members of your crew realize midway through a task that someone needs to go pick up material at the shop or supply house to finish the job? If you run into this regularly, you are not alone. A study conducted by MCA on the ideal job-site | Read |
 | Are You Prepared for the Workforce of the Future? | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2024 | The construction industry is on the brink of a monumental transformation in its operations and financial management. While the fundamental risks — business, technical, and integration — remain, the rapid introduction of new technologies is reshaping how these risks are understood and managed. Harnessing data-driven processes, reducing waste, and standardizing work can unlock unprecedented efficiencies. This evolution paves the way for newer technologies to be seamlessly incorporated, tailored to the sector’s specific needs. | Read |
 | May I Take Your Order Please? Tips and tricks for getting job-site material when you want it, where you want it, and how you want it | EC&M | Dr. Heather Moore and Sydney Parvin | 2024 | Do you ever feel like a doctor calling for a scalpel in the criti-cal moment of surgery — but without a nurse or scalpel to be found? Or like the race car driver who shows up to a pit stop with only three tires available for change-out? Every minute on every job is spoken for, and the fewer minutes your electricians spend worrying about the material, the more minutes can go to planning, prefabrication, and installation. Assum-ing the material is locally available, this article will give some simple tips on how to order it to assure you (and your electricians) aren’ | Read |
 | Identifying Patterns on Electrical Construction Job Sites | EC&M | Dr. Heather Moore and Sydney Parvin | 2024 | If you have ever solved a Rubik’s Cube, you know the look of awe on faces of those who have not. The ability to go from an orderly, same-colored set of six sides to chaos of unmatching colors and then back to complete order seems to require some fancy wizardry. There are many approaches to unscrambling including: Dedicating hours of your life to work one cube at a time back in its original place. Peeling off and reapplying the stickers so you have a uniform color on each side (however, this leaves some nasty evidence). Recognizing the pattern in a solution, and mastering it in a matter of a few moves within minutes or seconds. The time involved with option No. 1 usually reduces interest in trying (at least a second time). The poor-quality result of option No. 2 also leaves little to be desired. Option No. 3 becomes a solution for those who seek to categorize, codify, and find patterns to make their life easy. | Read |
 | Redefining Distribution on a New Erra of Construction Efficiency | CFMA | Dr. Perry Daneshgari and Dr. Heather Moore | 2024 | As the construction industry continues to evolve toward greater efficiency, a pivotal transformation in unfolding. | Read |