Travel

[mannyb]

On bids that require traveling more than 6-8 hours to the job. Would you work 5/10s 6/10s or 7/10s I would guess the GC wouldnt want to pay OT so that would be on the EC to decide if he wants to work his guys with OT. You are going to loose 2 days just traveling.

 

[brantmacga]

We generally work four 10’s when the schedule allows it (coordinating with other trades). OT for the travel time is figured into the bid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[electrofelon]

Keep in mind on prevailing rate jobs, (at least here in NY) there is sometimes restrictions to working "non standard" work weeks such as 4 10's.

 

[Coppersmith]

There are competing interests here.

The contractor makes more profit (and keeps the bid lower) if s/he does not pay overtime (assuming a fixed price bid). If the schedule is not tight and you have a large pool of workers who are willing to work just 40 hours, that's the way to go. If the schedule is tight, you can still avoid overtime by having two or three shifts of workers. Again, this assumes you can get enough people willing to work just 40 hours. Union companies usually hire out of the local hall so they don't have to bring workers 6-8 hours away. This makes it easier to get workers who don't insist on OT. Even non-union companies may be able to make a temporary arrangement with the local union to hire people for the one job or use temp services that specialize in trades people. That might be the key to getting sufficient help.

The workers generally want as many hours as possible when that far out-of-town. They want to make a big score and usually don't plan on going home every weekend or even any weekend. When I've worked such jobs. I generally did not go home, my wife came to visit me every couple of weeks and sometimes stayed with me all week. If you are planning on paying overtime, it's a good idea to be flexible on scheduling individuals. Some people will want 70 hours. Some 60. Some 50. Some just 40. Your workers will be happiest if you try to accommodate them. Keep in mind that workers are less efficient when working overtime, especially above 60 hours.

If the GC has a super tight schedule and tells you to bid the job assuming overtime, this makes it easier to get a crew together, and presents an opportunity to make additional profit by bringing in as many workers as possible and minimizing the OT paid. You can keep the overtime at a reasonable level (say 50 hours) and pay out more non-OT hours.

 

[mannyb]

There are competing interests here.

The contractor makes more profit (and keeps the bid lower) if s/he does not pay overtime (assuming a fixed price bid). If the schedule is not tight and you have a large pool of workers who are willing to work just 40 hours, that's the way to go. If the schedule is tight, you can still avoid overtime by having two or three shifts of workers. Again, this assumes you can get enough people willing to work just 40 hours. Union companies usually hire out of the local hall so they don't have to bring workers 6-8 hours away. This makes it easier to get workers who don't insist on OT. Even non-union companies may be able to make a temporary arrangement with the local union to hire people for the one job or use temp services that specialize in trades people. That might be the key to getting sufficient help.

The workers generally want as many hours as possible when that far out-of-town. They want to make a big score and usually don't plan on going home every weekend or even any weekend. When I've worked such jobs. I generally did not go home, my wife came to visit me every couple of weeks and sometimes stayed with me all week. If you are planning on paying overtime, it's a good idea to be flexible on scheduling individuals. Some people will want 70 hours. Some 60. Some 50. Some just 40. Your workers will be happiest if you try to accommodate them. Keep in mind that workers are less efficient when working overtime, especially above 60 hours.

If the GC has a super tight schedule and tells you to bid the job assuming overtime, this makes it easier to get a crew together, and presents an opportunity to make additional profit by bringing in as many workers as possible and minimizing the OT paid. You can keep the overtime at a reasonable level (say 50 hours) and pay out more non-OT hours.

I agree on OT and Efficient.

 

[James L]

I had a stretch in town where I worked 65 hours per week, and I would probably do it the same out of town...
Monday 12 hrs
Tuesday 12 hrs
Wednesday 11 hrs
Thursday 11 hrs
Friday 10 hrs
Saturday 9 hrs

But you could cut each day by 1 or 2 hours and still have OT

The premise is reduce daily hours as you go through the week because 9 hours on Saturday feels just like 12 on Monday.

Same would be true of 8 on Saturday feeling like 11 on Monday

 

[Hv&Lv]

Years ago I worked as a millwright/electrician. We worked out of town a lot.
(12) 10 hour days then home for a weekend, with paid motel AND $20 per diem.

Made a lot of money then.. wife wasn’t too happy, but it paid well