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Chuck McClain Chuck McClain is Founder of McClain Consulting Services, Inc., provider of customized nationwide engineering/environmental facility assessments, and brings 25 years of due diligence experience to the commonground blog roll. His blog provides a balanced and practical take on the challenges and opportunities for EPs working in and around the world of engineering due diligence services.
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Recent Blog Entries
- Entry posted January 23, 2012 by Chuck McClain
I have had the good fortune to work with most of the facility assessment companies in the due diligence industry over the past three decades and to have learned from many Experts who were very successful in their field. In many cases they were Experts with a capital “E”, believing that theirs was the ONLY way to do things.
Unfortunately, they have also provided some of the worst advice I’ve received through the years from both within and outside of the due diligence industry.
Here’s some advice that comes to mind:
“The only way to win contracts with big cities is to know people on the inside.” - From a successful client manager / salesperson whose specialty was municipal contracts.
I believed this one for decades until we proposed on and were awarded a large contract with the City of Los Angeles in 2011.
“The client gave us an impossible deadline. We’re going to be late and there’s nothing we can do.” – From one of my bosses along the way that wasn’t willing to stay up all night and complete the project by the deadline.
Not surprisingly, he lost the client’s account soon afterwards…
“You’ll never make that much money in your own company.” - From the founder of a successful consulting firm trying to dissuade me from starting my own company.
While there are certainly more expenses in one’s own company, I’ve come to believe the sky is the limit in terms of financial rewards for entrepreneurs, not to mention the satisfaction and happiness that comes from being your own boss.
When I was younger I used to listen and believe each of the experts I worked alongside. And I did learn quite a bit from each of them. Now, when I hear an expert definitively state what they know to be the ABSOLUTE TRUTH of how things work or how to do things or what the future holds, I’m automatically skeptical. I listen and see what there is to gain from the advice, but I don’t automatically believe it like I once did.
The challenge with Experts is that many times the more times than not the more successful they are, the more they believe theirs is the only way to do things or to look at an issue.
I have come to think that there are many ways to approach any given situation, many approaches to any given project and many ways to accomplish various goals. I’ve found the most successful consultants being experts in looking at each project newly and determining the best way to serve the needs of the client given the unique circumstances and parameters of that particular project. That includes the correct project process, data gathering, staffing, and product delivery. I think of those consultants as experts, but with a small “e”.
- Entry posted December 20, 2011 by Chuck McClain
I like how Seth Godin (www.sethgodin.com) recently distinguished the difference between a failure and a mistake:
A failure is a project that doesn't work, an initiative that teaches you something at the same time the outcome doesn't move you directly closer to your goal.
A mistake is either a failure repeated, doing something for the second time when you should have known better, or a misguided attempt (because of carelessness, selfishness or hubris) that hindsight reminds you is worth avoiding.
We have been fortunate this year. We have visited more facilities, prepared more reports and worked with more clients that any other year ever. Not surprisingly as we’ve grown, we have had our share of failures from which we have learned a great deal. We’ve worked with a few independent contractors that didn’t keep their promises. We weren’t as specific as we should have been in certain proposals only to learn that the client was expecting us to include more buildings that we thought we’d agreed upon. We agreed to work on a project or two that we probably should have passed on – and will next time.
The good news is that we did indeed learn from these “failures”, discussing them amongst our group and keeping a running list of what we learned through the year. As a result, we have become much stronger as a company. It’s been a great year in which we tried some bold actions and committed to some bold projects that have changed what we see as possible. And, yes, we had several failures that turned out to be disguised blessings. I can’t wait to see what failures we’ll have the opportunity to learn from in 2012.
- Entry posted October 26, 2011 by Chuck McClain
One of the areas of our business that I enjoy the most is the game of pricing: figuring out the highest fees we can get on any given project so that the client sees the value of our work and signs the contract. Whether it is a single project in the middle of nowhere or a portfolio with all sorts of economies of scale, the game takes into account several factors such as what it will actually cost us, how much profit we want, what have we charged for similar projects for that client in the past, what is the most we can charge and still be awarded the work, what price would make us happy – just to name a few. It has been fun sharing this game with my now 13-year-old son Matthew, who is my occasional business coach, entrepreneurial consultant and sounding board.
There are times we are given direction by a new client indicating what they are used to paying or what another company was going to charge, but usually we are left to our own devices to determine the appropriate price for any given project based on our project experience and history with the client. Increase the fee too much and even your most loyal client will balk. Decrease the fee too much for a potential new client and he or she may decide that your quality must not be as good as another consultant who is charging more, a lesson Matthew re-taught me this month…
I was trying to sell an office desk we no longer needed. We’d purchased the floor model at Office Depot earlier this year for roughly $100 or so. The desk was in good shape, although it now had a few more scratches than it did when we bought it. Not wanting to spend much time on this process, I created an ad on Craigslist and listed a price of $50, thinking this was sort of a round priced-to-sell number.
I got a few emails and calls, but no one was serious enough to come take a look at the desk and it didn’t sell. The next week I re-issued the ad and dropped the price to $30 with the thought that it would then be sold quickly. Instead, there was absolutely no response at all from the desk-buying masses.
Not knowing what I should do, I asked for some advice from my son. Then of course the desk-selling project became much more enjoyable - one involving teamwork, partnership and family. I explained what had happened to Matthew and as he listened he sketched the respective prices – original cost to us, first price we tried and second price we tried – down on a piece of paper. Then he wrote down the corresponding levels of customer interest – pointing out that as the price went down the interest in purchasing the desk decreased – and suggested that the potential buyers now probably think there is something really wrong with the desk if it’s selling at such a low price. He suggested listing the desk for even more than I originally tried.
We sold the desk in less than 24 hours for $80. (And yes, Matthew received a bonus for his consultation.)
That experience had me think again about the fees we charge new clients hoping to just get our foot in the door and how some levels of fees may be perceived. It was a great lesson to take with me going into our busiest time of year where we’ll be playing the pricing game frequently.
- Entry posted September 14, 2011 by Chuck McClain
I’ve noticed recently that one of the challenges for relatively inexperienced PCA professionals is to sift through all the data that is collected at a site and focus on the few important “big ticket” items identified at the property. If there's more to the truth than just the facts, it could be said that the all the data we collect at a site is the “facts” and the few important deficiencies we identify in any one assessment is the “truth”.
Those of us who have performed assessments for a while have come to realize that while we need to collect all the data required at the site, only about 10% of that will typically be important to the client. Usually this data ends up being addressed as an immediate or short-term repair need. The remaining 90% of the data will need to be in the report for the sake of completeness, but doesn’t need to have the same level of attention paid to it as the important 10%. The challenge for some newer writers is that they can get bogged down plodding through the 90% and barely have time to accurately and sufficiently discuss and address the important findings for the client.
When one is new to the world of performing assessments, it’s easy to spend a little too much time discussing the micro perspective – the random hairline cracks in the concrete tilt-up walls, localized areas of faded pavement seal coat or the isolated mineral surface cap sheet granule loss of a built-up roof system. While these are important to incorporate into our reported observations and findings, they are typically the minor items – part of the 90% of the data that isn’t usually important. It’s the macro issues – will the property have continued maintenance costs due to a specific construction defect for example – that form the “truth” of the property for the client.
One trick that improves the focus of an assessor is to prepare the report in a certain order to ensure that the focus is on the priority findings throughout the report writing process. It helps to initially review the photos and your field notes to create a focused list of immediate and/or short-term recommendations. Then, preparing the tables and report text sections pertaining to the priority issues, you have completed the “important” sections first. Then you can complete the remaining areas of the report and embellish them as time permits.
For me, sifting through the facts to get to the truth is one of the most fun aspects of the world of assessments. It’s a challenge for those of us that are relatively inexperienced or not paying attention, but once you develop a good system, the process flows much more smoothly and the truth gets to the client in a quicker and more articulate manner.
- Entry posted July 8, 2011 by Chuck McClain
I always get very excited about July 8th – the anniversary of my first day at my first job out of college. 26 years ago today I was fortunate enough to be hired by a small consulting company that specialized in building diagnostics. I was the 8th employee hired and I was paid just over $6 per hour. It was a great experience and I was able to participate and learn while we grew over the next few years into a national company with offices throughout the U.S. and over 400 employees. All thanks to the right group being in the right place at the right time in the heyday of asbestos surveying and abatement.
I remember spending late hours drawing floor plans for reports in MacPaint and eventually getting enough responsibility to wear a pager when out in the field. I remember traveling over 50% of my time at some point – to all sorts of exotic destinations I’d never been to – like Orlando, Manhattan, Memphis and Columbus as we surveyed historic buildings throughout the country.
I learned how amazing and enjoyable it can be to work in a small company where everyone cares deeply about the quality of the work. Our founders did a spectacular job of hiring and we were all very young, dedicated and thoroughly enjoyed what we did and who we were working with. It was a great cast of characters. Rosalie the office manager and her team of production/administrative staff were a remarkable example of organization and teamwork. Mario’s ability to review reports unceasingly in order to make sure every report that went out was a work of art – he would edit reports with his red pencil long into the night. Charles and Denise were fantastic bosses that led by example and cared as much about the work as their fellow employees. Dorothy managed the reference library with grace and thoroughness. The accounting department with Drew and the gang kept up with the rapid growth with careful communication and grace. My fellow field staff – from “Freddie Boy” to Steve and the rest of the gang were a pleasure to work with and it’s no surprise we’re still friends decades later.
And, it all stemmed from the head of the company, Frank, the consummate entrepreneur and cheerleader who was able to convince clients that we’d do a better job than companies that had worked in facilities consulting for decades. He would always conclude our monthly staff meetings with his “Quality, Quality, Quality” speech to emphasize the importance of our doing our best in every project. My first mentor, he pushed us to do better and taught me a lot about managing, selling and the overriding importance of integrity and quality of life.
It was an amazing experience and always brings a smile to my face on my annual employment anniversary.
- Entry posted May 1, 2011 by Chuck McClain
Sometimes we get caught up in the client requests, the deadlines and the antics of our client managers or co-workers, and the reports just keep flying off our desks into the hands of our clients who sometimes read them but more often than not just glance at the executive summary and then stick the report in their files. But occasionally, every so often, we work on a project that actually has a change to make a difference.
We recently were hired to perform a pre-acquisition PCA of a Section 8 housing complex in Southern California. The conditions were deplorable: Kitchen cabinet doors dangling on single hinges, fire alarms not tested since the 1990s, leaking roofs and damaged ceilings with holes repaired using duct-taped cereal boxes, and dozens of cockroaches roaming the kitchens or squished between the bathroom door and frame. Our standard inquiries at the building department identified 21 open building code violations with the city.
Then there was the mold – with moisture seemingly from all the usual sources at one time -window sills, perimeter walls, floor slabs and roofs. Several tenants complained of chest colds from which they never seemed to be able to recover due to the damp conditions of their apartments. Moisture and mildew were obvious in the majority of the 160 units. We noted a teenage girl’s bed - a mattress lying directly on a reportedly consistently damp carpet - in one of the units. Adding insult to injury, nearly half of the apartments had been surveyed for mold in 2009 and we’d received a list of specific units at which mold had been abated at that time. But when we interviewed the tenants at those units, several of them reported no abatement work had been performed at all. Clearly someone’s uncle had a “mold business” and was making a lot of money by not doing the work.
This project was one of the more obvious opportunities to see how our report could make a difference. Even if some of the code violations are addressed or the mold mitigated, the living conditions would be improved. Amassing all our recommendations into the report, our client is going to be using our findings to negotiate a more favorable sales price. I’d also like to think that a change in the conditions would take place with a change of ownership, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. With so many of our reports just ending up in some file cabinet in a lender’s office, perhaps when the stars align our reports can sometimes actually do some good and make people’s lives better.
- Entry posted February 6, 2011 by Chuck McClain
We recently performed an assessment in an area of Illinois that was extensively mined for coal in the first half of the last century. The neighborhood of the property was situated on top of former mining operations which resulted in land and building movement from mine failures.
The failure of mines is due to the technique of extraction which is known as “room and pillar” in which pillars of coal were left in place to support the “roof” (which is typically limestone) of the mine tunnel. The entrance to the coal seam was provided by vertical shafts driven downward from the ground surface, and from which the room and pillar mining proceeds in a generally horizontal fashion. The shafts were used to bring the coal to the surface and to provide ventilation. The room and pillar method does not typically consist of a regular pattern of rooms and pillars such as those used in underground limestone mines. Instead it consists of long rooms up to 1,000 feet in length with widths typically ranging from 15 to 25 feet. Between these rooms, barrier pillars up to 400 feet in length are left intact, although in some cases, the pillars are removed when the mining is in the final stages as the mining operation retreats to the shaft location.
Over time the “roof” can settle either between pillars or as a result of a failure of the pillar itself. This typically results either as a “pit” (a failure very close to the surface level) or a “trough” (a failure well below the surface which yields surface depression over time). It is similar to an inverted orange traffic cone, with the mine failure at the tip of the cone within the mine tunnel and the circular cone area representing the surface area disturbance. Thus, a building structure can be impacted even if the mine failure point is not directly underneath the property.
Once the subsidence begins, it typically continues until the mine has fully collapsed or reaches a state of equilibrium. The general rule of thumb is that the amount of subsidence at the ground surface is around 1/3 of the thickness of the mined coal seam. So, if the mined coal seam was six feet thick, the movement at the ground surface could be in the order of two feet of vertical settlement.
Imagine the problems that arise when portions of a building experience a 24” vertical displacement of walls. At best, the property has to be vacated while the vertical displacement is structurally corrected to ensure that the roof will not collapse as the roof framing of the building pulls away from walls. Initial signs are frequently seen in door alignment issues, cracks in walls and ceilings, plumbing system failure or damage to exterior finishes.
Typically the analysis of the site consists of three phases. During Phase 1, deep borings are drilled below the coal seam (think 100’ to 200’ deep borings). Laboratory tests are then performed on the soil in the samples, to include Atterberg Limits (determining the nature of the soil), natural moisture content, grain size analysis, unconfined compression tests and consolidation tests. A geologist or geotechnical engineer supervises the drilling and sampling procedure. Phase 2 of the process typically includes the design of underground support for the building and Phase 3 involves the mitigation of the subsidence – such as additional footings, piers and other subsurface supports.
- Entry posted November 9, 2010 by Chuck McClain
I visited family living in Switzerland this past summer and I was struck by just how amazed our 14-year old nephew was when he found out we had started our own business. Like most of us, he is a product of a typical educational system that trains children to be good employees, and it had never even occurred to him that he could start his own company in an area of expertise of his choosing. Our interaction made me appreciate once again how lucky we are to live in a country that rewards the hard work and unique talents of individuals.
One of the things I love about our industry is getting the opportunity to work with independent professionals who have decided to go out on their own as sole proprietors. Back in the day, it seems like we were all employees of some large company or another and I think it is an exciting development that more and more of the most talented staff in the business are no longer satisfied working for one of the big three-letter acronym consulting companies and actually run their own enterprises.
We’ve all heard the statistics demonstrating the value of the small business in the U.S. economy. Small firms represent around 99% of all employer firms, employ half of all the private sector employees and, according to the SBA, accounted for about 65% of the 15 million net new jobs created between 1993 and 2009. I love that we work in an industry that is rich with small businesses and I think of this phenomenon as stereotypically American.
As we all know, there are some really great sole proprietors in our industry. Of course, as with any group, there are also some individual consultants that will say just about anything to get the job and then not try too hard to meet the deadline or the quality standards for the project, but I doubt they are taking the time to read this blog anyway. But the vast majority of individual professionals I’ve worked through the years with have been committed to providing the highest quality services they can while taking into account the time, budget or scope limitations on any given project. I love working with and sharing the wealth with them as we grow our business.
- Entry posted September 11, 2010 by Chuck McClain
Besides the creation of various active and pending legislation (such as dry-sounding California AB1103 that requires energy benchmarking data released during property transactions) and the ongoing development of national standards (such as ASTM's Building Energy Performance Assessment, or the chipper-sounding BEPA), we've found that more and more of our clients have become interested in assessing a property’s energy consumption and identifying potential energy savings as a standard part of due diligence. But no one seems to be able to quite agree on what the service should include, how much the data is worth and how much to charge.
This summer we’ve started working with Portland Energy Conservation Inc. (PECI) developing methodologies for building operations surveys and energy audits. PECI - http://www.peci.org/ - is a non-profit group that has focused on energy efficiency issues since 1981. Recently they received a grant from the California Energy Commission to conduct a pilot program developing energy assessment procedures to be performed in conjunction with a standard Property Condition Assessment.
It’s an exciting time since everyone seems to be in on the act and many groups are trying to stake their claim. It will be fun to see what procedures and standards will become the norm and which will fall by the wayside; which services clients are willing to pay good money for and which services lenders just want as a free add-on to a PCA; and which acronyms we’re all using a few years from now in our acronym-saturated industry.
- Thanks Dad!5.0Entry posted June 29, 2010 by Chuck McClain
One of the great aspects of June for me is a renewed appreciation for my father. He started out as a mechanical engineer and eventually became a Managing Director and Executive Vice President for a worldwide engineering/construction company. He has since retired and in his mid-80’s, and having survived a minor heart attack resulting in a very successful bypass surgery this spring, he’s healthier and happier than ever.
I’ve never met a harder worker. He would be up early and off to work, but he would always take time to visit with us and always had time to coach my basketball teams or take my brother to a skateboarding tournament when we were growing up. I always got the sense that the reason he worked was to provide for his wife and children. We’ve gone on family vacations for the past 40+years and continue to do so with my brother and sisters with their families getting together for our annual family vacation at the beach. I learned the importance of family from him and my mother. It’s no accident that I started a family business and that I feel at home working hard on projects.
At some point, my father started his own company but he couldn’t quite make it work and the company went out of business. About the only story I remember hearing about his experience was how he wouldn’t rest until everyone they owed money to was paid back in full, even though it took several years to do. That taught me a lot about responsibility and integrity.
He worked for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and with NASA during the Space Race of the 1960’s. He was in charge of procurement for the first spacecrafts to land on the moon. He knew the ins and outs of government contracts, and made sure the contractors weren’t ripping off the government with $500 hammers. I’m sure that I learned the importance of contract language and pricing strategies from my father.
When my dad was ending his career with thousands of employees below him in the organizational chart, he would treat his employees with respect. I remember hearing from his secretary that he was a favorite of the support staff as the one EVP that knew the secretaries names and would treat each of them as he would like to be treated. When he was in the hospital recovering from bypass surgery, he was his usual appreciative self and got to know the nurses by name. Everyone matters to him and he treats everyone with respect. I’d like to think that on my good days I have learned some of these lessons from him.
He’s someone that keeps his promises in his life, and I’m sure that’s one of the reasons why our company considers each project deadline as a promise to be kept and why we’ve never missed a deadline.
When we designed our company logo, we purposefully included a cursive font representing how my father signs his name to inspire us to do our best as my father would. Whenever people talk about heroes, I think of my father. My father has guided me in ways too numerous to remember through the years and June always provides me a renewed opportunity to appreciate how lucky I am to be his son.
- Entry posted May 16, 2010 by Chuck McClain
Determining the age of the building is required for virtually every assessment report we create. Most reports feature various remaining useful life estimates including one for the building as a whole. If the site contact does not know when the building was built, there are several ways to get a good idea as to the construction date. The most obvious is the original building permit and/or certificate of occupancy, but some municipalities don’t have accurate or complete records.
Another good way to get a ballpark age for a building is to review historic aerial photos. Google Earth has a great feature – click on the clock icon at the top of the screen – that allows you to look at historical imagery of a given location. It’s a good way to verify when roofing was replaced or the pavement was last seal coated as well.
In addition, while at the site there are several components that point to the age of the building:
- Fire hydrants throughout the property usually have a manufacture date and were typically installed at the time that the site was developed.
- Main electrical equipment frequently has a manufacture date indicated on the label and was usually installed at the time that the building was originally constructed.
- Serial number indicated on label of original HVAC equipment or water heaters will tell you the age of the equipment and potentially the building as a result.
- Main fire sprinkler riser piping typically has a manufacture date, and more times than not, it was installed at the time the building was originally constructed.
Between these, you can usually get at least one or two fairly accurate estimates to use in the report. I’m sure there are more ways, but between these it is almost always possible to get a good idea of the building age. And, if when you’re not really sure of the date, it never hurts to add a “circa” in front of the estimated date to indicate you’re making an educated guess.
Or, if we're lucky, the date of construction is staring us in the face, proudly displayed on a plaque near the main entrance or as part of the building facade such as in the photo below...
I look forward to hearing some additional ideas for determining building age from the building sleuths out there….
- Entry posted April 15, 2010 by Chuck McClain
I love working for clients that appreciate what we provide. They appreciate the report quality and the responsive service. But, as in any field, there are clients you love to work with and clients you’d like to poke with a sharp stick to get them to wander off in the direction of some other consulting company.
For me, the best clients actually read the report products we produce. Yes, they read virtually every page and don’t hesitate to ask us to fix a typo if they find one. That’s exciting. That means the quality poured into every paragraph is appreciated - and it means you better make sure you don’t take your eye off the ball and don’t fall into the trap of focusing primarily on the executive summary or PCR tables. My favorite clients appreciate detail and quality.
The best clients challenge us to be better. They can set up outrageous project deadlines and scopes of work, but they will reward us when we jump through the necessary flaming hoops and actually deliver. They thank us for accepting projects with challenging parameters and they further our professional and company development in the process. They appreciate it when we solve some problem caused by another consultant. It’s not uncommon that these clients end up being friends, people you respect and enjoy the company of. People you actually want to send a holiday card to and love to get getting a chance to visit with in person.
One of the best things about owning your own business is being able to choose your clients and your associates. These days I hear many people talk about having no other choice but to put up with certain horrible clients because of the economy. I understand that but I’m not interested in that. I’m interested in being happy and working with people that add to my happiness.
I’m interested in working with people that love what we do and aren’t too busy or self-centered to let us know when they think we’ve done a fantastic job.
I’d rather be cleaning fast food restaurant restrooms than have to go back and work with some of the tyrannical and egotistical personalities I had to put up with while working for large consulting firms back in the day. Those large consulting companies can keep that type of client. I’m much happier with clients that I consider family and that consider us family. Give me that, and a sharp stick at the ready for clients from the dark side, any day.
- Entry posted March 22, 2010 by Chuck McClain
When conducting an assessment of the building, we all know to ask the site contacts about the presence of roof leaks, to look for signs of water damage on upper floor ceiling panels, and to look for obvious signs of damage or potential water entry paths on the roof. In addition, if the building has a single-ply thermoplastic roof membrane, it is imperative to identify the manufacturer and membrane type. We have seen more and more fairly subtle but important deficiencies with the following roof types:
- Ethylene Propylene (EP) and Hypalon Roof Systems manufactured by J.P. Stevens. J.P. Stevens has experienced problems with their EP and Hypalon membrane roof systems.
- PVC Blend membranes manufactured by Duralast. We have seen numerous failures of these systems, especially in “Hail Belt” areas.
- Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) and PVC membranes manufactured by Genflex. Genflex has experienced numerous problems with their TPO and PVC membrane roof systems. If your property has a Best Buy store, it is likely that there is a Genflex TPO installed.
Of these, we’ve probably seen EP roof membranes more frequently than the others. These membranes are reinforced with a polyester scrim (mesh). The problematic roofs typically were installed in the late 1990’s and include both black and white membranes. Once the roof gets to the six or seven year mark, it is likely that leaks have started occurring. There are two types of deterioration frequently seen in an EP roof membrane:
- Seam Edge Splitting. This is considered the worst type of deterioration, occurring on either side of the seams in the roof. The splits are first seen as hairline cracks at the edge of the lap, which may only be through the top side of the membrane. The splits can initially be difficult to find, although once the membrane is split all the way through they become more obvious. The splitting can be anywhere from one inch to over 100 feet in length, and sometimes alternate between splitting and hairline cracking and back to splitting again along the same lap area. If you see black EPDM cover tape over the laps between membrane sections, it is likely these repairs are mitigating leaks resulting from seam splits.
- Membrane Flaking. This can be a challenge to identify since the flaking can be very small (such as 1/16th of an inch around), or as large as two inches in diameter. With this deterioration, the scrim is rarely broken (as opposed to physical impact damage where the scrim is typically destroyed) although if the condition has existed for a long time the scrim may be damaged or broken from the weather. You’ll notice that the top of the deteriorated membrane can usually be chipped up in small pieces. This flaking can quickly spread over large areas once it starts. Observing the flaking deterioration is easiest after the morning dew or after a rain, when the water is wicking back through the membrane.
The result of this type of deterioration are roof leaks, and all that they can bring to a building environment: from unhappy tenants complaining about the roof leaks, safety issues resulting from slip hazards to microbial growth, roof framing deterioration and eventual roof failure.
Identification of these roof systems is important in both debt and equity scenarios. Lenders need to know of the shorter expected roof lifespan and equity interests will most likely get a reduced price for the asset with these defective membranes. Identification of these systems is important and if we see splitting or flaking, the prudent course of action is often recommending further review of the roof by a qualified roofing consultant. In some cases, the manufacturer will replace the roof at no cost to the owner.
- Entry posted February 25, 2010 by Chuck McClain
One of the mystifying aspects of the PCA industry is the conceit of many licensed “professionals” and how many of them snootily look down their crinkly nose at those in the field that are not registered engineers or architects. Some of the most difficult people I’ve worked with have been licensed engineers who were know-it-alls and were unable to work with a project team consisting of those deemed inferior to their license-confirmed masterful intellect.
I have found that experience matters much more than having a license and slapping some acronym after the formal name that only your mother calls you. Maybe I feel this way because my first apprenticeship was with a very old licensed architect that routinely dozed off at his desk every afternoon… Or perhaps I’ve been in one too many large consulting firms and watched as hoity-toity licensed staff approach an assessment believing they “know” what to expect at a facility. Unfortunately, the result of this type of approach is often an engineer seeing only what they expected to see. The instant we start believing we know virtually everything there is to know about a given type of facility is when we start missing pertinent site-specific data or deficiencies and short-changing our client.
Some of the most talented people I’ve ever worked with do not have any licenses other than the one that allows them to legally drive their car and they probably never will. I’m of the belief that actual field and report writing experience while working with smart men and women that challenge you to do your best is much more important that having put in enough time and being able to take tests successfully to earn a license. In our field, forums like Commonground or certain discussion groups on LinkedIn are great for gaining knowledge and learning from experienced staff.
Sure, there are professionals holding certain licenses that are best suited for certain detailed assessments and assignments, such as structural or civil engineers with experience in preparing seismic probable maximum loss (PML) assessments. But to think that just because someone has a license he or she will do a good job of evaluating field conditions or actually act “professionally” as a leader of a project team is crazy. I’ve witnessed too many boneheaded actions by licensed ne'er-do-wells - The McSnootersons of our industry - to think this at this point in my career.
- Entry posted February 12, 2010 by Chuck McClain
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write about some of the aspects of the facility assessment field that I love…
I love that every building is different and we get to learn something new at nearly every property we visit.
I love working with less experienced, bright eyed and bushy tailed staff that ask questions and don’t pretend to know everything.
I love spontaneously encountering an unusual building deficiency that I’ve already seen at a previous property and then can just copy and paste from a previous report.
I love the unfolding process of arriving at the site knowing virtually nothing about the building systems and then leaving the site a few hours later and knowing virtually everything about how the building works.
I love magnificently profitable portfolios with their huge economies of scale in which the client is amazed at our velocity and many field staff members get to make a lot of money in a short amount of time.
I love creatively finding more efficient ways to complete the site visit and report preparation process.
I love conducting a rush site visit in another state and completing the report by the time my flight arrives back home.
I love working with friends who are professionals that keep their promises, turn in reports before deadline and don’t complain.
I love returning home to my remarkable and loving wife, son and dogs after a trip.
I love beautifully written reports succinctly discussing comprehensive systems and complex deficiencies.
I love doing a stellar job for appreciative clients.
I love simplicity and effectiveness of global copy and replace commands.
I love that my wife humors me and doesn’t burst out laughing when I discuss my fascination with roofing or some other technical system that bores her to tears.
I love that I’m able to efficiently receive and send emails while traveling.
I love small town building departments where one helpful local can tell you everything you need to know about building, fire and zoning issues for your property.
I love sailing through airport security in less than five minutes.
I love sleeping in my own comfortable bed after having been away on a business trip.
I love depositing checks from our clients into our business checking account.
I love that PCAs deal in grey areas, not black and whites, and that they are as much an art as a science.
Sometimes it is easy to get worked up about the unrealistic deadlines, low-balling competitors or outlandish client requests, but today I have nothing but love for the facility assessment.
Recent Comments
- January 30, 2012 - This weekend before I left for a ski trip my mother told me, "Don't...
- January 25, 2012 - Bad advice, great read! I think we all face the personal and...
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- January 25, 2012 - GREAT POST!
- July 11, 2011 - Chuck, what a great tribute! This really exhibits how important a...