Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors – National Association members registered for Network ’08 have the chance for a one-day “test drive” of the Construction Contractors’ Alliance. On Thursday, Oct. 2, PHCC members are invited to sit in on any or all of the seminars offered during the CCA’s fall conference, which will be also held in the Marriot Marquis.

The CCA, one of the PHCC’s enhanced service groups, helps new construction contractors solve the specific challenges they face. CCA's programs and services are targeted toward PHCC contractors specializing in residential, industrial, commercial and institutional construction projects.

The group provides several specialized benefits, including two "Alliance" meetings per year, seminars for middle managers, a CCAConnect group e-mail discussion, peer groups and much more. CCA's key focus areas are workforce issues, construction methods, business practices, networking/peer groups, industry/business evolution and education and personal growth.

Here’s a rundown of the test drive day’s events. All CCA events will be held in Atrium 705:

Thursday, Oct. 2

7:30-8:30 a.m.

Breakfast And Networking

8:30-9:45 a.m.

State Of The Economy Reports
CCA members and invited PHCC new construction contractors will share stories of the “State of the Economy” in their areas, as well as their “hot topics.”

9:45-10 a.m.
Break

10 a.m.-12 noon

Strategies For Improving Productivity
Jason Baumgarten, FMI Corp., will discuss how to refine your planning, processes, labor and materials to improve your company’s productivity, and ultimately, its profitability. You’ll also learn how to engage and align with trade and subcontractors to maximize productivity. 

12 noon-1 p.m.
Lunch

1-5 p.m.

Productivity Exchange
Commercial and residential contractors will break into two groups to share time- and money-saving ideas that can be applied in their businesses. Hear what processes some CCA members are using in their companies, and talk about other possibilities as well. Professional facilitators will lead the groups. Each group will report its top best practices and lessons learned at the end of the session. 

5:30-7 p.m.

CCA Reception

For regular CCA members, the conference continues on Friday, Oct. 3, with following agenda:

7:30-8 a.m.

Membership Meeting

8-9 a.m.

Breakfast

9-11 a.m.

The New Business Model Of Construction
Matt Stevens, Stevens Construction Institute Inc., will examine the tremendous change construction professionals are facing and the practical approaches they can implement to keep potential problems manageable.
Attendees will learn about the business cycle and how to apply it to their businesses; the new risk-reward curve and why it has changed; what supply/demand means in a good and a poor economy; the new metric and calculation for return on investment for construction.

11 a.m.-12 noon

CCA Show And Tell
CCA members will share sample “best practices” and innovations from their companies.   

12 noon-1 p.m.

Lunch (Spouses Invited)

In a final note, CCA members are also invited to attend the Friday afternoon Network ‘08 seminars and PHCC’s closing evening installation and dinner at the Georgia Aquarium.

To watch a video on CCA membership benefits, go to www.brillcomm.com/cca/videopage.html.