The Accubid® LiveCount® family of on-screen takeoff solutions for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) trades includes a new version of LiveCount and LiveCount Pro.

Today’s mobile office — the tools and software needed to conduct business in the field — has evolved into a myriad of wireless hand-held devices and programs.

While there are many wireless devices that field personnel use to stay in touch with other people and access information, it seems that the most popular device remains the cell phone.

“App” has become such a common word that it will likely find its way into the dictionary soon. It certainly has found its way into everyday personal and business use by millions of Apple iPhone or Google Android smart phone users.

The NEWS’ eighth annual Dealer Design Awards’ Contractor Services and Software category brought ease, accessibility, and free to the table with its winning lineup of an online training course and two brand new apps.

The Social Security Administration’s re-introduction of No-Match Letters, along with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s skyrocketing issuance of Notice of Inspections of I-9s, evidences the federal government’s increasingly aggressive stance to curb the hiring of unauthorized workers and to penalize employers who do.

Selling is - and has always been - a relationship. Yet in a hot economy, when cash is flowing, improvements are incentivized, and home values warranted re-investment, selling was order taking. We got lazy. True sales skills eroded. Case in point, follow up has become nearly nonexistent.

HVACR instructors are facing a host of challenges these days, from teaching with new technologies to recruiting for full enrollment to dealing with funding cuts. Yet many are rising to meet these challenges with success and are optimistic about the future.

Recent industry trends have given rise to a new generation of building design tools known as building information modeling, or BIM. BIM goes further than traditional CAD drawings by providing intelligence to building components (such as HVAC) as well as providing system- and building-wide information and awareness (system flows or building loads) in addition to spatial relationships.

It’s a story that’s playing out across the country - cash-strapped governments are scrambling to balance their budgets while hamstrung by the contracts of current and retired public union workers. Without the ability to renegotiate contracts or get concessions from unions, governments are left to increase their tax rates and cut services.