Greetings to you all,
I think we are here! The sun has made its long awaited arrival at last, and the building season is in full swing. I hope that means that you are all too busy to read this!
I would like to thank everyone for coming out to support the Trades & Suppliers Tabletop Showcase and especially all of the vendors who participated.
Time and schedule management are crucial at this time of year. Trying to balance homeowners, sales, sub-contractors, weather, and of course your home life is always a challenge. With the increasing demand for labor, you need to ensure that all of your subcontractors are given ample notice of your upcoming projects in order to insert you on their schedules, to avoid the "I can get to it, but only in 6 weeks" call.
Another stick in the spokes to look out for this time of year is your local OSHA inspector. Builders should make sure that all of their sub-contractors are aware of what the law requires of them. The penalties that they are authorized to impose could easily put a small business in a position that may require closing down the company. If you, or any of your "subs" are not certain what is required of them, there is plenty of literature available at the SSHBA office, and if a need arises again, we could initiate another presentation to the group by the local OSHA representative. Remember also that if you, as the builder are on site when the OSHA inspector visits, you can be held responsible for the safety violations of all of the "subs" working on your job site as well.
I know you are all itching to dust off the golf clubs again, so don’t forget about our annual spring golf outing, to be held at the Odyssey Country Club on June 6th. (See entry form in this newsletter). Hopefully I will see you all at the May general membership meeting at 5:30 at the Crystal Grand banquet hall in Lemont on Wednesday, May 15th.
