Building Best Practices

By Tom Dunn, Esq., Pierce Atwood LLP

Welcome to the Fall 2026 edition of Building Best Practices. Tom Dunn introduces this edition with a look at the business and project challenges facing contractors today, including prompt pay compliance, overhead management, and early phase planning.

He also looks ahead to the AGC MA Innovation Summit on November 5 at Bentley University, where many of these conversations will continue.

Read full message from the editor here.

By: Barr & Barr Inc.

Hospital projects present unique challenges that require careful planning long before construction begins.

Barr & Barr explores how effective preconstruction can help project teams identify risks earlier, improve collaboration, manage operational constraints, strengthen cost and schedule certainty, and plan for construction while maintaining patient care and hospital operations.

Read full article here.

By: Shmulie Munitz, Munitz & Co.

Are you calculating overhead based on your company's actual costs or simply using the same percentage you've always used?

Shmulie Munitz breaks down how contractors can calculate a more accurate overhead rate and introduces a simple Double-Filter Test to help teams consistently distinguish between direct project costs and overhead.

Read full article here.

By: Jimmy Layman, ASP, Pointman Safety Consulting

A meaningful conversation before work begins can make a significant difference on the jobsite.

Jimmy Layman examines how effective pre-shift safety meetings help crews identify changing conditions, understand the day's tasks, recognize potential hazards, and discuss the controls needed to perform the work safely.

Read full article here.

By: Tom Dunn, Esq., Pierce Atwood LLP

Massachusetts’ Prompt Pay Act creates strict requirements for reviewing, approving, rejecting, and paying payment applications and change order requests.

Tom Dunn outlines five practical steps contractors can take to strengthen compliance, including reviewing contract documents and internal deadlines, paying undisputed amounts, understanding the pay-first rule, clearly defining submission procedures, and considering the role of arbitration.

Read full article here.