Customer Reviews

Broken Buildings, Busted Budgets: How to Fix America's Trillion-Dollar Construction Industry

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book will not make contractors happy, but anyone in the business for more that few years will recognize the author's critique. Our industry has not grown from craft to professional management. We resist improvement and defend the status quo. The author points out the flaws in our industry, provides valuable history lessons, and then suggests, in principle, that equal information for owners and builders might help balance the scales.

I don't know that these suggestions will amount to more than so many other attempts to bring construction into the 19-th (let alone 21st century). But looking at the truth straight on seems to help one resolve to do better; for the owner it serves as a caution. A bit repetative, but insightful and most certainly worth reading. My compliments to the author for good research and blunt talk.

I try to read all of Robert Wright's books because his prose is always
crystal clear and his analysis is often incisive. (I'm not sure why
Amazon doesn't list him as third author but plenty of other online sites
do. Maybe it is because his name is on the title page but not the
cover?) In any event, he does not disappoint here. Combined, the three
authors provide a provocative take on the construction industry and its
problems. This book may represent the first time that construction has
been analyzed from the perspective of game theory and asymmetric
information. I'm not sure it's right, but it is a fascinating read and
too little of general interest is published on the economics of
construction.

Maybe I can not be objective about this book. LePatner cites my book on running construction companies about fifty times. That's flattering. On the other hand, he cites me only when he borrows my criticisms of our building industry. He never cites me when he is proposing solutions, though many of his resemble those my book offers and are, in fact, practiced by many builders. That irks me a bit.
Even so, I give LePatner's book 5 stars. Here's what I wrote about it in the Resources section of my new book, CRAFTING THE CONSIDERATE HOUSE: "Rightly criticized for being overly redundant and for a lawyer's bias toward his clients (owners as opposed to builders and designers), LePatner's book is, nevertheless, an exceptionally vigorous exposition of the ailments of and possible cures for the construction industry."
In fact, the book is so energetic and provocative it's downright fun to read. LePatner takes ideas for remodeling the construction industry much farther than my book does. When I write my next edition I will borrow back some of my ideas along with his added insights.

This book focuses more on large, commercial construction projects and the industry in general. If you are looking at a book for home construction or improvement this would not be my first choice. With that said, it offers a lot of insights in how the construction business operates, some of which is quite eye opening. The book includes good descriptions of types of construction contracts and offers sound advice on how to write a contract that benefits you as the customer.

As one of the leading construction lawyers in the nation, Barry Le Patner doesn't necessarily expose the faults of the $1 trillion construction industry as much as he lays it out for public view. In writing this book he risks being labeled a pariah in the construction industry for biting the hand that feeds him.
Of the $1.23 trillion spent on construction in the U.S. last year, La Patner points out the industry wastes $120 billion, enough money to set Social Security on the path to financial solvency.
What's the root cause of the waste? La Patner emphasizes the two most hated words an owner hears from a general contractor: cost overruns and change orders. The mom and pop construction industry purposely bids low on a project to lock in a mutable contract. Once in hand, the contractor becomes a monopoly that can run roughshod over the owner with schedule delays and change orders that almost guarantee a large profit for the general contractor.
This is why we see so many articles in newspapers about delays and huge overruns on projects. A recent example of this waste is the Big Dig in Boston. $12 billion over budget, years late, and it leaks.
Mr. LaPatner's solution seems simple, fixed-price contracts and consolidation of the mom and pop small contractors into a larger corporation that will take responsibility for all the construction tasks. He also recommends an intermediary to oversee the project with the interests of the owner in mind, and not the contractor,
This well-written, 200 plus page book will not threaten James Patterson's novels for domination at the beach next summer, but it may have the potential to influence public opinion of the wasteful construction industry just as Rachel Carson's book, Silent Spring influenced and kick-started the environmental movement.
It's probably too late to change the ways and habits of the entrenched contemporary construction industry, but it's not too late to influence the minds of the future architects and engineers attending the nation's universities. This book should be required reading of those students who will someday steer the beleaguered industry.

LePatner presents a courageousness expose on the enduring problems within the design and construction industry and offers a well constructed scenario on what can be done to fix these problems. This book will become the "baseline" for all others on the subject which follow. Well written and researched. A great read ....

Barry LePatner's essay on the state of the failed construction world in the US reminds us that not all things are created equal. The concepts of financial leverage, specialization of trades, diffusion of risk, and vertical/horizontal integration are explained so the lay person can grasp the intent of the book. The essential truths of "time, price, and quality" have been replaced by "time value of money" and this theme is quietly woven throughout the book.

No single volume can elucidate the myriad forces affecting an industry some call the `second oldest profession,' but Mr. LePatner's admirable attempt to uncover the sources of inefficient and cost overrun construction makes us want to understand more. It used to be there was an `art' to construction that matched the glorious designs of prolific architects and what was built was a source of pride for all. Mr. LePatner's book is both nostalgic and forward thinking; it offers us glimpses of the malaise that characterizes the antiquated design-bid-build business model.

Not since Dana Cuff's "Architecture: The Story of Practice"--the exposé about the esoteric underpinnings of the architectural profession--has an essay attempted to exorcise the silent demons lurking in the counterpart profession of construction. If asymmetric information is a source for unequal footing at the outset of every project, perhaps the economic context of construction too is antiquated.

I appreciate the boldness with which Mr. LePatner argues his position. As a developer and financier of high-end real estate, I empathize with each scenario illustrated. The lessons and practical advice to owners to overcome false starts and overbudgets are put forward with a studied determination guided by good intentions. Will Mr. LePatner's book single-handedly be the catalyst to fix the construction industry? No one can predict the future, but we can't say he didn't warn us. -Roy R. Pachecano, Real Estate Columnist, BUILDERnews Magazine

LePatner is a lawyer and he sees a lot of nightmare projects in his practice. Unfortunately, LePatner doesn't see the successful projects, the ones which are finished on time, on budget and the clients are happy.

I'm seeing a growing division between what happens in the field and what happens in the office. Technology has made the office more efficient and also more dependent. My fellow arm-chair managers are constantly at our desks, buried in e-mail, and married to our computers. We've invested time to learning mountains of software applications, but we've sacrificed our hands-on knowledge.

The traditional career path for project managers has also changed, the old days of putting your time in the field has changed to putting your time in college, then starting to manage projects. From my personal college experience, I didn't spend much time bolting things together. We are transferring more of the coordination process from the office and moving it into the field.

As things move to the field we're starting to deal with a lethal combination: rising labor costs and dropping productivity. Simply put, things are arriving in the field, but their not ready to be installed: now every minute is burning money.

LePatner offers advice, which is dead on: an owner needs a qualified person to decipher the mountains of information and technical complexities, but I think it's time for the industry to start getting back to the basics: good projects come from great builders.

Like others here have said - the book offers a promise but doesn't deliver. Ironically - much like the sub-standard contractors the author faults for all of the industry's problems.

The book has serious deficiencies - it is questionable how much the authors really know about certain industry practices such as cost estimating, building information modeling (BIM)or Job Order Contracting (which is never mentioned). Some of their observations are simply anecdotal (despite an over-abundance of footnotes, like some academic text). They seem not to realize some of the circumstances that lead to the current configuration of the industry - such as specialized crafts and training required by contractors in order for owners to get manufacturer's warranties on certain products such as roofing. A general contractor can't keep people like that on the payroll all the time - it's just-in-time work, and a good deal of it is refurbishment, not new construction. Also, much of what the author faults the entire industry for are simply examples of bad management - on the part of architects, contractors and owners. Nothing new there. Then again - that's how the author makes his living - as an attorney in contract disputes. As another reviewer opined - he never sees the good projects.

For example - the author lauds architect Frank Gehry and specifically the Strata Center at MIT. Apparently the book was written before MIT sued Gehry for the many flaws in the design of the $300 million Strata center (search the Boston Globe of November 6, 2007 for the full article.) Just because MIT paid Gehry $15 million - MIT expects a building that doesn't leak, have poor drainage and a host of other problems. The nerve!

Here's another take on Gehry's Strata Center:

"It really is a disaster," said former Boston University president John Silber, who sharply criticizes the Stata Center's design in a new book, "Architecture of the Absurd: How 'Genius' Disfigured a Practical Art."

I was especially amused at how the authors tap-danced around the issue of how the construction industry in the US is supposedly deeply flawed, but leads all the others in the world in productivity! An interesting oxymoron that really isn't addressed.

This book is a scan read, and library loan at best.

Never has a book so thoroughly explored the troubles plaguing an industry. But as sobering as the book is, it's also encouraging. Mr. LePatner proves that a reformed construction industry doesn't have to be some kind of unattainable utopia. He lays out what we can all do, engineers and architects alike, to make positive improvements in the industry. Now it's time to make his suggestions a reality.