Josh Winton (IAQ JOSH) (remediation) and Michael Symula (assessment) helmed the Remediation Panel for our Lessons Learned from Storm Response Workshop.

They shared how important safety is for all involved as well as setting clear and grounded expectations. Assessors and remediators should work with, not against each other.

Thank you to sponsor AEML, Inc as well as all of our sponsors, presenters, and participants.

Watch the pre-workshop interview with Jeff Cross and Cleanfax magazine

IN THIS EPISODE:
0:00 The Power of the Postcard
1:46 An Unnamed Adjuster Talks Matching Materials 
8:08 What Are We Working On - Workshop
11:06 Book 5 - Challenge Accepted 
19:10 The Government’s Plan to Save Us From Gas Stoves
29:15 One More Tidbit - 1980’s Prisons
34:26 Cutting Edge Tools - The Sony Mavica
​

Jon Isaacson is working on book number five. The working title is Challenge Accepted: An Open Letter To Young People Entering The Workforce. In this episode of The DYOJO Podcast, Jon reads from the Introduction. 

What is this book about? 
I am not the brightest bulb in the bunch. I did pretty well in my school studies but wasn’t a standout in the sense that I had scholarship offers from colleges begging me to continue my scholastic journey with their institution. I enjoyed playing sports but wasn’t the most talented. I did “win” a few best-effort awards. I played mostly B (JV) or C (Intramural) team sports. Once I acquired my license and tasted the freedom that making my own money brought, I committed to working. 

At work, I found that accepting the challenge of doing my best wherever I was employed helped me enjoy the work and achieve better results. Life is difficult and many things can seem impossible, but if things were easy they would not be as exciting to overcome. If making a better life for yourself were easy, everyone would be doing it.  

• You do not need to be exceptional to make a difference. 
• You do not have to have your life figured out by the age of 16, 18, or even 21 to be successful. 
• You will need to embrace the challenge of life if you want to define, pursue, and achieve whatever success means to you. 

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after high school, other than I had some general ideas which I will explain further in this book. I was fortunate enough during my youth to have been provided some basic ideas about how to work (aka work ethic), exposed to people who made positive career choices and hadn’t made significant mistakes with long-term consequences (see Three Internal Holdbacks). These items helped me land some early jobs, achieve some initial success in those entry-level positions, and build confidence for seizing upon advancement opportunities. 

If the idea of living with the challenge of entering the workforce and advancing your career appeals to you, I believe this book will be helpful. You can read this book all the way through or you can keep in on your bookshelf until you need a small spark when you are facing a challenging scenario. Just in case this introduction is all that you ever read, I would like you to remember these three things. 

The Three Be’s Challenge yourself to build a foundation for life by developing these core character traits, I call them the Three Be’s:

• Be honest 
• Be hardworking 
• Be willing to learn  

I have hired, trained, and promoted numerous young people who came to my businesses with little to no prior skills. It is my ongoing belief that if you are honest, hardworking, and willing to learn, we can teach you to be successful in anything. On the other hand, if you are not willing to be honest, aren’t willing to work hard, and you aren’t willing to learn, there is little that we can do for you.  

• Whatever your goals are, if you bring the Three Be’s to the table you are going to have a fighting chance.   
• If you aren’t sure what you want to do after high school or with your life as a young person entering the workforce, focus on the Three Be’s and you will be building a solid foundation for success. 
• If you start working and you are unsure of your abilities, develop the Three Be’s and you will find that you stand out from the majority of your peers. 

One thing you should consider if you are not exercising these three character traits now, it will be that much more difficult to develop them later in life. What you do now will become a habit. Bad habits are hard to break. So, if you aren’t being honest, you aren’t working hard, and you are not willing to learn, those negative habits will become rooted in your life. The longer you practice these three things, one way or the other, the more natural they become. Good habits take consistency to form. 

Being honest, hardworking, and willing to learn will not guarantee success but they will set you up for greater opportunities.  

This short book was written to encourage young people entering the workforce to keep working hard, recognize your opportunities, and provide you with a few tools that will help you along the way.  

I challenge you to read this book, do you accept? ​

Have you heard about the government’s plan to save us all from the health and environmental hazards of natural gas-burning stoves? 

• Washington State Ban on Natural Gas Heating Is All Cost, No Benefit - https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/11/10/washington-state-ban-on-natural-gas-heating-is-all-cost-no-benefit/ 
• The Great Gas Stove Meltdown - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/the-great-gas-stove-meltdown
• Gas Stove Bans Are Advancing Around The Country - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/gas-stove-bans-rundown 
• Are Gas Stoves Bad For Our Health? - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-gas-stoves-bad-for-our-health/ 
• Are Gas Stoves More Energy Efficient? - https://www.constellation.com/guides/appliances/energy-efficient-ovens-stoves.html

Are gas stoves bad for our health? According to Scientific American, “Broadly speaking, there are two categories of concerning emissions related to gas stoves. First, there is the unburned natural gas that can escape before the flame ignites or leak from a gas hook-up. This gas is more than 90 percent methane. Second, there are the pollutants created by combustion when a burner is on, most notably nitrogen oxides, which can irritate the lungs.”

Are gas stoves more energy efficient? According to Constellation, “It takes three times as much energy to deliver electricity to your stove than gas, so buying a gas range could save you money in the long run. Your final bill will depend on how much time you spend cooking, but if you have an electric ignition, you can expect to pay less than half as much per month to run a gas range.”​

At the end of 2021 we formed the Fellowship of Construction Knowledge and Entrepreneurial Development with a simple idea, get local contractors together to connect, collaborate, and conquer on their shared challenges. Coming out of the shutdowns, many professionals expressed a desire to return to in-person gatherings for education and networking with their peers. We put the idea to the test and have proven this to be true. ​

Regular meetings occur the second Tuesday of every month and will resume in January of 2023. These meetings are primarily discussion based as business leaders shared that they enjoy bouncing ideas off and learning from their peers. Each meeting has a topic so that participants can come prepared to discuss and engage.

​Prior discussions have included:

• Creative ideas for marketing your business
• Attracting and hiring new candidates
• The Washington State lien process 
• What is the good faith expectation for an insurance claim - Guest Roger Howson
• Protecting your money as a contractor 
• Creating your own pricelist for insurance work - Guest Ben Justesen

If you are a contractor or insurance professional in Washington State or the broader Pacific Northwest (PNW) we encourage you to join The FoCKED mailing list by filling out our interest form and check the calendar on our website regularly for updates - thedyojo.com/focked

​Tale number two is a case that came across the desk here at The DYOJO Podcast. It's called Conway Construction versus the city of Puyallup. Some of you may recognize that is the town that I currently reside in. It's just outside of Tacoma, which is just South of Seattle in Washington State.

Are you aware that when a contract is terminated, there's two terms under which it can be terminated:

• Terminated for cause which is by default of the contractor such as for defective performance
• Terminated for convenience, terminating the agreement at will provided it is not done in bad faith

These distinctions are something that all contractors should be aware of and ensure they are addressed in their contracts. There needs to be specific language that outlines what happens if the customer finds a defect or is unhappy with the performance of the contractor. Language should include a description of the notification process as well as how the contractor will respond.

​Usually the customer is responsible to notify the contractor of a defect in writing. The contractor will have X number of days to come up with a remedial plan that is agreeable to all parties. If the issue isn't resolved with the corrective actions,  or if the parties can't come to agreement, then the contract explains how the process will proceed. One of the most important things any contractor and customer can do to avoid litigation is to agree on a process for how disagreements will be resolved. In the event that the worst happens, how will both parties terminate the agreement with the least amount of collateral damage?

If the customer is going to terminate the contract for cause, there is a process. Every contractor should have a conversation with their client explaining that if they believe there's something wrong with the project, the contractor has first rights to try to remedy the issue. A quality contractor wants to make things right. If this process is outlined in the contractual agreement but the customer doesn't follow that, as the City of Puyallup didn't follow their own contract, then they may surrender their default claim.

Most contracts can be terminated at will, or for convenience, as long as no bad will is in play. So a customer doesn't need a reason to kick a contractor off of a job but they will need to follow the termination for convenience process outlined in the contract. Especially, as was in the case of Conway v. Puyallup, if the customer was the one that drafted the contract terms. 

This case reminds contractors and customers to be aware another item which is "the plain and ordinary meaning" of the words utilized in the contract. The Supreme Court of Washington emphasized when the contract terms are clear, the court will enforce it as written. As a contractor, it is important that a non-legal person can read and understand the contract.

Within the contract between Conway Construction and the City of Puyallup, it stated that a termination for convenience would entitle the contractor to greater damages than if it was terminated for cause. Under the agreement, a contractor terminated for convenience was entitled to be paid for all actual work performed until the date of termination. While the city terminated the contract claiming it was because of the contractors alleged breach of the agreement. When the trial judge reviewed the facts they ruled that the termination was not for cause.

Since the termination was not for cause, the contract terms converted the termination of Conway Construction to one for convenience. The Supreme Court of Washington ultimately affirmed that decision. The high court reached this conclusion simply by reviewing the plain language of the contract. The termination for cause could only be based on defective work if the contractor neglected or refused to correct rejected work. This mutual agreement further provided that upon 15 days written notice the contractor had to remedy the work to the satisfaction of the city. 

If the reader has been following our review of RJC vs. AISD, they will note that the facts of this Conway case vary significantly from those outlined in the Robert Jordan court documents.

• For contractors it is critical to know what's in the contract
• For contractors it is essential to document conversations during the course of the project
• For contractors it is essential to quickly respond to defect or default claims 

A contractor should document everything from the agreements that they make, the conversations that they have with any party to the project, and any essential communication related to defects, defaults, and remedies. A typical communication (or Comms) log, such as those we have recommended before on the podcast, might include:

• The date of an interaction 
• Who was present for the interaction, even if this is by phone or email 
• The content of the interaction - what did the customer say, what did the contractor say, what was agreed to, were any dates provided? 

The contractor in this case was able to document that it took steps to remedy the alleged defaults and reached out to the city to determine if the corrective efforts were sufficient. The city however, refused to meet with the contractor. The trial judge therefore found that the contractor was not neglecting or refusing to correct the defect and that the city's failure and refusal to meet with the contractor to discuss the remedial actions was unreasonable or made in bad faith which had the effect of making the termination one for convenience rather than one for cause.

The court stated their decision was thereby bound by the terms of the contract. ​

If you would like to be in person with people that are experts in the industry that have years and years of experience, and are sharing their stories, join us Thursday, January 26, 2023. The DYOJO is traveling to Naples, Florida, for the Andrew Ask Building Science Symposium (aka Winter Break 2023). Andrew Ask runs Tuesday and Wednesday, then separate from that but at the same location, Pete Consigli and Jon Isaacson will be putting together a one day workshop titled Lessons Learned from Storm Response and Hurricane Recovery. Be there or be square. ​