All in the family

Consider The Bentley Co., for instance.

When Tom Bentley Jr. wanted to step down as president of the fifth-generation construction company in Milwaukee, he turned to Tom Bentley III to succeed him.

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When working
together stops working

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Problem solvers

Human resource managers are the parents of the industry.

They keep workers happy and healthy with cheap and effective health benefits. They're responsible for keeping their people drug-free and cleaning them up if they're not. They oversee training of young workers and make sure they'll be successful once they graduate.

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Survivor

The construction economy is balanced on the tip of a needle, just waiting for a downdraft to send it spiraling into the abyss or a strong breeze to carry it to the nosebleed heights of the last several years.

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Show them the money

Like it or not, there's money in politics, and contractors and unions alike have learned that taking part in politics through campaign contributions can be good for business.

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Compute, Calculate, Convert

Have you noticed a proliferation of ads for personal digital assistants - PDAs - recently? Maybe you have a friend or colleague who totes a Blackberry or feverishly taps at the screen of a Palm Pilot, Visor, Jornada, Ipaq or CLIE. Annoying yes, but if you're a busy contractor or project manager, these devices are ready made for you.

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OSHA: Deal with it

In 1999, construction accounted for 20 percent of all fatal work-related injuries in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while the national 1997-98 fatality rate is 3 percent lower than it was in 1995, it remains high: 14.2 per 100,000 workers a report by the Department of Labor indicates.

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