Honda profit slides on foreign exchange, Europe, incentives
Honda reported a 13 decline in full-year operating profit on foreign exchange losses, rising incentives and one-time costs to restructure its European business.
GM to convert Oshawa into 'aftermarket plant,' AV test track
GM plans to invest C$170 million ($126 million U.S.) to support the transition of operations at its Oshawa assembly plant. GM also will convert part of the plant property into a test track for autonomous and advanced technology vehicles. The plan is expected to save about 300 jobs.
Honda to reduce model trim lines, streamline output
Honda is slashing the number of model variations available in North America and other regions and overhauling production in a new push to improve efficiency as growing investments in next-generation technologies pressures the company’s bottom line.
Tips to Avoid Construction Delays
Construction delays happen and many projects are often behind schedule. It’s easy to become delayed as there are many avenues for things to go wrong whether with ordering materials, broken parts, labor issues, etc. No one benefits from a construction delay – it hurts the contractor, subcontractor, and owner.
Some delays are out of our control like inclement weather or a city issue while other delays are non-excusable and could have been avoided such as poor planning or poor workmanship.
Critical delays need to be attended to immediately because if they are not addressed. Compensable delays. Compensable delays include errors and omissions and owner-directed changes. Concurrent delays are when two or more delays happen at the same time.
Tips to avoid delays:
- Create a project scope assessment.
- Overestimate the time a project will take.
- Understand and have a knowledge of codes and regulations of cities.
- Don’t cut corners.
- Have full financing in place before committing to a project.
- Invest in budget software.
- Make sure schedule changes are anticipated in the planning phase.
- Know your own project limitations.
- Plan for extra worker/employee support.
- Have a back-up crew.
- Hire quality workers.
- Use software to track staff and productivity.
There are different kinds and levels of delays, and a contractor needs to be aware and prepared for any and all of them. Some delays can be avoided, others cannot. The more prepared a company is, the smaller the delays will become and less frequent, so you can stay on time and on budget.
Toyota annual profit rises 3% on cost cuts, lower incentives
Toyota’s operating profit edged up nearly 3 percent in the latest fiscal year on rising sales, tighter cost control and lower incentives in the crucial U.S. market.