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Every construction leader knows the pain: projects delayed, crews underutilized, or worse, workers showing up only to be sent home. Too often, these decisions are made from the gut—and that's costing you.

This series details how a market-leading electrical contractor discovered what labor chaos was truly costing them, how they solved it, and how they ultimately built a workforce management operation that drives real competitive advantage.

Part 1 of our Labor Productivity Killer Series. You've seen it happen: your best electrician gets pulled off a complex project to cover a gap elsewhere, and suddenly the learning curve resets—costing you time, money, and margin.

From daily frustrations to lost profits: The hidden cost of labor planning chaos. Every day, MEP contractors face operational chaos that quietly erodes profitability—misassigned crews, reactive scheduling, and hours lost to firefighting instead of planning.

After decades of migrating west, traveling journeyman electricians are flooding back to the Midwest. Here's what's driving the shift and what it means for labor planning in your region.

If you manage workforce planning in construction, you know one thing for sure: forecasting isn't optional—it's make or break. RIVET's all-new Job Forecast Page gives your team the clarity and control to stay ahead.

At RIVET, we work with hundreds of self-performing electrical and mechanical contractors. Through that work, we've identified the most common—and costly—labor planning challenges they face every day.

How Poynter Sheet Metal built a disciplined, tech-forward labor strategy with RIVET. In a recent SMACNA-hosted webinar, their team shared the real story behind transforming workforce planning from reactive to proactive.

In today's competitive construction environment, electrical and mechanical contractors face mounting pressure to deliver projects on time and under budget. These five productivity killers are costing you millions.

Now you can see exactly which jobs are driving your workforce labor plans. In construction, guesswork is expensive—RIVET's new job-level detail view lets you drill into weekly labor demand with precision.

Electrical and mechanical contractors face mounting pressure to deliver projects on time and under budget. These five labor productivity killers are quietly costing the industry millions—and most contractors don't even see them coming.

Reactive labor decisions are a hidden margin killer. They happen fast—usually when it's too late to course-correct. The future of labor planning is smarter, sharper, and more disciplined than gut-feel scheduling.

One of the most-requested features by RIVET users is finally here: Forecast Versioning. Now trade contractors can track labor plan changes over time, compare versions, and plan with full confidence.

The construction labor shortage isn't easing up—with 439,000 more workers needed to meet current demand. Here are three ways contractors can strengthen their workforce strategy right now.

At RIVET, we believe the future of workforce management is being built together—with contractors, partners, and industry leaders aligned around smarter labor planning and real operational excellence.

At RIVET, we believe workforce planning is the heartbeat of every successful contractor. This year's Workforce Management Champions are leading the way—celebrating the leaders shaping the future of the industry.

Change orders, schedule compression, and shifting priorities are a fact of life in construction. Here are four practical tips for navigating change orders without letting them blow up your labor plan.

Making technology work for you and your construction business requires more than just buying software—it requires overcoming old fears and building a culture of accountability around the tools you adopt.

You need a plan and a tool fit for the task if you want to stop margin fade Without a way to visualize a project schedule, you'll never staff a job efficiently.

OSHA showed up to your job site and wants to see everyone's certifications. How do you respond? This WFM Weekly covers exactly what you need to know to stay compliant and keep your crew working.

Connecting field and fab at the forefront of innovation The 2025 SMACNA Fab Forum brought together over 200 of the industry's top professionals to share ideas, showcase innovation, and shape the future.

Presented by RIVET, Trimble, Ernest D. Menold and Interstate Electrical Together with Trimble, we recently cohosted the first-ever Construction Productivity Workshop in Philadelphia.

Sidestepping Schedule Compression in Construction No matter your discipline, on a job site you're at the mercy of every other trade. A delay with one will invariably affect your schedule and budgets.

How contractors can manage costs in the face of tariffs With the looming potential for ballooning material prices due to 25 percent tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico.

Philadelphia Construction Productivity Workshop: What we learned We were back on the road at the historic Simione Automotive Foundation for the first-of-its-kind Construction Productivity Workshop.

ABC Convention 2025 recap: Key takeaways on Workforce Management & construction tech Another month, another trade show. This time we were in Las Vegas for ABC Convention 2025.

Come talk Productivity with us next week in Philly We're partnering with Kojo, Milwaukee Tool and Trimble MEP for a collaborative discussion about increasing construction Productivity.

New Labor Planning and navigation features for construction contractors At RIVET, we believe every job should have a Labor Plan that updates in real-time and is visual — not just numbers on a spreadsheet.

Workforce Management in Construction, defined Labor makes up the lion's share of construction budgets — contractors report it's as much as half of the costs on any given job.

Construction is Hard Podcast – Season 2 Recap Episode 301 of Construction is Hard is in the can! But before we get into the new season, make sure you're caught up on Season 2.

Construction Workforce Management is hard. But it doesn't have to be. We've been greenlit for another season of your favorite construction workforce management podcast, Construction is Hard!

We brought so many contractor insights back from Los Angeles after a whirlwind MEP Innovation 2025 in downtown LA — here's what we learned from mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors.

What is RIVET? Let our CEO Ryan Meitl give you the rundown in about 60 seconds. Spreadsheets are inadequate for managing labor as you grow — here's why RIVET changes everything.

How Gillespie Electric uses RIVET to manage labor It used to be that once Gillespie Electric's Friday manpower meeting wrapped, none of the spreadsheets would be updated until Monday.

RIVET is a Workforce Management platform tailor-made for self-perform contractors. What's RIVET? Glad you asked — here's everything you need to know.

Join us at the Construction Productivity Workshop Collaborate with industry leaders and peers for a free, first-of-its-kind event at the Simione Foundation Auto Museum in Philadelphia.

2024 recap: Last year was a whirlwind for us. Catch up with where we went, what we did, and what we learned in this year-in-review blog.

Successful tech adoption takes a change in mindset and the right team. When exploring new technologies, construction contractors often stumble on the same cultural hurdles — here's how to clear them.

RIVET 2024 year in review: Taking a look back at where we've been and what we've done. It's been a whirlwind year at RIVET and we can't wait to show you what we've accomplished.

HMT Electric Inc. and RIVET's Dispatch feature — RIVET Dispatches make it super simple to message your entire field force with a few clicks. "I love this feature," said HMT's Lindsey Lemmond.

The never-ending manpower meeting doesn't have to take forever. Since adopting RIVET, Carlton Electric's weekly meeting went from two hours to 30 minutes.

Spreadsheets hold you back. Once you get past a certain size, spreadsheets just can't keep up with the complexity of managing a construction workforce. Here are three reasons to stop using them for labor.

The benefits of Labor Planning every job — Gillespie Electric's Ed Tryon always knows how much labor he has available. That's because they labor plan every single job, and it's transformed how they operate.

Labor Planning every job helps you sidestep problems before they start. Schedule compression happens — but contractors who plan every job are far better equipped to handle it without blowing their budget.

The most valuable RIVET features, according to contractors like you — earlier this fall we gathered the RIVET Champions together to hear what features are making the biggest difference in their businesses.

These are the RIVET features specialty contractors use most. This fall, the RIVET Champions gathered to share which platform tools are driving the most impact on their workforce management operations.

Labor Planning's Impact on Productivity — Join us December 4th at 1 P.M. EST for our next webinar. We'll discuss how labor planning directly drives productivity on your jobs.

We brought so many contractor insights back from SMACNA 2024. We've returned from the California desert and couldn't wait to share everything we learned at one of sheet metal's biggest annual conferences.

Construction is Hard 208: The Workforce Management Champions — This episode of Construction is Hard is dedicated to the contractors who are leading the charge on smarter workforce management.

You can't rely on gut instinct for making labor decisions. Mechanical contractors using WFM platforms are seeing measurable increases in productivity — here's how they're doing it.

Six reasons to Labor Plan every job — What's at the core of every successful construction project? A Labor Plan. Here are six compelling reasons why every job, big or small, deserves one.

The construction industry is slow to adopt tech—and for good reason. Historically, platforms promised efficiency but delivered complexity. Here are four steps every contractor should take before committing to any new technology.

Watch Training: Integrating Productivity Insights into your WFM platform. No one likes double data entry — this training shows you how to connect your productivity tools directly into RIVET.

Construction is Hard 207: Team Buy-In — Leadership needs to set the example when it comes to getting the entire organization on board with new technology. Here's how to build real buy-in.

The next layer of protection for your data — RIVET is now SOC 2 Type II certified. Our security and compliance principles guide how we design, build, and operate our platform for enterprise-grade contractors.

RIVET named one of Construction Executive's top tech companies. We're recognized in several categories for our work helping specialty contractors manage their most critical resource: labor.

Register for Training Webinar: Integrating Productivity Insights with Trimble and DP Electric. When you connect your productivity data to your labor plans, everything gets sharper.

Integrating Productivity Insights Training featuring Trimble and DP Electric — Join us next Wednesday for a live walkthrough of how to connect productivity data directly into your RIVET labor plans.

Watch Training: Field Scheduling & Dispatch. Spreadsheets and magnet boards are the status quo for scheduling — but RIVET's field scheduling tools make it faster, clearer, and more connected.

Watch Training: Rostering & Certification Management. You can't search for bold text in Excel — but with RIVET's rostering tools, finding the right worker with the right cert is instant.

We brought so many contractor insights back from San Diego. We're back home from NECA 2024 and couldn't wait to share what we learned at one of construction's biggest annual gatherings.

New Event: MEP Operations Forum Presented by RIVET Work, Kojo and Milwaukee Tool. Collaborate with industry peers on the future of MEP workforce and operations management.

How Tessiers Mechanical fights off labor shortcomings before they happen. Effectively and efficiently managing labor requires a Workforce Management platform built for self-perform contractors.

Adios, NECA 2024! What a week — we want to give our sincere thanks to everyone who stopped by our booth, attended our sessions, and connected with us in San Diego.

Watch Training: Near-Term Labor Planning & Labor Crew Makeup. There are lots of reasons why ramp-up and ramp-down on jobs goes wrong — this training shows you how to plan your crew makeup effectively.

Schedule To Your Forecast — With the new Schedule To Your Forecast feature, RIVET automatically recommends field employees and roles based on your labor forecast so you can staff smarter.

This week's Workforce Management insights for MEP contractors: RIVET vs. spreadsheets, putting your labor data to work, and why specialty contractors are making the switch to dedicated WFM platforms.

11 questions with Dustin Acker, Implementations Manager. Changing careers is daunting — after 23 years in the field, Dustin made the leap from construction to tech and hasn't looked back.

RIVET Labor Plans now automatically suggest field employees and roles. The latest Labor Forecasting update gives contractors AI-assisted scheduling recommendations based on real workforce data.

This week's Workforce Management insights for MEP contractors: Construction Suicide Prevention, mental health in the trades, and how to support your workforce beyond the job site.

Watch Training: Pursuit Forecasting & Backlog Management. Contractors consistently tell us that they struggle to forecast accurately — this training shows you how to use RIVET to plan with confidence.

Fighting absenteeism with a Workforce Management platform. Sending out schedule updates doesn't have to mean manual calls — RIVET helps you respond to absences fast and keep every job fully staffed.

Fighting absenteeism with a Workforce Management platform. Sending out schedule updates doesn't have to mean phone trees and group texts — RIVET makes it easy to manage unexpected absences in real time.

Exit strategies — If you really want to keep Productivity up, you need to develop exit strategies for every job. Here's how finishing one job strong sets up the next project for success.

Having an exit strategy is what sets up the next project's success. Developing an exit strategy so your team ramps down cleanly and efficiently is one of the most overlooked aspects of Labor Planning.

Getting promoted to Superintendent or Director of Field Force doesn't mean you need to be a computer whiz. RIVET is built so your supers can do their jobs without fighting the software.

Is it time to stop using spreadsheets for labor planning? Once you get past a certain size, spreadsheets just can't keep up. Here are 17 insights from contractors who made the switch.

Labor Demand Dashboard — We're on a mission to make sure every contractor knows exactly where their labor stands at all times. The Labor Demand Dashboard makes that a reality.

Interstate Electrical Services discusses integrating RIVET with Viewpoint Spectrum. The integration unlocks real-time labor data across their entire operation, connecting WFM to their broader tech stack.

Building your own WFM tool is expensive and a lot harder than it might seem. Here's why specialty contractors are better served by a purpose-built Workforce Management platform.

Would you rather spend 18 hours a day managing labor in a spreadsheet, or 2 hours in RIVET? DP Electric Labor Plans every job — here's how it's changed their entire operation.

At DP Electric, Labor Planning starts with a WFM platform. Labor might not feel like it, but it's the most controllable cost on any job — and DP Electric figured that out early.

Squandering the superintendent — This episode of Construction is Hard is dedicated to the superintendent, the unsung hero of every job site. Are you giving them the tools they need to succeed?

Mechanical Contractors discuss adopting Workforce Management Software. In partnership with SMACNA, we sat down with contractors across the country to hear their honest take on WFM adoption.

Rosters — Having the right person on the right job makes a world of difference. RIVET's Baseball Cards give you a complete view of every worker's skills, certs, and availability at a glance.

A Contractor's Guide to Tech Adoption. Toby Mitchell, President of Classic Electric & Consulting, breaks down what it really takes to get your team to embrace new technology on the job.

Runaway Detailing budgets — You know Two Week Thomas. Ask how much longer he's on a job, you'll always get the same answer. A WFM platform helps you stop the runaway detailing budget problem.

Contractors discuss what's at stake with labor risks — a contractor's guide to tech adoption, a tour of RIVET, and what the industry's best are doing to protect their margins.

Labor Planning leads to improved labor Productivity. For self-performing contractors, labor is paramount — and contractors who plan every job are seeing measurable improvements in their bottom line.

ENR Labor Productivity webinar — Join us June 26th to learn the impact of Labor Planning on productivity. We'll be walking through real data from real contractors on what moves the needle.

"Moving to RIVET has been pretty seamless." At RIVET, we lead with empathy. We understand the unique challenges of self-performing contractors, and that's reflected in every part of our onboarding.

The highway out of spreadsheet hell — Filling jobs at Interstate Electrical Services was a challenge until they found a better way. Here's how they left spreadsheets behind for good.

Notifications streamline field communication. One person going to the wrong job site is inconvenient — five people going is a crisis. RIVET Notifications keep your entire crew informed automatically.

Hear how the RIVET platform helps the WFM Champions get business done. Ninety percent of RIVET's new features come directly from contractor feedback — here's what our Champions have built together.

ELECTRI Council discusses Labor Productivity and Labor Planning — we shared our findings that labor planning directly impacts productivity, and contractors across the country are taking notice.

Adopting RIVET has massively increased their Labor Productivity. Taking a modern approach to Workforce Management means having a platform that connects your entire labor operation in one place.

Meet the Champions — With the help of 11 contractor groups, we've assembled a committee to guide us on the future of Workforce Management. These are the leaders shaping the industry.

RIVET raises $6 Million to expand Workforce Management for specialty contractors. Mortar Ventures led the round with participation from defy.vc, Augment Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, and others.

RIVET announces contractor groups supercharging the mission of better Labor Productivity through Workforce Management. Meet the 2024 RIVET Workforce Management Champions.

RIVET announces contractor groups supercharging the mission of better Labor Productivity. These are the 2024 RIVET Workforce Management Champions leading the industry forward.