Message from the Editor - Building Best Practices 2026 - Fall
Welcome to this edition of Building Best Practices. We have three articles that I think will resonate with anyone managing the business side of a construction company. I am pleased to contribute 5 Steps to Prompt Pay, which walks through practical compliance measures for the Massachusetts Prompt Pay Act in light of the Supreme Judicial Court's 2024 decision in Graycor and the 2026 decision in Cannistraro. Prompt pay statutes are driving daily decisions on construction projects and can have a substantial impact on how claims and disputes are resolved. If it has been a while since you looked at your internal practices and form documents, it is worth revisiting them to make sure they align with the statute and respect its spirit and purpose. Shmulie Munitz of Munitz & Co. follows with Overhead in Construction: Best Practices, a clear-eyed look at how contractors calculate (and often miscalculate) their overhead rates, including a simple "Double-Filter Test" to help project teams categorize costs accurately and bid with confidence. And Christopher Dantz of Barr & Barr rounds out the edition with The Critical Role of Preconstruction Services in Hospital Projects, drawing on real project experience to show why preconstruction in the healthcare sector is less about scheduling and estimating and more about building collaboration among owners, designers, and builders long before the first shovel hits the ground.
Save the Date: The themes running through these articles, prompt pay compliance, overhead management, and early-phase planning, are exactly some of the themes we will be exploring at the AGC MA Innovation Summit on November 5 at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The Summit, titled "Building Certainty: Innovation, Intelligence & Integration in Preconstruction," brings together owners, general contractors, and designers to talk honestly about what works and what breaks down during preconstruction. You can register here.
Of course, I would not be doing my job as the Editor-in-Chief of the Building Best Practices newsletter if I did not invite you and your organization to submit an article about safety, project management, scheduling, technology, human resources, or any other construction topic to me (rtdunn@PierceAtwood.com) and Henry Kruger (kruger@agcmass.org). It is a great way to promote your and your company's expertise and contribution to the improvement of the construction industry. Articles should emphasize practices and procedures that help the construction process. Articles should be approximately 1,000-1,500 words. We are happy to work with you from development of an article idea to final editing.
About the Editor:
Tom is a construction lawyer with over 20 years experience. He leads his firm's construction practice group providing legal support and claim representation in Massachusetts and throughout New England. He chairs the AGC MA's Communications Advisory Group and is a member of the Programs Advisory Group.
