EP 38 · 2022-12-22 · 1:00:10
How an Electrical Contractor Uses Data to Say No to the Wrong Jobs (Able Electric, NS)
How Able Electric grew from a tired 1973 company into a metrics-driven, best-in-class electrical sub by refusing the race to the bottom and treating process as their product.
MC
⟶ The story, written up — a sharp read with every fact on the record. Or skip straight to the moments that matter, as clips.
// CHAPTERS — TAP TO JUMP THE PLAYER
0:00Sponsor intro & co-branded Procore announcement — Pizant Building Products sponsor read; announcement of Procore co-branded partnership for 2023 podcast series.0:42Mike's background and the Able Electric acquisition — Mike describes his corporate sales background, the 2016 acquisition of a 'tired' 1973 company, and his sustainable-growth mantra — chess not checkers, foundation before roof.5:00Labour shortage, trades stigma, and internal training — Discussion of the apprenticeship pipeline drop during COVID, the university-over-trades stigma, unionized electricians' earnings, and how Able separates office and field talent strategies.9:10Operations: dashboards, swim lanes, and cycle-time tracking — Adam walks through Able's process-driven operations — swim lanes, cycle-time measurement (shop drawings, change orders, invoices), dashboard health checks, and how GCs 'don't have to worry about us'.17:30Bid selectivity, GC metrics, and value-based purchasing — Mike explains how years of data let Able refuse unprofitable GC relationships, do value-based purchasing from wholesalers even at higher unit cost, and why bandwidth reduction trumps price.23:20Generational gap, employee engagement, and recognition culture — Father-son dynamics on hiring young PMs as a leap of faith, coachability as the filter, acts-of-commission vs omission culture, performance dashboards as recognition, and LinkedIn project posts recognising field crews.30:00Tools-material-skillset-scope: the four execution pillars — Mike's 'trade secret' four pillars; Adam on empowering apprentices to surface tool solutions; value-based tool procurement; longevity of tradespeople with quality equipment; managing suppliers with documented logs.38:20Honest project retrospectives and Cape Breton expansion — Mike admits high-profile jobs (Under Armour, Nova Centre Gahan) lost money; how past project data shapes future bid decisions; Cape Breton office opened May 2021; cultural fit as the expansion criterion.47:50Current market, projects, and wrap-up — Current projects (SMU Hub, Nine Locks Brewery with Lindsay Construction, hospital work); recession-proof business-building philosophy; wrap-up and holiday wishes.
// THE INTRO
Mike Castellani (President) and Adam Castellani (Operations Coordinator) of Able Electric 2016 Ltd. join host Daniel Arsenault for a frank conversation about what it means to run a specialty electrical contractor as a data-driven business rather than a gut-feel trade shop. Mike, a corporate outsider who bought the company in 2016, explains how he imported process culture, dashboards, and sustainable-growth thinking into a sector that often defaults to headcount and glamour projects. Adam — who joined without a construction background — built out the swim-lane, cycle-time, and stakeholder-log systems that now let Able bid selectively, say no to the wrong GCs, and show up to site as the least-management-intensive sub on the project. The conversation covers the trades stigma/labour shortage, value-based purchasing versus price chasing, tools-material-skillset-scope as the four pillars of site execution, recognition as a retention tool, acts of commission versus omission as a culture benchmark, the Cape Breton expansion, and a candid admission that celebrated projects (Under Armour, Nova Centre Gahan) can still lose money.
// THE LESSONS
See all 17 lessons ▸Sustainable growth requires patience and a solid foundation before scaling — chasing big projects or trucks early destroys margin.
“you can't swing for the fences, you want to build a roof on your host but if you don't have a good foundation”
Running a trade company on metrics and dashboards removes gut decisions and lets you know where you're winning and where you're bleeding.
“it's a process driven metrics based... we get away from the gut decisions and it's a factual math-based decision”
You don't need more people if you do business smart — optimise existing resources before hiring, especially given the labour shortage.
“you don't need as many people if you do your business smart”
Embracing technology to maximise office and field efficiency is the primary lever when skilled labour is scarce and unlikely to recover quickly.
“a lot of it is really coming down to embracing technology so that way we're able to manage more work”
The trades stigma — pushing everyone toward university — is still hurting apprenticeship pipelines and needs to be actively countered at the high-school level.
“University Universe University don't go to vocational school and we've heard that for years and years that is still like that”
Map every process into swim lanes, measure cycle times on everything (shop drawings, change orders, invoices), and use the baseline to identify and fix gaps in team process-improvement sessions.
“we'll start tracking our cycle times... by tracking that it's kind of built into our process and then we can identify where our gaps are”
Being the lowest-management-intensity sub on a project is a genuine competitive differentiator — GCs factor in the bandwidth cost of managing a trade, not just their bid price.
“we want to minimize the bandwidth that it takes to actually manage us and deliver value to the customer”
Use historical GC performance data to filter bids: if a certain GC + project type combination burns bandwidth and margin, decline regardless of the dollar value.
“we'll refer back to our metrics... we're not going to be successful in there... is it going to take too much bandwidth from us”
Value-based purchasing — paying slightly more to a supplier who reduces your management overhead — delivers higher net value than always chasing the lowest material price.
“if it's less bandwidth for us to manage it's going to reach site smoother we're going to go use them”
Stakeholder unawareness — decisions made through a narrow lens without mapping who is impacted two or three degrees out — is one of the biggest hidden cost drivers on complex projects.
“if they don't have an awareness of all the stakeholders involved in a job it's ultimately going to cost more”
Distinguish acts of commission (tried something, it failed — acceptable) from acts of omission (problem existed, nobody acted — unacceptable); the latter is the culture killer.
“acts of commission is I've had this problem I tried this and it didn't work I said at least you tried”
Hire office staff who are willing to embrace continuous improvement and change; coachability is the primary filter when hiring young, inexperienced project managers.
“is he coachable... can you provide him the tools to make him successful will you mentor him”
Site recognition — publicly attributing completed projects to the specific field crew — drives engagement and retention more tangibly than compensation alone.
“that recognition needs to go down to the guys and the girls on site that have built that from the ground up”
The four non-negotiable pillars of site execution are: right tools, right materials, right skill set, and clear scope — missing any one will crater the job regardless of your back-office systems.
“tools material skill set and scope... if we don't have those in place the jobs will go sideways”
Investing in best-in-class tools extends tradespeople's working life, reduces injury, and is a visible signal that the company values its field crew.
“if they see we're using the best tools... some of our older guys say yeah thanks for doing that because they climb ladders all day long”
For tactile learners in the trades, showing beats telling: a live demo on-site wins adoption faster than any email, presentation, or training deck.
“put it down on paper five minutes problem was solved... in one change order there was two months of emails back and forth”
// CLIPS FROM THIS EPISODE
Framework · 2:58
“a lot of people can take on the big project buy new trucks look glamorous”
Hot take · 5:00
“how many people you have well we've got X number of employees but I don't need any more”
Hot take · 9:18
“there can definitely be a stigma out there”
Framework · 11:04
“it doesn't matter if you're a law firm doctors practice accounting whatever”
Framework · 14:53
“we talk about the race to the bottom low price versus low cost”
Framework · 18:44
“compound it with the sheer volume of work that's out there right now for a bid”
Story · 19:31
“one of our more successful projects this year we're working with a best-in-class contractor”
Hot take · 22:09
“I take a lot of pride in the fact that I go into our office and even out to the field”
Framework · 25:47
“stakeholder unawareness is something that can seriously impact a project cost”
Emotional · 33:56
“it seems to have this cultural factor like it's part of the aura”
Emotional · 40:47
“if you're using a lousy drill or an impact gun or don't know how to use it carpal tunnel will develop”
Story · 42:36
“the only way you're going to get it adopted on your older crew is you tell them this is what needs to be done”
Story · 45:45
“Mr wholesaler you took three weeks to those shop drawings around”
Emotional · 55:40
“I'm going to give you a funny story now I don't know if it's a funny story”
All 17 lessons from this episode, on one page.
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// FEATURED BUSINESSES
Able Electric 2016 Limited
Full-service commercial and institutional electrical and communications contractor serving Nova Scotia…
Payzant Building Products Ltd.
Family-owned, multi-generational Atlantic Canada building-materials and home-improvement retailer oper…
Lindsay Construction Limited
Atlantic Canada general contractor offering design-build, construction management, and general contrac…
// FACT-CHECKED ✓ web-verified, with sources
// COMPANIES & ORGS ✓ verified
Able Electric 2016 Limited ▸Michael CastellaniAdam CastellaniPayzant Building Products Ltd. ▸Lindsay Construction Limited ▸Nine Locks Brewing CompanyUnder Armour Factory House, Dartmouth CrossingGahan House Nova CentreSobeys Inspiration Hub, Saint Mary's University
// PROJECTS NAMED
Under Armour Factory House, Dartmouth CrossingGahan House Nova CentreSobeys Inspiration Hub, Saint Mary's UniversityNine Locks Brewing CompanyCape Breton Able Electric Office
SOURCE: podscope · public episode data · lWnzc2E4DSo