About Us
History
Based in Verona, NJ, Contracting Smart was established in 2008 by Mark Trapani to provide risk management and problem resolution services in residential and light commercial contracting projects in Northern NJ. Mr. Trapani holds both a bachelors and masters degree in engineering and has been involved in construction for over 30 years. He is an experienced project manager, product manager, engineer and contractor.
The company evolved out of requests from Mr. Trapani’s contracting customers that he assist them in minimizing problems in their projects, and resolve disputes if they arise, instead of being their contractor. He saw that these clients felt victimized in their contracting projects and had no where to turn. Out of this experience he recognized the need for a construction consulting service separate from his contracting company.
Philosophy and Approach
Contracting Smart is unlike any other construction consulting company. We are not a contracting company that provides a project management service, and we do not subcontract work (we are not general contractors). We exist because we see two very specific needs in the residential and light commercial contracting industry: Risk Management, and Problem Resolution.
Until Contracting Smart existed, those in need of such services had no where to turn. When these needs are not addressed it leaves both consumers and contractors vulnerable to excessive costs, excessive stress and the potential for litigation in contracting projects. Each of these services deserves its own description.
Risk Management
Contractors inherently provide project management and construction management as a natural extension of their contracting service. Despite this level of management and the New Jersey’s effort to curb contractor abuses under the Consumer Fraud Protection Act and Home Improvement Contractor Registration, “Construction Nightmares” persist. While contractors should continue to manage projects we fill the specialized niche of minimizing overall risk in the project.
People usually think of Risk Management in terms of insurance, which indemnifies after an occurrence. We take a different approach. Instead of waiting for a problem to happen we identify risks before they happen and take steps to mitigate those risks so that they never happen. For owners and contractors this means that construction nightmares virtually go away. It saves time, money and frustration.
In everyday terms we give owners and contractors a very powerful tool that allows them to protect themselves from being taken advantage of and from facing construction nightmares. It feels very much like having an advocate or having a “brother – in – the – industry”.
We are preeminent experts in Risk Management for residential and light commercial contracting projects.
Problem Resolution
We prefer to be involved in projects so that risks can be assessed and mitigated before problems occur. However, in
cases where a construction nightmare already exists our Problem Resolution
service gets the project back on track quickly and cost effectively.