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The following article originally appeared in the March newsletter to clients of Kiley Advisors, LLC. Reprinted with permission.He was 88 years old and had lived an accomplished life, a rich legacy of significant contributions to his family, his company, his industry, his church and to Houston. Nonetheless, Jerry Nevluds’s thoughtful announcement of his death left so many with a profound sense of sadness and loss.Jack Marshall, the 2nd generation leader of Marshall Construction Company, was a Rice University Graduate and a World War II United States Navy Veteran. He was also a past member of the Houston AGC Board of Directors, and up until 2015, a member of the chapter’s Labor Committee for over 50 years!
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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With the ever growing need for good combination pipe welders in the industrial construction industry, new ideas and training techniques are always welcome. Consider the fact that a welder needs to not only pass a welding test before he is hired, he will also need to pass a production test once he is onsite. The requirements for a welder compared to other craftsmen are completely different. In most cases, a welder cannot just show a certification and be hired as a journeyman welder. He still has to prove himself by passing multiple welding tests. Some companies have been able to capture the individuals who do not pass the welding tests, but are fairly close and may need just a tad bit more practice.Companies such as Turner Industries, Performance Contractors, Jacobs and KBR have been working closely with the Construction and Maintenance Education Foundation (CMEF), the training affiliate of ABC Greater Houston, to find a way to bring those welders up to a level of a stand-alone combination pipe welder. CMEF’s Craft Training Committee (CTC) has worked diligently to try to solve this problem. With the help of Carla Thompson, Sal Mellado, Joe Laughlin, and Natalie Smith, the CTC was able to develop a program which is not only innovative, but will ensure that the individuals participating in the program will be stand-alone, productive, journeyman combination pipe welders.
March 17, 2016
A construction executive in New York is charged with underreporting his payroll so that he could reap $2 million in insurance premium breaks.Prosecutors in Manhattan said Michael Cholowsky and his company allegedly concealed more than $3 million in payroll resulting in a fraudulent premium reduction over the course of a year starting in April of 2014.The Manhattan District Attorney’s office released a statement saying that the “indictment stems from an investigation into a construction site fatality that occurred last year at the former location of Pastis restaurant in the Meatpacking District. In April 2015, a 22-year-old worker was killed when an improperly secured trench collapsed and fatally crushed the victim.
March 16, 2016
Manpower finds hiring plans are stable; market appears hot for renewables, data centersEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry."Hiring plans remain relatively stable" for April-June 2016, after adjusting for seasonal variation, compared to January-March, "and employers report no change compared to one year ago at this time," ManpowerGroup reported on Tuesday in releasing its latest quarterly survey of 11,000 U.S. employers. Employers in all 13 industry sectors included in the survey have a positive outlook for the second quarter. "When the industry sector data is compared quarter over quarter,...hiring activity is expected to remain relatively stable nationwide" in construction and 10 of the 12 other sectors.
March 15, 2016
ING is accused of fabricating documentation of materials purchases from a minority firm which was part of their bid for a major project, after which federal officials blew the fraud whistle on them.
March 14, 2016
Some 468 area women packed into the North Ballroom of Galveston’s Hotel Galvez on Friday, Feb. 19, eager to learn about careers in the petrochemical and industrial trades industries.The number far exceeded the expectations of conference planners for this first-ever event.“It told us there are many capable women interested in well-paying, challenging careers in what were once male-dominated industries,” said Debi Jordan, spokesperson for the Community College Petrochemical Initiative (CCPI), which sponsored the event, along with several major industrial partners.
March 11, 2016
The second ever Lift & Move USA event which was held last month in Houston connected over 650 high school and college students with industry representatives from the crane, rigging and specialized transport industries, inspiring them to pursue careers in those challenging and rewarding fields.TNT Crane & Rigging hosted the one-day event from their Houston facility where they had several large cranes of varied types on display outside with skilled operators on hand to talk with the attendees about the equipment. Appropriately, the indoor program began with an introduction from Mike Appling, President and CEO of TNT Crane & Rigging. In his opening remarks, he noted that the average annual salary for crane operators in Houston is currently $118K.
March 10, 2016
Construction is a vast and complex industry that allows men and women to use their talents and professions in many ways. ABC/CMEF is offering scholarships to qualifying undergraduate students pursuing a degree for a career in construction at a university or community college.The scholarship committee will be awarding upwards of $20,000 in scholarship money. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is Friday, March 18th. You can view the scholarship requirements and application here. The committee will take into consideration each applicant's interest in construction, grades, extracurricular activities, employment experience, and financial needs.
March 09, 2016
Construction Career Collaborative (C3) was the beneficiary of two big announcements last week by high profile, influential owners, which illustrate C3’s growing presence and impact in the Greater Houston region. The first came through the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston from His Eminence, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, who declared that its projects would require C3 participation from this point forward. This is a huge win for C3 because the Archdiocese is one of the most active builders in the Houston region with as many as 10 new projects (all C3!) expected to begin in the near future.The second significant announcement came from the Greater Houston Partnership, which issued a press release stating that the construction of its new offices would require C3 participation. Bob Harvey, President and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership stated, “Programs like C3 exemplify the approaches championed by UpSkill Houston.
March 09, 2016
Construction employment in February, spending in January climb to seven-year highsEditor’s note: Construction Citizen is proud to partner with AGC America to bring you AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's Data DIGest. Check back each week to get Ken's expert analysis of what's happening in our industry.Nonfarm payroll employment in February increased by 242,000, seasonally adjusted, from January and by 2,672,000 (1.9%) over 12 months, and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.9%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last week. Construction employment rose by 19,000 for the month (to 6,631,000) and by 253,000 (4.0%) year-over-year (y/y). Industry employment reached the highest level since December 2008. Residential construction employment (residential building and specialty trade contractors) increased by 15,000 for the month and 155,100 (6.4%) y/y.
March 08, 2016
