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Wowsers! Have you seen something like this happen to a building around you?If your roof fails you, it will ail you in all sorts of awful ways. First and foremost, a roof cave-in could cause serious injury to people inside the building. Two, roof failure is a big and expensive mess! And that’s putting it mildly if your roof fails during a storm. A wet mess is the worst kind.What’s more, at the end of the day, the fiscal and possible legal impact of a total failure is likely massive compared to the normal cost of regular, proactive maintenance. So we at Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing think it makes sense to keep up with necessary repairs.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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Editor’s note: The following was originally published in Cornerstone, the quarterly magazine of AGC Houston. Reprinted with permission.“If you want something done, ask a busy person.” I am not sure to whom or what Benjamin Franklin was referring when he made the statement, but he very easily could have been describing the AGC Houston chapter during the first months of 2015.While the drop in oil prices has created a cause for concern, Houston continues to enjoy a very strong construction market. Despite some markets seeing a bit of a slowdown, there continues to be plenty of work to bid and build on. With that being said, the support so many members give the chapter through their involvement is especially gratifying. It is difficult to single out individuals for their contributions because so many members impact directly our organization in numerous capacities. However, I would like to recognize a few for their good work over the past few months.
July 02, 2015
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) named the top four global award winners for new tall buildings as part of its annual awards program. The 123 submissions, up 40% from last year, were judged by an independent board of jurors, and they selected four to honor this year. The submissions are required to be new buildings and are judged for their sustainability, their contribution to the science and design of tall buildings and their livability.The jury selected one honoree from each of the four areas of the globe, The Americas, Auastralasia, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa.You can see the awardees and the finalists from each of the geographical areas on the CTBUH website here.
July 01, 2015
Federal agencies with oversight over various industries are taking the problem of worker misclassification more seriously and are taking steps to rein in as many bad actors as possible, according to various reports.Worker misclassification, as you may know, happens when a company pays employees as independent subcontractors with the intent of skirting payroll taxes and denying benefits like health coverage. There are many legitimate uses of contract labor, of course, but the problem arises when companies use the classification to gain an unlawful competitive advantage and to deny basic protections for craft professionals and others. Companies that cheat on their payroll taxes can easily underbid law-abiding contractors by as much as 30 percent or more because of their illegitimate savings on labor costs.
June 30, 2015
According to recent data from the Construction Labor Market Analyzer, the construction industry will need 1.5 million additional craft professionals by 2019. To highlight this shortage and create a sustainable pipeline of craft professionals, states are proclaiming October as Careers in Construction Month.Alabama, Indiana, Nebraska and Mississippi already have proclamations signed by their state governors declaring October as Careers in Construction Month (CICM). This nationwide campaign is designed to increase public awareness of the opportunities available in the construction industry. Schools, contractors and organizations are encouraged to partner locally and host construction career events throughout the month. In recent surveys conducted at local career fairs, 92 percent of the students attending these events stated the career fairs increased their interest in careers in construction.
June 29, 2015
MX3D, a design and engineering firm located in Amsterdam, is working on new and innovative ways to use robotic 3D printers to autonomously print with exotic materials. A unique feature of their process is that the robots are multi-axis and can build some projects without additional supporting structures. They build their own support as part of the construction process.MX3D has proposed to build a Joris Laarman-designed pedestrian bridge from molten steel and resins that will cross one of the many canals in Amsterdam as a way to showcase their abilities. DeZeen, a design, architecture and interiors website, says that the bridge will be printed by two multi-axis directional printing robots usually used in auto manufacturing to autonomously print the bridge by starting on opposite sides of the canal and building towards each other until the bridge is complete.
June 26, 2015
Our industry cannot talk its way out of a problem we behaved our way into. That’s why the ABC Houston Board of Directors has tasked the group’s Industrial Committee with putting forward solid proposals for addressing workforce needs on the Gulf Coast. As part of that, we realize that maintaining a sustainable workforce will require clear career paths for those who choose to become craft professionals.The Industrial Committee’s members have worked hard during recent meetings to formulate recommendations for the full ABC board. The ideas are wide-ranging, including changes to the way things are done on jobsites as well as improving the industry’s image in the eyes of potential future employees and their families.
June 25, 2015
As many readers are aware, the Construction Career Collaborative, commonly known as C3, is growing steadily and is beginning to have an impact as it executes its owner-driven strategy to create a sustainable workforce for the commercial construction industry.The Collaborative recently achieved a huge strategic win with the addition of Hines to the list of C3 owners. The international real estate firm, which is headquartered in Houston, is a leading influencer in the design and construction community. Hines becomes the first C3 owner from the commercial development world to join our ranks; we look for more to follow. Current C3 owners include M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems and Texas Children’s Hospital.
June 24, 2015
Forty states add jobs in May; job openings outpace hires; nonres, housing starts pick upEditor’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.Seasonally adjusted construction employment rose in 40 states and the District of Columbia from May 2014 to May 2015 and declined in 10 states, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released on Friday showed. California again added the most construction jobs (46,600 jobs, 6.9%), followed by Florida (28,200, 7.2%), Texas (20,300, 3.1%), Washington (18,100, 11.6%) and North Carolina (15,600, 8.8%).
June 23, 2015
The following was written by Tim Tokarczyk, a Leadership Consultant with FMI Corporation:Leaders in the industry today deal with many challenges on a daily basis—finding and winning work, managing large and complex projects, meeting deadlines, satisfying clients, addressing near-continuous obstacles and much, much more. In the midst of the daily whirlwind, it can be easy to overlook one of the most critical aspects of leadership—developing others. Developing great talent is often seen as a “nice to do” activity, something you can address once the really important issues are taken care of. The problem with that philosophy is that you’ll never have time. There’s always something more urgent to be dealt with. However, to ensure your team and your organization survives long-term, developing exceptional leaders is among the most important priorities you have.
June 22, 2015
