Jim Kollaer's blog

I had the opportunity to interview Ken Simonson, one of the most respected economists in the country (and one of Construction Citizen’s leading bloggers) after a recent presentation.  He was in Houston to speak at the Associated General Contractors (AGC) 2014 Annual Chapter Meeting and breakfast.  Ken is traveling around the country (when the weather doesn’t ground him) to deliver his thoughts about the industry and the outlook for 2014.

We have covered his presentation on Construction Citizen, but we wanted to ask him a couple of questions like “What’s happening in this midterm election year that might have an impact on the economy?”   [node:read-more:link]

We recently attended the signing ceremony for the first alliance between the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and MEMCO, a construction-oriented staffing agency.  Why was it important for us to cover that signing?

Worker safety is the most critical issue in the construction industry today, followed closely by training and certification.  The developing skilled worker shortage has increased the demand for those skilled workers, and construction oriented staffing agencies like MEMCO provide workers on a temporary or contract basis to clients around the country.  MEMCO and OSHA believe that it is critical that those temporary workers have safety training before they go to a worksite to avoid safety issues and reportable accidents when they are under contract.   [node:read-more:link]

Reuters has reported that the new AGC survey released yesterday pointed to the increasing shortages in the skilled workforce that we have been reporting for the last four years.

The Reuters article describes not only the recruitment issues for new skilled workers, but the increasing difficulty of retaining those who have the skills needed to keep up with the demand as the economy continues its recovery.  The article quotes AGC Chief Executive Officer Stephen Sander who said that “competition for the available construction workers was heating up. The survey found that 52 percent of firms reported losing workers to other construction companies.  As a result, companies are raising wages and improving benefits to retain workers.”

The AGC survey shows that those skilled workers who left during the recession have found new positions, and the expansion of the domestic oil and gas industry has created new markets for those workers.   [node:read-more:link]

 

 

A cartoon by
 
Jim Kollaer 

 

 
[node:read-more:link]

According to Giles Lamberston in a recent post for Construction Equipment Guide, the recent AGC study on workforce studies points to both a short and long term need for more skilled workers.

Lamberston makes a couple of great points that I think are important. He writes, “The larger truth is that until blue-collar labor is accorded the same respect given software work and other white-collar employment, young people will opt for college degrees of increasingly shrinking career value.  There was a time when skilled construction trades men and women were honored for their labor.  Now such positions are considered a last resort or an interim job.  Consequently, many of the ‘best and brightest’ drift into careers and professions that are trendier but, ultimately, less personally rewarding.   [node:read-more:link]

According to an article in the International Business Times this week, students from the Red Clay School District in Delaware set a new Guinness World Record for the tallest tower ever built of Lego blocks.  The tower was built in sections by each of the 28 schools in the district, and assembled at the John Dickinson High School in Wilmington, Delaware last August.

According to the IBT article, the students, with a little help from sponsors and friends, constructed a tower which is “made out of 500,000 LEGO bricks, weighs almost a ton, and is exactly 112 feet, 11¾ inches tall.  At more than 10 stories high, it shatters the previous record, held by a 106-foot tower built in Prague in 2012.

“The tower was built almost entirely by students from the Red Clay School District over the summer and the last few days of the 2012-2013 school year.  But volunteer contractors helped with the final assembly last week, placing the tower pieces together using cranes and lifts.”   [node:read-more:link]

Editor’s note:  Access, Control and Technology are all important components of a secure construction site. In part three of this series last week, Jim Kollaer explained the second of three keys to security: Control.  He concludes by addressing the final key to jobsite security: Technology.

Technology

Technology is the third leg of your ACT jobsite security plan.  Wireless cameras are being used more frequently to monitor jobsites on a 24-hour basis.  In fact, a number of cities and your insurance underwriters require that the recordings from those cameras be stored off-site and be kept for inspection for a minimum of 60 days in case of an accident, vandalism, lawsuit or theft on the jobsite.  Those camera locations should be coordinated with the local authorities and with the neighbors who also might have camera locations that can help you monitor activity on-site.   [node:read-more:link]

 
Warmest wishes to
 
all of our readers!
 
[node:read-more:link]

Editor’s note:  Access, Control and Technology are all important components of a secure construction site.  In part two of this series last week, Jim Kollaer explained the first of three keys to security: Access.  The series continues here as he addresses the second key to jobsite security: Control.

Control

Control is the second leg of your ACT jobsite security plan, and it begins with the site design and security plan that you develop and implement.  Integral to that plan is the security fencing that surrounds your entire jobsite as part of your ACT plan.  It should be a minimum of 6, but more likely 8 feet tall, and be covered in a material that limits easy viewing at ground level of your jobsite.  It is important, as we have stated, that the perimeter have limited and planned access points.  Some cities, like Irvine, California, require that the fence be covered as long as you are storing materials and equipment on the site or until the structure is secured under lock and key.   [node:read-more:link]

Editor’s note:  In part one of this series last week, Jim Kollaer’s article ACT Now on Jobsite Security began as he explained the many areas of jobsite security which must be covered to protect the job, the workforce, and the owner’s interests.  He introduced one way to remember three key jobsite security items: ACT.  Access, Control and Technology are all important components of a secure construction site.

Access

Access for the workers, equipment, and materials you need to build the project is key to the security of your jobsite and is the first step in your plan.

Workers – It is mandatory that you know who is on your jobsite whether on your crew or working for one of your subs at all times.  It is critically important that you not let unsafe, drug or alcohol impaired or unqualified workers enter the site.  It should go without saying that you do not let thieves on your site for any reason.  Theft rings are becoming more brazen and sophisticated as the economy recovers.  We have seen instances where gangs of thieves dressed in uniforms come on a jobsite, claim to be from the government, steal ID information, equipment and materials, and then leave without ever being confronted.   [node:read-more:link]