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States add jobs in July but at slower rate than before; PPIs for construction demand riseEditor’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 37 states and the District of Columbia from July 2014 to July 2015, declined in 12 states and held steady in Vermont, an AGC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released today showed. The year-over-year gains were widespread but less so than in the previous 12 months, when 47 states and D.C. added construction jobs. California again gained the most construction jobs (48,900 jobs, 7.3%), followed by Florida (26,500, 6.6%), Washington (15,300, 9.6%), Texas (14,500, 2.2%) and Michigan (12,400, 8.7%). Arkansas added the highest percentage of new construction jobs (15%, 6,800), followed by Idaho (14%, 4,900), Nevada (11%, 6,800), Washington and Michigan.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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The following article originally appeared in the August newsletter to clients of Kiley Advisors, LLC. Reprinted with permission.In this final article on Succession Planning, which we reiterate is THE hallmark of all successful organizations, we want to discuss two things: the critical steps that must occur when there is a change in the CEO role and ownership structure; and the critical relationship between the successor and the succeeded – this is key especially in a CEO change, but also important at all levels. Space and unequivocal support are the right approaches for the succeeded.Change of control in the CEO position impacts all major constituencies – employees, clients, building partners and professional partners. In privately-held and family-held companies, this is almost always a three part process: Succession (selection of the person); Business Continuity (transferring the bonding and banking responsibilities); and Ownership Transfer (sale and purchase of stock, which also can lead to changes in the board structure). Specialized legal counsel should be involved as many legal documents must be properly executed. Hopefully, especially at this level, the transition has been well planned, the successor well-mentored and coached, and everyone impacted well-prepared in advance. The actual occurrence is seamless. However, sometimes tragedy necessitates this action occurring rapidly.
August 21, 2015
We have written several times about the value of tuned mass dampers in the construction of tall buildings as counterweights to the tendency of tall things to sway in the wind making the occupants most uncomfortable.Nowhere is that more important than in a hurricane, typhoon or harmattan when winds reach 130-175 mph and pummel everything in its path. Recently, Typhoon Soudelor hit Taipei 101, the fourth tallest building in the world, and the value of the tuned mass damper was proven to the structural engineers, designers, owners and occupants of the building.Not only did the damper do its work, but also Popular Mechanics and Arch Daily captured the actual movements of the building during the onslaught by the typhoon.
August 20, 2015
More than two dozen states have now agreed to cooperate closely with the federal government to crack down on what’s known as worker misclassification. Alaska is the latest state to join the agreement.
August 19, 2015
Many successful companies have taken the skilled labor shortage into their own hands and have developed their own training programs to supply their needs for skilled craft professionals. Marek is one such company, and on July 29 Marek took the time to honor several employees who have achieved milestones within their Workforce Development (WFD) Program. Twenty-two graduating Helpers, seven graduating Mechanics, and twelve recently promoted Foremen, along with their coaches and their families attended a dinner and graduation ceremony at the Marek offices in Houston. Each graduate stood with their favorite coach in front of the crowd as their career accomplishments and praise from their coaches were read aloud by Saied Alavi, Director of Operations at Marek Houston.
August 18, 2015
The Semi-Automated Masonry (SAM) system from Construction Robotics is a bricklaying robot designed to work alongside a mason. As SAM lifts and places the bricks, the mason focuses on site setup, tooling joints, and finishing/quality control.
August 17, 2015
The construction industry is rapidly changing and the introduction of new project management software makes it imperative that you stay informed, up-to-date, and ahead of your competition if you want to stay in business for the long haul.Our friends at Software Advice, the Gartner Company that provides information on a broad range of software, including project management, have just published an eBook titled How Much Does Construction Software Cost? that compares the three major licensing strategies: perpetual license, subscription, and open source. Janna Finch, Senior Research Associate with the company discusses those common strategies, the short and long term costs, often over looked costs, as well as the pricing of the top systems available today.
August 14, 2015
Two men in GA have been arrested on federal charges that they intentionally misrepresented the employment classification of construction workers.
August 13, 2015
For those of you who follow the state of the oil and gas business at all, you will probably know two things by now. First, Houston based Cheniere Energy has been aggressive in the development of six LNG trains on the Gulf Coast at Sabine Pass in anticipation of being able to export LNG to overseas markets as soon as Congress and the Administration finally decide on a strategy that opens those markets to US companies. Cheniere was the first company to obtain approvals from the government to construct the facilities and to export the LNG. Even though the company has been aggressive in the construction of those multi-billion dollar facilities, it has lost money. To correct those issues, the board has made several key changes to its executive team in the most recent expansion phase and that has caught the attention of a number of major investors.
August 12, 2015
NBC correspondent and Today show anchor Natalie Morales visited Rio de Janeiro last week to report on the progress of the construction of the venues which are being built for the 2016 Summer Olympics, set to begin one year from now on August 5, 2016.“There have been a lot of hurdles getting ready for this Olympics – a lot of obstacles and challenges; and the glare of the spotlight has been harsh at times. But what we saw are signs of progress. At most of the venues we have seen at least 50 percent completion. The mayor of Rio is saying that by February or March of next year they expect to have everything up and running and online. The infrastructure – they have added on to that – with bus and rapid transit lines – the metro lines are going to be expanded throughout the city, which is great news for this city – they need that.”
August 11, 2015
