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On a weather-perfect, sunny fall day just north of Houston last month, 280 golfers participated in a charity tournament, luncheon, and silent auction benefitting the Good Shepherd Residential Treatment Center through the recently created Building New Foundations nonprofit volunteer organization. Thousands of dollars were raised which will benefit the Center which helps boys who are considered to be too “high risk” for regular foster care. Without the efforts of the staff and volunteers at Good Shepherd, and the money raised from private donations, these boys would not have a safe place to live or much hope for their futures.The golf tournament kicked off with a Putting Contest and a Marshmallow Drive. Then groups of four took to the links to vie for other awards such as Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin – or at least to turn in a respectable score.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
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Editor's note: The following article was originally posted on the MarekBros.com blog in connection with Marek's 75th Anniversary Open House.Marek Project Manager Paul Godwin discussed Building Information Modeling (BIM) at the Marek 75th Anniversary Open House in October. The first example in the video below is called a Hollywood BIM and shows a mock-up that was done in the office and created from scratch by one of Marek's modelers. He did what's called a fly-through, all of the wood doors, everything she created herself. The second example goes into the nuts and bolts of modeling where you take a building model that you create in a Revit and use Navisworks to give it more properties such as Marek's metal-stud framing. From there, other trades, like mechanical, electrical, and plumbing, will add their properties in, and then all of the models will be overlaid in a coordination meeting. Doing so will show potential constructability problems. These problems can be fixed before anyone actually gets out onto the job site, saving time and money, which is always every owner's dream.
December 12, 2013
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.AccessAccess 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.
December 11, 2013
Hi there. The Chamberlin Man here.Twenty-thirteen is about to be in our rear view mirror. It's been a great year at Chamberlin, and we're looking forward to more bright days in 2014. As we celebrate the season each year, we like to take time to thank all our colleagues, clients and friends for being a part of our success. So, I'd like to take this opportunity to tip my hat to you and express our gratitude. Thank you!This year, if you don't mind, we'd like to request you make one more small contribution to our 2013 success story. Won't cost you as much as a nickel my friend. Just a quick click, if you please.Chamberlin Roofing and Waterproofing has been selected as a finalist for “Crews That Rock 2014”! We need all the votes we can get to secure a win.
December 10, 2013
It could take a half a year before the investigation is complete into exactly what went wrong leading up to a worker’s death on December 3 during renovations at Kyle Field at Texas A&M University. Activity ground to a halt after the man fell four stories to his death. From TV station KBTX on the day of the accident: “Kyle Field is currently undergoing significant construction for its redevelopment. Manhattan-Vaughn Construction out of Houston is the company leading the project, which began in August around Kyle Field, then kicked into high gear at the end of the home schedule of the football season last month. The university's athletic department has shut down its popular cameras on the redevelopment website, KyleField.com.
December 09, 2013
Construction employment rises again; Fed, IHS surveys find worker-shortage worriesEditor’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 increased by 203,000, seasonally adjusted, in November and 2,293,000 (1.7%) over 12 months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. Construction employment rose for the sixth straight month, to a 51-month high of 5,851,000, up 17,000 from October and up 178,000 (3.1%) over the past year. Total hours worked (aggregate weekly hours) in construction since November 2012 increased by slightly more (3.4% ), implying that contractors are no longer extending hours per worker as much as they had earlier in the year.
December 06, 2013
Now that the City of Houston is moving forward with a policy to crack down on employers that steal the wages of workers, the pressure will be on to make it work. It'll be no small task because, as you well know, those that engage in these crimes against hard-working Texans are pretty slippery characters. And that's probably being kind about it. Laura Perez-Boston at the Fe y Justicia Worker Center tells us exactly what the law is designed to do:“The ordinance establishes a process housed in the Office of the Inspector General through which employees can bring wage claims forward. Companies with a documented record of wage theft – either final adjudication from a court of competent jurisdiction or a criminal conviction – will be included in a publicly listed database on the City’s website and will be ineligible for city contracts or sub-contracts. Additionally, any company with a criminal conviction of wage theft will be ineligible to receive occupational permits and licenses.”
December 05, 2013
This article was originally published in the November/December issue of Construction Savvy. Reprinted with permission.My first construction boss told me everything he thought I needed to know about jobsite security. He said, “If it is not nailed down, someone will steal it.”That advice holds true today but needs to be amended to say, “If it is not nailed down, stored in a locked secure container or tool box, behind an 8-foot-high chained and locked perimeter fence with 24-hour 360 video on a jobsite with one entry gate, a 24-hour armed security guard and dogs, it will be driven off, carried off or destroyed.”In many cases, quoting one subcontractor, “Some construction jobsites are secure, but many are still like the ‘Wild Wild West’ where it is ‘may the lowest bid win’ and ‘winner take all’.” “Take all” means that they might take tools, equipment and building materials if you don’t have a jobsite security plan that prevents it. The industry rebound means you have to pay closer attention to the security and safety of your jobsite. Last year, according to industry sources, the industry lost over a billion dollars in materials and equipment theft.
December 04, 2013
I have been in the construction industry my whole life. As was my great grandfather who built the castles in Olomouc, Czech Republic but left to find the freedom offered by emigrating to America. My Father and his brothers started our company 75 years ago with the sons of immigrant farmers from Central Texas towns like Yoakum, Hallettsville, and Shiner. After many years of success in building a quality labor force of young men off the farm, the equation changed. Latino workers came by the millions to fill the jobs that our growing nation provided. President Reagan's immigration reform in 1986 offered amnesty for those already in the country but failed to create a legal way to migrate for the millions who would come after them.Estimates are that over 30 million men and women immigrated to the U.S. in the two decades from 1986 to 2006. Some left after a few years, but most stayed, put down roots, and tried to assimilate into their communities.
December 03, 2013
Construction spending, number of metros with job gains rise in October Editor’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.View October metro employment figures by state and rank here.Construction spending in October totaled $909 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 0.8% from the September total and up 5.3% from October 2012, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday. The number was the highest since May 2009, but only because initially higher estimates for August and July were revised down by $11 billion and $7 billion, respectively. The gain since September was attributable to a 3.9% rise in public construction spending, which also climbed 2.3% compared with October 2012. Nevertheless, the year-to-date total for public construction was 2.8% below the total for the first 10 months of 2012 combined. Private residential spending slipped 0.6% for the month, but rose 18% year-over-year and 17% year-to-date. Private nonresidential spending decreased 0.5% from September and 3.4% from October 2012, but was up 0.8% year-to-date.
December 02, 2013
