According to a recent article in Construction Executive’s Tech Trends, the world’s first “invisible” building has been granted a building permit by the South Korean government for a location just outside of Seoul, Korea near the Incheon International Airport.A press release from the California-based GDS Architects announcing the permit approval includes the following statement about the design of the 1,476-foot-tall “Infinity Tower”:“GDS in collaboration with Samoo Architects and A&U were awarded first prize in a National Design Competition sponsored by Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) to provide Design and Engineering services for the 450 meter tall Observation Tower poised to become Korea's National Landmark back in April 2011. In addition, GDS Architects won the original International Idea Competition out of 146 entries from 46 countries in December of 2008.”The Construction Executive article says that the building “will include observation decks, movie theaters, a water park, a roller coaster, restaurants and bars.” Construction is scheduled to begin next year.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
Worker safety is simply a priority for us at Construction Citizen just like it should be for any company doing construction around the world. Apparent safety violations were a big part of the recent problems that turned into a huge embarrassment for several companies involved in student housing construction at the University of Texas at Austin. The “race to the bottom in construction”, as it's been called, nearly always involves companies that have total disregard for worker safety. It's part of a culture in which it's also routine to deny workers their overtime pay as well as misclassify them specifically to avoid paying taxes. Now comes news that OSHA dropped the hammer on a construction company in Oregon that wasn't protecting its workers from falls. Perhaps more importantly, the government seems to be getting more aggressive about taking preventative steps to ensure worker safety. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company in this case, Munoz Construction, $70,000.
October 03, 2013
Immigration Reform Must Raise the Bar for Workers and Level the Playing Field for Ethical Businesses
As a longtime supporter of comprehensive immigration reform, I am more optimistic than ever about a real solution coming out of Washington. The partisanship and ideology surrounding the issue are melting away, replaced by pragmatism and a realization that we cannot continue the status quo.As a conservative Republican businessman, I've been disappointed over the years to see many in my own party become completely intractable on the issue. But, there are real leaders emerging who want to set aside the divisions of the past, roll up their sleeves, and craft reform that improves our economy and corrects years of social injustice. GOP Texas Congressmen Ted Poe, Sam Johnson, John Carter and Pete Olson all now support comprehensive reform that includes a robust guest worker program.
October 02, 2013
During the 1980s recession, a commercial development firm with the name BOHICA started in Houston. The name of the firm was a mystery until we discovered the origin of the name. The principals of the firm told me that it meant “Bend Over, Here it Comes Again”.Funny in a weird sort of way, but if you are a residential or commercial developer, contractor or sub today I have one word for you – BOHICA.By now many suppliers, contractors and subs have received 2014 price notification letters from the major gypsum producers like American Gypsum, CertainTeed, and National Gypsum. The letters, addressed “To all our Customers”, state that there will be a 20% price increase beginning January 1, 2014 for all gypsum products, and that the price will hold throughout the 2014 year. That sounds familiar since around this time last year we wrote that there were 25 and 30 percent increases over the last two years as supplies diminished and demand grew. While the industry is not recovering as fast as originally predicted, the prices are growing faster than the economy.
October 01, 2013
Real independent contractors are easy to identify. They are hired to perform a specific project, they bring their own tools, they have their own business cards, and they send you an invoice when the work is done.If you hire people to perform ongoing work for your company, tell them when to show up and what to do, those people are not independent contractors.I am oversimplifying things to make a point: the concept of “contract labor” is overused in the construction industry. Contrary to popular opinion, hiring people as “contract labor” is not a legal option if you control when, how and where they perform the work. You can’t fix the problem by having each individual sign an independent contractor agreement. Government authorities do not have to accept your paperwork: they will look at the reality of the arrangement and decide whether there is an employer-employee relationship.
September 30, 2013
Last month Jim Kollaer shared a link to a blog on the website Life of an Architect by Bob Borson in which all the things that a drywall contractor carries in his bucket were laid out and identified. The Borson article is part of an interesting series which shows the things people in various occupations carry with them in order to do the work they do. Jim’s blog post here on Construction Citizen generated a comment from Terry Holcombe, a drywall superintendent at Marek Brothers Systems in Houston. Terry wrote:“This looks like a good starter bucket for a residential Drywaller! There is another kind of Drywaller out there as well: it is a commercial Drywaller that does all buildings not just residential. He would have most everything this guy has but a few more items like corded and cordless hanging screw guns and a cordless impact screw gun instead of a cordless drill.
September 27, 2013
The newest, “earthquake proof” bay bridge opened earlier this month on Labor Day to the delight of thousands of commuters in cars, on bikes and on foot who have been waiting for two decades for the new bridge to open.An earthquake during the 1989 World Series collapsed two fifty-foot long sections of the original bridge. Commuters have been waiting over two decades for a replacement bridge that ultimately cost $6.4 billion (5 times the original estimate). The engineers and contractors have claimed the new bridge will withstand the most severe earthquake that will likely occur over the next 1500 years, even though none of them or us will be around to monitor it.
September 26, 2013
Construction companies can easily run into problems when they hire the wrong people. Not only is it a money problem, but it also affects productivity and safety. Replacing someone restarts the hiring cycle, taking time and energy away from more productive work. To avoid costly hiring mistakes many companies have moved from reliance on educated guessing to better selection processes. They have done that because according to the National Center For Construction Education and Research (NCCER):Traditional hiring methods (resume, interview and background checks) only provide a 14% likelihood of a successful hiring decision.The cost of employee turnover can range from one half to four times the employer’s annual salary and benefits.People are good at convincing hiring managers that they are right for the job even when they know they might not be.Many times you won’t realize you’ve made a poor hiring decision until the team member has already become an emotional part of your team. With the right tools and know-how you can improve the chances of hiring success by as much as 75%.
September 25, 2013
Hi there. The Chamberlin Man here.You may very well be interested to know The Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing minted a program in 2011 called RoofPoint. This certification program offers guidelines for the selection of energy efficient roofing systems, including a checklist to evaluate economic and environmental benefits. As a matter of fact, these benefits could be substantial considering commercial rooftops have an annual potential of 700 trillion BTU in energy savings and 125,000 megawatts of renewable energy production.Here’s the skinny: RoofPoint is a voluntary, consensus-based green rating system developed by the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing to provide a means for building owners and designers to select nonresidential roof systems based on long-term energy and environmental benefits.
September 24, 2013
The Construction Citizen team has written many times about the growing controversy over whether college is becoming obsolete and actually a liability for many in America. While pursuing a four-year degree is still a great option for a lot of people, there is growing consensus that it's certainly not the best option for everyone. That's evidenced by the fact that not only is there a college debt crisis, but you can now point to one career option after another that requires a college degree but doesn't pay anything close to what you'd need to make to pay off that debt in a reasonable amount of time while also trying to support a family.In their humorous way, Buzzfeed just published a list of the top 25 low-paying jobs that require college degrees, and some of them might surprise you. Marriage and family therapists, biological technicians, and journalists make less than $50K per year.
September 23, 2013