On June 23, a crowd consisting of volunteers, civic groups, local politicians, veterans, and other well-wishers waited expectantly for the arrival of Lance Corporal Daniel Peterson who was to be presented with the keys to his new home. The home was built by volunteers coordinated by Homes for our Troops, a national organization that coordinates donations and volunteers to build homes for veterans with serious disabilities and injuries. LCpl Peterson lost both of his legs in Afghanistan after a bomb explosion interrupted his Special Forces Team’s return to base, hurling Peterson more than ten feet in the air.The day began with a parade down the small residential street lined with the parked vehicles of the large crowd. Cub Scouts from Den 12 of Magnolia, Texas led the procession with a giant “Welcome Home” banner and a bugle accompaniment.
Reshaping the Construction Industry
FMI (consultants and investment bankers for the engineering and construction industry) has released the results of their 3rd quarter survey alerting us to watch out for the rebound and recovery. The Nonresidential Construction Index (NRCI) dropped five points down to 54.8 (below the 2010 level of 58.1), but it still remains in positive territory above the 50 mark which is considered the tipping point for the industry.The report outlook tags the overall economy as down, the economy where the respondents do business as down, the expected backlog up to 9 months for the first time since 2010, and the cost of labor and materials lower for the next quarter.There are a couple of points that struck a chord with me. First, on financing, the report states that:“Panelists are seeing much less use of bank loans for construction and increasing use of contractors participating as project partners and owner/developer self-funded projects.
August 28, 2012
Construction Worker Helps Police Catch NYC ShooterThe Construction Citizen team often pauses to pay tribute to the heroes of this industry, but a construction worker from New York took things to a whole new level this past week. Police say that when gunshots rang out near the Empire State Building, leaving one man dead, a construction worker named Brian Dillon sprang into action to help catch the shooter.“Someone like that isn’t supposed to walk the street,” Dillon told the New York Daily News.After the last shot was fired, the accused shooter, Jeffrey Johnson, started to casually walk away. That’s when Dillon bolted from the loading dock where he had been working to follow Johnson.Dillon was afraid Johnson would blend into the crowd, so he followed closely and flagged down a couple of police officers. Johnson then pulled out his gun again, and the officers shot and killed him. While police don’t recommend that citizens pursue criminals, they believe Dillon is a hero.
August 27, 2012
Activity Still Outpaces the Numbers, but The Picture is Becoming BrighterWe are well past the mid-year point; everyone is reporting increased bidding or proposal opportunities; yet, at the end of June 2012, the amount of non-residential new commercial construction contract awards was still tepid, even slightly behind last year, at this same point. Specifically, total new non-residential contract awards totaled just under $1.8 Billion, indicating a market of around $3.6 Billion for this year. That number would still be appreciably better than last year’s $3.35 Billion. (Note: These numbers do not include Exxon/Mobil, which is certainly well underway.)To be a better year, however, the market needs to shake off the “2nd half syndrome”. In all of the past 3 years, decent mid-year numbers declined in the last 6 months.
August 23, 2012
An article by Robert Dickie III published on FoxNews.com over the weekend advises that considering how often the average person changes study courses and professions, perhaps more consideration should be given to each individual’s interests, skills and talents before entering a new phase of life. Dickie writes:“With so much of our lives spent at our jobs, sometimes it is important to stop and consider a question that may sound childish or unrealistic in this job market: What do you want to be when you grow up?”He outlines 8 “mistakes” which many people make when choosing a career that often lead to job dissatisfaction.Choosing the first or easiest job you can get. He recommends that individuals should try to work in areas that take advantage of their particular strengths.
August 22, 2012
A recent press release from the Florida Department of Financial Services announced multiple arrests in “Operation Dirty Money” conducted by Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Fraud Task Force. Eight people have been charged with workers’ compensation fraud and money laundering.The Workers’ Compensation Fraud Task Force was formed last summer under the state’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeff Atwater, with the primary goal of investigating workers’ compensation fraud and working with law enforcement to bring the state’s worst offenders to justice. Over the past year, they have found over $140 million of illegal transactions committed through 12 shell companies and check cashing stores.
August 16, 2012
I was in one of my client’s offices the other day when a set of bid documents arrived. It was a large project and there were two sets of documents. It reminded me of the first time we sent bid documents to Saudi Arabia loaded on a 747. We required a front-end loader to get a set off of the plane, and it took large trucks to handle the drawings for the contractors who were bidding the project.A couple of years later, we sent the drawings by satellite and the team downloaded and printed them in-country. That was 40 years ago and in most places in this country, we still print and deliver bid sets to offices of our clients. Some of us still like to lay the sheets out on a 6 foot or 8 foot long table so that we can browse through them and make our red marks prior to preparing our bids.Welcome to the 21st century where technology is being embraced and, on some projects, that technology is required to comply with the complexity of the project as well as the LEAN requirements of the owner and contractor.
August 16, 2012
An article by Richard Heap in Correctional News last week discusses ways that the application of the LEAN process to prison construction can save time and money. He makes his point by saying:“Architects and construction managers that apply lean thinking to a corrections project for the first time often come away stunned. Projects that typically require 15 months finish in 11 or 12 months and sometimes even faster.”That saves time and money in the process.I have been asked several times to define LEAN principles and I like Richard’s definition in the article:“The first lean principle is to eliminate waste – not reduce waste but eliminate it
August 14, 2012
Carrie Stallwitz of Witz!PR, one of our colleagues, passed this list of “100 words that kill your proposals” to me after a discussion about proposals and copywriting. I thought that every firm in the industry could use this advice. The list was compiled by Bob Lohfeld, the CEO and general manager of the Lohfeld Consulting Group Inc, and was originally published in Washington Technology. Lohfeld Consulting Group helps companies respond to all kinds of RFPs (Request For Proposal) and technical bids. Lohfeld says that the list is comprised of words and phrases that bore, anger and potentially negatively impact your evaluations on major projects.They are words and phrases that you will recognize since many of us have used them our bids and pre-qual packages. Some of us have done it for so long that they just roll onto the screen when we are in the middle of a long technical proposal.
August 09, 2012
There’s a major shift in the way the federal government is enforcing labor laws. The United States Department of Labor isn’t just making sure general contractors follow the law, but those companies have now been put on notice that they’ll be held accountable for the actions of the subcontractors as well.The Labor Department has announced a settlement with Lettire Construction Corporation and its President and Chief Executive Officer, New York contractor Nicholas Lettire, who are going to have to pay out about $960,000 in back wages and benefits for workers employed by subcontractors. A lengthy investigation showed that many of those workers were not being paid prevailing wages, overtime they should have received, or benefits.In a press release from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, deputy administrator Nancy J. Leppink said:“The settlement makes absolutely clear that responsibility for complying with the federal prevailing wage laws rests with Lettire Construction and Nicholas Lettire,
August 06, 2012