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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.
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.Ray Vasquez, Marek Brothers Novawall fabric panel project manager, discusses the installation of Novawall in a demonstration conference room at Marek’s offices. The installation coincided with Marek’s 75th anniversary open house. Novawall is the leading custom site-fabricated stretch fabric panel system for acoustics, and is installed on surfaces from walls to ceilings.The fabrics were provided by Designtex. Ben Coy, Designtex representative, coordinated the digital printing of the new logo for Marek on DesignTex panel fabric. He mentioned that Designtex and Marek have had a long relationship – going so far back that he remembers his father and Stan Marek working together when Ben was still in high school. “[Marek] is a wonderful company, and it is great to be a part of this and to have great relationships with great people.”
January 09, 2014
Hi there. The Chamberlin Man here.I'm minding my business the other day, just strolling down the street when a gust of wind lifts my fedora right off my head. It's a hair raising experience that brought to mind the subject of roof uplift. A lightweight example, but an example nonetheless of what high winds can do to your roof system. So what would it take for wind uplift to send your roof, or parts of it, flying? You can find out. Just read the scoop below!Wind uplift resistance is a hot topic in the roofing industry today. Wind uplift tests measure the ultimate wind-induced uplift that a roof is able to withstand. Negative pressure tests or bonded uplift tests are options worth considering – especially for those in hurricane-prone areas.Everyday roofing concerns tend to revolve around the more common maintenance issues of water leaks and typical wear and tear, but the effect of high winds on roofs is a more common cause of roofing failures than many realize.
January 08, 2014
In what looks to many like a slap on the wrist, the feds are fining two companies involved in last year's collapse at the Texas A&M Equine Complex construction site that left four workers injured. The Bryan-College Station Eagle reports that Ramco Erectors, a company based in Houston, was fined a little more than $40,000 for seven safety violations discovered by OHSA inspectors. The general contractor, Gamma Construction, has also been hit with less than $7,000 in fines. From the article: “The injured – all of whom recovered from their injuries – were working on a 300-foot barn that was under construction as part of the $80 million Equine Complex when it collapsed due to a failure in structural stability, according to the OSHA citations.
January 07, 2014
Construction spending rises in November; most metros add jobsEditor’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.Construction spending in November totaled $934 billion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up 1.0% from the October total (which was revised up by $16 billion) and up 5.9% from November 2012, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. The number was the highest since March 2009. Private nonresidential spending jumped 2.7% from October but only 1.0% from November 2012. Private residential spending rose 1.9% for the month and 17% year-over-year. Public construction spending slumped 1.8% from October and 0.2% compared with November 2012. Of the three residential components, new single-family construction rose 1.8% for the month and 18% year-over-year. New multifamily construction soared 0.9% and 36%, respectively.
January 06, 2014
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.”
January 03, 2014
After Debbie Sterling graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Product Design, she recognized two things:only about 11% of engineers are women, andnot all little girls want to play with dolls and kitchen sets.She decided to create a line of construction toys especially for girls. She began with a construction set and a companion book series starring Goldie, “the kid inventor who loves to build.” These were the beginning of her company GoldieBlox, which was initially funded with her own life savings and with money raised through KickStarter.
January 02, 2014
In early Spring 2013, under the guidance of Cary Seabolt and Marcus Bollum of Marek Brothers Systems, the planning began for an American Subcontractors Association - Houston Chapter (ASA-HC) student chapter in the Department of Construction Science within the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University. The Construction Science department has an average enrollment of six to seven hundred students, and although there are currently no institutional rankings of collegiate construction management programs, it is commonly regarded as the “best of the best”. Historically, the department primarily focuses on general construction management, and typically does not delve into the specifics of industrial, civil, residential or specialty contracting.An ASA-HC student chapter will benefit subcontractors, students, and faculty. ASA company members will have a direct impact on the future of the construction industry, as well as access to recruiting opportunities for both internships and full-time employment. Students will have the opportunity to learn in greater detail which specialty trades exist, how they function, and what is actually required to build projects. Students could eventually work for ASA company members and others will likely become future customers. Having an ASA-HC student chapter will also enlighten the faculty by sharing real-life experiences, concerns, and issues in the continually evolving industry as they relate to specialty contracting.
December 31, 2013
In just the latest example of the consequences that can result from a lack of quality control in construction, the Army Corps of Engineers has been sharply criticized by the Department of Defense for work done on military bases. From Law 360: “The office of DOD Inspector General Jon T. Rymer found that officials’ management of the construction of a joint special operations task force headquarters at Bagram Airfield in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, and related support facilities, was not in line with Army Corps guidelines or the Federal Acquisition Regulation.“Army Corps Transatlantic District-North project engineers and construction representatives weren’t given the required statement of understanding and compliance for quality assurance individuals to acknowledge their understanding of their duties, the DOD found.
December 30, 2013
So, you’re a regular reader of Construction Citizen and you’re thinking, “I already have 141 ideas for solving the construction industry’s labor shortage!” Stick with me because not only am I going give you 141 hot-off-the-press ideas that our local leaders recently developed; I’m also going to share one big idea that I believe will solve this Gordian Knot once and for all. I’m going to present the idea here on Construction Citizen, then I hope to continually report on progress in the months and years ahead.
December 27, 2013
