Most Clicked AGC SmartBrief Stories
1. Low public bids may win, but at what cost?
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 08, 2010
John Poole opened a new contracting business and, in his blog, explores the process of responding to public RFPs -- and the need to find the lowest subcontractor estimates and mark up his services a slight 5%. However, Mark Buckshon's company blog explains why this strategy may be a bad idea, and he references the Brooks Act. It suggests not bidding unless the relationship is already there. Constructonomics.com (03/03) ConstructionMarketingIdeas.com (03/07)
2. Construction hit again by job losses
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 05, 2010
Non-farm payrolls were down 36,000 in February compared with 26,000 in January, but the number of jobs lost was much lower than economists had expected. Once again, construction workers took a hit. Wall Street Journal, The (03/06) Bloomberg (03/05)
3. U.S. construction at lowest ebb since Great Depression
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 08, 2010
The American construction industry has fallen on its hardest times since the Great Depression, shedding 75,000 jobs last month and single-handedly dragging February U.S. national employment figures into the red, according to data. Construction-sector unemployment rates remained near 25%, with desperate contractors forced to place low, and even below-cost, bids for public-work projects. "It's just dog-eat-dog right now," says one contractor. "People are just in survival mode." Chicago Sun-Times (03/06) News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.), The (03/07)
4. Where does Davis-Bacon fit in green building?
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 10, 2010
Working on green construction projects funded by stimulus dollars may come with strings attached, writes Douglas Reiser, who is commenting on Chris Cheatham's "Does Your Construction Project Require Davis-Bacon Wages?" If you have a project paid for by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds, you must likely follow federal Davis-Bacon Act minimum prevailing wage rules. The regulations are proving problematic for some working on green projects, because DBA classifications are not ready for green building, he notes. Builders Counsel Blog, The (03/09)
5. Owner, mechanic charged with manslaughter in NYC crane collapse
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 09, 2010
New York City prosecutors have filed charges against the owner of a construction crane company that hired an obscure Chinese company to repair a 200-foot-tall crane that subsequently failed, killing two workers and seriously injuring a third. Owner James Lomma and mechanic Tibor Varganyi pleaded not guilty in the May 2008 accident. Google (03/08)
6. U.S. threatens to oust builders of embassy in Jeddah
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 05, 2010
Work has stopped on a $122 million U.S. consulate in the Red Sea port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, due to State Department concerns over the contractors' building practices. Allegations of poor labor conditions and safety practices led the State Department to threaten to terminate the companies' contract this month. The project, due to open in July, is only 52% complete. McClatchy Washington Bureau (03/03)
7. Idaho company fined over trench death
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 10, 2010
Idaho-based Bowman has been fined almost $45,000 after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found it responsible for an accident that killed a worker at a site in Pocatello, Idaho. The employee was laying pipe when the trench he was working in collapsed. OSHA found that Bowman's had failed to provide adequate cave-in protection, and that the site's foreman was aware of the problem but neglected to take action. KPVI-TV (Pocatello, Idaho) (03/09) KPVI-TV (Pocatello, Idaho) (03/09)
8. I-70 in Western Colorado closed due to rock slide
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 09, 2010
A Sunday rock slide closed 17 miles of Interstate 70 near the Hanging Lake Tunnel about 110 miles west of Denver. No injuries or vehicular damage were reported in the incident, which scattered 20 boulders weighing as much as 66 tons along the highway. Crews have started the process of exploding the rocks to clear the road. MSNBC (03/08)
9. California leads widespread declines in construction employment
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 11, 2010
Construction employment declined nationwide in January, with 38 states and Washington, D.C., suffering double-digit percentage drops, according to the Associated General Contractors of America. "Construction employment is dropping everywhere and plummeting almost everywhere," said Ken Simonson, the AGC's chief economist. "Looking at this data, it is quite clear that the construction industry has yet to hit bottom." California reported the steepest losses: 128,700 construction jobs evaporated over the past year. Bloomberg BusinessWeek (03/10) Daily Commercial News (03/10)
10. Crews work around the clock on Devil's Slide tunnel in California
AGC SmartBrief | Mar 08, 2010
Workers 3,000 feet deep in San Pedro Mountain inch closer every day to completing the Devil's Slide tunnel in San Pedro Mountain, where Highway 1 traffic in California will eventually be rerouted. The double-lane, $300 million tunnel is being constructed to divert the highway from landslide-prone cliffs. Crews working around the clock bore about five feet of rock per day. Monterey County Herald (Calif.), The (03/07)
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