Five Reasons to Hire Older Workers—and How to Keep Them
July 06, 2020 —
Charlie Kimmel - Construction ExecutiveThe economic downturn in 2008 created a black hole of talent in the construction industry. As a result, finding project managers between the ages of 28 and 33 and superintendents between the ages of 23 and 30 in today’s market can be difficult, if not impossible in some cases. To make up for this gap in available talent, construction executives are going to have to look to project managers and superintendents in the 58-to-64 age range. Fortunately, there are numerous benefits to hiring older workers.
1. OLDER WORKERS WANT TO MENTOR THE NEXT GENERATION.
This is their most significant benefit: the older generation truly enjoys teaching younger construction workers and passing on skills and knowledge, while also getting to do a job they’re good at. This means investing in one experienced worker today can pay dividends for the quality of a company’s workforce for decades to come, as mentorship programs have proven to increase the skills and loyalty of younger workers. If a company wants someone with deep knowledge and broad experience to help mold the next generation of construction workers, they should hire an older employee.
Reprinted courtesy of
Charlie Kimmel, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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Hawaii Supreme Court Finds Excess Can Sue Primary for Equitable Subrogation
October 21, 2015 —
Tred R. Eyerly – Insurance Law HawaiiIn responding to a certified question from the U.S. Distric Court, the Hawaii Supreme Court determined that an excess carrier can sue the primary carrier for failure to settle a claim in bad faith within primary limits. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co. v. Liberty Mut. Ins. Co., 2015 Haw. LEXIS 142 (Haw. June 29, 2015).
St. Paul, the excess carrier, and Liberty Mutual, the primary carrier, issued polices to Pleasant Travel Service, Inc. The primary policy covered up to $1 million.
Pleasant Travel was sued for damages resulting from an accidental death. St. Paul alleged that Liberty Mutual rejected multiple pretrial settlement offers within the $1 million primary policy limit. A trial resulted in a verdict of $4.1 million against Pleasant Travel. The action settled for a confidential amount in excess of the Liberty Mutual policy limit. St. Paul paid the amount in excess.
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Tred R. Eyerly, Insurance Law HawaiiMr. Eyerly may be contacted at
te@hawaiilawyer.com
Security on Large Construction Projects. The Payment Remedy You Probably Never Heard of
May 07, 2015 —
Garret Murai – California Construction Law BlogCalifornia has a number of statutory payment remedies available on construction projects. Some, such as the mechanics lien, are relatively well known and often utilized. Others, such as the stop payment notice, are somewhat less so.
However, there’s one statutory payment remedy you may not have heard of at all.
And that is, security requirements for large projects.
What is security for large projects?
Security is required on certain large construction projects to guarantee the payment by owners to direct contractors, and applies if either:
1.
Fee Interest and Contract of Greater Than $5 million: The owner contracting for a work of improvement holds a
fee interest in the property being improved and enters into a construction contract for the improvement of the property greater than
$5 million; or
2.
Less Than Fee Interest, Including Leasehold Interest, and Contract of Greater Than $1 million: The owner contracting for a work of improvement holds less than a fee interest (including a
leasehold interest) in the property being improved and enters into a construction contract for the improvement of the property greater than
$1 million.
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Garret Murai, Wendel Rosen Black & Dean LLPMr. Murai may be contacted at
gmurai@wendel.com
“Made in America Week” Highlights Requirements, Opportunities for Contractors and Suppliers
August 14, 2023 —
Sarah Barney & Amy Hoang - The Construction SeytOn July 21, 2023, President Biden designated July 23-29, 2023, as “Made in America Week.” This proclamation builds on the Biden Administration’s efforts to bolster domestic manufacturing through evolving policies attached to government funds that require contractors and suppliers to feature varying amounts of U.S.-made content in their products and services. To commemorate this week, here is a refresher on “Made in America” and what it means for government contractors and suppliers.
What does “Made in America” mean?
Under Executive Order 14005, the Administration defined “Made in America” laws as “all statutes, regulations, rules, and Executive Orders relating to Federal financial assistance awards or Federal procurement, including those that refer to “Buy America” or “Buy American,” that require, or provide a preference for, the purchase or acquisition of goods, products, or materials produced in the United States, including iron, steel, and manufactured goods offered in the United States.” Generally speaking, “Made in America” or “Buy American” requirements refer to:
- The Buy American Act (BAA) of 1933, establishing domestic sourcing preferences for unmanufactured and manufactured articles, materials, and supplies procured by the federal government for public use, including those used on federal construction contracts;
Reprinted courtesy of
Sarah Barney, Seyfarth and
Amy Hoang, Seyfarth
Ms. Barney may be contacted at sbarney@seyfarth.com
Ms. Hoang may be contacted at ahoang@seyfarth.com
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Defects in Texas High School Stadium Angers Residents
March 07, 2014 —
Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFFAccording to WFAA News, many residents of Allen, Texas were upset when their tax dollars were spent on a new high school football stadium, and they are angry now that alleged construction defects may cause the stadium to close, and perhaps not even reopen again this fall.
There “is a disproportionately large amount of our tax dollars that goes just to Allen ISD," Rachel Palmer, an Allen resident, told WFAA News.
However, Ben Pogue, president of Pogue Construction, the stadium’s general contractor called the situation “a road bump.” WPAA News also interviewed Dr. Simon Chao of the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington: "Cracking is fairly common in concrete," Chao stated. "The problem is the damage water may cause by getting in the cracks.”
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SFAA and Coalition of Partners Encourage Lawmakers to Require Essential Surety Bonding Protections on All Federally-Financed Projects Receiving WIFIA Funds
February 21, 2022 —
The Surety & Fidelity Association of AmericaFebruary 17, 2022 (WASHINGTON, DC) – The Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) in collaboration with 15 trade associations, sent a letter strongly encouraging members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led by Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ranking Member Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV), to require payment and performance protections on federally-financed infrastructure projects receiving Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loans, including public-private projects (P3s).
“As the Environment and Public Works Committee looks at legislation in the second session of the 117th Congress to continue the important work of addressing our nation’s water infrastructure, we urge the Committee to amend the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) program to help protect taxpayer funds, workers, subcontractors and suppliers, including Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program participants and subcontractors, who build water infrastructure especially in at-risk low income communities,” said Lee Covington, president and CEO, SFAA.
The coalition of partners includes:
American Property and Casualty Association
American Subcontractor Association
Business Coalition for Fair Competition
Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers
Finishing Contractors Association International
International Union of Operating Engineers
Mechanical Contractors Association of America
National Association of Electrical Contractor
National Association of Minority Contractors
National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies
National Association of Surety Bond Producers
Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association
The Association of Union Constructors
The Construction Employers of America
Women Construction Owners and Executives
The Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan trade association representing all segments of the surety and fidelity industry. Based in Washington, D.C., SFAA works to promote the value of surety and fidelity bonding by proactively advocating on behalf of its members and stakeholders. The association’s more than 450 member companies write 98 percent of surety and fidelity bonds in the U.S. For more information visit www.surety.org.
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Technology and the Environment Lead Construction Trends That Will Continue Through 2019
June 03, 2019 —
Ryan Gould - Construction ExecutiveThere are common factors that have always defined trends in the construction industry. Elements such as labor (be it shortages or surpluses), the economy and technology determine what gets built where, when and how.
These elements have led to the rise of entire philosophies to boost profits and maximize value, such as the lean construction movement. Often these trends appear in the form of answers that help construction companies eliminate waste, curb overproduction, use talent properly, manage inventory more effectively, boost process workflow, reduce defects, and help to plan and schedule projects more efficiently.
In 2019, two factors are driving trends that are overtaking the industry: technology and the environment. They’re not only informing construction industry trends today, but they’re going to last and evolve into the foreseeable future.
Offsite construction becomes standard
Obviously, this isn’t a new trend. The earliest origins of this method, at least in North America, date to colonists importing pre-packaged construction materials from Europe to the New World in the 17th century. Then there were the kit homes sold by Sears, Roebuck, and Co. at the turn of the 20th century. And of course, the trend reached its zenith in the World War II construction boom with pre-fab companies selling ready-to-go homebuilding components to builders.
Reprinted courtesy of
Ryan Gould, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved.
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Construction Needs Collaborative Planning
January 20, 2020 —
Aarni Heiskanen - AEC BusinessWhat makes construction different from manufacturing is its dynamic nature. Unlike a systemized production plant, a construction site is a mesh of interconnected processes that are far from optimized. The traditional top-down planning practice does not solve problems on the construction site, as recent research reveals. Making planning collaborative is a necessary step in making construction less wasteful.
Everybody in the industry has felt frustration with inefficiencies in construction, but seeing the data is still disconcerting. I’ve had the pleasure of attending several workshops organized by the Finnish Aalto University’s research teams. These eye-opening events both revealed how much waste we have in construction today and suggested solutions to this problem.
Four Aalto University graduate students shared insights from their research at a workshop of the Waste Workgroup of the Building 2030 consortium. They focused on projects where takt production, a lean construction method, had been used. Takt production breaks the work down into equally timed work batches and typically shortens project lead time considerably—up to 50%. However, even these well-planned projects included waste and unnecessary movement, as the researchers found out.
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Aarni Heiskanen, AEC BusinessMr. Heiskanen may be contacted at
aec-business@aepartners.fi
