Related Links: Read a Reply to This Commentary by a Top Construction Attorney A long time ago, when I was a young project manager, I had the temerity to complain that accountants were trying to run my job. As a professional engineer, I believed my technical education and abilities counted for more than theirs should on the construction site.However, I was confident that I knew how best to manage my own project and, therefore, had the confidence to proceed accordingly.WELLSBut things change, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. Now, with the American construction industry being run by lawyers, today's
Since 2010, more than 30 municipalities nationwide have filed for bankruptcy. Many states have experienced budget crises that have slowed payments or shelved projects, and the U.S. faced an operational shutdown that threatened the federal government's ability to pay its contractual commitments.Meanwhile, bankruptcies of major public companies remain near an all-time high. In the traditional paradigm for construction, the project owner worries about failure or default of its general contractor.In today's construction market, the reality is that the general contractor must pay close attention to the owner's ability to pay, regardless of how stable the owner appears to be.Tools From
Reporter-videographer Tom Sawyer traveled by boat to the Inner Harbor Navigation Channel surge barrier wall to see the work of Traylor Bros. Project Manager Wayne Jones.
The biggest issue in construction safety is communication, and when you look at the most recent volume of U.S. OSHA regulations, you’ll see a hefty 550 pages of safety rules. That’s a lot to communicate.Now, how do you transmit what's in those pages, or the most important part of it, to a worker who does not understand or know anything about the English language? How do you make those regulations clear to a worker from China, India, Europe, Africa or South America when those workers aren’t familiar with safety as a principle, never mind as an organized body of written
Until now very little research has been carried out into the definition of the personality traits that make a great risk manager and whether their skills need to change to meet emerging challenges. We have surveyed risk managers from a wide range of industries and areas. The survey results showed that, though the majority of today’s risk managers have characteristics that conform to the stereotype, there are many more dimensions to risk managers than first thought.The research itself was straightforward. We invited risk professionals from around the world to take part by completing an online confidential psychometric survey.We based it
Related Links: ENR: Health-Care Reform Law ENR: Health-Care Data Streams The current health care construction environment has created a heightened focus on cost reduction and efficiency. This is also a major concern of health care providers, along with improving patient well-being and comfort. According to a Mortenson survey conducted at the fall Healthcare Design Conference in Phoenix, many owners say that ongoing consolidation in the industry is a major challenge to managing growth and expanding their institutions. Here are some ways contractors can help meet this challenge.Design matters: Design has a significant impact on the operational costs of a facility.
Related Links: Biannual Fiscal Survey of States by National Association of State Budget Officers and National Governors' Association As a longtime vocal advocate of smaller government, I am hesitant to ever ask for a tax increase of any kind. However, now is the time for Congress to take unpopular but needed action to raise the gas tax—and not just a little. I'm talking 25¢ or even 50¢ per gallon. There are three reasons why this is clearly the right thing to do.First, there is no denying the rough condition of many roads. Whether you have seen studies by the American
Related Links: ENR's 2012 The Year In Construction Photo Contest Winners ENR Photo Contest Archives Runners-Up This issue of ENR showcases the winners of our 12th annual Year in Construction photo contest. We are delighted to share the results. Delivering the contest winners is like building a fine watch for five months by selecting just 38 pieces from 1,564 parts. We are indebted to this year' judges for crafting this outstanding result.We seat new judges every year to gain fresh eyes. And we seek expertise from inside and outside the ENR staff. The judges have one marathon session in December
Photographer: Martin Chandrawinata Related Links: Construction Photography Reminds Us of What Makes The Industry Great Construction Photography Contest Judging Is Challenging And Rewarding Engineering News-Record photo contest archives Runners-Up Something is changing in construction photography. The pictures are getting strikingly better. That's the only conclusion we could come to after our panel of judges finished reviewing the 1,564 entries to ENR's 2012, The Year in Construction Photo Contest. Not only did the judges give their highest marks to far more images than ever before, but the second- and third-place finishers were almost equally impressive.The photos are evaluated by a fresh
In 2008 I predicted that the recession would be deep and long. I said so in seminars and few people believed it. In questions from the audience at those seminars, staff from sureties asked, “Where are the failures?” I said that the failures come at the end of the recovery. Now we’re starting to see more failures. No one liked the recession, but some contractors and sureties are going to hate the recovery, too. Companies will fail at a faster rate than anything we’ve seen since 2008; inflation will rear its ugly head, too. The construction market recovery is going to be a
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