As part of our research into the recent downturn, my Arizona State University colleagues and I surveyed U.S. construction companies to discover what overhead they chose to cut and when.
What overhead did construction companies cut during the recent downturn? My colleagues and I at Arizona State University wanted to know, so we surveyed companies around the country.
Related Links: First Offshore US Wind Farm Installs Turbine Foundation Deepwater Milestone: R.I. Work Begins on Wind Farm Project Offshore wind energy could add 4.2 million megawatts to the generating capacity of the U.S., according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, but the U.S. market has stalled almost completely, hindered by regulatory uncertainties, political opposition, litigation and a lack of available financing. Recently, however, several broad market and regulatory themes have emerged—record low energy prices, technology improvements, the start of construction of the first commercial offshore project near Rhode Island’s Block Island and increasingly favorable federal and state policies for
Dr. Lev Zetlin was a Russian-born, charismatic, creative structural engineer who surrounded himself in his New York City practice with very bright, young, well-educated engineers.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s disadvantaged business enterprise program was designed to support the development and growth of legitimate DBEs. But the way the program is currently written, interpreted and administered actually defeats those purposes and undermines the goal. Recent DBE fraud prosecutions, most of which involve the test of whether a commercially useful function has been performed, have led some contractors to respond with overzealous and incorrect interpretations of the rules for regular dealers (our firm falls into this category of company).As background, all 50 states must comply with the DBE program. U.S. DOT serves as the administrator and
Target Corp., Sony Pictures Entertainment, U.S. Office of Personnel Management—their names have been splashed in the headlines because of the immense, damaging hacks of their systems. But hackers go after more than retail stores, big corporations and government agencies.
We’ve reached a teachable moment about risk when it comes to Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which is being promoted as a major driver of housing and infrastructure. To make its case, the Olympics bid committee's proposal includes a risk plan that is detailed—but not detailed enough. Will Boston win?Such moments have arrived before with other Olympic hosting proposals, most notably Chicago’s bid, in 2009, to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. There, the proponents also showed they had covered all the risks with a detailed plan, but they failed to win the bid.Construction costs and overruns
At ENR’s “Risk Summit” last month in Dallas, the editors asked my panel to ponder why Texas subcontractors weren’t “dancing in the streets” in light of seemingly favorable laws such as prompt- payment statutes, retainage restrictions and limits on indemnification. While the panel focused on Texas, the topic is relevant throughout the U.S., and I’ll explain why. Every state has a mountain of protections for the purpose of benefiting construction participants at the bottom of the contracting chain.These protections can be traced to 1791, when Thomas Jefferson introduced the nation’s first mechanics’ lien laws in Maryland. In doing so, he
Owners and contractors, even when they operate in the same country, don’t always speak the same language. An owner may presume its customary construction practices and assumptions are applicable in any region; the contractor may not fully appreciate the owner’s standards for quality, safety, coordination or other considerations and how they should apply to a specific project. A consulting engineering firm, which operates with a foot in both worlds, best serves its client when it promotes clear communication between client and contractor. The consultant that understands the expectations of both its client and outside stakeholders will provide good stewardship of
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