Photo courtesy of CERA Workers handle construction of the base of a new bus station in Christchurch, an anchor project for the city's earthquake recovery. Over a 12-hour period, about 1.428 cu m of concrete was placed in a single pour. Photo by Chris Webb Mural in the city's downtown "red zone," which had been closed for a while to all but essential workers after the 2010 earthquakes, depicts efforts by local trades to rebuild damaged buildings and infrastructure. Four years after the earthquakes that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand’s oldest and most populous South Island city, the country's Canterbury region
SAME Graduates of one military engineers' sponsored summer camp pose with a tool of the trade. Related Links: Website: SAME Engineering and Construction Camps SAME E&C Camps: Immersing Students in STEM Can a one-week summer engineering camp experience be "life changing?" High school students with industry aspirations who've attended any of three camps sponsored by the Society of American Military Engineering (SAME) at U.S. service academy sites for the last 15 years seem to think so. They've said as much in Facebook posts, in letters to camp mentors and, OMG ... they're even telling their parents! One student kept his
Photo Courtesy of IMPACT Owners, contractors and unions together spur innovation, says Wise. Related Links: Trades Must Play Key Role To Keep Industry Competitive, Employers Tell Union Ironworkers Record Breaking Registration at IMPACT/Iron Workers Annual Meeting Welder Shortfall Fires Up Industry Training Programs to Work Overtime There was progress to report at the 2015 North American Ironworkers/IMPACT Labor-Management conference on key initiatives such as safety, market expansion and making signatory contractors more successful. With the union's membership now above pre-recession levels, the event drew 1,100 union business leaders and members, contractors and owners to Las Vegas Feb. 22-25."We have unleashed
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics February employment report with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments and analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's comments and analysis Construction’s February unemployment rate continued to run well below year-earlier levels, dipping to 10.6% from February 2014’s 12.8%, as the industry gained 29,000 jobs during the month.The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ look at last month’s employment picture, released on March 6, also showed that construction’s jobless rate increased from January’s 9.8%.The BLS rates aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations. Winter storms may have been a factor in February’s month-to-month rise.The jobs results were
Courtesy of Industrial Training International Online rigging engineering course allows students to go at their own pace. Related Links: Global Safety Audit Finds Spotty Rigging Practices Synthetic Hoist Rope Is 80% Lighter Than Steel When John Glinski heard about a new online course for rigging engineering, he knew he had to sign up."I wanted to increase my knowledge," says the 56-year-old Fluor Corp. employee and safety manager of cranes and rigging for Tappan Zee Constructors. "I wanted to know the engineering behind everything because it makes you a better rigger."Rigging engineering is not yet a recognized profession, but Glinski and
Related Links: Via Executive Order, Obama Pushes for Ethical Contracting Legal Experts Update New Federal Worker Rules at ENR Webinar. Link to Discussion and Detailed Slides The latest Obama Administration move to raise workforce standards and protections for federal contractor employees will tighten restrictions on reliance on human trafficking and forced labor. Contractors will be required to enforce compliance among subcontractors—a tough challenge in a global supply chain, attorneys say. The rules stem from 2012 and 2013 “zero tolerance” provisions, but final regs, published in late January, are set to take effect on March 2.The rules, which apply to new
Related Links: Big Pipe Plans-Developers Push Billions in Pipeline Work Despite Oil Price Slide, Keystone Veto CURT Construction Labor Market Analyzer website Vogtle Nuke Plant Builders Face Rising Cost Pressures NCCER-Welding Website CareersWelding and Burning Ironworkers Website United Association-Union of Plumbers, Pipefitters, Welders and Service TechsWelding Certifications Things are heating up at the plumbers and pipefitters' union local in Augusta, Ga., and it isn't just the members' welding tools. The union is running full tilt to train welders now in short supply to fuel the region's industrial and energy-sector construction boom.Apprenticeship training at Local 150—a key labor supplier to the
Related Links: BLS employment report for January 2015 with data tables AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's analysis ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu's analysis Construction began 2015 with upbeat employment figures, adding 39,000 jobs in January, pushing the industry’s unemployment rate down to 9.8%, well below the year-earlier level.The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest monthly employment report, released on Feb. 6, showed that construction’s jobless rate last month fell from January 2014’s 12.3% but was up from December’s 8.3%.The month-to-month change probably reflected the industry’s usual winter work slowdown; the BLS rates are not adjusted for seasonal variations. All construction sectors
Scores of construction workers and subcontractors in Nairobi, Kenya's capital, could face lean times in the coming months after a state-owned agency suspended building construction begun between last June and this January. The National Construction Authority said it declared the moratorium on new residential and commercial buildings to do structural safety audits after two buildings collapsed in early January, killing at least eight people.The agency, which regulates construction in the East Africa nation, said that, despite the job losses at building sites, the moritorium will allow developers to comply with regulations to ensure “stable structures for the safety of both
Related Links: AGC Survey BLS Union Membership Data Breakdown by Industry Eighty percent of the nearly 1,000 construction firms that responded to an Associated General Contractors of America survey said they plan to expand their payrolls in 2015. But shortages of skilled employees at the craft and professional levels continue to be a problem for many firms, according to the survey.To attract more workers, firms are providing better benefit packages, but the problem persists, AGC economist Ken Simonson told reporters on Jan. 21.Among respondents trying to hire workers, 87% report difficulties in filling positions. Walt Fegley, president and COO of
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