Collaboration, Not Conflict We have to take exception to the characterization of the relationship between the University of California and Turner Construction Company on UC Berkeleys Hearst Memorial Mining Building in the story "Dispute Mars Historic Renovation" (ENR 3/4 p. 10). In particular, your fanciful cover illustration distorts not only the building, but also the conduct of both parties. In over three years of working together on this project, UC Berkeley and Turner have consistently resolved technical, construction, and commercial challenges through teamwork, guided by the best interests of the project. Virtually every aspect of the replacement of the existing
Not willing to sit for a professional-level exam? Then imagine yourself as an accomplished professional who's successfully completed hundreds of construction projects and who's now being called as an expert witness. Imagine, too, that the judge discounts your testimony because he recognizes the architect and the engineer as the only "professionals" who testified. That unfortunate experience happened to Walter Nashert, founder of Nashert Constructors Inc., Oklahoma City. How did he respond? By laying the groundwork for the courts to recognize constructors as members of a profession. Nashert recruited the support of colleagues on the construction education committee of the Associated
Shake It Up As a management representative and negotiator for 200 union-affiliated contracting firms, I welcome the carpenters' Douglas McCarrron's efforts to shake up the status quo of construction labor unions in the U. S. (ENR 3/18 p. 10). For far too long, unions have sought political solutions to their problems rather than concentrating on modern marketing, operational and financial strategies. The marketing of union affiliation cannot be based on "mom, apple pie and the American Way" anymore. Like any visionary executive, McCarron focuses on business development, market share, client satisfaction, consolidation and return-on-investment. This is simply complementary capitalism, mixing
Not willing to sit for a professional-level exam? Then imagine yourself as an accomplished professional who's successfully completed hundreds of construction projects and who's now being called as an expert witness. Imagine, too, that the judge discounts your testimony because he recognizes the architect and the engineer as the only "professionals" who testified. That unfortunate experience happened to Walter Nashert, founder of Nashert Constructors Inc., Oklahoma City. How did he respond? By laying the groundwork for the courts to recognize constructors as members of a profession. Nashert recruited the support of colleagues on the construction education committee of the Associated
Not The First Time It was with much interest that I read "Dispute Mars Historic Renovation" (ENR 3/4 p.10). I compliment you on finding this newsworthy topic, but the Hearst Memorial School of Mining project was not the first time the University of California, Berkeley, used the construction manager-general contractor method of contracting. My employer, AMEC, introduced CM-CC to UC Berkeley when we were contracted to manage the Walter A. Haas Pavilion project. Completed dispute-free, the Haas project was a thorough CM-CC success in 1999. Prior to the Haas project, AMEC used the CM-CC approach numerous times at the University
In Georgia, where I oversee the majority of the state's major construction projects, general contractors are not performing their duty to provide quality construction. My agency, the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, sells approximately $500 million in general obligation bonds annually, primarily for new construction. This year, our governor recommends doubling that sum. But even as a fairly large player, my agency struggles to ensure quality construction. DEFECTS. Almost every project that we build has construction defects. Some are fairly major, such as in a multistory building where a contractor failed to install 98% of the brick ties needed
No More Free Spam We, meaning industry and society, are overlooking the most obvious and effective solution to e-mail spam, as discussed in your recent article "Mounting Volume of Junk Defies Filters, Delete Keys" (ENR 2/25 p. 33). Our current approach is a losing battle for several reasons. First, we'll never keep spam at bay with technology. The spammers will match any technological breakthrough with their own technological answers. Second, as long as spammers have free access to hundreds of millions of business and consumer e-mails, they have an extraordinarily powerful incentive to keep up. Third, the resolution of the
Several days ago I was working late on a proposal. Stuck with writing a section on how a prospective client could benefit from using Web-based technologies, I decided to take a break to grab a hamburger across the street. Although it had been a long time since I had eaten at a McDonald's, the company had been on my mind ever since I had read Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Several sections of the book, but mostly the discussion of the McDonald's empire, had made me think about my own industryenvironmental managementand its identity and perception problems. These problems
Construction Wrap-Ups The editorial, "the insurance crisis May Have a Cleansing Effect" (ENR 2/4 p. 48) paints construction wrap-ups with a dirty brush in an insurance marketplace where these programs should be accepted as a fresh new coat of protection. Your statement that "there is no incentive for subs to work safe" is incorrect. All contractors enrolled into a wrap-up provide their federal Employer Identification Numbers as part of the policy application process. A contractor's loss experience on a wrap-up is recorded under that number and is factored into the experience modifier and ultimately effects the premiums they pay in
Until an accident two months ago, 21-year-old Renato Soriano worked on building sites in Manila. He fell from just a few meters, but hit some cement blocks as he landed. In the hospital, he lost an arm and a foot to amputations. Although an invalid now and unable to work, he will not receive a single peso in compensation. Injury and death from construction accidents are so common in Manila that many building sites there are described as "war zones." Similar situations exist in many other developing countries. Worldwide, construction accidents claim an estimated 55,000 lives annually. Most happen in