A history buff who has enjoyed a 36-year career in construction, Charlie Gannon, a project manager for Walsh Construction, certainly appreciates the significance of having delivered the longest-ever bridge slide.

Related Links: Beavers Names 2015 Award Winners Viewpoint: The Coming Revolution in Engineering Education The Beavers, a Los Altos, Calif., heavy-construction group, has received its first funding installment from Caterpillar Inc. as part of a four-year challenge to raise money for engineering education. Since kicking off last year, the campaign has generated more than $750,000.For every $2 the Beavers raise through 2017, the equipment firm will match $1—up to a total of $1 million—according to Lynn Barr, chairman of Beavers Charitable Trust and managing member of the Pendleton Group, Santa Rosa, Calif. This will fund scholarships for students and teaching

Photo courtesy GM Thanks to its compact dimensions and upgraded interior, the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup provides a stress-free drive on or off the road. Photo courtesy GM The interior quality is greatly improved over Chevy's previous midsize trucks. Related Links: New GM Midsize Pickups Clock In for Work 2015 Chevrolet Colorado Reboots To Capture Small-Truck Buyers The midsize pickup is making a comeback. Once a staple of field engineers, surveyors, speciality contractors and others needing to reach the jobsite without hauling a great deal of material, the small truck for years has faced economic forces that pushed users

Photo Courtesy of Linden Comansa America Regulators have argued for years that aging crane fleets pose higher risks to the public. Related Links: Haag Crane-Age Report (free download) Crane Accidents Are Not Tied To Machine Age, Study Says Latest Tower Crane Standard Calls for Tighter Inspections Bans that limit the age of cranes used for construction can have the effect of restricting the importation of worn-out machines but do little to prevent actual crane accidents on the jobsite, according to a forensic engineering firm that studied the issue at the request of a U.S. trade group.In a 19-page report titled

Courtesy Ford Motor Co. Ford made headlines this year with the aluminum-bodied 2015 F-150. Related Links: Ford F-150 Ups Economy Bar for Full-Size Pickups New GM Midsize Pickups Clock In for Work Test Drive: 2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel Goes the Distance Over the course of 2014, Ford Motor Co. methodically teased out details of its revolutionary switch to an aluminum body and bed for the 2015 Ford F-150 pickup while its competitors responded in kind with bold new trucks that will help fleet owners operate with more productivity and efficiency than before.With the new F-150, Ford gets credit for reinventing

Photo Courtesy of Haulotte The Activ'Shield Bar can detect when the operator is trapped. Responding to a growing demand for safety devices that protect aerial-work-platform operators from getting crushed by overhead objects, French-based Haulotte has introduced its Activ'Shield Bar, which is now available across much of its lineup of telescoping, articulating and vertical lifts.The new crash bar senses when the operator's body begins to press tightly against the platform's control panel. In its first 18° of motion, the bar provides an audible warning. Beyond that point, the bar shuts down machine functions and enables the operator to move out of

Photo Courtesy Ford Motor Co. Sales of pickup and highway trucks look healthy, but mining haulers likely will slide in 2015. Enlarge Related Links: 2014 Equipment Forecast 2015 Construction Forecast Most equipment categories are on track for a steady sales climb in 2015, but uncertainty in specific end markets—road construction and mining, for example—could bog down sales of larger machines, such as cranes and haul trucks, analysts say. Contractors are expected to continue supplementing existing fleet capacity with short-term rentals, putting pressure on suppliers to have the latest models on their lots next year."Uncertainty in the marketplace is really good

Photo by Tudor Van Hampton/ENR Contractors may opt for accelerated payments in exchange for a small fee to improve cash flow. Related Links: A New Age of Pay Abuse of Subcontractors Specialty Contractors See Opportunities Rising Responding to a persistent problem in the construction industry—the burden on subcontractors to float the cost of labor, equipment, materials and other expenses until the general contractor gets paid—Turner Construction is rolling out a supply-chain financing program aimed at speeding up payments to subs.“It’s a win for the subcontractor,” Mark Boyle, Turner’s chief procurement officer, tells ENR. “They know, date-certain, when they will receive

Photo courtesy Ford Motor Co. Ford's 2015 F-150, now in production, is class-leading among gasoline full-size pickups. Related Links: Test Drive: Ford Reinvents Tough By Switching to Aluminum Fleet Owners Stand To Gain From V6 Pickups The top-selling vehicle in the U.S. now is also the most efficient gasoline pickup in the full-size category.Equipped with an optional 2.7-liter V6 EcoBoost engine and two-wheel drive, it achieves 26 miles per gallon on the highway; equipped with a standard 3.5-liter V6, it gets up to 25 mpg, according to new ratings for the 2015 Ford F-150.Switching to a lighter steel frame and