Airline passengers bearing one-way tickets often elicit a closer look from airport security. Thus, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials at San Francisco International Airport considered it a routine search when they stopped a man with a one-way ticket from China. Stuffed in his suitcases were 1,500 circuit breakers, all counterfeit. According to industry experts familiar with the case, the man was a former employee of Square D, a large manufacturer of electrical components in Palatine, Ill. Officials later discovered that another shipment of one million counterfeit Square D breakers had slipped past security, spreading through the marketplace like a
Ford Motor Co. is the only Big Three manufacturer that currently does not offer a six-cylinder engine in a full-size pickup. For next year’s F-150, however, Ford will reintroduce a V-6 as its base-level engine; to show it is really serious about V-6 power, the company will also offer a twin-turbocharged EcoBoost engine that claims to have the capability of a V-8 with the fuel economy of a V-6. Does this sound too good to be true? As with any engineering exercise, performing multiple feats becomes a balancing act. We discovered as much during a Ford-sponsored test drive this month
Ford Motor Co. says its new 2011 F-150 pickup truck, available later this year with four new engines, is targeting best-in-class fuel economy with its basic model, popular among construction fleet owners. Ford's base pickup, the 2011 F-150 XL series, will come standard with a 3.7L V-6 gasoline engine, 6-speed automatic transmission and 12-volt electric power steering that help the truck hit up to 23 mpg. Though official testing is still in the works, Ford hopes to certify its new base V-6 engine soon at 23 mpg for highway driving, says Mark Grueber, F-150 marketing manager. Across the board, Ford
Deere & Co.’s recent agreement with Exelon Corp. to offload its wind-farm division for $900 million comes at a time when construction activity in wind power is anything but breezy. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton For ENR A lack of federal legislation for renewable energy is holding back the market for wind power and green jobs, supporters say. “The overall economy has affected this market,” says Tom Wacker, senior vice president of M.A. Mortenson Co., Minneapolis. “But the business has very much experienced a boom-and-bust cycle, and that’s because of the lack of consistent federal legislation.” During 2010’s first half, Mortenson
Dena Parsons wants to know why something suddenly hit her husband in the head, killing him and injuring a co-worker at a construction site in Oklahoma City on Aug. 31. Photo: Dena Parsons Mike Parsons liked fishing, shopping and watching movies with his family. He was 42. “Somebody was at fault,” says Parsons, 36, of El Reno, Okla. “Stuff doesn’t just fall off a crane.” While working on a crane’s jib at about 8:30 p.m., an unknown object struck Michael Glenn “Mike” Parsons, 42, a certified crane operator at Rent-A-Crane, Oklahoma City. The co-worker, also an employee of the rental
Three days after a contractors’ trade group requested more time to comply with new federal crane-safety regulations, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration nevertheless plans to begin enforcing the standard on Nov. 8, as scheduled. Photo: OSHA Regulators plan to enforce new crane rules as scheduled on Nov. 8. Related Links: Builders Want To Push Back Crane-Safety Rules “The standard was published on Aug. 9 and goes into effect within 90 days,” writes Diana Petterson, federal OSHA spokeswoman, in an Aug. 31 e-mail to ENR. On Aug. 27, the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) sent a letter to OSHA
Civil engineers and other researchers working under a $90,000 National Science Foundation grant are studying the Great Inca Road of South America for clues to help modern society build roads, bridges and other infrastructure that last longer and have a less harmful impact on the environment.
Associated Builders and Contractors has issued a letter to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration seeking to delay Nov. 8 implementation of landmark crane-safety rules. In the letter, ABC “formally requests that the effective date of the work practice provisions contained in the rule be changed to 90 days from the availability of a reasonable set of compliance resources, rather than 90 days from publication of the final rule.” The letter is signed by Craig Shaffer, president of SafetyWorks Inc., Dillsburg, Pa., and chairman of ABC’s health and safety committee. The trade group, based in Arlington, Va., contends that
United Rentals Inc. and Fluor Corp. are teaming up to offer equipment, tools and logistics services for oil-and-gas owners along the Gulf Coast. Executives say the venture may later expand beyond the region. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton For ENR An AMECO job trailer supplies tools and safety gear to an industrial construction project. “We are just getting started,” says Michael Kneeland, CEO of Greenwich, Conn.-based United Rental. With construction markets still down, firms sitting on equipment are looking to put idle assets to work. Both firms have received a lift from Gulf Coast cleanup contracts but want to target the
Construction machinery juggernaut United Rentals Inc. and industrial contractor Fluor Corp.’s AMECO unit are teaming up to offer equipment, tool and logistics services for oil-and-gas owners along the Gulf Coast. However, both say the venture may expand beyond the region. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton for ENR An AMECO trailer supplies gear to a new Luminant power plant in Texas. Related Links: As Builders Farm Out the Fleet, AMECO Plants New Seeds “We are just getting started,” says Michael Kneeland, CEO of Greenwich, Conn.-based United. As most construction markets remain in a slump, companies sitting on capital equipment are looking to
