Íæż½ã½ã

Construction employment increased in December by 17,000 driven by gains in nonresidential construction employment, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released today by Íæż½ã½ã.

After much uncertainty, late last week Congress struck a deal to collectively pass the remaining appropriations measures for FY 2012. The legislation, (H.R. 3671, H. Rept. 112-331) funds the federal agencies under the remaining nine Appropriations bills, including: Defense, Energy and Water, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Interior/Environment, Labor/Health and Human Services/Education, the Legislative Branch, Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, and State/Foreign Operations. Íæż½ã½ã has advocated for this measure to come together to ensure predictability for the FY 2012 federal construction programs for both the construction industry as well as the government.

The last twelve months have been interesting, aggravating and not very productive. Between Election Day 2010 and Christmas Day 2010, the President, House and Senate agreed to a continuing resolution that funded the government through March, they agreed to an extension of the Bush tax rates, an extension of emergency unemployment benefits and a payroll tax holiday that reduced the employee portion of funds withheld for social security.

Construction projects are increasingly more complex. Cash is now the grand emperor of survival and competition for fewer jobs is intense. Contractors must do more with fewer resources and greater cooperation is needed to have successful projects. Come learn about how Lean Construction processes deliver solutions that work. This webinar will introduce the basic principles and three proven techniques of Lean applied to construction.

The Íæż½ã½ã IPD and Lean Construction Building Conference was held Sept. 21-24, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas with a record attendance of more than 230 participants.  Building construction contractors, construction project owners, design professionals, attorneys, suppliers and service suppliers came together to hear from an excellent line-up of industry experts about the impact of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Lean Construction on the construction industry.

Emerging changes in construction activity indicate 2011 may be the year of the specialty contractor more than the general. While overall construction spending remains flat, several niches look promising. Other categories will soon shrink, however. Here’s a tip sheet for which segments to seek or avoid.

Specialty Contractors Council vice chair Rick Pate (Pate Landscape Co. Inc., Montgomery, Ala.) was featured in the March/April Constructor magazine in a feature article, Going Public With It. 

Specialty contractors from Íæż½ã½ã Chapters across the country comprise the Íæż½ã½ã of America Specialty Contractors Council (SCC).  Each Chapter has the ability to nominate one individual to the SCC and an additional individual for every one hundred of the Chapter’s specialty contractor member firms.  More than 80 Íæż½ã½ã members began new one-year terms on the SCC following the Íæż½ã½ã Annual Convention in March. 

The Íæż½ã½ã of America Specialty Contractors Council Executive Committee (SCC EC) welcomed two new members at its meeting held during the Íæż½ã½ã Annual Convention in Las Vegas in March.

The Sixth Annual Airport Project Delivery Systems Summit will build upon the previous year’s program by offering first-hand experiences in delivering airport projects.  Airports Council International-NA, Airport Consultants Council and the Associated General Contractors of America continue to promote this initiative together with the goal of improved airport project delivery.