I hope you are all enjoying the winter season. As you look forward to what is ahead in 2019, I hope you have marked your calendars to attend the CISCA Convention in National Harbor, Maryland, April 22-26. Today, I want to share with you several great opportunities available to CISCA members during the upcoming convention. Please take a minute to read all the opportunities and commit to those you can.

Crafting a culture that fosters employee involvement, tools for success and a lead-by-example mentality is what makes companies great places to work. Creating a strong and talented workforce doesn’t just happen; concerted efforts need to be made and implemented to ensure each employee feels valued and appreciated for his or her contribution. 

It is difficult to protect workers and bystanders from respirable silica during chipping and crushing activities, even when dust control measures are in place, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Department of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

The January indictments of union leader John Dougherty and others affiliated with Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for fraud, tax evasion, bribery and a bevy of other charges have made some question the influence that unions appear to have had on Philadelphia's construction industry, in the field and at city hall, according to Curbed Philadelphia.

Morgan Stanley has topped the latest M&A league table of the top 10 financial advisers in the construction sector for FY2018, compiled by GlobalData, a leading data analytics company. Morgan Stanley beat its fellow counterparts JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Citi to lead the table with 24 deals worth $129.1 billion, including the sector’s highest value deal — the $40.44 billion investment by ACS, Hochtief and Atlantia in Abertis Infraestructuras.

Only 1 percent of the estimated 670,000 construction employers have 100 or more employees. This means that the vast majority of construction workers are employed by small companies. This also means that it is imperative that small construction companies address suicide prevention, since construction is the leading industry in number of suicide deaths and a suicide rate of four times the national average.

OSHA’s final rule on Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report). However, “the final rule does not alter an employer’s duty to maintain OSHA Forms 300 and 301 onsite, and OSHA will continue to obtain these forms as needed through inspections and enforcement actions.”

Reserve your spot for this year's Convention and INTEX Expo, to be held in National Harbor, Maryland, from April 22 to April 26, 2019! We'll see you then for a full week of education, networking and relationship-building!

Smart phones and tablets are now commonplace on the construction jobsite. Are your cell phone policies as outdated as the original flip phones that you issued to your employees? Do you even have a cell phone policy?

BATC-Housing First Minnesota and other state construction industry groups are pressing state lawmakers to ease labor laws that keep 16- and 17-year-olds from working on construction sites, Finance & Commerce reported. Minnesota does allow teenagers to work in other places of employment like health care facilities, farms and some factories.