| August 25, 2015
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In This Issue |
Events
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Education/
Training
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Safety
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New Members
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Membership Benefits
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AGC News
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Member News
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Here's Looking At You
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News You Can Use
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 Quick Links |
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Events |
September 2-3, 2015
The Westin Crystal City
Arlington, Virginia
If you're interested in any aspect of environmental compliance or sustainability on a construction jobsite, this conference is a great opportunity for you to connect with your peers from across the country in a non-competitive environment. In addition to CWA issues, government representatives will be presenting on climate, incremental sampling, prevention through design and green building codes.
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October 7-9, 2015
St. Louis, MO
Hyatt Regency at The Arch
Register By September 8, 2015 & Save $100
AGC's Construction HR and Training Professionals Conference provides two days of education and networking for HR, training and workforce development professionals in the construction industry. Click here for registration details.
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Thursday, October 15, 2015
TopGolf Houston West
1030 Memorial Brook Blvd.
Benefiting the AGC Houston Advocacy Fund
Tournament Space Is Limited. Register Here Today!
TEAM REGISTRATION - $800
Includes four players for an hour and a half of TopGolf
SPECTATOR FEE - $100
Includes food and beverages + entry to the tournament reception
Sponsorships are available. Click here for more information.
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Education/Training |
To develop the tools needed to build lean, AGC has developed the Lean Construction Education Program (units 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7). Construction professionals at all experience levels learn the building blocks necessary to transform their projects and companies into a lean operating system.
August 26: Unit 6 - Lean Design and Pre-Construction. This half-day, instructor-led course explains the concepts of value-based management, lean in the design process and relational contracting.
September 17: Unit 7 - Problem-Solving Principles and Tools. This seven-hour, instructor-led course describes the Lean Problem Solving Process and illustrates how to use tools to solve problems in a lean manner.
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New series of program specially designed for emerging project managers! This five-course program covers the essentials of project management for emerging project managers.
Project Manager Development Program
Module 1: Estimating and Job Costing - Aug. 4-5
This class develops professional estimating skills, including: an understanding of the different types of estimates; the importance of documentation and formatting; and the link between design, estimating and project costs.
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BIM Unit 1 is designed specifically for construction professionals eager to learn the essential concepts of BIM. The full-day (8-hour) course explains the benefits of improved visualization on a construction project through the use of 3D, 4D and 5D models, establishes a knowledge base of BIM terminology and outlines case studies showing successful BIM implementation.
Note: Early bird pricing ends Thursday, September 10, 2015
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Safety |
Chaired by Susan Phillips, Tellepsen, and David Hales, Peterson Beckner Industries, Inc., the Safety Committee is open to all members interested in promoting the safety and education of the construction industry.The AGC Houston The Safety Committee meets the last Friday of every month at the AGC Houston office from 7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m.
For more details, contact Kim Mason at (713) 843-3720.
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The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced the launch of its annual Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers. For the fourth consecutive year, OSHA's campaign aims to raise awareness and educate workers and employers about the dangers of working in hot weather and provide resources and guidance to address these hazards. Workers at particular risk are those in outdoor industries, such as agriculture, construction, landscaping and transportation.
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Workers exposed to extreme heat or who work in hot environments may be at risk of heat stress. Read more and access helpful information from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.
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This course is designed for individuals interested in teaching the OSHA 10- and 30-hour construction safety and health Outreach Training Program to their employees and other interested groups.
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This course covers the various types of common machinery, machine safeguards, and related OSHA regulations and procedures.
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This course covers OSHA electrical standards and the hazards associated with electrical installations and equipment. Students participate in workshops on the safe and correct use of electrical testing equipment.
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Taught for Spanish-speaking employees, this FREE course covers the role and responsibility of the employer to develop and implement an energy-control program or lock-out/tag-out while performing servicing and maintenance activities on machinery and equipment.
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This course is the update required every four years for all OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainers for the construction industry. It provides timely information on OSHA construction industry standards, policies and regulations.
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Meet the requirements of OSHA Paragraph 1926.50, which calls for a person on the jobsite to have a valid certificate in first aid training in the absence of infirmary, clinic or physician that is reasonably accessible in terms of time and distance to the worksite.
Early bird pricing ends Thursday, September 10, 2015.
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New Members |
Reliant Safety Solutions, LLC
Paul Johnson
P.O, Box 3548
Humble, TX 77347
(281) 979-4230
Bell & McCoy Lighting & Controls
7601 N. Loop East
Houston, TX 77028
(713) 671-8000
(713) 671-8050 fax
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The following companies have renewed their membership. Please consider contacting them for your business needs.
Alpha Electric Company
Jimmie Stallones
P.O. Box 7492 Houston, TX 77248-7492
(713) 802-1166
jmstallones@alphaelectricco.com
Champion Rentals, Inc.
James Horsley
6903 North Shepherd Houston, TX 77091
(713) 695-3933
jhorsley@champrentals.com
Electra Link, Inc.
Dale Pearson
21755 IH-45, Building #10 Spring, TX 77388-3621
(281) 350-6096
dpearson@electralink.com
ieSmartSystems, LLC
Douglas Colvin
15200 E. Hardy Houston, TX 77032
(281) 447-6278
dcolvin@iesmartsystems.com
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Membership Benefits |
AGC members receive valuable discounts of up to 29% on select FedEx Express® and FedEx Ground® shipping services, up to 70% on FedEx Freight® shipping services.
There are no costs and no minimum shipping, copy or print requirements to take advantage of this great member benefit.
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Office Depot and OfficeMax are now ONE company! AGC Members can save up to 80% on over 93,000 products. Great for all of your printing, cleaning and office supply needs. Shop online or in any Office Depot or OfficeMax store.
Enjoy FREE next-day delivery on online orders over $50! Click here to shop online or print off a FREE Store Purchasing Card.
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Your company can receive up to 6¢ on every gallon. With special tiered rebates on purchases at BP, and a 1.5¢ rebate on all gasoline and diesel purchases at other brands, you'll save with every fill up.
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AGC Houston emblem stickers available to all members! Show your AGC pride. Contact AGC Houston today at (713) 843-3700 and get hard hat stickers while they last. They're free for members! Got the AGC logo on a jobsite banner? Send us a photo and we'll share it in Member's Edge and on our Facebook page!
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Dividends for Houston Chapter Members total more than $6.8M!
• Texas AGC members actively enrolled in the CompGroup AGC Safety Group and had a loss ratio under 60%.
• Benefit from financial strength and superior loss-control program.
• Managed by a board composed of CompGroup AGC members—Texas-based general contractors and subcontractors—it is a TDI-approved workers compensation purchasing group.
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The AGC Alternative can help your company build a better benefits package—one that benefits you and your employees. Take control of rising health care costs with a defined contribution strategy and give employees more choice and flexibility. To learn more or request a quote, visit www.agc.org/exchange or call 1-800-210-5290.
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AGC News |
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that clarifies an employer’s continuing obligation to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness throughout the five-year period during which the employer is required to keep the records.
"Accurate records are not simply paperwork, but have an important, in fact life-saving purpose," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "They will enable employers, employees, researchers and the government to identify and eliminate the most serious workplace hazards—ones that have already caused injuries and illnesses to occur."
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"It is encouraging to see construction employment rising again, but the industry could hire many more workers if they were available," said Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America's Chief Economist. Construction employment totaled 6,383,000 in July, the most since February 2009, but the total rose by only 6,000 in July and by an average of only 7,200 per month over the past five months, Simonson noted.
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Plan to join your peers at AGC's 2015 Contractors Environmental Conference on September 2-3 in Arlington, Virginia, to explore ways to turn environmental responsibilities into successes for you and your firm.
• Next Generation of Compliance and Reporting Environmental Violations
• Stormwater: Self-Inspections and Documentation, Work in Sensitive Areas
• Factoring Endangered Species Into Your Project
• What GCs Need to Know about Asbestos, Lead and PCBs
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iSqFt and CMD Group announced the companies have merged. CMD is one of the leading providers of construction information in North America. iSqFt provides the commercial construction industry a leading software-as-a-service solution in addition to bid information both powered by a vast network of construction professionals across the United States. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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Member News |
A group of Anslow Bryant Construction, Ltd. volunteers headed to the the Houston Area Women's Shelter, bringing with them school supplies and donating more than $5,000 to help children have backpacks and school supplies. On August 14 and 15, children, teens and their caregivers stopped by the organization's building at 1010 Waugh to load up on the essentials needed to get the school year off to a great start.
For more than 35 years, the Houston Area Women’s Center has worked relentlessly to help survivors affected by domestic and sexual violence build lives free from the effects of violence. The organization currently features 115 paid staff, a counseling and administrative building, a residential shelter for 120 women and children, and a hotline call center.
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Coats Rose recently announced that 15 attorneys in the firm have been selected by their peers for inclusion
inThe Best Lawyers in America© 2016. The guide honored firm lawyers in
Houston, Austin, Dallas, New Orleans and San Antonio in 15 areas of practice including: real estate law, construction law,
construction litigation, commercial litigation, government relations, labor and
employment law, environmental litigation, and product liability
litigation.
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Here's Looking At You |
On August 6, 2015, AGC Houston members gathered at Crisp bistro in The Heights, filling the bar and back patio areas. Among the attendees were AGC Houston Chairman Bill Scott, III, Linbeck Group, LLC; Marty Garza, Bartlett Cocke General Contractors; Steve Mechler, Balfour Beatty Construction; Bob Postma, Manhattan Construction Company; Jim Stevenson, McCarthy Building Companies and numerous general contractor members from Anslow Bryant Construction, Ltd; J. E. Dunn Construction Company, Morganti Texas, Inc., Pepper-Lawson Construction, LLP, Rogers-O'Brien Construction, and Humphries Construction Corporation.
OSHA's Jim Shelton led a workshop at AGC Houston on August 18 to review the new standard, Subpart AA of 29 CFR 1926, which addresses confined spaces. The rule requires employers to determine what kinds of spaces their workers are in, what hazards could be there, how those hazards should be made safe, what training workers should receive, and how to rescue those workers if anything goes wrong. AGC members Henry Portillo, HP Safety Consulting, and Tommy Lee, W. S. Bellows Construction Corp. helped to facilitate the meeting.
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News You Can Use |
Paced by continued demand for projects such as new education and healthcare facilities, public safety and government buildings, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) increased in June following fluctuations earlier this year. T he American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the June ABI score was 55.7, up substantially from a mark of 51.9 in May. This score reflects an increase in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).
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The downtown post office building finally has a new owner according to the Houston Business Journal. Houston-based developer Lovett Commercial completed the purchase of the 16-acre property at 401 Franklin St. on August 13. Lovett bought the property from the U.S. Postal Service for an undisclosed price. The property, which includes a five-story office building and a two-story industrial building, is the largest single development tract in Houston’s Central Business District, according to Lovett. No design plans have yet been released.
Stephen Fox, a Houston architectural historian and fellow of the Anchorage Foundation of Texas, called the downtown post office a "distinguished work of 1960s modern architecture by an important Houston architecture firm." Wilson, Morris, Crain & Anderson designed the build, which was built in 1962. In 1984, the Franklin Street facility was renamed the Barbara Jordan Post Office after the first African American congresswoman to come from the Deep South.
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Harris County Commissioners Court voted to place an $848 million bond referendum on the ballot for the upcoming Nov. 3 election, which includes $700 million for road improvement projects.
"It’s important to note [in] the world we live in right now, there are a lot of people who see bond and think, ‘Oh, this is a terrible thing. It’s more debt,’" County Judge Ed Emmett said. "When you consider Harris County has more people than 24 states, a bond of this magnitude really isn’t that big. When you realize the fast growth that’s going on in the county and the necessity to go out and actually do these things in anticipation of further growth, the bond just allows us to do that."
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Every business, large or small, has employment practices liability exposures. Here are 10 common employer mistakes that, when addressed, can help reduce your risk. Read Tony Stergio, Andrews Myers, PC and Employee Practices Committee member's article here.
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OSHA has proposed a rule that would require employers to "make and maintain an accurate record of an injury or illness" with no regard to the established six-month statute of limitations for enforcement. The proposed rule would require employers to keep "records for the year in which the injury or illness occurred" and notes that the duty "does not expire if the employer fails to create the necessary records when first required to do so."
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The Sam Houston State University, Department of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering Technology, Engineering Technology Program will have a career fair Thursday September 24, 2015. This career fair is intended to introduce the students to potential occupational offerings and to introduce prospective employers to students of this program.
The Engineering Technology Program offers degrees in the fields of construction management, design & development, electronics, and safety management.
AGC Houston members interested in participating should contact Keith Coogler at (936) 294-1203 or via email at kcoogler@shsu.edu.
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