Nuts and Bolts

Construction Needs Immigration Reform to Allow More Temporary Workers

Kathleen — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 18:16:38 +0000

Immigration reform is a hot topic in Congress these days. There are no ideal solutions to this complex issue, regardless of which side of the argument you are on. Traditional allies can be see the solution differently. No easy answers.
The H-2B section deals with temporary non-agricultural workers. In Washington state, we tend to think of software employers needing H-2B workers for their high tech engineers and programmers, but now that the construction economy is finally rebounding, the construction industry is once again (didn’t take long!) facing a skilled worker shortage. However, the number of skilled construction guest workers per year is maxed at fewer than 20,000. With a projected shortage of hundreds of thousands, that is hardly enough. However, organized labor is opposed to more, so that number may be as good as it gets. Wonder whose going to build the buildings that all those high tech programmers are going to work in?
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment in construction will rise 33 percent by 2020, adding about 1.8 million jobs. As much as those of us in construction, both union and open shop, would like those to be “home grown” workers, we all know that isn’t going to happen. There are deep, long-standing societal and public policy/budget issues that stand in the way of achieving that dream. (But addressing those issues could take up a lot of blog space!)
We need more guest workers than we are going to get. But the whole reform bill, in any form, has to pass first. Stay tuned.

L&I Targeting High Risk Employers

Jerry — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 19:00:36 +0000

On May 23, the Department of Labor and Industries, with the support of business and labor representatives from the Construction Advisory Committee, sent letters to nearly 200 construction employers in this state. The letter identified the recipients as the employers in their respective Risk Class Code as having the highest claim frequency or highest claim costs or both.

The intent is to try and get L&I resources where they are needed most and not invest as much time on employers who are already doing great things for safety. These letters firmly set the expectation that recipients had 60 days to contact L&I’s Consultation division for assistance. Failure to do so puts these employers on an elevated enforcement list for compliance activities.

The Construction Advisory Committee responsible for this effort has worked hard for many years to help L&I get their resources to the employers who need the attention and assistance most.

Greenfire flames environmental passion

Ben — Fri, 31 May 2013 08:00:18 +0000

While Bullitt Center is grabbing headlines as the greenest commercial building in the world, a project in Ballard is taking green building a step further by dedicating about half of its site to urban gardens and open space.

The DJC is profiling the Greenfire Campus project in a special section.

Greenfire’s office building will use about 70 percent less energy than a typical office, and its apartments will use 42 percent less. All that urban agriculture will be fed by two cisterns that store stormwater runoff.

Expect to see more projects like this in the future.

See Stamets’ photos of King Street Station tonight

Ben — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:42:29 +0000

Photo by John Stamets

Photographer John Stamets is giving a slide lecture tonight on the restoration of the historic King Street Station, which was recently finished.

Stamets will explain how the 1906 building was taken apart and then put back together. His photographs document interesting construction work in the building, including plaster restoration in the main waiting room and seismic upgrades throughout the building.

The project team was led by Sellen Construction and ZGF Architects.

The lecture is part of Stamets’ regular Arch. 410 photography class he teaches at the University of Washington. It will start at 6:30 p.m. in Room 322 of Gould Hall, at University Way Northeast and Northeast 40th Street. Anyone can attend the presentation.

Be sure to check it out — Stamets is an excellent architectural photographer.

Backlog Indicator Remains the Same, Up over 2012 Tho

Kathleen — Thu, 23 May 2013 19:32:03 +0000

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) remained unchanged at 8 months from the third quarter through the fourth quarter of 2012; however, it is up 2.4 percent compared to a year ago. CBI is measured in months and reflects the amount of construction work under contract, but not yet completed by nonresidential contractors.
“As with the broader economic recovery, the rebound of the nation’s nonresidential construction industry remains sporadic and stymied by a myriad factors, including tight credit, heightened caution among private developers and public policymakers, and a still struggling global economy,” stated ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
“Because a growing number of projects are now in various stages of planning, the expectation is that backlog will expand moderately later in 2013, but construction volumes will be roughly flat for the balance of the year,” Basu said.
“Certain nonresidential construction segments, such as energy generation, infrastructure, retail and lodging, appear to be doing well,” remarked Basu. “But, this activity alone is not enough to counter the poor performance of other construction sectors, and is unable to expand rapidly in the absence of a dynamic economic recovery.

Skanska fills its own bin for charity

Ben — Tue, 14 May 2013 00:50:40 +0000

Four safety leadership training groups within Skanska recently challenged one another to fill a bin with toiletries to benefit Skanska’s neighbor James W. Ray Orion Center for Youth.

The Orion Center is part of YouthCare, which provides shelter/housing, outreach, basic needs, education and employment training for homeless youth.

The friendly competition resulted in two carloads of toiletries for the nonprofit. Way to go Skanska!

Contractors finally embrace high-tech

Ben — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:05:48 +0000

The old adage is that contractors are slow to adapt to new technology. That may have held true in the past, but go to any job site now and you’re likely to see iPads and other mobile devices hard at work.

Just how these devices speed productivity is the subject of two articles in the DJC’s Construction & Equipment special section. In one article, Skanska discusses how it’s moving toward a paperless job site. In the second, Howard S. Wright profiles its high-tech “Big Room” that is outfitted with various high-tech devices to streamline collaboration and communication between all of the project team members.

Even with all those high-tech gizmos in the Big Room, HSW still designed in a glass wall for posting sticky notes.

Changes to GCCM, Design-Build, JOC

Jerry — Wed, 01 May 2013 16:55:16 +0000

Legislation to reauthorize and revise the State’s alternative public works contracting procedures has been passed by both the House and Senate and awaits the Governor’s signature, which is expected.

The bill (ESHB 1466) is necessary as the law authorizing the use of GCCM, Design-Build (DB) and Job Order Contracting (JOC) on certain public projects is set to sunset at the end of June, 2013. This bill reauthorizes the statute for eight more years while making a few tweaks.

Even though the bill had broad support in the Legislature, industry groups had to work hard to ensure that the popular measure did not become a vehicle for amendments that would have endangered its path to enactment. The bill ultimately passed without controversial changes.

The bill was endorsed unanimously by members of the Capital Projects Advisory Review Board (CPARB), the body that advises the State on alternative public contracting issues. CPARB had been working on the legislation for months. Its Reauthorization Task Force gathered input and made recommendations on any changes. All of the changes included in ESHB 1466 were unanimously approved by CPARB.

Changes include:

Allows certified public bodies to use GCCM on any size project without going to CPARB’s Project Review Committee (PRC) for approval, and DB on no more than five projects between $2 million and $10 million during the certification period.
Changes the number of DB projects between $2 million and $10 million that the PRC may approve from 10 to 15 projects, and requires the PRC to report annually to CPARB on these projects and recommendations for further use.
Increases the maximum total dollar amount that may be awarded through JOCs in counties with a population of more than 1 million to $6 million.

Check out Projects in Capital Budget Proposals

Jerry — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 23:54:41 +0000

The Legislature is working on a new 2013-2015 State Capital Budget passed that will positively affect every segment of the construction industry. Current proposals include hundreds of projects like Edmonds’ fishing pier renovation, Yakima’s Toppenish family housing project, Enumclaw’s water system replacements and Kent’s SE 256h St. widening.

Currently there are competing House and Senate versions, but the total funding in each is not far apart: The House plan, coming in at $3.6 billion is about $130 million more than the Senate version.

To check out the list of projects that are being considered in the two plans, click House Capital Budget proposal and Senate Capital Budget proposal.

Public Works Trust Fund Under Attack in Olympia

Tonia — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:25:00 +0000

It’s crunch time in Olympia as the Legislature is taking action on many fronts that will impact funding for all types of construction. Today’s focus is the Public Works Trust Fund.

A proposal in the State Senate would PERMANENTLY redirect existing funding sources out of the PWTF — endangering dozens of infrastructure projects such as water, sewer, stormwater and some local roads and bridges.

The PWTF provides grants and low-interest loans to local governments for public works projects – many that could not otherwise be financed and built by small communities themselves. Dozens of proposed construction projects — such as the City of Port Orchard Marina Pump Station, City of Omak Sewer System Improvements, and the City of Washougal Stormwater Decant Facility — are in danger should the Legislature adopt a proposal that would gut the Public Works Trust Fund.

In addition to loan repayments—at interest rates ranging from 0.25 to 2 percent per year—the PWTF receives revenue from four state tax sources related to the types of infrastructure aided by the fund: 6.1 percent of the revenue from the real estate excise tax, 20 percent of the revenue from the water utility excise tax, 60 percent of sewerage collection tax revenues, and all the revenue from the state tax on solid waste service.

The State Senate’s budget plan would redirect all of the tax streams — except for two percent of the real estate excise tax — away from the public works trust fund and into other government accounts.

PWTF projects facilitate private economic growth and provide jobs for the hard-hit construction industry which, in turn, supports jobs in industries from material supply to food service and a variety of small businesses. Plus, many of the projects funded by the PWTF protect the environment and improve the quality of life in the state.

Urge your Senator NOT to redirect funding out of the Public Works Trust Fund!