Construction and Equipment Spotlight

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[Construction and Equipment Spotlight]
April 24, 1997

C O N T E N T S
Should you hire a construction manager? Your company, located in the beautiful Northwest, is growing by leaps and bounds and the CEO recently cut a deal absorbing a small specialty firm just 10 miles away. The staff level that is currently at 300 employees will increase to 375 with the acquisition. Now more than ever before, you need to be team building.
Holaday-Parks 'silent star' of theater renovation With the opening of a new home for A Contemporary Theatre (ACT), the project's architects and general contractors spent considerable time in the limelight but one of the project's biggest stars, Holaday-Parks Inc., played a silent role.
Stadium design: It ain't over 'til opening day Thanks to the exploits of the immortal Babe Ruth, Yankee Stadium came to be known as "the house that Ruth built." But Seattle's new ballpark will have to have a somewhat less mellifluous moniker: It's going to be the house that Kurt, Dennis and Ken -- and a thousand others -- will have built.
Structures are held up by both skill and luck All structures will be broken or destroyed in the end, just as all people will die in the end. It is the purpose of medicine and engineering to postpone these occurrences for a decent interval.
Why do some structures fall down? Here's a few of the main reasons strucures can prematurely fail.
Using cranes will speed up bridge project It is common to see fisher folk casting their lines out along the Green River. With a strong cast, one can get tangled on the opposite bank when spanning the river with line. That same principle is behind the placement of the new South 277th Street Pedestrian Bridge spanning the Green River in Kent.
Continuous Partnering, A Valuable Project Management Aid The partnering process helps project managers do the most challenging part of their job: developing and maintaining working relationships so everyone can do his job effectively and produce a successful project for all.
When Was Your Company's Last Physical? Owning your company is more than just a job for you. Implicit in all your efforts is the desire to convert the value of your company into cash for retirement, or at least that should be the case. But whether you plan to retire in the next few years or are new to your position as a business owner, creating value for the future means creating a formula for success today.
Big jobs - Private construction projects in Washington, 1997 "Cautious optimism" is usually about the most upbeat contractors get when giving their outlook for the upcoming construction season. But 1997 is no ordinary year. Hotels, stadiums, retail, health care, high tech, biotech, schools, apartments, warehouses -- everything but big-box retail -- seems to be booming. As one 20-year construction veteran said: "It's gone nuclear!"
More contractors finding that safety pays For years, managers at Bellingham's IMCO General Construction have been holding weekly safety meetings, handing out "Safety Team" jackets to accident-free workers and recognizing the safest workers on projects and at annual events. The heightened awareness has been encouraging, but until recently, IMCO Safety Manager Janie Ross-Johnson admits it's been hard to realize a specific return on safety investment.
Johnsen: project team is ready for the 'big game' Ken Johnsen, executive director of the Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District, could not be more upbeat about the prospects for a successful completion of the project.
Unresolved claims can be a nightmare The effects of an unresolved worker's compensation claim are enough to give even Steven King goosebumps.
Contractors cooperate to improve safety In the construction industry, companies and organizations alike put competition and differences aside when it comes to worker safety.
Out-of-town jobs big challenge for workers' families Project managers spend their time constructing buildings that will be in fixed locations but increasingly that means the project personnel will be moving.
Lofty ambitions: Seattle's highrise builders Every city skyline tells a story of this century, a century in which American dreams, power and urban buildings rose to greater and greater heights.
Video cameras join trucks, excavators on the job site The old saying goes that a picture is worth a thousand words. If that's the case, then what are 30 frames per second worth?
An engineering "tour-de-force" In the Rainier Tower offices of the engineering firm Skilling Ward Magnusson Barkshire, the walls are lined with photos of some of the city's most prominent structures: the Kingdome, Key Arena, Husky Stadium, One and Two Union Square. All of them rest upon the engineering expertise SWMB contributed to their construction. But soon they will be joined by a new trophy, and it will be perhaps the most striking of all: the new Seattle Mariners ballpark.
High tech comes to heavy equipment industry Technology may seem incompatible with the muscle associated with heavy equipment, but technological tools are used in many aspects of the industry that supplies digging, paving and building tools. But technology drives several facets of the heavy equipment industry, including manufacturing, machinery operations, sales and service.
Big presentation? Don't panic, prepare Your ability to present yourself well to an audience should be one of your most trusted assets. Of course, making presentations takes confidence, skill and practice, practice, practice.
Back-up power takes front-end planning Hospitals don't just go out and buy new emergency electrical back-up systems. There are a lot of considerations to weigh first.
Computers change the superintendent's job Gone are the days of the cigar-chewing construction superintendent, whose main job qualifications were orneriness, a booming voice and a three-day-old beard. As the construction industry becomes more sophisticated, superintendents have been forced to follow suit -- even wear a suit on occasion.
1997 DJC Construction Industry Survey SDL/McCarthy; Sellen Construction; Robert E. Bayley Construction Inc.; GLY Construction; S.G. Taylor Construction; Foushee & Associates; Sutor Group; Mortenson; Synergy Construction; Simmons Construction; E. Kent Halvorson; Merit Construction; Associated Sand & Gravel; The Rafn Company; DPR Construction; PCL; Rhine Equipment; Western Power & Equipment; N C Machinery; Absher Construction.
How to build a proposal package for your company

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