An Executive Digest of the Industry

Growing Green in Las Vegas

ProTech — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:17:00 GMT

Local Businesses Pursue Green-Related Cost-Savings Measure

BILL HUGHES | LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS
MGM Resorts International's LEED-certified complex sets the bar for green building.

by Tony Illia, Las Vegas Business Press, 07.26.2010

Green, the catchall ecoconscious term, increasingly means greenbacks for businesses. Companies are eagerly climbing aboard the sustainablity bandwagon, as record unemployment, sluggish job growth and frozen credit markets sap business. Yet, hope remains high for a green economy based on environmental lifestyle products and practices that focus on reducing waste and conserving natural resources. Green building is already a mainstream part of architectural design and construction.

"The green building market has basically tripled for the last two years, which is a good sign that it's flourishing," said Rick Van Diepen, 2010 president of the Nevada chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. "Developers and owners are seeing the value in green building as a competitive differentiator. The bottom-line decisions are becoming paramount in terms of lowering operating costs."

U.S. buildings generate 39 percent of carbon-dioxide emissions, consume 40 percent of energy, and use 13 percent of all water each year, the council reports. Innovation and improved efficiency can dramatically improve energy consumption and conservation. Green buildings, on average, use 40 percent less water and 30 percent less energy, the council said; they also reduce carbon emissions and solid waste by 35 percent and 70 percent, respectively. It's a bottom-line cost savings that is rapidly attracting acolytes.

"The recession affects the pace of private development," Newland Communities Senior Vice President Rita Brandin said. "But it has been demonstrated that in a competitive market that tenants look for best performance of buildings. High-performance energy-efficient buildings tend to maintain higher occupancy levels and rents than other properties, as a result."

Recession-racked property owners looking to lower overhead and gain a competitive edge are turning to green retrofits of existing buildings to reduce energy bills. Green building retrofits are expected to increase by as much as 30 percent by 2014, reaching $15 billion in annual construction spending, McGraw-Hill Construction reports.

"Green growth is phenomenal across the globe," McGraw-Hill Construction Vice President Harvey Bernstein said. "The expansion of green products and services will have a long-term impact on our future economy and ability to build green." ...........read more

Construction Industry Video News

ProTech — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:00:00 GMT

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Philadelphia Area Construction Firms Build Up for Busier Days

ProTech — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:08:00 GMT

by Diane Mastrull, Philadelphia Inquirer, 07.25.2010

They are miles apart on the career spectrum, the 23-year-old recent graduate from Philadelphia University and the 59-year-old executive.

But Jennifer Pilgrim and David Strange share top billing in the get-ready-to-rumble story of a national construction company with ambitions of being a dominant player here once building regains its nerve.

Pilgrim and Strange are recent hires at Skanska USA Building Inc., of Blue Bell, where the payroll has grown an industry-rare 10 percent (12 people) since January, despite a punishingly long construction drought.

Sound like a company with a serious reality disconnect? Hardly. Construction firms around the Philadelphia region say they are rebuilding, regrouping, and retraining now for busier days in the future.

Skanska, for example, insists the currently miserable construction stew of stalled projects, sidelined backhoe loaders, and laid-off engineers, estimators, and project supervisors, offers opportunity.

The company, which entered the Philadelphia market via the 2000 acquisition of Barclay White Inc., also opened a satellite office in Wilmington last month, staffed with a single employee.

"It's a good market to get good people now," said Ed Szwarc, Skanska's Philadelphia-area general manager and executive vice president.

Vouching for that is Daniel J. Keating III, president and chief executive officer of Keating Building Corp. A year ago, Keating hired John K. Ball away from the company Ball's maternal grandfather, Ray Shoemaker, established 66 years ago: Shoemaker Construction Co. in West Conshohocken.

Ball had been president of Shoemaker. He is now senior vice president of operations at Keating.

"I felt he would be able to lead us in areas we haven't pursued, or haven't pursued very well," Keating said last week of the hiring decision, made during a period when his company shed a half-dozen employees and was acquired by Perini Corp., of Framingham, Mass.

Hiring requires money, something construction companies are not exactly flush with these days. Layoffs have been more the norm.

There have been 15 at Shoemaker in the last two years. (Ball was not a layoff; his departure, made "on the very best of terms," was his decision, his brother said.)

Shoemaker is using this retrenchment period to further train its remaining workforce of 35, said Roger Ball, who succeeded John Ball as president.............read more

121-Story Shanghai Tower - China’s First Superskyscraper

ProTech — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:12:00 GMT

Designers of the 121-story Shanghai Tower, with its record-tall composite steel-and-concrete structure, are helping craft China’s first superskyscraper building code.

by Nadine M. Post, ENR, 07.21.2010

Photo: Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co. Ltd.

If finished in 2014 as planned, the 121-story Shanghai Tower will be China’s tallest building.

During a nine-course meal at a Chinese restaurant in New York City on July 10, Wang Da Sui, design master of China and part of a panel of experts approving the structural scheme for the 632-meter-tall Shanghai Tower, confirmed that the innovative architecture of the twisted and tapering skyscraper—sheathed in sheer glass like a Baccarat crystal—is a guinea pig for crafting China’s first supertall-building code. The code, for structures 300 m and taller with “serious irregularity,” requires performance-based design and extra-stiff frames and puts strict limits on building acceleration. Wang, who also heads the code committee, said the code will be published in about a year “or later.”

Sitting to Wang’s left at the restaurant Jade was the dinner’s host, Dennis C.K. Poon, managing principal for the tower’s structural designer, New York City-based Thornton Tomasetti (TT). Shanghai Tower, on deck to become China’s tallest building, the world’s second-tallest building and the world’s tallest composite structure, “already incorporates some of the spirit of the new code,” said Poon.

Wang, chief engineer with East China Architectural Design & Research Institute Co. Ltd., was in New York City as part of a delegation of six from China. The group also included representatives of the skyscraper’s quasi-governmental owner-developer, the Shanghai Tower Construction & Development Co. Ltd., and the local designer of record, the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Tongji University (Group) Co. Ltd.

The men had flown in the day before from Newfoundland, Canada, where they took part in motion simulations, conducted by project wind engineer RWDI, at the Centre for Marine Simulation on St. John’s. The simulations confirmed the expert panel’s recommendation for a tuned mass damper to increase occupant comfort. “It will be the largest TMD in the world,” said Ge Qing, design director for the owner.

At Jade, between the jellyfish and the lobster, the discussion turned to structural challenges inherent in engineering something never attempted: a record-height steel-and-concrete frame in a seismic zone, founded on “very poor” soft soil and sheathed in a thin glass skin. All agreed the tower’s scale makes the usual issues of differential movement loom larger.

“We had to predict the behavior” of the composite supercolumns, as the concrete shrinks and creeps initially and over time, “without having a large body of knowledge” in the profession and academia on composite structures, said I. Paul Lew, a senior vice president with TT, which is No. 153 on ENR’s Top International Design Firms list. “We will have to monitor the building to see if our assumptions bear out,” he added.

.........read more

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Construction Stimulus Drives New Projects

ProTech — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:47:00 GMT

by John Upton, sfexaminer.com, 07.22.2010

SAN FRANCISCO — An uptick in building-permit applications filed this month suggests that a 3-week-old local construction stimulus program is working, The City’s top building official said.

A sharp slowdown in construction activity followed the late-2008 credit crisis, leaving scores of San Francisco’s blue-collar workers unemployed and creating a growing shortage of new condos. Developers and builders have long complained that fees charged by The City on building projects, which help fund neighborhood improvements to offset project impacts, create barriers to construction and are difficult to finance.

Creating jobs: Since The City started deferring development impact fees July 1, there have been 30 applications to build homes or do other construction work. (Examiner file photo)

A law championed by Mayor Gavin Newsom’s chief development adviser, Michael Yarne, that took effect July 1 allows payments of many of the fees to be deferred.

On Wednesday, Department of Building Inspection Director Vivian Day told building commissioners that the program appears to be meeting its goal of stimulating construction.

“It is working, albeit very slowly,” Day said. “It is having an impact on the amount of projects that are being submitted for plan checks.”

Since July 1, 30 applications to build new homes or conduct other construction work requiring payment of impact fees have been filed, Day told building commissioners. None are related to high-rise buildings.

Builders do not need to immediately apply for the fee deferral in order to qualify, but Day said she expects fees on many of the 30 projects to be deferred to some extent.........read more

Nonresidential Construction Backlog Rising

ProTech — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:07:00 GMT

by Nick Bjork, DJC Oregon, 07.20.2010

Nonresidential construction work is starting to pick up in the Portland area and across the nation.

The Construction Backlog Indicator, a forward-looking indicator that measures the amount of nonresidential construction work under contract to be completed, is up 27 percent since January, according to new data from Associated Builders and Contractors. The CBI now points to an average seven-month supply of backlogged projects nationwide.

John Killin, president of the ABC Pacific Northwest Chapter, said it’s an uptick, not a massive change. But in all, it’s a positive sign, he said.

In the western U.S., increases in the backlog trail the national increases. The backlog increased 7.8 percent in the 13 western states over the past year. In all the U.S., the Northeast saw the highest increase, 40 percent over the past year.

Killin added that the backlog could be a result of larger projects, not necessarily more projects. But of the local contractors he’s spoken with, the data seems to ring true in the region.

The CBI is complied through monthly surveys sent out to ABC members across the country, using the 2007 revenues from each firm as the baseline for the indicator.

Las Vegas New Home Sales Up 27% in First Half of 2010

ProTech — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:16:00 GMT

By Hubble Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 07.20.2010

July 20--New-home sales in Las Vegas spiked to 972 in June, driven by 79 high-rise condominium sales and a rush to beat the June 30 escrow closing deadline for the homebuyer tax credit, which Congress extended at the eleventh hour.

June sales more than doubled the 476 figure from the same month a year ago, and the 2010 first-half total of 2,995 new-home sales is up 27 percent from a year ago, Home Builders Research reported Monday.

The firm counted 4,298 existing-home sales during the month, compared with 4,536 resales in June 2009. For the year, existing-home sales have increased 7.5 percent to 21,773.

While June's numbers are encouraging, Home Builders Research President Dennis Smith said he wouldn't be surprised if July figures drop to where they were earlier in the year.

"This will be the result of the market supporting itself without the aid of the tax credit," Smith said. "Look at what we've got, 900 (new-home) closings in June. That's double from past months, but I think most builders are realistic to the fact that the tax credit was a short-term fix."

There were 402 new-home building permits pulled in June, up from 368 a year ago. The six-month total of 2,862 permits represents an 82 percent increase from the year-ago period.

The median price of a new home declined for the third consecutive month to $186,957 in June, a 9.1 percent decrease from a year ago. Looking at price segments, Smith found that 63 percent of traditional new-home sales -- excluding high-rises -- were priced at less than $200,000; 28 percent were priced from $200,000 to $300,000; and 8 percent were priced above $300,000.

Resale median price rose $1,000 from a year ago to $126,000 in June. It's the first year-over-year increase in existing-home prices since first quarter 2007, but that's not to suggest the resale market is out of the woods yet, Smith said.

The long path to housing market recovery in Las Vegas is impeded by high foreclosure rates, short sales that take months for lender approval, record unemployment, tight lending policies and underwater mortgages, he said........read more

Small Businesses Embrace Cloud Services to Grow Their Business

ProTech — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 18:08:00 GMT

bY ELIZABETH WHITE, Cloud computing journal, 07.15.2010

Cloud enablement provider, Parallels on Tuesday, responded to the demands of small businesses by adding seven Cloud services to the Application Packaging Standard (APS) catalog.

Parallels estimates that the small business need for Cloud services will grow to nearly $19 billion by 2013 and service providers must develop a full service offering to meet this considerable opportunity and “Profit from the Cloud”. With the recent incorporation of licensing capabilities in the APS 1.2 specification, service providers can now quickly and easily license, manage and offer applications that small businesses need and demand.

The latest applications allow small businesses to access essential tools like video conferencing, VoIP, client management, project management, mobile Website configuration, Webmail and shopping cart.

“Parallels enables over 5,000 Service Providers to deliver cloud services to more than 10 million small businesses in 125 countries,” said Nick Lallas, Vice President of Cloud Services at Parallels. “We are committed to providing our Service Providers with the latest software-as-a-service solutions to help them differentiate their offerings, increase average revenue per user, and increase customer retention. We are extremely pleased these new solutions are available to our Partners to deliver a full range of profitable Cloud services.”

The complexity of IT can easily become an expensive and time-consuming distraction for small businesses. Acquiring applications and services through the Cloud removes both the significant initial expense of in-house IT operations, and simplifies decision-making as small businesses can get a range of services from a single provider they are already working with.........read more

Sink or Swim for Midtown Waterfront - New York

ProTech — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:58:00 GMT

by Alex Ulam, The Architect's Newspaper, 07.15.2010

Plans for missing section of East River Esplanade are running out of time to be realized

THE NEW PARK WOULD BE ALONG THE FDR, NEXT TO SHELDON SOLOW'S STALLED CONSTRUCTION SITE. COURTESY MAS

Midtown East is home to the United Nations and to some of the ritziest real estate in Manhattan. But by some measures, it is also one of the borough’s most unattractive locations. The neighborhood district can claim the least amount of public open space in Manhattan, and is cut off from its waterfront by ramp spaghetti from the FDR Drive.

East Side elected officials and community leaders have been brainstorming for years over how to close a 24-block gap here in a potential East River Esplanade stretching from the Battery to Harlem. In 2007, the Municipal Art Society convened a charrette in which stakeholders and design professionals hammered out a bold vision for a new deck over the FDR Drive that connected via a slope to a new waterfront esplanade.

But now, what has been touted as a once-in-a-lifetime planning opportunity could be in danger of expiring. The immediate threat to any plan for closing the gap in the esplanade is the potential removal of a row of caissons in the East River.

The caissons served as supports for a temporary roadway that the New York State Department of Transportation built while they were working on the FDR Drive several years ago. Planners say the caissons potentially could be repurposed to serve as supports for a section of the waterfront esplanade that would stretch from about East 53rd Street to about East 62nd Street. Reusing the caissons could save $20 million to $25 million toward the cost of building this section. However, citing environmental concerns, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which has oversight of the caissons, wants the city to either move forward on a plan for the East River Esplanade or remove them.

“The reality is that if some sort of agreement isn’t reached that would generate building part of the promenade over the existing caissons, it certainly would be a loss,” said Sarra Hale-Stern, district office director for New York State Senator Liz Krueger, who has been working with the city’s Economic Development Corporation to develop a proposal for the waterfront park. According to Hale-Stern, not only would the city lose the opportunity to save millions of dollars toward the cost of building the esplanade, there is also the possibility that DEC would not even allow installation of new supports.

The DEC has extended a March deadline for removing the caissons, but officials say these structures may require significant work to prevent them from eroding. “DEC has not yet set a ‘drop dead’ date, in order to allow for the possibility of the city using the caissons as part of its East River Esplanade design,” said Lori Severino, a DEC spokeswoman, adding that the city needed to show progress toward a design if the caissons were to remain.

The caissons are just one of the many hurdles to closing the gap in the esplanade. Financing the missing link could cost up to $200 million in a complex real estate deal that would radically reshape the Midtown East neighborhood.

But to make that plan work, two city-owned office buildings currently occupied by the UN would have to be sold. A popular playground that shares a full block site with a ventilating tower for the Queens Midtown Tunnel would also have to be demolished to make way for a new UN building.

“This conversation has been going on for ten years,” said New York City council-member Daniel Garodnick. “The question is whether you could come to a preliminary agreement that would allow the process to move forward at all.”

Public Projects Breath Life Into Construction in 2010

ProTech — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:43:00 GMT

by Jazial Crossley, National Business Reciew, 07.19.2010

The construction industry can look forward to a more active second half of the year, but 2011 is looking “grim” according to research company Pacifecon.

Its latest report on the construction industry during June said that after a boost in state-funded projects, in the short-term it was looking more positive.

“Despite the widespread comment during the past month on the dearth of forthcoming new building and construction activity due to the fall in the number of new developments entering the pre-construction planning pipeline, the short-term scenario during the remainder of this year is not as grim as 2011 will be if confidence fails to return to the private sector in the absence of further government pump priming,” Pacifecon’s report said.

There were 16 new major projects announced in June, half of which were government funded. Of the 49 projects in or soon-to-be-in the process of tendering, only one-fifth and privately funded.

These include Transpower’s $100-300 million Pakuranga to Penrose cable, NZ Transport Agency’s $21.7 million Atiamuri Bridge near Taupo, the $25 million Homebush Wastewater Treatment Plant at Masterton and a $45.5 million start on upgrading Duendin City Council’s Municipal Chambers conference centre.

Server Based Construction Software - Like Running an Old Tractor

ProTech — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:40:00 GMT

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Jeff Brook, ProTech Co-Founder, discussed how web based construction project management (Procore) has made server based systems (ie: Prolog, Timberline and Expedition ) into "Old Tractor Systems". If you are still using these old software systems to manage your construction projects, then your construction management system is outdated.

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Montana Contractors Feel Stimulus Funds Slowing Down

ProTech — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:14:00 GMT

by Marnee Banks (KXLH-Helena), 07.19.2010

More than $300-million dollars in federal funds has poured into Montana since the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed. But those funds are now running out, which could have a big impact on the construction industry.
The Montana Contractors Association estimates that its members have 90% of the stimulus work across the state, and that work is running out and construction unemployment is sitting at 22%.

Cary Hegreberg, executive director of the association, noted, "It's been a God-send to our industry to have these federal funds pouring into Montana."

Hegreberg continued, "These stimulus funds really have been buoying the market. We are concerned, we are fearful about what is going to happen to our industry when the federal funds run out, because we are not seeing private investment step up and filling that gap."

Helena Sand and Gravel had about $5-million dollars in stimulus projects last year, and now those projects are gone and work is declining.

Scott Olsen, vice-president of the company, said, "The work that is out there, we are seeing a lot more bidders, a lot more contractors that are looking for that work. We are all after the same amount of work and so it's definitely tougher to pick those projects up."

Typically, Helena Sand and Gravel has jobs lined up eight months in advance; currently its backlog is only four months. They also are now competing with out-of-town and out-of-state business for local work..........read more

Skanska USA Named "Contractor of the Year" by New York Construction

ProTech — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:56:00 GMT

“Sleeping Giant”

By Jack Buehrer, New York Construction

It might be hard to believe, but there was a time when Skanska considered itself something of an unknown in the U.S. construction market.

“We were always kind of a giant that no one ever knew much about,” says Richard Cavallaro, president of Skanska USA Civil, one of the Swedish construction giant’s four business units in North America. “People would ask us, ‘Where do you work?’ and when you’d say Skanska, they’d say, ‘Who?’ ”

For a while, it made sense. Once the firm entered the U.S. market in 1971, it began acquiring firms both small and large throughout the region and continued operating them under different names. By the time they were all brought under the Skanska brand in the 1990s they had four unique business units – Skanska USA Building, Skanska USA Civil, Skanska Commercial Development and Skanska Infrastructure Development – and a growing reputation.

Now they’ve become impossible to miss.

If you do a quick rundown of the New York region’s biggest construction projects, chances are, Skanska’s logo is on the site somewhere.

New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford? Check.

2nd Avenue Subway and 7 Line Subway extension in Manhattan? Check.

The $500 million Brooklyn Bridge Rehabilitation? Check

United Nations renovation? Check

In 2009 Skanska USA’s Northeast operations did nearly $2.4 billion worth of business in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, more than any other contractor in the region. There are only a handful of billion-dollar jobs left in the New York region and, within the last year, Skanska has completed, started work or been awarded large contracts on 10 of them. For their dominant year, which occurred in the most challenging economic environment the industry has experienced in nearly 20 years, Skanska has been named New York Construction magazine’s Contractor of the Year...........read more

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Trench Collapse - Builder Lacked Permit

ProTech — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:13:00 GMT

Will Kane, Chronicle Staff Writer,The San Francisco Chronicle, 07.15.2010

The Sea Cliff construction site where a worker was trapped in a collapsed ditch for four hours did not have the proper building permits, San Francisco officials said Wednesday.

The Building Inspection Department ordered construction suspended at the home at 38 W. Clay St. after part of a deck collapsed just before 1 p.m. Tuesday, pitching the worker into a trench of sandy soil that then collapsed and buried him up to his neck.

Twenty-five firefighters spent four hours digging out the man, who officials said is in his 30s. He was treated at San Francisco General Hospital and was released Tuesday evening. His name was not released.

Inspectors halted construction after determining that a building permit issued in March to Brian Mac Namara Construction of San Francisco did not include approval for a trench, said Bill Strawn, spokesman for the Building Inspection Department. The company also will have to pay a fine of about $1,000.

Company representatives did not return calls seeking comment.

City records show that the company planned to complete $500,000 worth of renovations to the home, including installing a deck above the garage and building a retaining wall in the backyard.

Cal/OSHA also is investigating the accident.

Empire State Building Going Green. Really?

ProTech — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:07:00 GMT

by Rick Hampson, USA Today, 07.13.2010

NEW YORK — You want to ask him: How many do you break?

That's because Anthony Concepcion does windows — lots of windows.

He's working at the Empire State Building. As part of an effort to become certifiably green, the office tower is removing, retrofitting and replacing each of its 6,514 double-hung, dual-pane windows. That's 26,056 panes of glass.

PHOTOS:
Empire State Building goes green

"It's a lot of glass," says Concepcion, 39, work crew supervisor for the contractor, Serious Materials of Sunnyvale, Calif. "It's all part of going green."

The building, for four decades the world's tallest and still the tallest in New York, is spending $13 million on windows, insulation and other upgrades to cut energy use by 38% and save about $4.4 million a year.

Never has a structure so old and so tall gone so green. "It's the most recognizable building energy retrofit in the world," says Arah Schuur, director of a conservation program at former president Bill Clinton's foundation

If you can retrofit the Empire State Building, you can retrofit anything, says Kevin Surace, president of Serious Materials.

The building has earned a score of 90 (out of 100) from the Environmental Protection Agency's "Energy Star" program. That means a building constructed at a size (102 stories), a time (1930) and a pace (about 14 months) not known for energy efficiency now ranks in the top 10th of commercial office buildings.

Tony Malkin heads the company that runs the tower. He says the goal, in addition to cutting costs and making the building more attractive to green-minded tenants, is to give other office building owners a model.

The Clinton Climate Initiative, created by the former president's foundation, says buildings can account for three-quarters of greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas. But, Malkin says, "we're not talking about 'doing the right thing.' … Extra energy efficiency makes you money."

The Empire State Building project has aroused interest among other high-rise owners, Schuur says, "but nothing far enough along to mention." Malkin says projects like his soon will be announced.............read more

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World's 10 Largest (and Most Amazing) Construction Projects

ProTech — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 16:56:00 GMT

By Scott Lewis, with James Blum, Architectural Record, 07.09.2010

Photo courtesy of Tourism Development & Investment Co.

Saadiyat Island Entertainment and Leisure Destination

1. South Valley Development
Egypt
$90 billion

2. Jubail II
Saudi Arabia
$80 billion

3. Dubailand
Dubai
$64 billion

4. International Space Station
Space
$60 billion

5. South-to-North Water Transfer Project
China
$58 billion

6. Yas Island
Abu Dhabi
$39 billion

7. Songdo International Business District
South Korea
$35 billion

8. Sellafield Nuclear Site
England
$30 billion

9. Saadiyat Island
Abu Dhabi
$27 billion

10. Great Man-Made River Project
Libya
$27 billion

Photo courtesy of Wikapedia

Dubailand will be three times the size of Disneyland and contain the world's largest man-made harbor.

Click on the slide show icon to see additional photos.

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Lybia and the great man-made river project along with Saadiyat Island are awesome construction projects. The largest construction projects in the world include Yas Island in Adu Dahbi Construction and Songdo International Business District in South Korea Construction. These need Procore web based construction software by protech and construction cloudware. The international Space Station and Sellafield Nuclear Site in England Construction are massave construction projects and very expensive construction projects. China construction has large construction projects, along with Jubail II in Saudi Arabia Construction and South Valley Development in Egypt Construction the biggest construction project in the world, Dubailand by Dubai Construction. Project Technology Solutions and the world's largest man-made harbor.

Parody on Energy Independence by Jon Stewart

ProTech — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:40:00 GMT

Whether you are a fan of Jon Stewart or not, this is a hilarious and politically balanced parody on America's efforts towards energy independence. Though not directly related to the construction industry, we aim to share thought provoking material when found. Enjoy.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

An Energy-Independent Future

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show Full Episodes

Political Humor

Tea Party

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Construction industry, expedition with construction management software and procore. construction software from ProTech is procore dealer for cloudware and Web based project management. Construction project software. Primavera is not construction cloudware which is replacing server systems from prolog and timberline. Energy independence parody from Jon Stewart about oil dependence from eight presidents promises, funny jon stewart.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Announces $293 million for New Transit Solutions, Economic Development

ProTech — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 18:22:00 GMT

Source: ForConstructionPros.com, Federal Transit Administration, 07.08.2010

A $293 million investment announced today by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood means that residents in dozens of communities nationwide will soon enjoy major transit improvements, including new streetcars, buses, and transit facilities.

The nearly $300 million investment is part of the Obama Administration's livability initiative to better coordinate transportation, housing and commercial development investments to serve the people living in those communities. It is being made through two competitive grant programs, the Urban Circulator Grant Program and the Bus and Bus Livability Grant Program.

"This investment by the Obama Administration in our nation's communities will create jobs, boost economic development and recovery, and further reduce our dependence on oil," Secretary LaHood said. "Our goals are to provide cleaner, safer, and more efficient ways to get around."

Secretary LaHood, along with Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff, announced the winners of the two competitive grant programs during a press conference call in Washington. Six new streetcar and bus rapid transit projects will be funded with $130 million from the Federal Transit Administration's Urban Circulator Program, and 47 additional projects aimed at upgrading bus services and facilities are slated to receive more than $163 million from the FTA's Bus and Bus Livability Program.

"Streetcars are making a comeback because cities across America are recognizing that they can restore economic development downtown - giving citizens the choice to move between home, shopping and entertainment without ever looking for a parking space," said FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff. "These streetcar and bus livability projects will not only create construction jobs now, they will aid our recovery by creating communities with the potential to be more prosperous and less congested." ............read more

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Debate: Does the world need nuclear energy?

ProTech — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:12:00 GMT

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Construction Trailer Achieves LEED Certification

ProTech — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:52:00 GMT

Unique Green Jobsite Trailer Features Recycled Materials and Energy Efficiency Systems

SAN DIEGO, July 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Reno Contracting, announced another first today with the LEED® certification of a Job Site Construction Trailer. This is the first and only structure of its kind to achieve such a rating. The trailer serves as the operations offices for the Reno on-site team, and is presently located on a jobsite in Anaheim.

The trailer has achieved certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED for New Construction Version 2.2. LEED is the nation's preeminent program for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Reno achieved LEED certification for the trailer by following specific green design criteria and construction methods that positively impact the project itself and the broader community.

"We had planned on building a 'green' construction trailer for a while, as a logical extension of our growing portfolio of LEED certified and other energy efficient projects," explained Reno President Walt Fegley. "Together with the design teams of mechanical engineering firm Xnth, Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects, and our subcontractors and vendors, we went to work to make it happen."

LEED certification can be earned by a building that demonstrates it consumes less power and water, provides a healthier indoor environment, and produces less waste by lower consumption and recycling. Never before has a jobsite construction trailer received such a rating.

"Since the inception of LEED, it has always been important that the rating systems remain flexible and inclusive to varying types of buildings and facilities, knowing that reducing energy, water and natural resource consumption anywhere is going to contribute positively to the larger goal," said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chair, USGBC. "Reno has demonstrated environmental leadership in a new forum."

Material Reuse and Green Construction Materials

The frame and exterior walls of the Reno trailer were salvaged from an old trailer and reused as part of the new one. This kept the project from requiring new steel and wood framing. Likewise, many of the building products used in the trailer contain recycled or reclaimed materials. For example, carpet tiles were made from recycled rubber tires. Wall and ceiling insulation was composed of cotton from shredded denim jeans. Wall paneling was made from recycled HDPE piping products, and countertops were fabricated with crushed recycled glass..............read more