RESCHEDULED from January 19, 2017. This seminar is designed to teach how to significantly increase your odds of surviving an active shooter or terrorist attack. Make sure your company has an action plan! Register today and click here for details.

January 23-26: OSHA 511: Occupational Safety and Health Standards for General Industry

January 30-February 1: OSHA 502: Update for Construction Industry Outreach Trainers

January 30-February 2: OSHA 2015: Hazardous Materials

February 1-3: OSHA 503: Update for General Industry Outreach Trainers

February 2-3: OSHA 10-Hour Safety Course For Entry Level Construction Workers

February 6-9: OSHA 510: Occupational Safety and Health

February 7-9: RM 601: Intermediate Accident Investigation and Photography

AGC Houston members are supporting this new network, which is an alliance of Houston construction companies, associations and related businesses. The Construction Safety Network meets monthly.

Make your plans to attend the 98th Annual AGC Convention, March 7-9, 2017 in Las Vegas, NV and seize your opportunity to cultivate new ideas and partners, see and hear about the latest in construction innovation, and leave with the tools to accelerate your business to the next level.

The AGC Texas Building Branch has laid out its agenda for the upcoming 85th Legislature convening January 10, 2017 with its top three priorities being revising state lien laws, addressing construction defect claims, and recovering attorney's fees for state breach of contract claims.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order that mandated use of project labor agreements on large-scale federal projects, but a coalition of several trade groups, including the Associated General Contractors of America, have asked President-elect Donald Trump to rescind the order. The groups estimate that the mandate would add 12-18 percent to construction costs.

See Nomination Form

On January 5, 2017, FMI Corporation announced the acquisition of Kiley Advisors LLC.

Chris Daum, FMI CEO, stated, "Kiley Advisors brings tremendous positive energy, a passion to serve the industry and an extensive industry relationship network to FMI. For the last 12+ years, the Kiley team has counseled Senior Executives on matters of Strategy and Leadership. They are universally held in the highest regard by their clients and industry partners. We are excited to have them join FMI."

Pat Kiley, co-founder of Kiley Advisors LLC, stated, "We were attracted to FMI because of their outstanding reputation, industry reach and the alignment we have with their core purpose (to build a great future for the engineering & construction industry and its leading organizations). We are very similar in our approaches of serving the industry with fact-based, data-driven insights and a deep understanding of industry context. FMI provides an incredible amount of support to construction trade associations and other industry groups – which impressed us as we have done the same at a local level. We also appreciate their client service guarantee and that they put their money where their mouth is and always do what’s in the best interest of their clients."

Construction employment increased in 211 metro areas between November 2015 and November 2016, the lowest number of metro areas to add jobs in four years, according to a new analysis of federal employment data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that contractors in many parts of the country continue to struggle with worker shortages and urged the incoming Trump administration to include workforce measures with its new infrastructure program.

The IHS PEG Engineering and Construction Cost Index of construction labor and material costs increased 2.6 points to 53.3 in December after two months of declining prices. Labor costs increased in the Northeast, Midwest and Southern regions but stayed the same in the West.

Congress is expected to focus on flood insurance reform in the spring, as the National Flood Insurance Program will expire Sept. 30. Some lawmakers support the development of a private flood insurance market as part of reform.

The American economy will grow 2.2% in 2017, according to economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics. Those surveyed also predicted a 4.7% unemployment rate and an increase of 2.3% for consumer prices. The improved number is still lackluster by historical standards. U.S. economic growth averaged 3.1 percent a year from 1948 to 2015, according to the Congressional Research Service. But the business economists say Americans need to get used to slow growth: 80 percent of those surveyed believe the potential growth rate of the American economy will remain at 2.5 percent or lower over the next five years

On January 26 from 10-11 a.m., AGC Houston member Divergys will present a seminar on Cyber Security specially designed for the construction industry. Learn what every construction company must have in place now to avoid cyber attacks, data breaches, lost productivity, as well as stolen intellectual property.

AGC Houston members are invited to join the Houston Revit Users group, which meets on the second Tuesday of the month. Revit and BIM application users range from beginner to expert skill levels. Since 2002, the Houston Area Revit Users Group (HARUG) has been the main resource in the area for Revit Users, AutoCAD Architecture (previously Architectural Desktop), AutoCAD and other BIM-related tools.

When: February 17th-19th
Where: FKP Houston Office - 3737 Buffalo Speedway, Suite 1200, Houston TX 77098
Website: https://reality-reboot.com

Deadline for application: Monday, January 23rd