Get all the information you need electronically! The 2015 AGC Houston Resource & Membership Directory is available in digital format.

Please join us for our premier chapter business meeting of the year. We welcome back Ken Simonson, Chief Economist, AGC of America, and Jeff Robinson, PAS, Inc., a company that specializes in compensation research and consulting for the construction industry.

Do you know anyone who could use money for higher education? Hurry and apply today for the Patrick J. Kiley Excellence in Leadership Scholarships. Deadline is January 31, 2015. AGC Houston will award scholarships to deserving students majoring in a construction-related discipline or an employee or dependent of an AGC Houston member firm.

AGC Houston is accepting entries for TBB's Outstanding Construction Awards, which honor projects completed in 2014. Categories include commercial buildings, residential multi-family, residential single family, design build, healthcare, industrial/warehouse, interior finish-out, specialty construction and historical renovation.

4:30-6:00 p.m.

Register today for the 96th Annual AGC Convention on March 18-20, 2015, in San Juan, Puerto Rico. AGC Houston is proud that Chuck Greco, Chairman, Linbeck Group, LLC., will become President of AGC of America. This prestigious honor marks only the second time an AGC Houston Leader has led the organization to such a level since Warren S. Bellows in 1946. At the same time that Chuck will take his new position, Jerry Nevlud, President/CEO of AGC Houston will become Chairman of the Executive Leadership Council with the AGC of America’s organization of CEOs.

Completion of this course meets the requirements of OSHA Paragraph 1926.50, and participants will receive an American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid and CPR/AED wallet card valid for two years upon course completion.

For AEC professionals, the AGC Certificate in Management Building Information Modeling (CM-BIM) is an assessment-based certificate credential that denotes knowledge and understanding of concepts related to BIM adoption, practice and process transformation outlined in the AGC BIM Education Program.

BIM 101 is designed specifically for construction professionals eager to learn the essential concepts of BIM.

The AGC Houston Safety Committee is proud to welcome Susan Phillips, Tellepsen, as the new General Contractor Co-Chair. A 2005 winner of The Ray Lambright Excellence in Safety Award, Susan brings numerous years of experience to the group and a profound passion for promoting safety among the construction industry. She officially stepped into the new role on December 31, 2014, as Chris Roberts', Brookstone, LP, term ended. We thank you both for your commitment to protecting our workers and your dedication to the construction industry.

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.

This course covers the various types of common machinery, machine safeguards, and related OSHA regulations and procedures.

Course topics include practical soil mechanics and its relationship to the stability of shored and unshored slopes and walls of excavations, introduction of various types of shoring (wood timbers and hydraulic), soil classification, and use of protective systems.

This course will provide an overview of the risk management and insurance profession from the health and safety program perspective. Topics include recognition, avoidance, abatement and prevention of safety and health hazards found in the workplace.

This course is the update required every four years for all OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainers for General Industry. It provides timely information on OSHA General Industry standards, policies and regulations.

This Trainer Course is for employers to use in complying with the December 1, 2013, deadline to train their employees on the Globally Harmonized System for Hazard Communication (known as GHS).

Please consider the following members for your business needs:

Benefit from financial strength and a superior loss-control program. It is managed by a board composed of CompGroup AGC members—general contractors and subcontractors from all parts of Texas are represented. It is a TDI-approved Workers' Compensation Purchasing Group. Learn more about membership benefits in the CompGroup AGC, Inc. today or click here for more information! Contact your insurance agent or call Program Administrator Roberts & Crow at 800-406-9614 — ask for Julie Schatz.

The AGC Alternative is a private insurance exchange that operates like an online store, making it easy for your employees to shop for health insurance and other benefits on their own or through the help of our dedicated employee hotline.

Did you know one of the many benefits of being an AGC Member is access to our résumé service?  As a service to our members, we compile résumés of job-seeking professionals in the construction industry. To access this service, simply log in to the Members' Only section at agchouston.org to view the most current list.

AGC Houston and other AGC Texas chapters have joined forces to help promote careers in the commercial construction industry by launching Texasconstructioncareers.com. More than just a website that allows employers to post jobs and job seekers their résumés, the site offers a plethora of information on craft training and professional education resources and job fairs throughout Texas. Click here for more information.

Contact Catherine Bezman or Jaclyn Lee with your information and photos.

On Wednesday, December 17, 2014, the Leadership AGC class had the opportunity to tour one of the busiest ports in the world at the Port of Houston. The group ventured on a 90-minute tour through the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel that highlighted the history behind the port and showcased some of the cargo ships, container ships and dredges that can be seen making the trip through the channel each day. In addition to enjoying a trip through the Ship Channel, Leadership AGC had the opportunity to hear from several members of the Port of Houston Authority to learn more about the port's day to day operations

In summer 2013, Houston-based Zachry-Odebrecht Parkway Builders broke ground on a 38-mile segment of State Highway 99, from U.S. Highway 290 to U.S. 59 north. The $1.1 billion Texas Department of Transportation project has fueled job creation as well as new homes, offices, mixed-used projects, hospitals and other development in previously inaccessible land across northwest . Industry experts and observers have called the Grand Parkway a "gamechanger" for Houston real estate.

It's predicted that the construction industry has the most to gain in the near term from the aerial data-collection abilities that drones can provide. By piping the data directly to the cloud in real time, drones allow engineers to collaborate remotely on planning and execution. Analytics tools help them monitor supply stockpiles, better deploy materials and manpower, and regularly track site progress. On major projects, that can shave off weeks (and millions of dollars).

Although the Texas Workforce Commission only has figures through November, it announced on December 19 that the state has added 441,200 positions in 2014 — that's about a third of all jobs added in the U.S. Texas, North Dakota and Utah are being hailed as the fastest-growing job markets this year, with each posting employment gains of more than 3 percent.

Houston's economic outlook is again firmly in the hands of the oil industry, and this brings good and bad news. The 2015 forecast shows continued job growth in Houston, but only with substantial help from both chemical construction and a healthy U.S. economy. In east Houston, a major construction boom is underway based on cheap natural gas. Although a wide variety of projects are underway, with some responding to new infrastructure and energy processing needs from the shale boom, the focal point of the expansion is petrochemicals.

The city of Houston's Downtown Living Initiative has sparked downtown redevelopment. The initiative offers $15,000 per unit in tax breaks to developers building multifamily projects downtown. The city wants to increase the number of downtown residential units from more than 2,600 currently to about 10,000 over the next couple of years. At least 14 projects are on tap to revive the central business district. Five projects are under construction and at least nine more are planned, according to Central Houston.

Houston's construction industry is expected to grow almost 2.5 percent in the next five years, according to an industry observer. With education and healthcare leading the way in construction, 2015 is looking bright.  Voters in the Katy, Fort Bend and Lamar independent school districts passed school bond initiatives last month, ushering in more than $1 billion in new school construction in the coming years.  President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act has changed the medical landscape, focusing on a "hub and spoke" healthcare delivery system. This new focus has shifted the medical construction sector from traditional $300 million hospitals to community clinics.

The of Houston Technology Alumni Association will be holding a clay shoot competition on Saturday, January 10, 2015, at the American Shooting Centers. To learn more about sponsorship and to register for the event,  click here.