September 2-3, 2015

October 7-9, 2015

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Free and open to all AGC Houston members

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has announced the launch of its annual Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers. For the fourth consecutive year, OSHA's campaign aims to raise awareness and educate workers and employers about the dangers of working in hot weather and provide resources and guidance to address these hazards. Workers at particular risk are those in outdoor industries, such as agriculture, construction, landscaping and transportation.

Workers exposed to extreme heat or who work in hot environments may be at risk of heat stress. Read more and access helpful information from the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention.

This course covers the OSHA standards, policies and procedures in general industry. Topics include scope and application of the OSHA General Industry Standards, general industry principles and special emphasis on those areas in general industry that are most hazardous.

This course covers the OSHA Excavation Standards and safety and health aspects of excavation and trenching.

The AGC Alternative can help your company build a better benefits package—one that benefits you and your employees. Take control of rising health care costs with a defined contribution strategy and give employees more choice and flexibility. To learn more or request a quote, visit www.agc.org/exchange or call 1-800-210-5290.

"It is encouraging to see construction employment rising again, but the industry could hire many more workers if they were available," said Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America's  chief economist. Construction employment totaled 6,383,000 in July, the most since February 2009, but the total rose by only 6,000 in July and by an average of only 7,200 per month over the past five months, Simonson noted.

The July issue of Texas Constructor featured a double-page spread about AGC Houston's involvement in the Safety Stand-Down, highlighting several member companies that included Anslow Bryant Construction, Inc.; TAS Commercial Concrete Construction; MSA Safety; Compliance Safety Consulting; HP Safety Consulting; Lonquist Risk Management Services; W.S. Bellows Construction Corp.; SpawGlass Construction Corp.; and AGC Houston's Safety Director Kim Mason.

Plan to join your peers at AGC's 2015 Contractors Environmental Conference on September 2-3 in Arlington, Virginia, to explore ways to turn environmental responsibilities into successes for you and your firm.

iSqFt and CMD Group announced the companies have merged. CMD is one of the leading providers of construction information in North America.  iSqFt provides the commercial construction industry a leading software-as-a-service solution in addition to bid information both powered by a vast network of construction professionals across the United States. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed

Texas Children’s Hospital and Tellepsen Builders celebrated the topping out of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands with members of the community on Friday, August 14. To commemorate this exciting construction milestone, a Promise Campaign Tree filled with meaningful commitments from Texas Children’s employees to current and future patients of the hospital was hoisted. Following a week-long display on the rooftop, the tree will be planted in front of Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands in order to continue to grow with the hospital. Slated to open in 2017, the 548,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is being designed specifically to serve children and will be the only dedicated pediatric hospital in north Houston. 

It is with great sadness that AGC Houston learned of the passing of Norman McLeod on August 15 in Houston. McLeod began his career in the commercial construction industry when he joined W.S. Bellows Construction Corp. in 1956 as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He continued after retirement as an advisor to the Board of Directors. Active in the Associated General Contractors Association at all levels—national (Tax and Fiscal Affairs Committee), state (Chairman Insurance Committee) and local (Trustee Laborers Health & Welfare Fund, Training Fund, Teamsters Health, Welfare and Pension Fund). McLeod attended Texas Christian University of Ft. Worth, Texas, and graduated from Tulane University, New Orleans, in 1949 with a BBA. He was a certified public accountant in Louisiana and Texas.

OSHA has proposed a rule that would require employers to "make and maintain an accurate record of an injury or illness" with no regard to the established six-month statute of limitations for enforcement. The proposed rule would require employers to keep "records for the year in which the injury or illness occurred" and notes that the duty "does not expire if the employer fails to create the necessary records when first required to do so."

The Sam Houston State University, Department of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering Technology, Engineering Technology Program will have a career fair Thursday September 24, 2015. This career fair is intended to introduce the students to potential occupational offerings and to introduce prospective employers to students of this program.