| July 19, 2016
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In This Issue |
Events
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Education/
Training
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Safety
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Membership Benefits
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AGC News
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Member News
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Here's Looking At You
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News You Can Use
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 Quick Links |
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Events |
We're bringing people together to advance the issues important to the commercial construction industry.
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Thursday, July 21, 2016
7:30 - 9 a.m.
Open to all AGC Houston members interested in Department of Labor – Wage & Hour compliance issues and HR best practices. Issues include misclassification issues—e.g., exempt or non-exempt; independent contractor or employee; Department of Labor trends; and wage and hour violations.
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Crisp in The Heights
2220 Bevis Street Houston, TX 77008
4:30 - 6 p.m.
$20 - Early Bird Pricing By July 29
$25 - July 30-August 3
$30 - At The Door
FREE FOR GCs! Please contact Shannon
Giordano to place attendee names on the guest list.
We are mixing up some fun this summer at our August networking mixer! This popular event draws a large crowd of commercial construction industry professionals. Thank you to Procore for sponsoring this event!
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Friday, August 12, 2016
Hermann Park Golf Course
7:30 a.m. - noon
Celebrating its 12th year at the Hermann Park Golf Course, the Construction Leadership Council Golf Tournament swings into action on Friday, August 12, from 7:30 a.m. to noon. This event draws the commercial construction industry's young professionals to raise funds for the AGC Houston Scholarship fund. For team registration and sponsorship details, see link below.
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Saturday, September 10, 2016
The Astorian
7 p.m. - Midnight
The 2016 projects have been judged and the winners will be announced on September 10! You won’t want to miss it! Sponsorships & Tables available now.
We're Puttin' On The Ritz at The Astorian to celebrate the APEX building Awards in grand style. More than 80 entries representing the AGC Houston Chapter territory will receive awards. We will also honor Paul Bell, Jr., P.J. Bell Co., with the 2016 AGC Houston Master Builder Award.
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Thursday, September 22, 2016
Hyatt Regency Houston/Galleria 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.
A Technology Conference Designed For Houston's A/E/C Community. Reserve Your Seat Now!
Join your fellow colleagues in the commercial construction industry—including owners, architects, engineers, and service and supply representatives—to discuss technological innovations in case studies as well as the issues related to their adoption and successful implementation.
This conference is designed by Houston contractors to provide real and valuable information to all members of the A/E/C construction teams.
Featuring a keynote address by Scott Dadich, Editor-in-Chief, WIRED (2012 – Present); Vice President, Editorial Platforms and Design, Condé Nast (2010-2012); Creative Director, WIRED (2006-2010).
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Join us in preparing for the 2016 APEX Awards Gala as AGC Houston hosts a contest for members to #NameThatGC.
Building photos of past APEX Awards entries will be posted on our Facebook page. All you have to do is tell us who built the project. To participate, just LIKE the AGC Houston Facebook page and comment on our #NameThatGC posts throughout the summer. Click here for contest rules. |
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Education/Training |
In March, AGC Houston launched The Walk-Through, a newsletter dedicated to reporting the latest news on our education and professional development offerings. Read it here.
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AGC Houston Now Accepting Applications For Leadership AGC Class Of 2017
In 2015, AGC Houston launched an immersive development program that helps participants become transformative leaders. To date, close to 30 individuals—earmarked by their companies as up-and-coming leaders—have taken the interactive course. During the eight-month program, participants gain a better understanding of the responsibilities and qualities that leaders need to successfully shape AGC and the Houston commercial construction industry.
AGC Houston is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 session, which begins in September. A limited group of 20 participants will be chosen for the class of 2017. Application deadline is August 15, 2016.
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Specially designed for early-career project managers or those moving into such roles. PMDP is a nationally recognized training standard. Individuals who complete all five PMDP courses will receive an AGC Project Manager Development Program Certificate of Completion.
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AGC Houston needs your help to determine which of our members currently offer internships.
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Safety |
There will be no Safety Committee Meeting in July. However, the committee will reconvene on Friday, August 26 at 7 a.m. Please contact Kim Mason for details.
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The Leading Edge is a bimonthly newsletter dedicated to updating AGC Houston members about safety issues in the commercial construction industry.
The newsletter brings up-to-date information regarding regulatory issues, health and safety tips, articles on construction HR matters, educative news, updates from AGC and other valuable resources.
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Heat Illness Can Be Deadly
The body normally cools itself by sweating. During hot weather, especially with high humidity, sweating isn't enough. Body temperature can rise to dangerous levels if you don't drink enough water and rest in the shade. You can suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Under OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing workplaces free of known safety hazards. This includes protecting workers from extreme heat. An employer with workers exposed to high temperatures should establish a complete heat illness prevention program.
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AGC Houston members are supporting this new network, which is an alliance of Houston construction companies, associations and related businesses. Each month, the Construction Safety Network hosts meetings on relevant topics.
Click here to view future meetings and topics.
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Membership Benefits |
Whether working at the office, from the road or even at home, the ConsensusDocs platform provides instant access to your contract documents from any computer through a secure web-based portal.
Simply log in and your personalized dashboard makes it easy to locate recent projects, edit contracts, review changes made by your collaborators or start a new contract using any of our 100+ contracts.
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AGC members receive valuable discounts of up to 29% on select FedEx Express and FedEx Ground shipping services, up to 70% on FedEx Freight shipping services.
There are no costs and no minimum shipping, copy or print requirements to take advantage of this great member benefit.
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AGC of America is happy to announce that the July bookstore promotion offers $30 off AGC’s Professional Crane Operators Manual.
AGC's Professional Mobile Crane Operations Program is designed to assist the construction community as a whole to prepare for the certification requirement to reflect the provisions in the new standards. This student guide is designed to help participants become a better crane operator by learning safe and efficient practices. Upon completion of the program participants will understand various operational and safety principles and practices that can be used every day. This program covers rules and regulation, site review and set-up, operations, conditions affecting operations, basic rigging and wire rope, maintenance and inspection, load charts, and crane types.
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The Summer edition of Cornerstone is out, but you don't have to wait for your copy to arrive in the mail. You can view the digital edition now. Simply click on the link below to see the table of contents.
Highlights of the Summer Cornerstone include:
* Case Study: A Look at How Vaughn Construction Rebuilt UTMB's Galveston's Clinical Services Wing After Hurricane Ike
* Temporary Employees: Who Really is the Employer?
* An Update on the UpSkill Houston Initiative in the Construction Sector
* AGC Houston Presents 2016 Patrick J. Kiley Excellence in Leadership Scholarship Awards, Standard of Excellence Recipient and Recognizes Leadership AGC Class of 2016 Graduates
*Scenes from the 25th Annual Barbecue Cook-Off and Fair
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AGC News |
Attention specialty contractors: AGC Houston, in partnership with ABC, ASA, NECA, IEC and MCAA, are currently conducting an industry wage survey and we need your help!
Survey results will include hourly labor rates for more than 50 worker classifications (as well as benefits provided).
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The Federal Court on June 26 issued a nationwide preliminary injunction preventing the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) final "persuader" rule (link is external) from taking effect as scheduled on July 1. Although the injunction is only temporary, the ruling is a significant victory for employers and for the associations, attorneys, and consultants that advise them.
The "persuader" rule seeks to revise reporting obligations of labor relations "consultants" (which is defined to include attorneys and associations) who conduct activities to persuade employees about their rights to organize or bargain collectively and the reporting obligations of employers who receive assistance from such consultants. While the regulations do not directly restrict employers from using consultants, the reporting obligation may well have a chilling effect on employers’ willingness and ability to seek needed advice from experts.
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Construction employment was unchanged from May to June, but an increase in hourly pay and longer workweeks, along with shrinking numbers of unemployed construction workers, suggest contractors would hire more workers if they were available, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said the lack of available qualified workers for firms to hire appears to be holding back employment growth and urged Congress to pass legislation to reform and increase funding for career and technical education.
"Construction employment stalled in June after declining in April and May, but unemployment among construction workers is at a 16-year low, while average hourly earnings have accelerated for the past three months and average weekly hours are very high," said Ken Simonson, the association's chief economist.
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Member News |
Just off of Highway 59 and University Boulevard, the Smart Financial Centre At Sugar Land is getting closer to its completion date in late fall. Linbeck Group, LLC began building the $84 million venue in December 2014, which is the result of a joint venture between the city and ACE Theatrical Group.The 200-000 square-foot venue was designed by Washington D.C.-based Martinez + Johnson Architecture, which specializes in cultural projects, particularly those involving the performing arts.
According to Linbeck Group's Scott Zimmerman, the construction work also includes plaza work on the north side, 28 acres of parking spaces, and a 90-foot marquee sign with a 30-foot LED revolving screen. When completed, the venue will feature a series of movable walls to allow seating to be adjusted from about 3,300 seats to more than 6,400, depending on the event.
The center is being built on a portion of 38.5 acres of city property and is one of a Sugar Land task force's top three priorities, which voters approved in 2008. Another priority was a professional minor league baseball park for the Sugar Land Skeeters, known as Constellation Field, which was also built by Linbeck Group, LLC.
Pictured from left are Linbeck Group, LLC's Bill Scott, III, Scott Zimmerman, Jake Gattis and William Crooks.
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Here's Looking At You |
Congratulations to Holes Incorporated, Slack & Co. Contracting, Inc., and to Paul Johnson, Reliant Safety Solutions, LLC on capturing Safety Excellence Awards Thursday, July 14 at the Midyear Safety Meeting. Holes Incorporated won in the Small Contractor Category and Slack & Co. Contracting, Inc. won in the Large Contractor category. An active member of the Safety Committee, Paul Johnson received the Safety Director of the Year/Ray Lambright Award.
AGC Houston members packed the grand ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Hotel/Galleria for the annual safety meeting which featured U.S. astronaut Captain Scott Kelly who spoke about his experience aboard the International Space Station.
Pictured are Astronaut Scott Kelley with Paul Johnson, Ray Lambright Award recipient. Photos of the event coming soon to the AGC Houston website.
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News You Can Use |
What does it take to succeed in the highly competitive industry? Hear from over 20 respected leaders across multiple sectors including commercial, infrastructure and residential—just to name a few—and get lessons learned and words of wisdom to help you build your own career path and future leaders today.
The report contains a wealth of advice and recommendations from 26 construction industry VPs to support construction professionals in their career planning.
View insights from AGC Houston members:
To request a copy of the report and to view an insightful video, click here.
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The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District is soliciting responses for the following Competitive Sealed Proposals: CSP #32-2016VRG, Lamar Consolidated ISD Huggins Elementary New Parent Drive as part of the 2014 Bond Program, until 2 p.m. for the Proposal on Tuesday, August 2, 2016.
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OSHA’s maximum penalties, which have not been raised since 1990, will increase by 78 percent.
In 2015, Congress passed the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act to advance the effectiveness of civil monetary penalties and to maintain their deterrent effect. The new law directs agencies to adjust their penalties for inflation each year using a much more straightforward method than previously available, and it requires agencies to publish "catch up" rules this summer to make up for lost time since the last adjustments.
As a result, the U.S. Department of Labor announced today two interim final rules to adjust its penalties for inflation based on the last time each penalty was increased.
Read the press release here. View the 2016 Inflation Adjustment Fact Sheet here.
View The 2016 Inflation Penalty Chart here. Read a section regarding OSHA's penalty increase (29 CFR Parts 1902, 1903) here.
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The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is delaying enforcement of the anti-retaliation provisions in its new injury and illness tracking rule to conduct additional outreach and provide educational materials and guidance for employers. Originally scheduled to begin August 10, 2016, enforcement will now begin Nov. 1, 2016.
Under the rule, employers are required to inform workers of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses without fear of retaliation; implement procedures for reporting injuries and illnesses that are reasonable and do not deter workers from reporting; and incorporate the existing statutory prohibition on retaliating against workers for reporting injuries and illnesses.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees.
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OSHA recently issued a rule that requires employers to 1) inform employees of their right to report work-related injuries and illnesses free from retaliation, and 2) provide that procedures for reporting work-related injuries and illnesses are reasonable and don’t deter or discourage employees from reporting.
The anti-retaliation provisions, which go into effect on August 10, 2016, potentially have far-reaching implications for AGC members. In addition, OSHA finalized new electronic employment rules which will require all employers with 250 or more employees and employers with 20 or more employees in the construction industry to electronically submit information from their 2016 Form 300A to OSHA by July 1, 2017.
To read a fact sheet penned by Employment Practices Committee member Anthony Stergio, Andrews Myers, click here.
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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.
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