AGC Constructor

 

When it comes to AGC’s work with Bridges to Prosperity, an enterprise aimed toward ending the poverty caused by rural isolation, it’s literal, it’s figurative and it’s impactful. Read about this impressive organization and how some AGC members stepped forward to help and in doing so gained unforgettable and rewarding life experiences. This story and more, including Construction Outlook 2021, Site Security, Boosting the Built Environment can be found in the latest issue of Constructor magazine.

 

Most contractors expect demand for many types of construction to shrink in 2021 even as the pandemic is prompting many owners to delay or cancel already-planned projects, meaning few firms will hire new workers, according to survey results released recently by AGC of America and Sage Construction and Real Estate. The findings are detailed in The Pandemic’s Growing Impacts on the Construction Industry: The 2021 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook Report.

 

AGC helped secure $10 billion for state departments of transportation to help offset lost transportation revenues threatening bid lettings and project cancelations as part of the year-end COVID-relief and government funding bill enacted on December 27, 2020. AGC members generated more than 50,000 messages to their members of Congress and President Trump in support of this request, in addition to many phone calls and contacts by AGC Chapters. In addition, the legislation includes a full year’s funding for the federal-aid highway and transit program, amounting to approximately $46 billion. For a detailed analysis of what was included in the year-end bill from a construction industry perspective, click here.

 

Construction employment increased by 51,000 jobs in December, with gains for nonresidential as well as residential contractors, according to an analysis by AGC of America of government data released recently. Association officials cautioned, however, that its latest survey shows widespread pessimism among contractors about the volume of work available in 2021, and they urged lawmakers to focus on measures designed to rebuild the economy and demand for construction.

The construction industry has long issued paper purchase orders (POs), which, in theory, flow from a buyer to a material supplier to confirm orders for construction materials. They also routinely use manual, paper-based processes to track tickets generated as materials move from plant to jobsite.
BY DEXTER BACHELDER, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMAND ALKON
A MEMBER OF MULTIPLE AGC CHAPTERS

COVID-19 has led construction companies to adopt new digital check-in apps that keep employees safe and jobsites symptom-free from the virus. Employers are discovering additional benefits with the use of these apps – benefits that may protect them from potential lawsuits.
BY BRIAN JUNGINGER, CONSTRUCTION LITIGATION ATTORNEY
MCINERNEY & DILLON, AN AGC OF CALIFORNIA MEMBER

Since the pandemic struck in March, construction teams have had to pivot from in-person project interviews for new work to the virtual environment. As this is new to everyone, I developed the cheat sheet for my Texas teams at Rosendin to help in our preparation to get in the correct head space for the new virtual environment. It is intended to provide comic relief but serve as reminders to everyone involved what to do and what not to do. Hope these tricks help your teams succeed in the new normal for project interviewing.
BY JOLSNA THOMAS, ESQ., BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, ROSENDIN

The late, great NC Senate leader Marc Basnight had a special fondness for bridges. “Bridges bring people together. They never divide,” he wrote for a dedication in 2019 of a 2.8-mile, $254 million bridge over Oregon Inlet named for him. Sen. Basnight, who died last month after a long battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), was a big believer in infrastructure funding, particularly in connecting remote parts of his state with urban centers. In much the same way, CAGC continues our focus on helping our members and the construction industry in the Carolinas bridge our challenges.
BY DAVE SIMPSON