On Sept. 25, AGC, along with a coalition of stakeholders, filed comments on Version 0.4 of the draft Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). According to the Department of Defense (DOD), the CMMC model will continue to be improved over the next several months with the finalization of v1.0 in January 2020. DOD will begin including the final CMMC model as “go/no go” in all solicitations starting in Fall 2020. DOD envisions at least one additional round of public comments for the draft CMMC Model v0.6 in November 2019. AGC of America was disappointed to see that stakeholders were given just 21 days to review and comment on the v.0.4 CMMC Model and urges DOD for significantly more time to review and comment on v0.6 CMMC Model when it is released later this year.

 

On Oct. 15, AGC and coalition partners made the case to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) — in response to the agency’s request for information — to include more engineering and work practice control methods that effectively limit exposure to silica for the equipment and tasks currently on Table 1. Expanding the standard’s Table 1 could provide employers with more flexibility and reduce regulatory burdens while maintaining protections for employees. Specifically, AGC recommended adding (1) an “under one-hour” table for equipment/tasks and controls for short-term activities; (2) dry cutting with vacuum attachments for stationary masonry saws and handheld power saws; and (3) the use of standard shop vacuums as part of engineering controls. AGC also recommended that OSHA exclude mortar mixing and drywall installation/finishing, as data show that the exposure levels for these activities are below actionable levels. AGC will provide further updates as the agency considers these recommendations. 

 

For more information, please contact Kevin Cannon at (703)837-5410 or kevin.cannon@agc.org.

 

Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia added construction jobs between September 2018 and September 2019, while construction employment increased in 28 states from August to September, according to an analysis by AGC of America of Labor Department data released recently. Association officials said that it is likely additional states would have added new construction jobs if firms could find more qualified workers to hire.