Construction companies are increasingly allocating more money for labor-saving items that reduce man hours in the field while limiting liability risks. Handheld tools and devices can enhance worker performance and reduce owner overhead costs for increased market competitiveness. Greater productivity can be achieved through safer, ergonomic devices that increase efficiency while reducing health insurance-related claims. Photo by Southwest Photography Manually tying rebar involves rapid, repetitive and forceful body movements that limit the amount of time workers can do the task safely. Innovation, in part, has been driven by companies forced to do more with less during a deep recession. The
A high-design, mixed-use urban redevelopment by Ascendant Development Corp. is poised to breathe new life into the long-vacant Denver Post printing plant in Denver. Named for its prominent location at Denver’s “mousetrap” I-70 and I-25 freeway interchange, 25/70 will offer a mix of nationally recognized residential and commercial design showrooms mixed with specialty retail, restaurants, conference and event spaces, as well as design studios, professional office space and multifamily residences. Design, master planning and programming are now under way, with pre-leasing beginning this spring and renovations in late 2013 on the primary 320,000-sq-ft building. Construction is estimated to take 14 to18
Denver’s Regional Transportation District has determined that a confidential unsolicited proposal for the North Metro Rail project has “technical merit.” The proposal was submitted February 22 by a team led by Graham Contracting Ltd. RTD staff spent the last month conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the proposal consistent with the agency’s Unsolicited Proposals Policy. Given that RTD staff believes the proposal has technical merit, the agency plans to accelerate the release of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the North Metro project.In January, RTD announced it would release an RFP in October to build North Metro up to 72nd Avenue
The first completed phase of the two-phase Moby Arena additions project on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins created a new north concourse entry as well as eight new ticket booths, restrooms and concession stands on both concourses. Courtesy of Pinkard Construction The project created a new north concourse entry as well as eight new ticket booths, restrooms and concession stands on both concourses. The south concourse now has a 5,000-sq-ft banquet hall complete with a kitchen for game-day activities and special events. Additional tickets booths were also added on the south side of the arena.The second phase of
The American Institute of Architects has honored Mortenson Construction and Fentress Architects, both of Denver, with a national technology design award for the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center project in Denver. Photo by Jason Knowles, Fentress Architects The teams efforts in virtual design and construction modeling on the Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center project resulted in $9 million in project costs savings that were reinvested into customer-deferred enhancements. AIA’s Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) Building Information Model (BIM) Award is the association’s highest award for a project team that integrated building information technology into a project.The AIA TAP
You wouldn’t go to your dentist for oral surgery without asking exactly what procedures he or she will be performing and what it will cost, would you? But this is exactly the trap that many architectural and engineering consultants fall into: neglecting to provide a specific list of services that they will perform as part of their contract. Outlining your scope of services is important to helping reduce professional liability and risk as well as boost your bottom line. To avoid surprises, it is important to nail down exactly what you are going to do and not do, including a
he Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in February, declined in March. The index now stands at 59.7 (1985=100), down from 68.0 in February. The Present Situation Index decreased to 57.9 from 61.4. The Expectations Index declined to 60.9 from 72.4 last month. Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions declined in March. Those saying business conditions are “good” decreased to 16.0% from 17.6%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” increased to 29.3% from 28.2%. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 9.4% from 10.1%, but those claiming jobs are “hard
A team of Colorado businesses joined local officials in late March to break ground on a new $125-million water treatment plant in El Paso County as part of the Southern Delivery System (SDS) water project. Courtesy of SDS A team of Colorado firms recently broke ground on a new $125-million water treatment plant in El Paso County as part of the Southern Delivery System water project. Construction of the new plant is providing significant work for area businesses that participated in a shovel ceremony to mark the start of construction on the single largest SDS component. The water treatment plant
With increasing demand for design services, the Architecture Billings Index is continuing to strengthen. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects reported the February ABI score was 54.9, up slightly from a mark of 54.2 in January. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 64.8, higher than the reading of 63.2 the previous month – and its highest mark
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $435.4 billion, new construction starts in February dropped 7% from the previous month, according to McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos. The loss of momentum was present in two of construction’s three main sectors – nonresidential building and nonbuilding construction (public works and electric utilities). Meanwhile, the housing sector in February continued to strengthen. For the first two months of 2013, total construction starts on an unadjusted basis came in at $62.4 billion, up 5% from the same period a year ago. The February statistics lowered the Dodge Index to 92
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