Mel Lawson LAWSONwas appointed mining principal at Stantec's Tempe, Ariz., office. Lawson's 40 years of industry experience include a concentration in underground/surface mining operations and project and construction management. He has 20 years of experience in senior operations and project management. Prior to joining Stantec, he served as the owner's engineering manager for a multibillion-dollar international mining project and most recently served as vice president for project development at a North American copper project. He is a graduate of Michigan Technological University and has a degree in mining engineering. Related Links: ENR Southwest Post Your Own People Announcements In the
At SmithGroupJJR's Phoenix office, design excellence and sustainability are synonymous. The office has been responsible for 11 LEED-certified projects and has 12 more pending, but the firm's design philosophy has also brought some of the same sustainable features that SmithGroupJJR would employ on a LEED-Platinum project—high-performance building envelopes, energy modeling, daylight analysis and natural ventilation—to most of their other projects.. Related Links: ENR Southwest's Top 70 Design Firms Other Top Southwest Firms "I joke with clients [that] if you don't want a sustainable building, you're going to get one regardless because that's who we are and how we think about
The Colorado Dept. of Transportation has officially kicked off the 2012 construction season in northwest and central Colorado. While there are many projects that started last year and were suspended for the winter, there are—and will—be many new projects getting started this summer. “We will have a significant number of much-needed projects under way this summer in our region of the state,” said CDOT Region 3 Director David Eller. “Altogether, we will have more than 100 miles of highway under construction in dozens of projects totaling more than $100 million in contracts. We have worked diligently to secure funding for
History, art and tcchnology converged with the grand opening of the new History Colorado Center, located at 1200 Broadway in Denver, on April 28. Photo courtesy of History Colorado Center The 40-ft-by-60-ft terrazzo Great Map of Colorado is imbedded into the museums atrium floor. Replacing the former Colorado History Museum, the new 200,000-sq-ft History Colorado Center celebrates 10,000 years of Colorado and its people. The museum is a Smithsonian affiliate, one of only three organizations to achieve such an association in Colorado.Opening exhibits that incorporate high-tech, multimedia experiences combined with historic collections show and tell the story of the state,
Five of the nation’s largest construction trade associations have teamed up to form the Construction Coalition for a Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace (CCDAFW). The coalition’s mission is to create a drug-and-alcohol-free construction industry by providing companies and organizations with the resources to implement those policies into their business practices. CCDAFW recently launched a nationwide effort urging construction-related firms and organizations to sign an online pledge signifying they will create and maintain a workplace free from substance abuse. In addition to listing current pledge signatories, the CCDAFW website includes educational materials and state-by-state policies for substance-abuse testing.The CCDAFW is comprised of
After five straight months of gains, the Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) slipped to 55.1 from the March reading of 56.2 and just slightly above the January reading. The decline is not drastic and, excluding February and March, the CMI is higher than the months since April 2011 when it stood at 55.8. The CMI had been the one economic bright spot for much of the year, at least up to now. April has not been good, and for the last few weeks, analysts have been trying to decide whether the economy is on the edge of another spring swoon, which
The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), which is the workers’ compensation rating organization for 41 states in the U.S., has filed to triple the “split point” over the next few years, with the first adjustment in 2013. The filing will increase the split point from $5,000 to $15,000 over a three-year period to catch up with claim inflation. The first stage will take effect in 2013 and double the split point to $10,000. What Is the ‘Split Point’?Each workers’ compensation claim is divided into a “primary” and “excess” portion. Currently, the first $5,000 of every claim is the primary
The design-build project delivery system, which dates back to the master builders of ancient Greece, continues to gain in popularity. The appeal of design-build is that it provides the project owner with a single point of contact for both design and construction. This can lead to both lower costs and compressed construction schedules. A recent study by the Federal Highway Administration determined that on average, design-build projects were completed 14% faster than traditional design-bid-build projects. Design-build projects, however, expose contractors to risks that they don't have under the traditional delivery method. The additional exposure arises out of what is known
Construction spending inched up in March to an annualized rate of $808 billion, up 0.1% compared to the previous month and is now 6% above year ago levels, according to a new analysis of federal data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. The overall gains mask divergent trends, however, as public-sector construction activity continues to decline while private-sector demand for new construction continues to strengthen. “Private- and public-sector demand for construction appear to be heading along two distinct directions,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “While it is great to see private-sector activity coming back to
The construction industry lost 2,000 jobs in April, following similar declines of 3,000 in March and 1,000 in February, but still added 63,000 jobs over the past year as the industry unemployment rate shrank to 14.5%—the lowest April level in four years, according to an analysis of new federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said that lack of long-term federal highway and transit funding, along with other infrastructure budget cuts, threatens to limit construction job growth. “The plunge in the unemployment rate for former construction workers from 17.8% in April 2011 and
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