The housing contagion is starting to infect healthy nonresidential-building and public-works markets. The sub-prime mortgage virus has devastated the credit markets, causing sickness in the stock market and forcing the federal government to put virtually the entire financial system on life support. Given the economic backdrop, it is hard to find a pulse in this year’s batch of construction industry forecasts for 2009. + click to enlarge McGraw-Hill Construction (of which ENR is part) is forecasting a 7.4% decline in construction starts in 2009, following declines of 12.4% this year and 8.0% in 2007. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce forecasts
Argentina is the second-largest country in South America and its sheer size is one of the greatest obstacles it faces concerning its energy supply. The reserves of natural gas that it relies upon for power must travel from the farthest reaches of its borders and even a bit beyond. To forestall an energy shortage that would jeopardize ongoing efforts to right the country’s shaky economy, Argentina is pushing a massive program to construct 2,300 kilometers of new pipeline that will increase the country’s natural-gas capacity by 22 million cubic meters per day. C.J. Schexnayder C.J. Schexnayder Buffeted by Antarctic winds,
...owner, architect and contractor. “It helped a lot that we could communicate with David and negotiate and discuss changes,” says Langford CEO Phil Langford, who also happens to be Ray Anderson’s son-in-law. He originally looked at Rubio’s site plan, took Oakey aside and said, “I can grade this slope, take out some trees, rotate the building 90° and cut your costs in half.” But Oakey stuck by his architect. The job helped Langford adapt to an emerging climate of environmental sensitivity. “We were doing LEED before there was LEED,” he says. “We learned a lot about cutting waste, recycling and
Cranes are usually the most expensive piece of equipment on a jobsite but also have the most potential for damage. With average profit margins in crane-related work a little over 4%, employers cannot afford not to train managers on key safety issues around cranes, insurers say. “We are trying to take a higher-level look at systemic issues,” says Marko Kaar, senior risk engineering consultant for Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich Services Corp. “Is it a failure to inspect? If it is a failure to inspect, is it a failure to train? If it is a failure to train, is it a failure
Tower Crane School of Phoenix Tower Crane School of Phoenix Gray sits in the ‘electric chair’ at his crane school. Students who climb into Ronald Gray’s “electric chair” are usually in for a shocking experience. The chair, wired up to a couple of joysticks and a laptop computer, is not a mode of punishment for students who misbehave, but a surprisingly useful simulation tool that helps potential operators sharpen their skills. And it costs a lot less than the real thing. Similar to flight-simulators for jumbo-jet pilots, heavy-equipment programs help operators learn from mistakes in the virtual world without placing
AP/Wideworld Crane crashed on kindergarten in China, killing five children. Crane accidents occur almost everyday all over the world. But accidents in developing nations can be particularly tragic. On Oct. 10, a tower crane working at a six-story residential building in Zibo, China, collapsed onto a kindergarten, killing five children and injuring five. Just four days later, in Shanghai, a tower crane collapsed inside a powerplant, killing two operators. In an attempt to expose workers to higher levels of training, a company in China is organizing a trade mission to send 500 operators to the U.S. to learn new skills.
Only about one-third of U.S. states require crane operators to be certified. From 1996 to 2005, the Fairfax, Va.-based National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators was the only game in town. It was the first test agency for crane workers that was accredited to meet the same psychometrics standards that apply to medical and teaching exams. Related Links: In One Week, Crane Operators Receive A License to Learn Managers Need Training, Too The Ultimate Construction Video Game Developing Nations Struggle To Keep Crane Workers Safe Today, is it one of three options available, and more are on the
Tony Illia / ENR UNLV’s Shields (left) and contractor Korte revived construction program. The national credit crunch may be quenching the flame under Las Vegas’ superheated construction market, but industry firms still short of management talent see good news in the resurgence of one key source that almost went bust. Even with some big Vegas projects delayed or canceled in recent months, construction remains Nevada’s second-largest employer. But a key local talent pipeline, the construction management program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, dried up in recent years due to a lack of identity, leadership and funding. Now, it
+ click to enlarge Former Navy facility is set to become a 25,000-sq-ft, 3D learning lab. If video game maker Nintendo ever released a construction-related product, it would probably look a lot like the Pacific Northwest Center for Construction Research and Education, now being built at the University of Washington, Seattle. To be used by the school’s College of Architecture and Urban Planning, which includes its construction management program, the 25,000-sq-ft facility will bring virtual reality and the latest building imaging technology to the classroom when it is completed at the end of 2008. Center, now being finished, will allow
To offset what could be a record number of engineers retiring from the Illinois Dept. of Transportation, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has launched the agency’s first civil engineer scholarship program. It will give up to 20 selected students up to $7,000 per academic year to continue their civil engineering education. “We must begin to increase interest in the rewarding field of engineering,” he says. The program is for Illinois residents who are admitted to or enrolled full-time at select colleges and universities in the state in a curriculum leading to a civil engineering degree. Recipients may also be able to
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