Soaring health-care costs and lower investment income from a topsy-turvy stock market are putting intense pressure on insurance companies to increase workers’ compensation rates. "The last cycle and this cycle, two-thirds of the filings [for all industries] have been for increases," says Peter M. Burton, senior division executive for the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc., Boca Raton, Fla. Specifically, 25 of 38 states have filed for increases in premiums, 10 for decreases and three for no change, says Burton. "It doesn’t seem to matter which geographic area" a company is in, adds Marcia DeWitt, president of GuilfordPare, Baltimore, a
The collapse of scandal-ridden Enron Corp. two years ago shook the ethical foundation of American business, but it had an immediate impact on a mid-sized Pittsburgh mechanical contractor. Limbach Facility Services Inc., then owned by the energy conglomerate, suddenly found itself on the brink. It was dumped on the heap of corporate assets about to be "liquidated." Limbach ultimately survived intact. For some $80 million, it was saved by a group of managers who refused to let go. Their financial white knight was a family-owned equity investor with plenty of cash and enough confidence that the contractor ultimately could return
(Photo by Michael Goodman for ENR) At the end of this quarter, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it was going to stand pat on its policy of keeping the economy afloat through cheap money. Believing inflation is firmly under control, the Fed kept its funds rate at 1%, the lowest level since the 1950s, and it strongly hinted that it would keep rates low for a while. While overall inflation in the construction industry remains between 2 to 4%, extremely low interest rates have led to some pockets of extreme inflation this quarter. The housing market that had been
HEAVYWEIGHT Armored D9 dozer clears remains of Iraqi tank in An Najaf on June 13. (Photo courtesy of the 101st Airborne Division) The war in Iraq redefined the role of the military engineer, both in combat and in reconstruction. It tested an evolving U.S. military doctrine of rapid deployment that leans heavily on engineers. The campaign was remarkable, with implications that will be studied and acted upon for years. Now that the major battles are over and reconstruction has begun, engineer commanders are assessing their roles and strategies. The main engineer commanders during the invasion were Col. Gregg Martin, head
Highway lanes and light-rail route will be added to the congested I-25 corridor. (Photo by Michael Goodman for ENR) As Denver-area transportation officials debated how best to move people through the increasingly congested Interstate 25 corridor, mass transit advocates dug in their heels for a light-rail line. Highway advocates pressed for more lanes. The planners’ ultimate decision to fit a rail line into an expanded highway corridor accommodated both sides and thrust Denver into a two-pronged project that may be the example for others in the growing region. Branded with Jurassic Park flair, the $1.67-billion design-build project dubbed "T-REX" (Transportation
(Rendering courtesy of LMDC) Two years after terrorists reduced the 12-million-sq-ft World Trade Center to rubble, officials charged with the site’s $10-billion redevelopment are cautiously celebrating the end of a major bottleneck to the recovery of Ground Zero and Lower Manhattan by putting the final touches on a detailed plan for the 16-acre complex. "We’re starting to pick up steam," says John N. Lieber, director of WTC development for Silverstein Properties Inc., New York City, the parent company of the entity that, along with retailer Westfield America Inc., had signed a 99-year lease on the trade center less than two
(Photo courtesy of the courtesy of the Ironworkers Union) The president and his entourage enter the Washington, D.C., restaurant and head to their table. A small cluster of patrons, probably tourists, does a double take and then stares. "Is it him?" one of the crowd asks a member of the entourage she mistakes for a Secret Service agent. "Yes," replies the aide, aware of what will come next because this is not the first case of mistaken identity. The women ask to meet the president and the aide obliges. But it is not President Bill Clinton that they meet. It
The blackout that knocked out powerplants in six states and Ontario also triggered major disruptions in large segments of the transportation and water and wastewater treatment systems. Grounded planes in Canada and the U.S. stranded hundreds of thousands of air travelers in dark terminals. Millions of people that normally get home via New York City’s subway system or commuter rail lines scrambled to find alternate means when electrified lines went dead at the start of rush hour Aug. 14. When the New York City subway system’s famed third rail lost power, some 350,000 riders were trapped. After reaching safety, riders
THE FUTURE Solid-state electronic equipment increases operator control of power flows. (Photo courtesy of The Electric Power Research Institute) Rapid changes in technology, the economy and society have outpaced the rate of change in the U.S. electricity industry and especially in the transmission grid. Now, that industry has moved to center stage. The battles to shape its future will center on enhancing capacity, updating technology, modernizing its institutions and clarifying its regulatory structure. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) fired the opening shot Aug. 14 when he told a television interviewer that the U.S. is a superpower with a Third-World
SWINGER Towers used hinge and ball joints. Transmission lines often present challenges relating to site conditions, but few can match those encountered in Alaska for construction of a new 97-mile, 230-kv line through parts of Fairbanks, across 60 miles of wetlands and discontinuous pemafrost and up into the mountains to Healy. Fairbanks-based Golden Valley Electric Association’s $100-million line will be finished by Labor Day and includes 18 types of towers to handle varying terrain. Portions can only be reached for three months during the winter and other areas cannot be reached overland at all. Anticipating future upgrades, Golden Valley built
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