Photo Courtesy of IMPACT Owners, contractors and unions together spur innovation, says Wise. Related Links: Trades Must Play Key Role To Keep Industry Competitive, Employers Tell Union Ironworkers Record Breaking Registration at IMPACT/Iron Workers Annual Meeting Welder Shortfall Fires Up Industry Training Programs to Work Overtime There was progress to report at the 2015 North American Ironworkers/IMPACT Labor-Management conference on key initiatives such as safety, market expansion and making signatory contractors more successful. With the union's membership now above pre-recession levels, the event drew 1,100 union business leaders and members, contractors and owners to Las Vegas Feb. 22-25."We have unleashed

Early in 2014, the cash-strapped contractor consortium stopped constructing the third set of locks to create a third lane large enough for newer, larger ships to use the Panama Canal.

Related Links: $5.25-Billion Panama Canal Expansion Program Moves Into the Final Leg Panama Canal Owner and Contractors Agree to Final Cost, Schedule Terms  Panama Canal construction consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) has confirmed the filing, made late last month, of more than $737 million in new claims to owner Panama Canal Authority (ACP) just as the contractor touts a favorable ruling Dec. 31 by the $5.25-billion project's disputes board related to two previous claims. GUPC may still challenge the panel decision, which awarded it only $234 million of about $463 million it had sought.GUPC, led by contractors Sacyr

Panama Canal Owner and Contractors Agree to Final Cost, Schedule Terms Panama Canal Expansion official website Panama City Dancing to the Beat of Projects Exclusive Interview With Owner: Panama Canal Project Won't Be Held Hostage By Contractor Shutdown Global Cast Complicates Panama Canal Expansion Project After a tumultuous year that included a challenging negotiation to get the lock contractor back to work, the Panama

Related Links: In Panama, Global Engineers Tackle Gigaproject Transparency Panama Canal Owner and Contractors Agree to Final Cost, Schedule Terms Backstories from a Visit to the Panama Canal Panamania: Museum Becomes Instant Icon for a Developing Nation Dramatic Digs Mark Panama Canal Expansion Progress Excavation Under Way on Panama City Metro In addition to the $3.2-billion project to construct locks for a third lane of the Panama Canal, Panama City construction includes a new metro system, high-end condos and restaurants in its historic district and a new museum on biodiversity designed by Frank Gehry. The fast-paced Latin city with a

Photo by Janice L. Tuchman for ENR The Atlantic side locks for the third lane of the Panama Canal are progressing rapidly with the gates positioned and ready to be installed. Related Links: Panama Canal Builders Agree to Final Cost, Schedule Terms Panama Canal Project Won't Be Held Hostage With the 100-year-old Panama Canal and its challenging third-lane expansion just miles away, engineers from around the world debated project transparency earlier this month in Panama City at an American Society of Civil Engineers conference.In a session on “Maintaining Transparency and Integrity in the Procurement of Gigaprojects,” moderator William P. Henry,

Source: CII Related Links: CII Research Graphic: Category Ratings for Late Deliverables Teams Drive Detailed Construction Planning Into the Design Phase Construction Industry Institute Working relationships and team dynamics have emerged as the leading variables affecting the cost and schedule of industrial projects, according to a research report from the Construction Industry Institute, presented at the group's annual conference in Indianapolis on July 21-23.The performance-assessment effort "really could be a game-changer for us and for the whole industry," said J. McM. "Jim" Backes, CII vice chair and Hargrove Engineers + Constructors executive vice president.  BackesResearch staff took all the data

Devotion to work and technical prowess may not be enough to boost women up the ranks among construction industry employers; they also need to beat their own drums for better roles on jobsites and in boardrooms. Women executives from industry firms urged more than 300 mostly younger female attendees at the ENR Groundbreaking Women in Construction conference to seek ways to raise their profiles to coworkers, bosses, clients and outside peers.

Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Attendees crowded into the Caterpillar booth at CONEXPO 2014. Related Links: ENR Full CONEXPO Coverage Facing Soft Demand in Second Quarter, Caterpillar and Terex Look To Refocus Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Douglas R. Oberhelman says he is “very guardedly optimistic” about 2014 in the U.S. and abroad.“But compared to last year, maybe slightly less guarded,” Oberhelman told the media during the CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition, held earlier this month in Las Vegas. After what Cat saw in 2013, he added, “we are keeping all eyes on every cost and every growth piece."Oberhelman offered the following