Related Links: OBO Director Lydia Muniz statement State Dept. Embassy Program Moves Design Excellence Program Into New Phase (enr.com 4/24/2011) The State Dept. closed out fiscal year 2013 with a flurry of large embassy construction contract awards in September—the fiscal year’s last month—including new construction and major renovations totaling $618.3 million in Europe, Africa, South America and New Zealand.For all of FY 2013, which ended on Sept. 30, the department’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) awarded $646 million in construction and renovation contracts, plus another $102.8 million in task orders.In September, Caddell Construction Co., Montgomery, Ala., won three embassy
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ricardo R. Guzma U.S. Navy helicopter drops relief supplies on Nov. 14 at Tacloban Airfield in the Philippines. View from relief-effort military helicopter shows breadth of damaged area. One week after Typhoon Haiyan hammered the central Philippines, a key road in one of the hardest-hit areas has been cleared and relief aid is starting to flow. But the damage is severe and extensive, and it is likely to be some time before major cleanup and rebuilding can begin.While it was not immediately clear how involved engineering and construction firms would be in
Related Links: ICCB settlement agreement with Justice Dept. US DOJ press release on settlement (11/7/2013) Ex-Corps Engineer Sentenced for Iraq Contract Bribe Plan (enr.com 3/13/13) In the latest development in a lengthy federal contracting probe, an Iraqi construction company has paid the U.S. government $2.7 million to resolve allegations that it bribed a former Army Corps of Engineers official to win U.S. contracts in Iraq, the Dept. of Justice has said.DOJ announced on Nov. 7 that Iraqi Consultants and Construction Bureau (ICCB), headquartered in Baghdad, had reached the settlement of alleged violations of the False Claims Act.The department also noted
Related Links: BLS employment report for October 2013 (includes data tables) AGC Chief Economist Ken Simonson's comments, analysis The construction industry’s unemployment rate climbed in October, to 9% from September’s 8.5%, the Labor Dept.'s Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported. But last month's mark was an improvement over the 11.4% recorded for October 2012.The BLS report, released on Nov. 8, also shows that construction gained 11,000 jobs in October and that all sectors of the industry added to their workforces.Ken Simonson, Associated General Contractors of America chief economist, noted that October marked the fifth-straight month of construction job increases, pushing
Related Links: Bureau of Labor Statistics release: 2012 workplace injuries and illnesses OSHA release: proposed injury/illness data reporting requirements OSHA FAQs on proposed rule One measure of construction workplace safety improved last year, as the industry’s rate of nonfatal injuries and illnesses declined from the 2011 level, the Labor Dept.’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Nov. 7.In a related development, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration—which also is part of the Labor Dept.—announced the same day that it is proposing to require large employers in all industries to submit workplace injury and illness information electronically to it each quarter.The latest
Photo by AP Wideworld House budget panel Chairman Ryan (left) and Senate committee Chairman Murray must strike a deal by Dec. 13. Related Links: Text of Rep. Paul Ryan's Oct. 30 statement at conference committee meeting Text of Sen. Patty Murray's Oct. 30 statement On Oct. 30, House and Senate lawmakers finally sat down at the negotiating table to try to hammer out a compromise budget blueprint for fiscal year 2014. If the talks, led by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate budget panel Chairman Patty Murray (D-Wash.), succeed, the product will be the first budget resolution
Related Links: Text (portions redacted) of M.C. Dean agreement with DOL M.C. Dean statement Dept. of Labor press release M.C. Dean Inc., a major electrical contractor, has agreed to pay 381 job applicants $875,000 in back wages and interest to settle Dept. of Labor allegations that the company's hiring processes did not provide them with "equal employment opportunity" for apprenticeship and electrician positions, DOL said.In announcing the agreement on Oct. 30, DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) said the payments will go to 272 African Americans, 98 Hispanics and 11 Asian Americans who had unsuccessfuly sought electrician and
Related Links: Rep. Waxman's Letter to OMB FracFocus Chemical Disclosure Registry Controversy remains over long-delayed Environmental Protection Agency guidance for writing permits for hydraulic fracturing that uses diesel. Some Democrats in the House of Representatives are eager to see the guidance finalized, but both industry and environmental groups have concerns, for different reasons.In an Oct. 25 letter, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) asked the Office of Management and Budget to expeditiously review EPA's guidance, proposed in draft form in May 2012, and reject "any industry efforts to weaken or delay it." The new guidance would require U.S. oil and gas companies
Related Links: Construction Coalition Objects to OSHA's Proposed Silica Rule (ENR 9/9/2013 issue) OSHA Proposes Tougher Limit for Silica-Dust Exposure (enr.com 8/23/2013) The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is giving industry groups, unions and other parties more time to file comments on its proposal to tighten the exposure standard for airborne silica.On Oct. 25, OSHA said it is extending the comment-period deadline by 47 days, to Jan. 27. A coalition of construction-industry groups objects to the proposed, more stringent exposure limit.OSHA announced the proposal on Aug. 23 and published it on Sept. 12.
Photo By 1st Lt. Ian McBride, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District House and Senate bills trim Inland Waterways Trust Fund's share of future aid for $3.1-billion Olmsted Lock and Dam on Ohio River. Related Links: House Approves Water Resources Bill Focus on Water-Resources Bill Shifts to House (ENR 6/3/2013 issue) The quest for the first major water-resources bill in six years has cleared a key hurdle with House passage of an $8.2-billion measure that would authorize 23 new Corps of Engineers water projects, speed their regulatory reviews and boost funds for dredging.The House's 417-3 vote on Oct. 23
