Related Links: Forrester Correspondence with District of Columbia over Joint Venture Project Prices (Embedded at bottom of page) District of Columbia Announcement of Forrester Settlement One of the Washington, D.C. area's biggest general contractors agreed to take $1 million less than it had requested for a big district high school renovation project because the district said the company had misrepresented its work with a minority-owned business enterprise on the project and two others.The contractor, Rockville, Md.-based Forrester Construction Co., made itself the majority and controlling partner of the joint ventures, entitling it to most of the profits, without informing the
Related Links: Video of Norman Anderson's presentation on World Risk Day The World Risk Day Presentations Some of the countries with the best skills and resources for creating infrastructure have lost much of their capability in recent years, according to a survey of infrastructure professionals.The survey was conducted via a questionnaire and scoring system compiled by CG/LA Infrastructure, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant.Norman Anderson, the company’s president, discussed the fall-off during one of many presentations during World Risk Day, the second in an annual a series of webinars held May 14. Active Risk, a leading provider of risk management software based
Related Links: A Bold Individual Surety Claims His Coal-Backed Bonds are Rock Solid Clarity Needed on Individual Surety Assets Half of sureties see market conditions for contract surety softening later in 2013, but only one surety broker in five agrees that it will happen, according to surveys of both companies and brokers by the National Association of Surety Bond Producers.The difference in perspective was evident in more ways than one at the NASBP's annual convention in San Francisco on April 21-24. Mark McCallum, NASBP's chief executive, said the association's survey of some 65 companies and individual brokers showed that producers
Courtesy of St. Mary's County, Md. Architectural rendering of the future Patuxent Naval Air Station Museum. Federal investigators are reportedly trying to locate the source of fraudulent surety bonds provided to a small Maryland prime contactor for its work on a museum and visitor’s center at the Patuxent Naval Air Base in St. Mary’s County, Md. The county has taken steps to terminate the contractor, an action its attorneys say they are trying to prevent because their client has been the victim of a fraud and has lost $175,000 in premium paid for the bonds.The performance bond covered the contractor’s
A rainstorm, a flood, children trapped in a minivan. Rushing water sweeps a senior citizen into a sewer. The shocking nature of the deaths belie the bigger issues involving neglected urban infrastructure and the potential liability of engineering consultants.Personal injury attorneys often file lawsuits that engineering companies and engineers consider frivolous. These "shotgun" lawsuits really are attempts to intimidate the engineers into a settlement, insurance broker Jeffrey Cavignac wrote years ago, because the cost of defending against the lawsuits can easily surpass any fees earned on the project and it's cheaper to give in.How does a long-neglected piece of urban
Related Links: Pa. Turnpike Commission Grand Jury Report Despite the use of contract award procedures that in theory were objective, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission executives working with key political allies in the state's Democratic party routinely made selections of engineers and contractors based on gifts and political contributions, according to a state grand jury report released March 13.Seated in 2009, the Harrisburg grand jury over the years consulted dozens of witnesses and documents. It charged former Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Executive Joseph Brimmeier with violating the state ethics law. He was arraigned before a state judge in Harrisburg March 14 for
Saying that it recognized revenue from change orders on demolition work too soon, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corp. is restating its financial results for 2012, negotiating with lenders after breaching its credit agreements and parting ways with Bruce Biemeck, its president and chief operating officer, the company said.Biemeck’s departure “was not for cause,” said Jonathan Berger, the company’s chief executive, during a teleconference March 15 with stock analysts who follow the company.William Steckel, who replaced Bruce Biemeck as chief financial officer in August 2012, remains with the company.Great Lakes (GLDD-NASDAQ) says it is the biggest dredging contractor in the
Related Links: Redesign Required For $4.1-billion Project's Pontoons Robynne Parkinson's blog post on the pontoon problems A poorly implemented project-delivery process that combined design-build and conventional design-bid-build created confusion that opened the door to faulty design work on the first four pontoons for Seattle's new Lake Washington floating bridge project, according to an internal analysis of the problems prepared for the Washington State Dept. of Transportation.The errors could add millions in costs and extend the project deadline, state officials say, compromising anticipated savings from the use of design-build to speed the overall project completion. Replacing the bridge is a priority
Related Links: Dayton Daily News Story on Sturgill's Heat Stroke Citations A Dayton, Ohio-based roofing contractor is contesting U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations after a 60-year-old worker died last August from complications caused by heat stroke on an 82-degree F day.The temporary employee of A.H. Sturgill Roofing Inc. had been working in direct sunlight on a commercial flat roof in Miamisburg, throwing rubber roofing material into a dump truck on the ground, according to OSHA. The employee, who was not named, had to be hospitalized Aug. 1 and died 21 days later.The two serious violations are for failing