White House photo Michelle Obama launches White House-construction industry initiative for 100,000 military veteran hires in the next five years. Related Links: Joining Forces Construction Hiring Announcement Remarks of First Lady Michele Obama Remarks of Labor Secretary Thomas Perez White House Joining Forces Website The Obama administration and a coalition of construction groups and firms said on Feb. 10 that at least 100 industry firms have committed to hiring 100,000 U.S. military veterans over the next five years.The initiative, announced at a symposium in Washington, D.C., is being led by First Lady Michelle Obama, who said the number of firms
Related Links: Up Front: Industry Buzz August 2013 Lack of timely project decision-making can amount to big costs later, says Robert Prieto, senior vice president of Fluor Corp., in a new analysis for PM World Journal. While project delays and the resulting cost impacts are generally linked to changed scope, rework or productivity loss, "the cost of a lack of timely decision-making is seldom reflected in project governance processes," says Prieto.He says that for a contractor, delays are even more "deleterious" when they are of longer duration and at a later stage in the project. "A $4-billion project, not uncommon in
Related Links: Worldwide Workflow Is Growing As An Industry Project Norm ASTD Business Study Chart: The Global Workplace, Factors That Hinder Learning in Global Operations Design Firms Eke Out Profit Even as Global Markets Gyrate Chinese Contactors Grapple With Risks of Working Globally U.S. 'Zero Tolerance' Anti-Harassment Policies Need Global Tweaking Amer Soc for Training & Development: Global Workforce Challenges for Learning & Development Society for Human Resources Management: Global HR As engineering and construction firms have expanded their global footprints with new project sites and cross-border acquisitions, company "universities" are traveling along.The geographic reach has broadened firm expertise, and
Related Links: See what other executives are moving up, or moving on, in the AEC sector What does 2014 hold for Siemens Water Technologies, under AEA control? Ex-Chicago CTO John Tolva joins engineering firm John Tolva blog Private equity firm AEA Investors LP has named Lukas Loeffler as CEO of Evoqua Water Technologies LLC, the renamed municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment assets it acquired on Jan. 15 from Siemens AG. He was CEO of Siemens Water Technologies, the unit created when the German conglomerate bought water company USFilter in 2004. According to Water World magazine, AEA paid $865
Carl Mack can't help attracting a following. As a mechanical engineer for the King County, Wash., wastewater utility, starting in the late 1980s, he stewed that minorities rarely won internships.
The U.S. is using up natural resources "as if it had five planets to work with," says engineer William A. Wallace, whose commitment to sustainable design and construction spans a 40-year career.
Related Links: Estimated LNG capital spending in Western Canada to 2030 (Three Leading Projects) Gas-Fired Projects are Gaining Momentum North American LNG Market Booming, Thanks to Healthy Demand in Asia Canada's Largest LNG Plant Proposed Canada's labour shortage threatens $50B LNG plans As many observers expected, a joint venture of Fluor Corp. and Japan's JGC Corp. will proceed to the next stage of building what is seen as North America's largest liquefied-natural-gas project.The firms announced, on Jan. 13, a contract on the estimated $15-billion Kitimat LNG project in British Columbia that includes front-end design completion and next-stage engineering, procurement and
Related Links: See who else is moving up, or moving on, in the AEC sector Lee Lennard has been elevated to president and CEO of Brown & Gay Engineers Inc., Houston. He succeeds Ronald Mullinax, who becomes chairman. Lennard, a 14-year company veteran, had been executive vice president; he also is immediate past president of the American Council of Engineering Companies in Houston.LENNARDAlso, Kerry R. Gilbert has joined Brown & Gay as director of land planning services, the firm tells ENR. The change follows the company's Jan. 8 acquisition of planning firm Kerry R. Gilbert & Associates, of which he
Related Links: AMEC Is Selling Off Its U.S. CM Offices Possible Offer for Foster Wheeler $3-Billion Buyout of Shaw Would Boost CB&I's Energy Capabilities UK-based global engineer AMEC says it reached agreement on Jan. 13 to acquire contractor Foster Wheeler AG in an estimated $3.2-billion stock-and-cash deal that would be the industry's largest since contractor CB&I moved in 2012 to purchase The Shaw Group Inc. That transaction was completed last year.The latest deal would be a culmination of both firms' hunt for a strategic partner to expand corporate reach geographically and deeper into the oil-and-gas sector.Foster Wheeler has been "in
Related Links: ENR: Where East Meets West-Chinese Equipment Firms Struggle in North American Market Fortune: Sany's Bold U.S. Move ENR: How Andrew Buckley Is Shaping the Future of Australian Engineer Cardno Ltd. Mike Rhoda has joined equipment manufacturer and distributor Sany America, Peachtree City, RhodaGa., as CEO. He replaces Tim Frank, who resigned in October as chairman of the firm, the North and Central America unit of China-based Sany Heavy Industry Co. Rhoda was chief technology officer at Doosan Infracore Construction Equipment and also was president and CEO of Volvo Construction Equipment's excavator line. Frank joined Sany America in 2012.
