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    <title>Features</title>
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      <title>All Sectors Go Negative Next Year As A Real Recession Rattles Markets</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[The housing contagion is starting to infect healthy nonresidential-building and public-works markets. The sub-prime mortgage virus has devastated the credit markets, causing sickness in the stock market and forcing the federal government to put virtually the entire financial system on life support. Given the economic backdrop, it is hard to find a pulse in this year&rsquo;s batch of construction industry forecasts for 2009. + click to enlarge McGraw-Hill Construction (of which ENR is part) is forecasting a 7.4% decline in construction starts in 2009, following declines of 12.4% this year and 8.0% in 2007. The U.S. Dept. of Commerce forecasts]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081112-1.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/13225-all-sectors-go-negative-next-year-as-a-real-recession-rattles-markets</link>
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      <title>From North to South, New Pipe Delivers Power to Argentina</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Argentina is the second-largest country in South America and its sheer size is one of the greatest obstacles it faces concerning its energy supply. The reserves of natural gas that it relies upon for power must travel from the farthest reaches of its borders and even a bit beyond. To forestall an energy shortage that would jeopardize ongoing efforts to right the country&rsquo;s shaky economy, Argentina is pushing a massive program to construct 2,300 kilometers of new pipeline that will increase the country&rsquo;s natural-gas capacity by 22 million cubic meters per day. C.J. Schexnayder C.J. Schexnayder Buffeted by Antarctic winds,]]>
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      <guid>081105-1.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/13286-from-north-to-south-new-pipe-delivers-power-to-argentina</link>
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      <title>Carpet-Tile Manufacturer&amp;rsquo;s Makeover: Going Green, Step by Step</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[...owner, architect and contractor. &ldquo;It helped a lot that we could communicate with David and negotiate and discuss changes,&rdquo; says Langford CEO Phil Langford, who also happens to be Ray Anderson&rsquo;s son-in-law. He originally looked at Rubio&rsquo;s site plan, took Oakey aside and said, &ldquo;I can grade this slope, take out some trees, rotate the building 90&deg; and cut your costs in half.&rdquo; But Oakey stuck by his architect. The job helped Langford adapt to an emerging climate of environmental sensitivity. &ldquo;We were doing LEED before there was LEED,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;We learned a lot about cutting waste, recycling and]]>
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      <guid>081105-3.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:00:00 -0500</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/13288-carpet-tile-manufacturer-rsquo-s-makeover-going-green-step-by-step</link>
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      <title>Managers Need Training, Too</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Cranes are usually the most expensive piece of equipment on a jobsite but also have the most potential for damage. With average profit margins in crane-related work a little over 4%, employers cannot afford not to train managers on key safety issues around cranes, insurers say. &ldquo;We are trying to take a higher-level look at systemic issues,&rdquo; says Marko Kaar, senior risk engineering consultant for Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich Services Corp. &ldquo;Is it a failure to inspect? If it is a failure to inspect, is it a failure to train? If it is a failure to train, is it a failure]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081029b.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29593-managers-need-training-too</link>
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      <title>The Ultimate Construction Video Game</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Tower Crane School of Phoenix Tower Crane School of Phoenix Gray sits in the &lsquo;electric chair&rsquo; at his crane school. Students who climb into Ronald Gray&rsquo;s &ldquo;electric chair&rdquo; are usually in for a shocking experience. The chair, wired up to a couple of joysticks and a laptop computer, is not a mode of punishment for students who misbehave, but a surprisingly useful simulation tool that helps potential operators sharpen their skills. And it costs a lot less than the real thing. Similar to flight-simulators for jumbo-jet pilots, heavy-equipment programs help operators learn from mistakes in the virtual world without placing]]>
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      <guid>081029c.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29594-the-ultimate-construction-video-game</link>
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      <title>Developing Nations Struggle To Keep Crane Workers Safe</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[AP/Wideworld Crane crashed on kindergarten in China, killing five children. Crane accidents occur almost everyday all over the world. But accidents in developing nations can be particularly tragic. On Oct. 10, a tower crane working at a six-story residential building in Zibo, China, collapsed onto a kindergarten, killing five children and injuring five. Just four days later, in Shanghai, a tower crane collapsed inside a powerplant, killing two operators. In an attempt to expose workers to higher levels of training, a company in China is organizing a trade mission to send 500 operators to the U.S. to learn new skills.]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081029d.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29595-developing-nations-struggle-to-keep-crane-workers-safe</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Exam Options Are Expanding Fast</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Only about one-third of U.S. states require crane operators to be certified. From 1996 to 2005, the Fairfax, Va.-based National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators was the only game in town. It was the first test agency for crane workers that was accredited to meet the same psychometrics standards that apply to medical and teaching exams. Related Links: In One Week, Crane Operators Receive A License to Learn Managers Need Training, Too The Ultimate Construction Video Game Developing Nations Struggle To Keep Crane Workers Safe Today, is it one of three options available, and more are on the]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081029e.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29598-exam-options-are-expanding-fast</link>
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      <title>Las Vegas University Program Backers Are Betting on Construction</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Tony Illia / ENR UNLV&rsquo;s Shields (left) and contractor Korte revived construction program. The national credit crunch may be quenching the flame under Las Vegas&rsquo; superheated construction market, but industry firms still short of management talent see good news in the resurgence of one key source that almost went bust. Even with some big Vegas projects delayed or canceled in recent months, construction remains Nevada&rsquo;s second-largest employer. But a key local talent pipeline, the construction management program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, dried up in recent years due to a lack of identity, leadership and funding. Now, it]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022c.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29656-las-vegas-university-program-backers-are-betting-on-construction</link>
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      <title>University of Washington Construction Lab is Video-Game Nut�s Dream</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[+ click to enlarge Former Navy facility is set to become a 25,000-sq-ft, 3D learning lab. If video game maker Nintendo ever released a construction-related product, it would probably look a lot like the Pacific Northwest Center for Construction Research and Education, now being built at the University of Washington, Seattle. To be used by the school&rsquo;s College of Architecture and Urban Planning, which includes its construction management program, the 25,000-sq-ft facility will bring virtual reality and the latest building imaging technology to the classroom when it is completed at the end of 2008. Center, now being finished, will allow]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022d.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29657-university-of-washington-construction-lab-is-video-game-nut-s-dream</link>
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      <title>Illinois DOT Seeks Students For Engineering Scholarships</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[To offset what could be a record number of engineers retiring from the Illinois Dept. of Transportation, Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich has launched the agency&rsquo;s first civil engineer scholarship program. It will give up to 20 selected students up to $7,000 per academic year to continue their civil engineering education. &ldquo;We must begin to increase interest in the rewarding field of engineering,&rdquo; he says. The program is for Illinois residents who are admitted to or enrolled full-time at select colleges and universities in the state in a curriculum leading to a civil engineering degree. Recipients may also be able to]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022e.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29658-illinois-dot-seeks-students-for-engineering-scholarships</link>
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      <title>Virginia Tech Professor Wins NSF Award for Capstone Work</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[PARETTI Marie C. Paretti, assistant professor in the Dept. of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, has won a $405,308 award from the National Science Foundation for her research on engineering capstone course experiences for students and faculty. &ldquo;They are so central that ABET, the accreditation agency for engineering, requires every accredited program to provide them for undergraduates,&rdquo; she says. Her research explores how engineering faculty use capstone courses to effectively balance roles as teachers, evaluators and mentors to best support student learning. She says the award will enable her to expand her study of faculty expertise in this]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022f.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29659-virginia-tech-professor-wins-nsf-award-for-capstone-work</link>
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      <title>Lehigh University Launches Structural Engineering Master's</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa., has enrolled the first class of students in its new master&rsquo;s degree program in structural engineering. The 10-month residential program is designed to provide civil engineers with added expertise in design and analysis of large structures. It features a three-course sequence in structural design, including work on a group project that focuses on design of a building, bridge or other major structure and a small team project to explore design challenges related to personal interests such as urban renewal in the U.S. or construction of water systems in the developing world, says the university. Students will]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022g.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29660-lehigh-university-launches-structural-engineering-master-s</link>
    </item>
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      <title>Ontario's Mohawk College Boosts Trades Training Center</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, has opened an 88,000-sq-ft Skilled Trades &amp; Apprentice-ship Research, Resources and Training institute (STARRT) as part of a $24-million renovation of its Stoney Point, Ontario, campus. The center is designed to promote the benefits of apprenticeship in construction and other vocational trades to middle and high school students and others. The new facility includes two roof-mounted vertical wind turbines for renewable energy production and demonstrations, and new labs and machine shops. Mohawk College is southern Ontario&rsquo;s leading skilled trade training center, producing 3,000 apprentices each year. STARRT will nearly double that number, officials say. Related Links:]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022h.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29661-ontario-s-mohawk-college-boosts-trades-training-center</link>
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      <title>Rowan U. Engineers Use Aquarium As Class Tool</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Starting in January, the College of Engineering at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J., along with the New Jersey Academy of Aquatic Sciences and Cumberland County College, will use Camden-based Adventure Aquarium to teach freshman and K-12 students as well about science and engineering. The program is funded through a $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. Faculty and students under Kauser Jahan, chair of Rowan's civil and environmental engineering program, will develop instrumentation for a 100-gallon tank to measure dissolved oxygen and pH levels, outfit a distance-learning classroom at the aquarium and develop experiments and presentations that users can access from]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022j.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29662-rowan-u-engineers-use-aquarium-as-class-tool</link>
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    <item>
      <title>New York State Carpenters' Training Programs Target Students</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters The Empire State Regional Council of Carpenters, which offers apprenticeships in carpentry, floorlaying, piledriving, underwater welding and other craft careers at five centers in New York state, is boosting outreach. Invitations for personalized center tours are being sent to high school students, counselors and local PTAs, as well as groups to attract veterans, reservists and displaced workers who might qualify for direct entry into the four-year program. Related Links: In Challenging Economic Times, Leadership Training Is an Edge Auburn University Students Tackle Mission: No Class Text? Write Your Own Las Vegas University Program Backers]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022k.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29663-new-york-state-carpenters-training-programs-target-students</link>
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    <item>
      <title>In Challenging Economic Times, Leadership Training Is an Edge</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Guy Lawrence / ENR The industry may have a workforce crisis on its hands, but the quality of its leadership is also under pressure, particularly as firms and other organizations face a challenging future. Ensuring that employees from the CEO on down can not only run a business day-to-day but also handle crises, prompt teamwork and inspire innovation takes more than management skills&mdash;it requires an effective leader. Many great industry leaders are naturally gifted or refined their skills on the job under fire. But companies and other entities now are taking more deliberate steps to educate and groom the next]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022a-1.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29653-in-challenging-economic-times-leadership-training-is-an-edge</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Auburn University Students Tackle Mission: No Class Text? Write Your Own</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Project Manager. Auburn University student author edits construction-history-book galleys. Some of the world&rsquo;s greatest structures are architectural wonders, but little or no detail exists about how they were built. Soon, however, ambitious construction students from Alabama&rsquo;s Auburn University will fill that gap. With help from supportive faculty and industry experts, a lot of hard work and a whirlwind summer trip studying ancient and modern buildings, 21 students from Auburn&rsquo;s McWhorter School of Building Science will publish the first definitive textbook on the construction challenges of architecture&rsquo;s global icons. While the book will help teach construction history to Auburn&rsquo;s future freshmen]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081022b.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29655-auburn-university-students-tackle-mission-no-class-text-write-your-own</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Membrane Bioreactors Scale Up to Gain Size and Market</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Twenty-first century technology is gaining momentum in the staid business of wastewater treatment. Since the federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 fueled the buildout of the nation&rsquo;s current crop of wastewater treatment plants, municipalities have mostly relied on conventional activated-sludge processes to meet secondary-treatment standards. That is changing now as vendors and engineers tweak membrane systems originally developed to treat drinking water for the more corrosive environment of wastewater. The results are positive, now often producing effluent that greatly exceeds federal standards for secondary treatment at roughly the same cost. MBRs, or membrane bioreactor systems, combine either flat-plate or]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081015a.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29751-membrane-bioreactors-scale-up-to-gain-size-and-market</link>
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    <item>
      <title>Seattle Membrane Plant Treats to Higher Levels</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Faced with sprawling growth in the greater Seattle area, King County water officials have capitalized on the population&rsquo;s environmental awareness to push through a $1.7-billion wastewater treatment system that could become the country&rsquo;s showcase for advanced secondary treatment. Taking advantage of technological advances that lower energy needs and produce an effluent clean enough to be sold for nonpotable use, the county&rsquo;s division of wastewater control is building a 36-million-gallon-per-day plant, the largest in the U.S. to use membrane bioreactors, borrowing from systems developed to treat drinking water. King County Wastewater Treatment Division The Brightwater plant, located 11 miles north of]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081015-1.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/13322-seattle-membrane-plant-treats-to-higher-levels</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>London's $30-Billion Cross Rail Project Mixes Delivery Systems</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Keener competition for construction contracts might have been one positive feature of the global economic slowdown that could have eased the procurement of London&rsquo;s $30-billion Crossrail transportation project.]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081001a.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29402-londons-30-billion-cross-rail-project-mixes-delivery-systems</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Technology and Integrated Delivery May End Multiple Prime Contracts</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[AP/Wideworld New York schools use multiple primes above specified project costs. With changes to its controversial contracting law in a budget bill, New York state could become the sole champion of multiple-prime contracts. Other states have abandoned or are reconsidering the method in favor of flexibility while collaborative delivery systems may soon make it obsolete. The Wicks Law in New York has its roots in a series of laws the legislature passed starting in 1912. It requires the state and local goverments to have separate prime contracts for electrical, heating and plumbing subs as well as for the general contractor]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081001b.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29403-technology-and-integrated-delivery-may-end-multiple-prime-contracts</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Integrating the Needs of the Purpose-Driven Owner</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[At no time in history have there been as many choices in construction project-delivery systems as there are today. Owners can select design-bid-build, general contracting, construction management, design-build and turn-key development. Each system is, in its own way, a productive means of accomplishing a project, but with little exception, each method conveys to owners how the work will be done rather than what work will be done. IGEL Easy access to lines of credit over the past 15 years led to a building boom along with a rapid increase in the costs and demands of construction across all markets. Contractors]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081001c.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29404-integrating-the-needs-of-the-purpose-driven-owner</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Adaptive Project Teamwork Can Achieve the Impossible</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Less than a year to design and construct 7,000 feet of runway? Until the runway asphalt at the John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport (Pa.) was upgraded to concrete, the U.S. Army Reserve&rsquo;s large C-17 cargo planes would not be able to land. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned on completing the reconstruction project over two seasons. But the Corps&rsquo; design-build team of Hi-Way Paving Inc. and PBS&amp;J asked itself: &ldquo;Is it possible to do the work differently to expedite the schedule&mdash;shortcutting the process without compromising quality?&rdquo; The answer was: &ldquo;Absolutely!&rdquo; The team told the Corps, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll do it in]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081001d.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29405-adaptive-project-teamwork-can-achieve-the-impossible</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Is Integrated Project Delivery A Revolution or Gimmick?</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[We should remain doubtful, on practical grounds, about the veracity or longevity of the American Institute of Architects&rsquo; Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) manifesto and its single-purpose-entity (SPE) offspring as a widespread solution to industry woes. Practitioners, instead of policy wonks, need to weigh in and put them to the test. BISHOP Any proposed solution to industry problems is obliged to confront basic industry reality. One industry driver is the fundamental stalemate from which most negative project outcomes and most legal protections flow. Owners, designers and constructors are all victims, contributors and beneficiaries. The stalemate simultaneously is an impasse with divergent]]>
      </description>
      <guid>081001e.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29406-is-integrated-project-delivery-a-revolution-or-gimmick</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Crisis Changes Demand Side of Costs</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino Banks forced foreclosure on $9.3-billion Las Vegas casino in midconstruction. Record high oil and steel prices during the first half of the year were just starting to work their way into construction industry cost indexes when the financial meltdown on Wall Street threatened to drastically reduce the demand side of the cost equation. Commodity prices had already started to slip from their second-quarter peaks, but that slip could turn into a major step back as commercial construction gets sucked into the subprime-mortgage debacle. &ldquo;Our forecast was already looking for a decline in nonresidential building work this]]>
      </description>
      <guid>080924b-1.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29395-crisis-changes-demand-side-of-costs</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Prices Slip After Last Spring&amp;rsquo;s Spike</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[AP/Wideworld After staggering price increases during the past year, prices for structural steel this quarter appear to have stabilized as indexes begin to show the first signs of a long-awaited correction. The leveling-off of structural steel prices this month follows a drop in scrap metal prices over the last two months and fat inventories that producers have accumulated this year amid waning demand. Structural steel prices &ldquo;have peaked,&rdquo; says John Anton, director of steel services for Washington, D.C.-based forecasting company Global Insight. &ldquo;Mills have been increasing production throughout this year and now that inventories are replenished it&rsquo;s time for producers]]>
      </description>
      <guid>080924c.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29397-prices-slip-after-last-spring-rsquo-s-spike</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>AIG Meltdown Triggers Workers&amp;rsquo; Comp Fear</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[The collapse of some investment banking firms and the government restructuring of Chicago-based insurance giant American International Group has generated some uncertainty as to how the financial crisis on Wall Street will affect funds for workers&rsquo; compensation. Some insurance executives, however, are optimistic. Related Links: Steel Price Spike Meets Credit Crunch Crisis Changes Demand Side of Costs Prices Slip After Last Spring&rsquo;s Spike Bottlenecks, Labor Shortages and Volatile Prices Produce Sticker Shock New Index Spotlights Spike in Powerplant Construction Costs Tight Labor Markets Push Wages Up Complete Report &ldquo;Our organization sees ample amount of risk capital, even a surplus of]]>
      </description>
      <guid>080924d.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29398-aig-meltdown-triggers-workers-rsquo-comp-fear</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Bottlenecks, Labor Shortages and Volatile Prices Produce Sticker Shock</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Shifting powerplant markets, supply bottlenecks, volatile equipment prices, global competition for powerplant materials and shortages of specialty craft and professional labor have conspired to produce what one source calls sticker shock&rdquo; for powerplant owners. Price escalation is up from five years ago, driven by market conditions that have allowed &ldquo;profiteering&rdquo; by makers of specialty products, according to another source. Shaw Power Group/Mark Banks Costs of specialty metals as well as commodities have been driven by global demand. Coal-fired powerplants have held the field for the last four or five years, but they are about to yield to combustion turbines. That]]>
      </description>
      <guid>080924e.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29399-bottlenecks-labor-shortages-and-volatile-prices-produce-sticker-shock</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>New Index Spotlights Spike in Powerplant Construction Costs</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[&nbsp; SOURCE: POWERADVOCATE. NEW 550 MW COMBINED-CYCLE FACILITY. A new series of construction cost indexes for powerplant projects has recently been launched by the firm Power Advocate, Boston, Mass. ENR will publish its index for a 550-MW combined-cycle powerplant in its cost report. The most recent PowerAdvocate cost index for a combined-cycle plant shows a year-to-year increase of 10.2%, well above the 3% to 7% tracked by other indexes for commercial buildings. Most of this is due to the surge in steel prices, which has a greater impact on powerplant work than commercial buildings, as well as increased demand for]]>
      </description>
      <guid>080924f.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29400-new-index-spotlights-spike-in-powerplant-construction-costs</link>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Tight Labor Markets Push Wages Up</title>
      <description>
        <![CDATA[Shaw Power Group/Jason Brod Despite concerns that the nation&rsquo;s economic woes could impact the construction industry, open-shop wages continue to rise at a steady rate to meet strong demand in certain sectors. Wages among open-shop journeymen jumped 5.1% in 2007 and they could rise another 4.8% in 2008, according to a survey by Personnel Administration Services, Saline, Mich. While some sectors have slowed or flattened, the growing need to staff petrochemical and power projects is pressuring wage increases, says Jeff Robinson, president of PAS. &ldquo;In areas around the country where we&rsquo;ve seen a lot of powerplant work, we&rsquo;re seeing some]]>
      </description>
      <guid>080924g.asp</guid>
      <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:00:00 -0400</pubDate>
      <link>https://www.enr.com/articles/29401-tight-labor-markets-push-wages-up</link>
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