Common Ground Alliance’s 2015 DIRT Report Estimates 9% Drop in Damages to Buried Utilities

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Common Ground Alliance, the stakeholder-run organization dedicated to protecting underground utility lines and the people who dig near them, shared findings from its comprehensive 2015 Damage Information Reporting Tool report. The report, which is the sum of all 2015 data submitted anonymously and voluntarily by facility operators, utility locating companies, one call centers, contractors and regulators, estimates that the total number of underground excavation damages in the U.S. last year dropped by 9 percent from the year prior, to approximately 317,000 damages. The 2015 damage ratio, which measures damages per 1,000 one-call transmissions, decreased by nearly 4 … Read more

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Maximizing LEED Points on the Jobsite

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By Thomas Taylor Studies from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency state that Americans spend 90 percent or more of their lives indoors1. This is one reason why the USGBC’s LEED 2009 rating system, which is being used by most project teams that have potential LEED-certified projects in the works, rewards teams from keeping harmful materials out of the facilities they build. Almost all manufactured materials used on construction sites contain some amount of chemicals. The truth is, chemicals that emit harmful gasses into the air, a process that is known as off-gassing, can be found in all sorts of other … Read more

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Effective Punchlist Strategies

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By: Casey Curren The punchlist phase is not exactly everyone’s favorite part of a project. All the luster and shimmer of a new and exciting project is long gone. Most of the work is in place, and now it is down to finishing the small details. I recently worked on a high-rise residential project, which had 656 high-end units and amenities. Following is my experience on what has worked for me and what areas leave room for improvement. Start Planning for the End Earlier During the punchlist stage, as a superintendent it feels as if we are managing subcontractors who … Read more

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WernerCo Releases New Self-Retracting Fall Protection Lifelines

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WernerCo released an expanded portfolio of Self Retracting Lifelines, including the compact retractable Bantam6. The Bantam6 SRL family provides a unique solution meeting Class A Safety Standards in performance testing. These new SRLs extend and retract automatically during typical use so they won’t get in the way of the job—ensuring maximum productivity and safety at the same time. Its brake mechanism activates immediately in the event of a fall, reducing fall distance and impact to the body. The Bantam6 SRLs are compact and lightweight at less than 2.5 pounds, making it easy to transport to and from the jobsite. Available … Read more

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Sundt Crew Digs Up Solution that Keeps Project Moving

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Sometimes the most challenging part of construction work happens underground. A Sundt team ran into just such an issue on a project for Southwestern College and quickly developed a way to climb out of the hole. While starting utility relocations for a 25,000-square-foot science building on the National City, California campus, they ran across two old storage tanks located 8-10 feet below grade. While both were empty, local, state and federal jurisdictions and authorities had to give the clearance before work could proceed. Since this isn’t the first building to be put up on the site – there have been … Read more

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