Construction Unemployment Drops in April, AGC Reports

  • Posted on

The unemployment rate for construction workers fell to the lowest April level in five years as contractors added more than 150,000 employees in the past year despite a dip in employment last month, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that, despite the monthly drop, the industry is likely to continue adding jobs for much of 2013. “It is heartening to see that both nonresidential and residential segments of the construction industry added significant numbers of workers in the last 12 months, even though gains from March to April … Read more

Filed under: Economic News, NewsTagged with:

BIM Group Seeks Comments on Uniform Standards for Plans

  • Posted on

A nationwide group of Building Information Modeling users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry input on a proposed set of standards establishing how complete Building Information Models need to be for different stages of the design and construction process.   Once finalized, the new standards, known as Level of Development Specifications, will allow everyone to clearly articulate how complete model elements for the different building systems are or need to be throughout the design and construction process. “Nobody benefits if everybody has a different idea about how much information should go into each element of a building model or … Read more

Filed under: News

NIOSH, OSHA and CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training Announce Re-launch of National Campaign to Prevent Falls

  • Posted on

On April 28, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and CPWR — The Center for Construction Research and Training announced the re-launch of the construction fall prevention campaign, the national initiative to prevent falls at construction sites. Falls continue to be the leading cause of work-related injury and deaths in construction.   According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of two construction workers die each day in the United States. Deaths and injuries from falls represent a major and persistent, yet preventable public health problem. In 2011, … Read more

Filed under: News, Organizations

Brasfield & Gorrie Celebrates Topping Out of Mars Petcare Regional Innovation Center

  • Posted on

Brasfield & Gorrie recently celebrated the topping out of the Mars Petcare Regional Innovation Center in Thompson’s Station, Tenn. Recently, Brasfield & Gorrie placed the final steel structure on the Product Development Center, commemorating the end of the structural construction for the $87-million project, on track to open in spring 2014. The four-building, 90-acre campus, will serve as a home base for creating future innovations in pet food for the pet food makers Mars Petcare and The Nutro Company, part of Mars, Incorporated companies. The campus will include four buildings containing pet food labs, office space and a product development … Read more

Filed under: News

Williams Company Builds Goodwill's First ‘Made in America’ Retail Store, Job Connection Center

  • Posted on

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando-based Williams Company Building Division recently completed Goodwill Industries of Central Florida's first “Made in America” retail store and Job Connection Center, which opened April 18 in Clermont, Fla.   Borne of a shared vision of building a facility with 100 percent U.S.-made materials, and consistent with Goodwill's mission of “Building Lives That Work,” the ambitious goal began last year when Williams" representatives and Goodwill's President William Oakley and Vice President Ken Moler pursued it in earnest. Following a carefully documented best-efforts approach, at least 98 percent of materials used for the $3-million, 22,500-square-foot project are American-made … Read more

Filed under: NewsTagged with: