Construction spending declined between July and August to an annualized rate of $837 billion, but increased compared to August 2011, according to an analysis of new federal data released today by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials noted that growing demand for residential, lodging and education construction offset drops in public construction spending. “The construction industry has definitely lost some of the momentum it had earlier this year,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association's chief executive officer, noting that construction spending has now declined for two months in a row. “With the exception of the lodging sector, many … Read more

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Concrete contractors with exemplary safety records for 2011 were recognized by the American Society of Concrete Contractors, St. Louis, Mo., at the association's Annual Conference, September 20, in Chicago, Ill. W. Burr Bennett Awards for Safety Excellence were given to specialty contractor Prus Construction Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, and general contractor, Walbridge, Detroit, Mich. These awards are presented in partnership with CNA, Chicago, a commercial and casualty insurance provider, to contractors that place the highest priority on safety.   Entries are judged on three years of safety performance indicators, values and trends; a self-assessment checklist of company … Read more

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Beginning with a round of ‘Stretch and Flex,’ a series of stretching exercises done on all Gilbane jobsites to start each work day, Safety Summit attendees were primed for a day of presentations and break-out discussions on the topic of construction safety. Business leaders set aside competition in the name of making the construction industry safer as a whole. In addition to leadership from Gilbane Building Company, attendees included Mike McNally, CEO of Skanska USA; Charlie Bacon, CEO of Limbach, Inc. and Ross Myers, CEO of American Infrastructure. “Safety is not about compliance. It’s about caring,” said … Read more

NEW YORK, N.Y. — FieldLens — a mobile technology designed for the construction industry — announced a total seed investment of $1.925 million.   FieldLens will use this investment to continue developing a communication platform providing construction industry personnel real-time mobile access to all critical jobsite data, saving the industry an estimated $40 billion in costs wasted from inefficient communication. Brad Svrluga of High Peaks Venture Partners said, “The construction industry is sitting on the front edge of a powerful transformation, as ubiquitous smartphone penetration creates opportunity to completely change how communication, task management and data collection happens in the … Read more