WASHINGTON, D.C. — Five of the nation's largest construction trade associations have teamed up to form the Construction Coalition for a Drug- and Alcohol-Free Workplace. The coalition's mission is to create a drug- and alcohol-free construction industry by providing companies and organizations with the resources necessary to implement drug- and alcohol-free policies into their business practices. CCDAFW launched a nationwide effort urging construction-related firms and organizations to sign an online pledge signifying they will create and maintain a workplace free from substance abuse. In addition to listing current pledge signatories, the CCDAFW website, http://www.drugfreeconstruction.org/ includes educational materials and state-by-state policies … Read more

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Mortenson Construction has been selected by Sanford Health to build the new Sanford Fargo Medical Center in Fargo, N.D. Mortenson is partnering with Nor-Son, Inc. of Baxter, Minn., on the $340-million project. Work on the new medical center will begin in summer of 2012 with occupancy planned for 2016. The new Sanford Fargo Medical Center will be the premier healthcare facility in the upper Midwest and the largest in North Dakota. It will feature a nine-story medical center with 460 inpatient beds, 32 OR suites, 12 IR/Cath labs, and a 51 bay emergency department. A heliport, 200,000 … Read more

Stanford University President John Hennessy announced the launch of a campaign to transform health care at a local, national and global level. The $1 billion Campaign for Stanford Medicine will make investments in medical research and teaching, build a new Stanford hospital and accelerate the translation of new medical knowledge into leading-edge, coordinated patient care. The medical center is already halfway to its goal, with $500 million in pledges and expectancies from individuals and corporate donors. The Campaign for Stanford Medicine will help fund the construction of a new hospital on the current Palo Alto site. The new hospital, which … Read more

RALEIGH, N.C. — FMI Corporation released its latest whitepaper, “Modularization and Prefabrication—Role Development and Evolution.” The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently addressed ways to improve the competiveness and productivity of the construction industry in the United States. The institute noted greater use of prefabrication, preassembly, modularization and off-site fabrication techniques and processes is one of the primary ways the industry could improve productivity and become more efficient during the next 20 years. FMI's experience confirms this view. When last surveyed about growth in prefabrication and modularization, 49 percent of Nonresidential Construction Index panelists expected growth to exceed five … Read more

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Hayner Hoyt Corporation (www.haynerhoyt.com) and KBE Building Corporation (KBE) (www.kbebuilding.com) have been selected to construct a 200,000 square-foot addition to St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center in Syracuse, N.Y. Hayner Hoyt and KBE have partnered to complete the seven-story, $98-million addition, which will include new operating rooms, post anesthesia care units, intensive care units, patient rooms and administrative and support space. The project also entails a 50,000-square-foot renovation on the existing emergency room space in the hospital, and will consist of post anesthesia care units, locker rooms, showers, administrative, and additional staff support space. The Hayner Hoyt-KBE … Read more