A Chat with Jake Marsac, Senior General Superintendent at Messer Construction

Cohesive team, mutual respect key to successful projects By Chris Maday Schmidt Senior General Superintendent Jake Marsac possesses more than a dozen years of experience in the construction industry, with the last five years at Messer Construction (Cincinnati, Ohio). In his position, Marsac directly manages field operations for multimillion-dollar scopes of work. Throughout his day-to-day responsibilities, he focuses on safety, quality, schedule and budget, while valuing teamwork, quality, collaboration, ingenuity, stewardship and relationship development. Join Construction Superintendent as Marsac shares advice for breaking into the trades, mitigating the labor and materials shortages, and more. (Q) How did you end up … Read more

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Mall of Oman Awarded LEED Platinum Certification

The joint venture of Consolidated Contractors Company and Shapoorji Pallonji Middle East’s Mall of Oman Project — located in Dubai, U.A.E. — was awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Platinum certification this spring. The Mall of Oman project achieved a Platinum certification under the LEED 2009 Core and Shell Development rating system with a total of 81 points. The Mall of Oman was built using low-environmental impact construction materials; approximately 22.95% of the materials used in the construction were recycled-content products (the product was manufactured with recycled materials either collected from a recycling program or from waste recovered … Read more

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Bigger, Better, Faster

A Superintendent’s Approach to New Technology By Devin McLaren Technology is constantly evolving to not only change the way we build, but also to change the way project teams collaborate and problem solve in a challenging landscape. To achieve such progress, technology and innovation must play a key role in offering craftsmen and women new ways to improve means and methods, efficiency, speed-to-market delivery, safety and quality control. Technology is critical to construction both in the design and in the building process — the advances that have been made over the last 20 years save time and money every day … Read more

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Planning is Paramount: Crane Utilization on Vertical Construction Projects

By Robert Pavelka When it comes to managing and mitigating risks on construction jobsites, few activities require a greater level of awareness or more extensive preplanning than the deployment of cranes. Whether it is a fixed tower crane that is brought in and assembled on the construction site for use throughout the project, or a mobile crane such as a crawler, hydraulic or vehicle-mounted variety, cranes have long been an essential tool for builders to effectively and efficiently erect their vertical construction projects. But the consequences of inadequate planning and errors in execution can be dire. According to the U.S. … Read more

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Building a New Reality for Safety Training

By Dan Ruane Even as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration demands a high standard, construction safety continues to be an area of opportunity for the industry. As the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 1,008 fatalities in 2020, there remains a compelling need for improvement. All workers have the right to a safe work environment, and jobsite safety should always be a top priority for any construction company. Beyond the moral obligation, it makes financial sense. A U.S. National Safety Council survey reveals that each dollar invested in safety measures returns $2 in avoided costs. The challenge: traditionally, safety … Read more

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