Boldt Flattens Curve for Re-Opening, Creates Safer Workspaces

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When physical distancing puts a wrench in the personalized give and take of building complicated structures, adaptation is key. Reopening plans for The Boldt Company’s 14 national offices and dozens of jobsites depended on innovation and a creative use of technology. The company created a task force to address facilities and technology, then tapped experts in its own technical services division to pull together a center of excellence to address reopening. The task force identified issues for operations, safety, technology, different geographic markets and assigned a leader for each topic. Team members identified issues such as split work schedules, team … Read more

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Construction Industry Adds 158,000 Workers in June, Infrastructure Jobs Decline, Says AGC

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Construction employment increased by 158,000 jobs in June, but employment related to infrastructure slipped, according to a newly released analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data. Association officials cautioned that additional infrastructure-building job losses are inevitable unless the federal government replenishes depleted state and local budgets for roads and other public works.   “The gain in construction employment in June was concentrated in homebuilding, with scattered increases in nonresidential building, while heavy and civil engineering construction employment—the category that includes many highway and other infrastructure workers—shrank by nearly 10,000 jobs,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief … Read more

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Garland Launches Defense Force Product Line Amid Global Health Crisis

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As much of the country begins to ease restrictions and businesses start to reopen, The Garland Company, Inc. is ready with its innovative Defense Force line of high-performance products designed to either clean, disinfect and/or protect commercial facilities. The flagship Defense Force product is D7, a safe and effective EPA-registered antimicrobial disinfectant that kills bacteria, fungi, germs and viruses in minutes and has demonstrated effectiveness against viruses similar to COVID-19. It can be applied to hard, non-porous interior and exterior surfaces. D7 is easily mixed and applied with standard sprayers. The Defense Force product line also includes Clear-Shield, a patented, … Read more

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New Date Announced for Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls

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The 7th National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls, postponed from its original May date due to the coronavirus pandemic, has been rescheduled for the week of Sept. 14-18. The annual Stand-Down is part of the OSHA-NIOSH-CPWR Campaign to Prevent Falls in Construction and serves as an opportunity to pause and re-focus on falls — one of the leading causes of death in construction. This year, we encourage employers and workers to participate virtually or with social-distancing measures on jobsites. In support of the event, CPWR is working with OSHA and NIOSH to develop activities and materials to facilitate safe stand-downs, … Read more

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Report Reveals Commercial Construction Index Drops Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

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The recently released Q2 2020 USG Corporation + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index plunged from 74 in Q1 to 56 in Q2. Two of the index’s three main indicators—confidence in new business and revenue expectations—both fell 26 points, to 50 and 44, respectively, revealing the severe impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the construction industry. However, the third indicator, backlog, dropped only a modest three points, remaining consistent with the first half of 2018. Survey results were largely collected in the month of April, at the height of shutdown restrictions. The overall drop in the index stemmed in part from the fact … Read more

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