Starbucks introduces upscale Reserve concept

Starbucks will open the first Starbucks Reserve location at its Seattle headquarters today. The company plans to open as many as 1,000 of the high-end stores, which will serve an expanded menu of coffee drinks, cocktails from a mixology bar and food from Princi Italian bakery. Read the Reuters story here

Survey: Room revenue drives growth for US hotels

U.S. hotels are relying less on revenue from spas, parking lots and gift shops amid strong revenue growth from rooms since the 2008-09 recession. Revenue from rooms grew by 38.8% from 2010 to 2016, according to CBRE‘s annual “Trends in the Hotel Industry” survey. Read the Hotel News Now story here

$8.5B expansion being planned at O’Hare airport

The city of Chicago and major air carriers are negotiating an $8.5 billion deal to add 3.1 million square feet of terminal space at O’Hare International Airport. Under the plan, Terminal 2 would be demolished, and a new international terminal would be constructed. Read the Chicago Tribune story here

J.Crew to add Madewell shops in 6 locations

Six J.Crew stores will open in-store shops from sibling fashion brand Madewell, combining the two retail concepts for the first time. The Madewell shops will stock fashions that complement the J.Crew assortment and include some of Madewell’s signature features including denim bars, the company said. Read the story here

Albertsons plans to buy remaining Rite Aid stores

Albertsons plans to buy the Rite Aid stores that aren’t being sold to Walgreens Boots Alliance. The deal would create a company with annual revenue of $83 billion and would put Albertsons in a position to go public. Read The New York Times story here

Saks expands in Canada with first Calgary store

Saks Fifth Avenue is scheduled to open its first store in Calgary, making it its third shop in Canada. The 115,000-square-foot legendary department store is part of the high-end Chinook Centre, which also includes Hudson’s Bay and Nordstrom. Read the Calgary Herald story here

Marriott Autograph resort on track for 2019 opening in Dominica

The Anichi Resort and Spa will open in late 2019 as a part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection in Portsmouth, Dominica, on the northern part of the island. Read the Travel Weekly story here

Host Hotels under contract to acquire 3 hotels for $1B

Host Hotels & Resorts placed three Hyatt hotels – Andaz Maui at Wailea in Hawaii, the Grand Hyatt San Francisco and the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs, Fla. – under contract to buy for $1 billion. The REIT sold the Key Bridge Marriott in the Washington, D.C., region for $190 million and has a contract to sell the W New York for $190 million. Read the GlobeSt story here

Military Veterans in Construction

By Brian Binke

As commercial construction recruiting firms continue to look for new ways to solve the labor shortage impacting the industry, a growing number of search consultants are reaching out to military veterans to fill vacant construction jobs. Not only are military veterans taking the oath of enlistment to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, many of them are also signing up to help rebuild the infrastructure of America.

Messer Construction Co.

Messer Construction continues to grow after more than 80 years in business. 

By The Editors of Construction Today

Although it still refers to itself as a local builder, Dayton, Ohio-based Messer Construction has national resources, and its arms reach out to nine regions throughout the Midwest and Southeast.

Equity firm to pay $560M for Fogo de Chao

Private-equity firm Rhone Capital will acquire Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chao for $560 million. The chain has 38 U.S. restaurants with plans to grow to 100 or more, and it’s also focused on international growth. Read the Bloomberg story here

InterContinental in market for small luxury brands

InterContinental is in the market for luxury brands that currently have a small footprint, similar to the Kimpton deal in 2014. The company also plans to grow its franchise presence in China. Read the Reuters story here

Starwood pursues $1B in asset sales

The St. Regis New York could be included in a planned asset sale by Starwood as the company seeks to shed around $1 billion in assets. Read the Bloomberg story here 

Technomic: Taco Bell rises to 4th-largest US restaurant chain

Taco Bell booked a 5% sales increase last year, surpassing Burger King as the country’s fourth-largest restaurant brand, according to Technomic. McDonald’s, Starbucks and Subway maintained their spots in the top three. Read the Bloomberg story here

Worried about your safety?

By Robert Slocomb 

“There is no best solution to a safety problem. There are a variety of directions to go. Each of these directions may produce some degree of risk reduction.”  Air Force Safety Handbook

Every year, companies large and small spend fortunes on safety, and the heavy civil company I work for is no exception. It’s impossible to say which safety methods work best, because all systems have varying degrees of reducing risk. 

Albertsons will acquire most Rite Aid drugstores

Albertsons will acquire a majority of the Rite-Aid drugstore chain in a cash-and-stock deal, adding crucial scale to the grocer’s pharmacy operations. Walgreens is already in the process of acquiring about 2,000 Rite-Aid stores, while pharmacies in Albertsons locations will move to the Rite-Aid brand.
Read the Bloomberg story here

Platinum Equity to buy Wyndham’s European vacation rental unit in $1.3B deal

Wyndham Worldwide has announced the sale of its European vacation rental unit for around $1.3 billion. The unit received interest from multiple buyers, with Platinum Equity coming out on top. Read the Reuters story here

Detroit sees wave of hotel development

Siren Hotel, the Shinola Hotel and the Element Detroit Hotel are all slated to open in Detroit this year. A new project near Little Caesars Arena would bring 100 rooms to an eight-story building in the city’s Cass Corridor. Read the Curbed story here

Sheraton Maui prepares for $25M revamp

The Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa is embarking on a full room renovation that, for the first time, will impart a unique style and decor on each of its buildings. Read the Travel Weekly story here

Long John Silver’s to get a new look

Long John Silver’s will transform its brand this spring, with new interior and exterior designs, digital drive-thru menu boards and new menu items, including grilled seafood. New menu items will also include seafood tacos and bowls. Read the Nation’s Restaurant News story here

Le Duff America to sell Canadian coffee, muffin chains

Montreal-based MTY Food Group will acquire Canadian restaurant concepts Timothy’s World Coffee and Mmmuffins from Le Duff America, the US affiliate of French company Groupe Le Duff. The sale comes as Le Duff focuses its efforts on launching its Brioche Doree concept in the United States. Read the Nation’s Restaurant News story here

FAO Schwarz to start opening shops in China this year

FAO Schwarz has returned to growth mode after shuttering its iconic New York City store two years ago, with plans to expand internationally. The retailer will partner with Chinese distributor Kidsland to open stores in Beijing and Shanghai in 2018, and it has teamed with Hudson Group to open branded shops at airports in the U.S. and Canada. Read the USA Today/The Associated Press story here

Marriott sees strong demand for luxury brands

Marriott packed its pipeline with 125,000 rooms last year, many in the luxury segment. Read the Hotel News Now story here

Shake Shack aims to grow to 320 units by 2020

Shake Shack plans to open up to 35 new U.S. restaurants this year, marking its biggest expansion year to date. The chain expects to grow to 200 U.S. locations and 120 international restaurants by 2020. Read the CNBC story here

Kroger cooks up a plan to play in the restaurant arena

Kroger has launched a Culinary Innovation Center in Cincinnati to focus on prepared food innovation and position itself as part of the restaurant industry. In-store restaurants were on track to grow 3.5% in 2017 and book sales of about $42.3 billion, according to a report released last year. Read the WCPO-TV story here

Penney’s to shutter 8 stores, leave Puerto Rico location closed

J.C. Penney will close eight U.S. stores and won’t reopen one of seven stores in Puerto Rico that were closed when Hurricane Maria hit the island last fall. The retailer announced earlier this week that it would shutter a Wisconsin distribution center to streamline logistics as its stores fulfill a growing number of online orders. Read The Dallas Morning News story here

Marriott plans to double footprint in China

Marriott has 300 properties in its China pipeline, adding to the brand’s 300 hotels already operating in the country. Read The Real Deal online story here

CCRS 2019 Summit & 2018 Summit HiLites

2018 Women in Construction: Building Connections

“2018 Women in Construction: Building Connections” will be held at The AMA Conference Center in The John Hancock Building June 21st, 2018 downtown Atlanta, GA.

To register for WIC:BC 2018, please click here.

Below is WIC:BC 2018 schedule:
7:30 am – 8:30 am Check In/Breakfast
8:30 am – 9:00 am Welcome and Ice Breaker Activity
9:00 am – 10:15 am General Session
10:15 am – 10:45 am Break
10:45 am – 12:00 pm Workshop (2 -3 options)
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm Lunch w/Keynote
1:30 pm – 2:45 pm Workshop (2-3 options)
2:45 pm – 3:15 pm Break
3:15 pm – 4:30 pm Panel
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm Wrap Up and Closing

WIC:BC 2018 produced by:

ALDI renovating stores, seeking locations in St. Louis

ALDI is renovating its stores in the St. Louis market and is also seeking expansion locations nearby. Officials in at least two St. Louis suburbs say ALDI has taken an interest in development sites in their areas. Read the St. Louis Post-Dispatch story here

Macy’s debuts pop-up marketplace concept

Macy’s has created a new in-store pop-up concept called The Market @ Macy’s, to offer brands temporary space on the ground floor to showcase their products. Macy’s employees staff the shops for the brands, which pay a one-time fee and can stay for as little as a month. Read the CNBC story here

Fast-casual funders back falafel concept’s growth plan

New York-based fast-casual falafel concept Taim is mapping an ambitious expansion plan after taking it slow since its 2005 launch. With the backing of former Chipotle Mexican Grill executives and investors, the concept will add three new units this year. Read the Nation’s Restaurant News story here

NRF: 2018 retail sales set to rise up to 4.4%

U.S. retail sales are on track to grow between 3.8% and 4.4% this year, as consumers’ wages grow and unemployment remains low, according to an NRF report. Read the CNBC story here

Pork & Mindy’s maps a nontraditional growth plan

Pork & Mindy’s, a Chicago fast-casual concept co-created three years ago by “Food Network Star” winner Jeff Mauro, has grown to four locations. Now, the company aims to grow with a plan that includes company-owned eateries, food hall counters and licensed locations. Read the QSR online story here

Apple Hospitality buys hotels in Atlanta, Memphis

Apple Hospitality REIT continues its pace of acquiring new hotels every few months with two new purchases: the 119-room Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Atlanta-Downtown and the 144-room Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Memphis-Beale Street. The properties traded for a combined purchase price of $63 million, or approximately $240,000 per key. Read the GlobeSt story here

Wyndham reportedly selling European vacation-rentals unit in $1B deal

Wyndham Worldwide is in negotiations with Platinum Equity to sell its European vacation-rentals business, which has been valued at $1 billion including debt, says the The Wall Street Journal. The sale fits in with Wyndham’s plans, which it announced in August, to turn its hotel and timeshare businesses into two publicly traded companies.

Italy’s Bottega Veneta opens its largest store in the world in N.Y.

Italian luxury brand Bottega Veneta has opened its largest store in the world on New York City’s Madison Avenue, says Women’s Wear Daily. The nearly 15,000-square-foot flagship was created by joining three five-story townhomes, and the offerings include a range of product categories including jewelry, furniture and dinnerware.

Fast-casual concepts find new life through rebranding

Verts Mediterranean Grill rebranded as Noon Mediterranean two years ago when the 19-unit fast-casual chain moved its headquarters from Austin to New York City, after research showed the old name was hard for consumers to pronounce and relate to. Other concepts including Naf Naf Grill and Pizza Patron have changed their names and made over their branding to become more relevant to consumers, branding experts say. Read the QSR online story here

Malls court Dave & Busters to drive traffic

Restaurant and entertainment chain Dave & Busters is in growth mode, with about 100 locations and leases for 29 new units set to open by the end of next year. Mall operators are wooing the chain to drive traffic and fill spaces left empty as Sears and other anchors have closed. Read the CNBC story here

Barneys to close 1 of 3 Manhattan stores

Barneys New York will close its 10,420-square-foot store on New York City’s Upper West Side on Feb. 18, leaving Manhattan with two Barneys stores, says Women’s Wear Daily. The location was one of 15 Co-op stores that were converted or closed after Barneys did away with the low-price banner in 2013.

Tapestry weaves a turnaround plan for Kate Spade

Coach parent Tapestry has crafted a turnaround plan for its Kate Spade brand based on what proved successful at Coach. The plan includes a focus on growth potential in China, speedier production cycles and using Tapestry’s 120 million-profile database to improve service and customer targeting. Read the Glossy story here

Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings merge under Inspire Brands

Arby’s Restaurant Group has closed on its $2.9 billion purchase of Buffalo Wild Wings and formed a new multi-brand company dubbed Inspire Brands, which will focus on growing the existing brands and acquiring new ones. Roark Capital Group is the majority owner of Inspire Brands, which will have about 4,600 company-owned and franchise locations. Read the Food Business News story here

Record $170B in hotel bookings projected for 2018

A vigorous global economy and healthy domestic consumer spending are among reasons for projecting a record year for gross hotel bookings in the United States, the Deloitte Travel, Hospitality and Leisure‘s latest report states. The forecast calls for 5% to 6% growth in 2018, to $170 billion in bookings. Read the Hotel Business story here

Second-generation restaurateurs build a pizza franchise

Cousins Francis Garcia and Sal Basille learned the restaurant business while growing up around their family’s eateries, before launching pizza and beer concept Artichoke Basille Pizza in New York City a decade ago. Today, the chain has grown to 12 units, including the first franchised location in Miami. Read the FastCasual story here

Construction employers add 36,000 jobs in January

Construction employment increased by 36,000 jobs in January to the highest level since August 2008, according to an analysis of new government data by the Associated General Contractors of America. Association officials said a possible new measure being discussed in Washington that would invest an additional $1.5 trillion in repairing and improving infrastructure would both help the sector continue to add jobs and attract new workers.Construction employment totaled 7,099,000 in January, a gain of 36,000 for the month and 226,000, or 3.3 percent, over 12 months. The economist pointed out that the­­ year-over-year growth rate in industry jobs was more than double the 1.5 percent rise in total nonfarm payroll employment.

Residential construction—comprising residential building and specialty trade contractors—added 19,000 jobs in January and 88,400 jobs, or 3.3 percent, over the past 12 months. Nonresidential construction (building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering construction) employment increased by 16,400 jobs in January and 137,200 positions, or 3.3 percent, over 12 months.

The number of unemployed jobseekers with recent construction experience fell to 707,000 in January, down from 859,000 in January 2017, while the unemployment rate in construction dropped to 7.3 percent last month from 9.4 percent a year earlier. The number and rate were the lowest for January since the series began in 2000. Unemployment data by industry are not seasonally adjusted, and winter figures for construction are normally higher than they are for total nonfarm employment, but these declines show how difficult it has become for the industry to find experienced workers, Simonson said.

Average hourly earnings in the industry climbed to $29.33, a rise of 2.9 percent from a year earlier. The economist noted that construction pays nearly 10 percent more per hour than the average nonfarm private-sector job in the United States.

Why Your Crew Needs to Be Up on the Latest Home Trends

By Sara Parker

It's the beginning of a new year, and that means new trends are popping up left and right. While your construction crew may not need to follow the Pantone color of the year, they do need to understand what's happening currently and what's on the horizon in the home industry. The following are just a few reasons why your crew needs to stay up to date:

Shane Patrick Associates Inc.

Credit: Shane Patrick Associates, Inc./ Alyssha Eve Csuk

Shane Patrick Associates prides itself on being able to tackle unique projects.
By Jim Harris

Shane Patrick Associates specializes in building unique projects that improve their communities. “We’re lucky to be able to work on cool and challenging projects that push us a little bit,” says Derrick Davis, president of the Allentown, Penn.-based company.

Many of the company’s projects involve transforming existing and historic buildings for brand-new uses. “There’s a lot of quality, care and craftsmanship behind older buildings,” he adds. “I appreciate the character and pride that went into them.”

Keep a facility running during expansion/renovation

Summary:

Completing a renovation or expansion to an existing facility while its operations remain ongoing is a difficult job. But by mixing creative choreography with ground rules, goals and expectations, owners and construction firms can team up make these hard jobs a little easier.

How to keep a facility running during expansion and / or renovation
It’s a common conundrum for owners and facility managers: We need to expand or renovate our space, but we can’t shut down operations.

It often seems impossible to accomplish both sides of that coin, and leaders can quickly find themselves in a state of paralysis by analysis. But it can be done. Success on these types of jobs lies at the intersection of communication and choreography.

The case for keeping things moving
Before we dig into the details of how to keep a facility running during an expansion or renovation, it’s important to discuss why it’s a good idea to complete a construction project this way.

First, an owner may have no other choice. For organizations who lack the luxury of a construction-ready greenfield site, completing a project while work remains ongoing might be the only option.

Second, staying in operation means you can keep projects moving. You won’t be totally free of interruptions, but you can at least keep the wheels turning. That continuity benefits those you serve, be they students, patients or customers.

Finally, staying in operation means staying in position to accomplish your organization’s goals. Schools keep educating kids. Hospitals keep healing the sick and injured. Factories keep turning out widgets. It’s an attractive option for for-profit organizations who must keep generating revenue during a time of significant expense. The same is true for non-profit or educational entities who want to stay focused on their core mission no matter what.

Coexistence during construction
A detailed plan with strict rules must be put in place to ensure construction work can carry on with minimal interference with regular business. There are tradeoffs here. Some plans make more sense than others depending on the site and circumstances, but no plan will be perfect.

If an owner has portable equipment and enough space to shuffle people and their work around, renovation or expansion can proceed in phases during normal business hours provided work areas are safely sealed off. A benefit of doing it this way is that it’s easier for contractors to supply workers during normal business hours. Plus, an owner can maximize his or her time by keeping eyes on construction and normal operations within a day’s work. However, playing musical chairs with your employees and equipment can be frustrating and may impact productivity.

If people and equipment cannot be moved, or the normal activities inside a building are sensitive enough to preclude daytime construction, overnight and weekend work is necessary. The benefit to users is that normal business can occur without disruption aside from some areas being sealed off. It also makes it easier for construction crews since they can do their work without having to dodge employees or patrons. However, it’s harder —and sometimes more expensive— to supply an adequate workforce on these jobs.

Coexistence takes many forms, but flexibility and constant communication are paramount. It’s a two-way street, and it works best when ground rules and thoughtful plans are made from the start and followed to a ‘T.’

Case study: Mooresville High School
The renovation and expansion of Mooresville High School in suburban Indianapolis shows these principles in practice.

Originally built for 400 students in the 1950s, the school was showing its age. Hallways were too narrow, posing a safety hazard. Classrooms were too small and outdated. The student body had ballooned. A recent referendum to fund a new school had failed. The only option was to renovate and expand the existing site.

Work included widening the school’s hallways, expanding classrooms, streamlining its foot traffic patterns by constructing a new concourse and adding new administrative space for a growing student body. It all had to be done on a strict budget and firm deadline. Crews implemented a hybrid strategy of working quickly during weekends and breaks as well as progressing with less disruptive work in phases while class was in session.

Questions to ask your contractor
Choosing a construction company to manage expansions or renovations while a facility stays running is not to be taken lightly. All companies can promise the world, but are they really up to the task? Ask firms on your short list these questions:
• Have you done jobs like this before? Show me examples.
• How deep is your network of subcontractors in this region? Can you put together a reliable workforce to meet our scheduling needs?
• Our work can be unpredictable and our customers’ demands must be met. Can you change work plans on short notice and still get the job done on time?
• We may need to expand or renovate again in the future. What can you do during this job to make the next one seamless?

These jobs are hard, there’s no getting around it. But the right construction partner combines a knack for planning with flexibility and accessibility to ensure the job gets done the way you want it done.

About the author
Todd Imming is Chief Marketing Officer for The Korte Company, a nationally-recognized Design-Build firm with over 3,000 projects completed across 43 U.S. states.

 

nora® relaunches norament® grano

nora systems, Inc. is pleased to relaunch norament® grano, a premium rubber floor covering that brings the classic tradition of Italian terrazzo tiles to interior spaces.
norament grano offers a redesigned pallet of 32 new colors with a harmonious balance of base shades and color-accentuated granules. This granular-rich design and the floor’s hammered surface make norament grano the right choice for hard-working spaces and high-traffic areas without sacrificing style.

“We’ve reimagined the timeless elegance of Roman villas and palazzos with an extensive range of inspiring colors,” said Tim Cole, vice president of marketing at nora systems, Inc., North America. “The enduring appeal of norament grano delivers a distinctive, bold expression to a building’s character.”

Uniting modern performance with time-honored style, norament grano is a versatile floor covering with an uncoated surface that reduces maintenance costs and increases value throughout its lifecycle. In addition, the floor delivers ergonomic and acoustic advantages to create quiet, comfortable indoor spaces.

The premium rubber flooring also provides these important attributes:

 

• Simple maintenance regimen that requires little more than water and uses no waxes, sealants or harsh cleaners
• Improved acoustics thanks to excellent footfall sound absorption
• Naturally bacteriostatic and fungistatic
• Dense, nonporous surface that helps repel dirt and bacteria while resisting stains
• Absence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), plasticizers (phthalates) and halogens (e.g., chlorine) for improved indoor air quality
• GREENGUARD Gold Certified for low VOC emissions
• Meets or exceeds OSHA requirements for slip resistance
• Extended life cycle, which reduces the need for frequent removal and disposal

Like all nora floor coverings, norament grano coordinates with other products in the nora portfolio of more than 300 standard colors and patterns to create a coordinated look throughout any facility.

To learn more about norament grano, visit www.nora.com/united-states/en/products/norament-grano. To learn more about nora systems, Inc., visit the nora website at www.nora.com/us/.

nora systems, Inc. has been located in the United States for more than 30 years. It is the U.S. headquarters of German-based nora systems GmbH, a leading global manufacturer of commercial rubber floor covering systems. The company has been designing and manufacturing high-performance nora rubber flooring for more than 50 years for a number of different markets. nora’s team of skilled professionals collaborates with architects and designers to develop performance-driven flooring solutions that help bring their projects to life.

For the latest news and updates, follow nora on Twitter at www.twitter.com/noraflooring, and on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/nora-systems-inc-. To view the latest project stories or informational videos from nora, follow us on YouTube at www.youtube.com/channel/UCaJKpNlwM672PHiBve7h6iw. For additional information, contact nora systems, Inc. at 1-800-332-NORA or visit the company’s web site at www.nora.com/united-states/en.

Artaic Mosaic welcomes new Team Members

Artaic-Innovative Mosaic, designers and fabricators of custom, award-winning mosaic tile-work produced by its proprietary robots, has announced the appointment of two new team members.

Sasha Mulcahey has been appointed Marketing Manager. With a strong background in architecture & design, Mulcahey brings a wide scope of industry knowledge and hands-on skills to the Artaic team. In her new role, she will be responsible for the firm’s marketing, advertising and social media initiatives.

Katarina Yakimkina brings an extensive background in fine arts and graphic design. Experienced in today’s most advanced digital design programs, she will help clients achieve their “mosaic visions” from concept to final execution as one of Artaic’s Production Designers.

“We’re very pleased and excited to announce our two new hires,” stated Martha Acworth, President of Artaic. “We all look forward to working closely with Sasha and Katarina, and are confident the contributions both will be making will ultimately benefit our growing customer base.”

Ted Acworth, Founder and CEO of Artaic added, “We take great pleasure in welcoming Sasha and Katarina… and, look forward to benefiting from both their past business experience and the creativity and overall positive energy they’ll be adding to our company.”

About Artaic
Artaic uses robotic technology and innovative design tools, to customize and fabricate award-winning tile mosaics. As a synergetic resource for the architectural and design community, Artaic melds modern technology with a historical art form and empowers modern-day industry leaders to produce compelling mosaics for any size project. Using their mosaic software, Tylist, Artaic enables its skilled, in-house designers to perfectly work with robotic manufacturing systems, making the process of mosaic customization seamless, flexible and cost efficient. Artaic has transformed the industry; making custom mosaics simply beautiful.

For more information, visit www.artaic.com

.

Still Booming

The U.S. construction outlook is as bright as it seems. 

By Nathan Fisher

In business, there is such a thing as a good problem to have. For those in the construction industry who feel like business is booming, it might be because they find themselves declining to bid on good projects, grappling with work/life balance or struggling to hire enough of the right staff. But is the current U.S. construction boom just a feeling, or is the outlook as strong as it seems? According to economic data and your peers in the construction industry, the answer for now is yes. 

The State of Construction Safety

By Brian Binke

Some construction employers prioritize productivity over safety. Although meeting deadlines is important in the construction industry, it should never come at the cost of a human life. Collapsing building materials, overhead power lines and heavy machinery are just a few of the potential dangers in commercial construction jobs that can all be avoided with the proper safety protocols.

Continued Safety Concerns
A majority of Americans who were surveyed and working in construction feel that company productivity outranks their safety concerns. The National Safety Council survey also included some other interesting statistics regarding construction safety. EHS today first reported on a few of the important statistics from this survey:

• 32 percent feel management ignores an employee’s safety performance when determining promotions.
• 62 percent say everyone is involved in solving job safety issues.
• 63 percent of employees feel they work in areas or at stations that are ergonomically correct.
• 48 percent of employees believe safety meetings are held less often than they should be.
• 47 percent believe performance standards are higher for job tasks than for safety. This percentage is higher among construction industry workers, where 67 percent feel this way. 
• 33 percent of employees working in transportation and warehousing do not agree that management has a written policy that expresses their attitude about employee safety. 

Tools to Improve Construction Safety
Fortunately, there’s a growing number of new tools and trends being introduced in an effort to improve construction safety. The use of technology, like building information modeling (BIM), is already having a positive impact on project safety. Other technologies being used to help improve industry safety include mobile tools, drones and wearable devices.

• More than two-thirds of contractors who use BIM (69 percent) state that it has a positive impact on project safety, a 27-point increase over those who reported that in 2012.
• More than half of those reporting that positive impact attribute it to using BIM to identify potential site hazards before construction begins, to conduct clash detection, to support prefabrication and to create 3D images.
• Smartphone use is nearly ubiquitous onsite, and tablet use is widespread and growing. This allows for use of mobile tools like cameras to be used by 85 percent of all contractors onsite. The documentation of site condition and work progress is fundamental to many safety efforts.
• Nearly half of contractors (42 percent) also employ safety inspection checklist apps, but use of mobile tools for safety training (35 percent) and to access safety and health websites (28 percent) is less common.
• Almost one quarter of contractors (21 percent) use drones to promote safety onsite for functions such as reality capture that allow for digital analysis of existing conditions, and almost three quarters of them (70 percent) believe that these have a positive impact on safety.
• While wearable devices like badges with coded electronic information and smart helmets are only being used by 13 percent of contractors currently, 82 percent of those who use them report a positive impact on safety. This suggests that as these technologies become more widely known and more affordable, their potential for improving job site safety increases.

Brian Binke is the founder & CEO of The Birmingham Group (TBG). TBG is a globally recognized Executive Search and Consulting firm, specializing in the construction arena. Over the past 22 years, Brian has established himself as one of the construction industries most respected leaders. He has won numerous awards for his industry innovation and has been recognized as the No. 1 worldwide revenue producing manager for the largest recruitment network of more than 800 independent firms. Brian founded SC Bingham Farms in 1995. In January 1997, SC Bingham Farms acquired Management Recruiters Birmingham, established by Fred Bawulski in 1967. Fred was an early pioneer of the executive search industry, which was almost unheard of in the 60s. Today The Birmingham Group remains one of the nation’s most tenured search firms. You can reach Brian directly at bbinke@thebirmgroup.com

RMC Constructors Inc. – Delta Shores

RMC has persevered on the Delta Shores project, despite challenges.  

By the Editors of Construction Today 

When RMC Constructors Inc. takes on a project, it sets out to surpass client expectations. “We work closely with developers, owners, architects and regulating agencies to achieve superior results for our clients,” the company says.

In the Skin

Building skin failures can be avoided.   

By Jeffrey C.F. Ng, Jennifer Keegan and Matthew Ridgway

Building skin failures generally stem from materials, components or assemblies that do not comply with project requirements, building codes or industry standards. They are objective, observable and measurable, becoming apparent throughout a building’s use and operation or through simulated testing. This means failures can be assessed, predicted, managed and mitigated.

Come Together

Collaboration is critical to growing innovation. 

By Michael Boren 

Problem solving is one of my favorite activities. Recently, I’ve gotten into creating custom cabinetry as a weekend hobby. Sketching designs, calculating the amount of material needed, and making sure all the tools are nearby is a regular occurrence around my house. However, I’m a hobbyist at this art form. Often, I ask other people on how to best approach a specific nook or cranny detail.

Top Tech

You can use technology for increased flexibility and profit.  

By Paul Jakse

In the May 16, 2012, article for Construction Today, the Modular Building Institute’s Executive Director Tom Hardiman voiced the institute’s desire to enhance awareness and reputation of modular buildings both in the United States and beyond. It worked. Demand for high quality, modular buildings has started to increase according to a May 2015 Global Industry Analysts Inc. report. Many sectors including government, corporate, education, construction, retail and residential account for the upswing. Google uses modular buildings, as does Yale University. Hotel News Now reports more hotel chains are using modular vs. stick-built construction, with modular increasing by 31 percent according to a 2015 Permanent Modular Building report. The up-trending retail pop-up store phenomenon, reported by TREND HUNTER Inc., is another example of growing opportunities.