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Showing posts from December, 2016

Famous American Buildings made out of Limeston

Limestone has been utilised throughout the ages and is a popular material within building and construction. We take a look at famous American buildings made out of limestone which still remain today and are iconic within America. The Pentagon, United States At 6,500,000 square feet, the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia is the world’s largest office building and serves as the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense. Designed by American architect George Bergstrom and constructed by contractor John McShain, reinforced concrete was implemented alongside Indiana limestone for the building’s exterior as a result of the lack of steel from the Second World War.  Rebuilt after September 11 2001, the building now houses over 23,000 employees and is one of the most famous buildings within America. The Lincoln Memorial, United States Constructed to honour Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, the Lincoln Memorial was built between 1914 and 1922. D

Bechtel Rolls out Virtual Reality Safety Training

Dive Brief: Global construction firm Bechtel partnered with New York City-based construction safety technology company Human Condition Safety to offer the latter's new virtual reality (VR) immersion safety training. VR technology will be piloted in conjunction with training modules for workforce education at the Bechtel Innovation Center in Houston. HCS's SafeScan program allows users to repeatedly simulate dangerous or intensive procedures. Usage data from training can be collected and combined with geographic information, safety histories and regulatory requirements to optimize future training and real-world safety programs and practices. Dive Insight: Just behind  the design and development set  in employing VR are construction safety teams, who have experienced an upshot in leveraging realistic simulations to train workers in dealing with hazardous environments or intensive maneuvers — including high-risk tasks like crane operations — without actually

Working Under the Threat of Zika: How Construction Firms can Protect Employees From the Virus

Health threats like Ebola, swine flu (H1N1), SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and bird flu have all taken a turn at terrifying the world's population, each pushing those likely to be exposed to establish unique safety measures. Now, the newest health scare has emerged in the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The spread of Zika in South and Central America collided with the summer media blitz for the recent Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, turning an outbreak into a full-fledged panic. Once medical workers began to suspect a connection between the virus and babies born with microcephaly, a neurological disorder, women were cautioned about traveling to Brazil, and  a group of 150 health professionals  even called for the Olympics to be postponed. Additionally, outdoor workers were determined to be exceptionally vulnerable to mosquitos carrying the disease and were also encouraged to take preventative measures. Both the  Occupational Safety and Health Administration  and t

Nonresidential Construction Spending Down in September, but August Data Upwardly Revised

WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 1 —Nonresidential construction spending fell 0.9 percent from August to September 2016, according to analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data released today by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). Nonresidential spending totaled $690.5 billion on a seasonally adjusted, annualized basis for the month, 0.7 percent below September 2015’s figure. The government revised the August nonresidential construction spending estimate from $686.6 billion to $696.6 billion; otherwise September spending would have risen on a month-over-month basis.  Eleven of 16 nonresidential construction subsectors experienced monthly declines. “Since late 2015, the level of nonresidential construction spending in America has been effectively flat,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu. “Undoubtedly, soft U.S. economic growth has had an impact on nonresidential construction spending growth. For several quarters prior to the third quarter of 2016, U.S. economic growth hovered around 1 pe

Construction Unemployment Rates Improve in 32 States Year-Over-Year

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 31 —September not seasonally adjusted (NSA) construction unemployment rates improved in 32 states and the nation on a year-over-year basis, according to analysis released today by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC). The national NSA construction unemployment rate of 5.2 percent was 0.3 percent lower than a year ago, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This was the lowest September construction unemployment rate since 2000, when it was 4.6 percent. BLS data also reported that the industry employed 208,000 more people than in September 2015. “September 2016 marks the sixth year of uninterrupted monthly year-over-year rate decreases in the national construction unemployment rate that began in October 2010,” said Bernard M. Markstein, Ph.D., president and chief economist of Markstein Advisors, who conducted the analysis for ABC. “These industry-specific unemployment rates are not seasonally adjusted, so it is important to note st

Technology Advances Metal Roofers’ Production

There are so many new technological advances affecting the metal roofing industry; here’s highlighting a few that are increasing metal roofing companies productivity W eather technological devices, using cell phone apps, the newest software, flying unmanned airplanes—drones—are just a few of the technological devices that are affecting the metal roofing industry. And, they sure are making a huge difference when it comes to metal roofers getting the job done more efficiently and effectively. Productivity and efficiency is the lifeline of any metal roofing company. How it increases and continues to flow efficiently takes different kinds of measures from company to company. Drones Making Metal Roofing Easier & Safer Another way metal roofers are making their jobs more efficient to increase their production are by using unmanned aircraft—drones—to fly over roofs and help them inspect roofs, saving significant time it may take a roofer to manually go up there. Luke Hansen, o

ADP: Construction Adds 11,000 Jobs in September

Dive Brief: The ADP Research Institute and Moody's Analytics produced the September report using ADP's payroll database of 411,000 customers and 24 million workers. Dive Insight: In its September 2016 National Employment Report, payroll services company ADP said that its U.S. private non-farm clients added 154,000 jobs in September, with 11,000 of those positions in the construction industry. Construction rebounded after three months of declining employment numbers, more than making up for the total loss of 10,000 positions during that period. According to the most recent Associated General Contractors of America report,  August construction employment grew  in only 61% of 358 markets year over year and decreased in 76, the weakest performance in three years. The agency holds this statistic up as further proof that contractors are still having a hard time finding skilled workers. While the number of available jobs is at a 10-year-high, AGC Chief Economist K