Newsline

This year, elections for all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, 36 U.S. Senate seats, 36 governorships, and numerous state legislative and local government offices will take place Nov. 4. While turning up to vote in the upcoming elections is critical, there are things you can do now to directly advocate for the needs of your business and employees.

The key behind a world-class safety program is maintaining a strong culture where the people work together every day with the same uncompromising core value: that every incident is preventable. The road to forming a culture of interdependence--where a company’s employees aren’t simply expected to work safe but actively work to keep others around them safe— can be filled with many challenges both expected and unexpected  but the end result is worth it.

ABC and its allies in the construction industry once again cautioned OSHA that if the agency moves forward with its proposed rule to address silica exposure in the construction industry, contractors will be stuck with unnecessary regulations that are technologically and economically infeasible to implement.

Once a company has established a total commitment to a zero-incident jobsite, where both leadership and craft employees believe that every incident is preventable, the next step toward achieving world-class safety lies in the systems and processes that a company employs to identify and prevent hazards from becoming incidents. This is where the rubber meets the road—the processes you put in place are what puts the core value of safety into action.

ABC’s Construction Backlog Indicator (CBI) reached an all-time high in the second quarter of 2014, according to a report issued Aug. 19. After falling 2.8 percent in the first quarter, second quarter CBI improved 5.4 percent to reach 8.5 months. In addition, there were gains in every industry segment, in nearly all geographic regions and for firms of almost all sizes. ABC’s chief economist expects that trend to continue.

Project registration is now open for ABC’s 25th Annual National Excellence in Construction (EIC) Awards and this year it’s easier than ever to show off the projects you’re most proud of. The EIC awards honor innovative and high-quality merit shop construction projects and safety programs, and walking away a winner will set your company apart from the competition.

If your company isn’t using BIM, you’re already behind. Half of the industry and half of contractors use BIM in some capacity, according to a McGraw-Hill SmartMarket report on BIM adoption in the AEC fields. And contractors are reaping the biggest benefits: seven out of 10 report positive results from their use of BIM.

In the second article of a four-part series on achieving world-class safety written by ABC’s Director of Safety, Chris Williams, we explore what it means for a company to consider safety a priority versus a core value. When safety is a core value, it’s the basis of all major decisions made by company leadership and all employees. This article highlights how to get from thinking about safety when it’s necessary to thinking about safety during every aspect of the job.

In the second article of a four-part series on achieving world-class safety written by ABC’s Director of Safety, Chris Williams, we explore what it means for a company to consider safety a priority versus a core value. When safety is a core value, it’s the basis of all major decisions made by company leadership and all employees. This article highlights how to get from thinking about safety when it’s necessary to thinking about safety during every aspect of the job.

Every year, ABC member companies send their teams out to universities and local colleges to find the best recruits to join their company. Now, ABC members can meet qualified candidates from ABC student chapters who are looking for full-time positions and internships in one place: at ABC’s Career Fair Nov. 11, in Miami, Fla.

In the last five years, 87% of Millennial employees took on management roles. By 2025, 75% of employees will be from the Millennial generation. These numbers make it clear that retaining top talent is vital to the future of your business. But what does it take to keep Millennials around?

With a looming workforce shortage of 1.6 million skilled craft workers, contractors must ensure they are doing everything they can to keep the ones they already have. The 39 gold, silver and bronze 2014 National Craft Championship winners prove that by sending a competitor to the annual competition, you can create excitement among your trainees and encourage them to hone their skills, work safely and be proud to be a part of your training program.

Good leaders are liked by their subordinates because they maintain a relative peacefulness and calmness—people are happy to work for these leaders.  Great leaders, however, understand that in order to motivate a group of individuals to achieve a common set of goals, they must lead by example and never compromise on their core beliefs. Great leaders foster a culture of excellence, where everyone not only believes in the organization’s core values, but practices them in every facet of their work—and sometimes personal—lives. 

On July 31, President Obama issued a sweeping Executive Order (EO) that instructs bureaucrats at federal agencies to determine whether a business is “responsible” enough to receive a federal contract based on a subjective review of each company’s recent compliance history with labor and safety laws.  

According to recent economic indicators and the predictions of three industry economists, the construction industry can be optimistic about its future. In particular, ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu expects nonresidential construction to achieve 7 percent nominal growth in 2014, despite ongoing challenges in the public construction segment.

The Highway Trust Fund was set to run out of available money at the end of August but with a last-minute extension, contractors working on infrastructure projects can expect funding to continue—at least until May 2015.

More than 6,100 career and technical education (CTE) students competed in 99 different craft, technical and leadership fields during the June 2014 SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Mo. SkillsUSA is the national-level competition for high school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in CTE programs.

Last month the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy released a report analyzing the economic significance of small businesses in the United States. The report revealed that construction is among the industry sectors in the U.S. economy most dominated by small businesses with 84% of those who work in the industry working for a small business, defined as a business employing fewer than 500 people.