Third Quarterly Cost Report: Summery
At the end of this quarter, the Federal Reserve Board announced that it was going to stand pat on its policy of keeping the economy afloat through cheap money. Believing inflation is firmly under control,
Publication Date: 29 September, 2003
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Third Quarterly Cost Report:Indexes
Building costs are running about 2.5% higher than a year ago, according to eight construction cost indexes measuring the direct input costs for la-bor and materials. However, contractors on bid day are ea
Publication Date: 29 September, 2003
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Third Quarterly Cost Report:Insurance
Soaring health-care costs and lower investment income from a topsy-turvy stock market are putting intense pressure on insurance companies to increase workers’ compensation rates. "The last cycle
Publication Date: 29 September, 2003
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Third Quarterly Cost Report:Labor
The deepening slump in the private nonresidential markets and a slowdown in some key public markets is sending a growing number of construction workers to the unemployment line, but that is having little i
Publication Date: 29 September, 2003
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Using Equity Capital, Investors Are Extending The Lifeline
Limbach ultimately survived intact. For some $80 million, it was saved by a group of managers who refused to let go. Their financial white knight was a family-owned equity investor with plenty of cash and enough confidence that the contractor ul
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Publication Date: 29 September, 2003
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Congress Passes Stopgap Funding Bill
With the start of the new fiscal year around the corner, and none of the 2004 spending bills enacted, Congress has approved a measure to keep federal agencies operating through October. The continuing reso
Publication Date: 26 September, 2003
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Course Change At Graphisoft
Publicly traded, Budapest-based Graphisoft, creator of the 3-D architectural design product ArchiCAD, has shaken up its upper echelon management in a course change aimed at going after the international ar
Publication Date: 25 September, 2003
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Reconstruction Will Expose Iraqi Construction Industry To Modern Western Practices
The Iraqi design and construction industry has been in a professional vacuum for more than a decade as a result of the international trade sanctions imposed on Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Now with USAID pushing projects into the country and press
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Publication Date: 25 September, 2003
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As AGC Girds for Elections, Union Chiefs Talk Cooperation
By the time the meeting was over, the spirit of respect and mutual self-interest was so thick you could have cut it with a welder’s torch. While not a lovefest, four union presidents–the operatin
Publication Date: 22 September, 2003
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Battlefield Commanders Review Lessons From Iraq
The war in Iraq redefined the role of the military engineer, both in combat and in reconstruction. It tested an evolving U.S. military doctrine of rapid deployment that leans heavily on engineers. The cam
Publication Date: 22 September, 2003
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Battlefield Commanders...More Pictures
Pictures ...continued from the main story (All pictures courtesy of the 130th Engineer Brigade)
Publication Date: 22 September, 2003
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Bush's Iraq Rebuilding Plan Includes $5.7 Billion for Electric Power, $2.1 Billion for Oilfield Work
President Bush has sent details of his $87-billion supplemental request to fund the continuing military operation in Iraq and reconstruction of the country, including $14.9 billion to rebuild Iraqi infrast
Publication Date: 18 September, 2003
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GSA Pioneers CM Standards in RFP
A major federal buyer of construction services has for the first time incorporated official construction management standards into a pending procurement. Firms bidding five U.S. General Services Administra
Publication Date: 15 September, 2003
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U.S. Firm Claims Competitor Rigged Chinese Crane Option
TALL ORDER Chinese at first liked Rotec tower cranes, but later switched to Mitsubishi. (Photo courtesy of Rotec)
Publication Date: 15 September, 2003
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House Passes FY04 Spending Bill for DOT, GSA
The House has approved a fiscal year 2004 appropriations measure that provides modest increases for the federal-aid highway program, Federal Transit Administration and airport construction grants.
Publication Date: 11 September, 2003
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German Designer Fined In African Bribery Case
The German design firm Lahmeyer International, Bad Vilbel, was fined $1.4 million by the Lesotho high court for bribing a senior government official overseeing work on the country’s large water convey
Publication Date: 08 September, 2003
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Pittsburgh District Attorney Declines to Charge Contractor
A year after a coroner’s inquest recommended homicide charges against contractor Dick Corp. for a truss collapse that killed a worker at the Pittsburgh convention center expansion project, the Pittsbu
Publication Date: 08 September, 2003
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ASCE Infrastructure Report Shows Negative Trend for Several Sectors
An updated report from the American Society of Civil Engineers on the outlook for U.S. infrastructure sketches a worsening picture for some sectors and status quo for others. In 2001, ASCE gave public work
Publication Date: 04 September, 2003
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Ironworkers and Their President Are Polishing Up Performance
Hunt occasionally is mistaken for the former president and will sometimes play along with his staff when they have a little fun with the autograph seekers. But Hunt has a bigger mission–revitalizing a union that has been rocked by scandal a
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Publication Date: 01 September, 2003
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Bechtel Awards Lucent Iraqi Communications Subcontract
This is the first major communications infrastructure subcontract that Bechtel has awarded as part of its $680-million capital construction contract to rebuild Iraq. Bechtel estimates that as much as 80% of the a
Publication Date: 27 August , 2003
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CBO Projects Record Federal Deficit for 2004
In an updated estimate, the Congressional Budget Office says that the federal deficit will hit a record $480 billion in fiscal year 2004, more than twice the $200-billion gap CBO had projected in March.
Publication Date: 27 August , 2003
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Avoiding Volatile Markets
The international construction market has always been a double-edged sword. It provides new opportunities f
Publication Date: 25 August , 2003
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Teaming Construction and Concessions, Vinci Can Pick the Plums
Traditional contracting still generates more than 40% of Vinci's revenue and employs a third of its 127,000-person work force. But corporate Chairman and CEO Antoine Zacharias knows that owning and operating facilities, such as toll roads and th
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Publication Date: 25 August , 2003
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Owner of Damaged Building Sues Insurers to Pay for Demolition
Deutsche Bank, the owner of a 40-story office building that borders New York City’s World Trade Center site, has filed suit against two insurers that are blocking plans to tear down the 1970s-era bui
Publication Date: 18 August , 2003
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Through Ownership, More Employees Are Pumping Up The Company
Publication Date: 18 August , 2003
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International Firms Band Together to Promote Clean Bidding
Executives of several major international construction firms July 30 announced at the World Economic Forum meeting at Davos, Switzerland, that they have established a multinational task force to develop an
Publication Date: 11 August , 2003
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Owners Play a Major Role in Site Safety
Key actions by owners can dramatically improve the safety record of construction projects. A study of 59 projects found that 25 steps taken by owners meant almost six times fewer injuries per 1,000 employe
Publication Date: 11 August , 2003
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Politics Impede $5.6-Billion South Korea Program, Says GAO
The report, submitted July 15 to several military affairs congressional committees, says work authorized under the 2002 U.S.-South Korean Land Partnership Plan (LLP) and set to continue through 2011 relies on unclear troop deployments and uncert
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Publication Date: 11 August , 2003
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USAID Approves Remaining Iraqi Work Under Bechtel
Officials with the U.S. Agency for International Development in conjunction with the Coalition Provisonal Authority have approved the remaining specific reconstruction projects that will fall under the $68
Publication Date: 11 August , 2003
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Bechtel Bows Out of Iraq Oil-Repair Contract Competition,
Citing Scope Changes
A plan by the Army Corps of Engineers to complete significant work under two new Iraqi oil services contracts even before they are awarded has raised industry eyebrows and caused at least one bidder to dro
Publication Date: 08 August , 2003
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Contractor's Iraq Connection Dogged By Trail of Project Woes
A Louisiana contractor now in bankruptcy has become caught in the crosshairs of an unusual state statute and was jailed late last month for allegedly not paying subcontractors on a small hospital project i
Publication Date: 04 August , 2003
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Policies for Defects Axing Key Elements
Insurers increasingly are cutting back on construction defect coverage offered under contractors’ liability insurance policies, excluding items that routinely were included in standard umbrella polici
Publication Date: 04 August , 2003
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Public and Private Training Yields Fewer Mistakes Behind the Wheel
The accident that started it all happened on the evening of Oct. 2, 1997, in the northwest Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park. A semi-end dump truck operator thought she could haul more loads of dirt per
Publication Date: 04 August , 2003
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Berger Group's Strategy Still Relies on Going Far From Home
Berger Group, the big design and development consultant known for working in poor nations, found itself in unusual company this spring when the Bush administration was picking reconstruction contractors to
Publication Date: 28 July , 2003
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California Road Jobs Given Emergency Fix
State transportation officials in California are breathing a sigh of relief after a last-minute $450-million bailout by contractors and local transportation agencies saved hundreds of projects in the state
Publication Date: 28 July , 2003
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Capitol Visitor Center Costs Continue to Spiral Upward
In a June report not made public until this month, the U.S. General Accounting Office estimates the three-level underground center will cost between $351.3 million and $395 million, a sharp rise from the revised $303.5 million that Congress budg
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Publication Date: 28 July , 2003
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Waiting to Exhale After A Year of Turmoil
The world held its breath in 2002. Few had recovered from the year-earlier shock of the terrorist destruction o
Publication Date: 28 July , 2003
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Iraq Reconstruction Resource
The U.S. Dept. of Commerce created the Website on behalf of the Iraq Reconstruction Task Force within the International Trade Administration to help U.S. companies participate in the economic rebuilding of Iraq, according to information on the s
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Publication Date: 24 July , 2003
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Airports Must Now Redesign To Relocate Screeners
In the last four months of 2002, workers at airports from Alaska to Florida raced against a Dec. 31 deadline to install explosive detection systems (EDS) in compliance with new federal security regulations
Publication Date: 21 July , 2003
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Boardrooms Under Glass
Ralph Peterson, CEO of CH2M Hill, has opened his last few board meetings recently by flashing images of some key company projects. It's not to rest on his laurels, he says, but to remind himself and other
Publication Date: 21 July , 2003
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Corps, Contractor and Iraqis Prioritize Projects to Bring Back Oil Production
"We are looking in a total way at the infrastructure and working with the ministry to get them back to prewar production capability," says Steven Wright, a spokesman for the Corps' Kuwait-based Restore Iraqi Oil Task Force. Until recen
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Publication Date: 21 July , 2003
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Depressed Market Takes Out Powerplant Builder and Owners
Duke Energy and Fluor Corp. dissolved their 14-year-old partnership, set up to capture the market's upturn. They built 43 plants and have six projects nearing completion. "But now the market has collapsed dramatically and it's not expected
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Publication Date: 21 July , 2003
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Heavy Lifting Ahead: Cliff Mumm, Bechtel National's Iraqi Project Director, Addresses Looting, Security Concerns
CLIFFORD G. MUMM (Photo courtesy of Bechtel/Jonathan Eliiman)
Publication Date: 21 July , 2003
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House, Senate Panels Clear Corps Funding Bills
Bills to fund Corps of Engineers projects are advancing in Congress. The House water resources and environment subcommittee on July 17 approved a Water Resources Development Act that authorizes at least $3
Publication Date: 18 July , 2003
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Bechtel Completes Bridge Bypass in Iraq
Construction crews in Iraq led by Bechtel National Inc. have completed work on the first infrastructure project under an U.S. Agency for International Development rebuilding contr
Publication Date: 17 July , 2003
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Bush Picks Chicago Construction Official as Ambassador to Ireland
James Casey Kenny, vice president of Kenny Construction Co., Wheeling, Ill., and president of Kenny Management Services, has been nominated by President Bush to be U.S. ambassador to Ireland. The nominatio
Publication Date: 14 July , 2003
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Hawaiian Engineers Targeted By Campaign Finance Probe
Engineers are playing a prominent role in an ongoing investigation into campaign contributions and government contracts in Hawaii involving Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris (D). Last month, an executive of one
Publication Date: 14 July , 2003
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Iraq's New $6.4-Billion Budget Has $1.1 Billion for Construction
Half of the money will come from anticipated revenue from the sale of oil exports, bolstered by frozen Iraqi assets in the U.S., seized assets of the deposed regime in Iraq and $1 billion in United Nations Oil for Food funds that have been turne
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Publication Date: 14 July , 2003
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Retirement Wave Looms for State DOTs
The wave of baby boomer retirements will slam into all organizations, public and private, over the next several years. But state transportation departments and transit agencies are bracing for a tsunami. A
Publication Date: 14 July , 2003
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AWWA Looks for New Ways To Go with the Flow in 2004
Creating new water sources, regulatory initiatives, security and paying for infrastructure were the issues on tap at the American Water Works Association’s annual meeting.
Publication Date: 07 July , 2003
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As Fiscal Problems Persist, States Cut Across the Board
State officials who battled to balance their budgets by July 1 were staring at a financial picture that looked grim for the coming year.
Publication Date: 07 July , 2003
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Changes Coming In Iraq's Oil Fields
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is planning to award two competitive-bid contracts for reconstruction of the Iraqi oil industry to replace the noncompetitive "bridging" contract awarded to KBR I
Publication Date: 07 July , 2003
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Toyota Claims Union Pact Gives Nonunion Firms Fair Shake
Company officials will not release the full text of the agreement, but say that it will not require all craft workers to be obtained through union hiring halls, unlike previous PLAs used by Toyota at other U.S. plants. "Our number-one prior
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Publication Date: 07 July , 2003
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Building Boom Puts The Pressure On
School work has been construction's fastest-growing market during the last decade and this extraordinary growth has put some extra pressure on building costs, according to a special study conducted for ENR
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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Risks and Rewards
The 55 largest countries in the world will spend nearly $4 trillion in 13 different construction markets in 2003, says a study released this month by Global Insight Inc., an economic and financial research
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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Shotgun Claims Drive Insurance Sky-High
But when Fortin renewed his insurance shortly afterward, policies that had been available for $55,000 cost $99,000. The year after, the price shot up to $176,000. And increases came with exemptions making the coverage skimpier.
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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Some Countries Are Bad to the Bone On Bribery
With middlemen diverting cash into the Swiss bank accounts of a corrupt southern African official, the Lesotho Highlands Water project epitomizes graft in international construction. Continuing court activ
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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Stimulus Deal Cuts Both Ways
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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Stimulus Package Boosts First-Year Tax Savings on Capital Goods, Again
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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Tighter Markets Increase Competition,Cutting Margins And Containing Costs
Publication Date: 30 June , 2003
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