Author: Jeanie Clapp
BY JOHN WALLENVICE PRESIDENT AND WISCONSIN CONSTRUCTION PRACTICE LEADER HUB INTERNATIONAL, A MEMBER OF MULTIPLE AGC CHAPTERS Mental health has been in the spotlight over the last year, with stay-at-home orders and school closures keeping many Americans at home more than the usual. But even before that, a mental health epidemic was already raging across America. Suicide has increased 40% in the last two decades. It’s the second leading cause of death among young adults aged 15 to 34. Among a young population already prone to fragility, extra job stress can be enough to push an individual over the edge.…
THE LINBECK GROUP OF TEXAS TAKES TOP PRIZE AT AGC’s CONSTRUCTION SAFETY EXCELLENCE AWARDS BY NICK FORTUNA In an industry where large projects often take several years, success rarely comes down to a single 15-minute window, but such was the case for Michael Kleinpeter and the Linbeck Group of Texas at the AGC of America’s annual convention in September. Prior to the big event in Orlando, Kleinpeter and the Linbeck Group’s executive team had rehearsed their presentation time and again, trying to cram all the good details about the company’s data-centric safety program into the five-minute limit. That part, they…
BY DEBRA WOOD Digital tools from Procore Technologies give contractors the ability to collaborate on jobsites to ensure everyone is working off of the latest plans, reducing rework. “Procore was an amazing advancement for the industry,” says Todd Wynne, chief innovation officer at Rogers-O’Brien Construction in Dallas, a member of multiple AGC chapters. Rogers-O’Brien has relied on Procore for several years. “It helps in many ways. It is our one truth of information for our projects.” Wynne reports everything was paper based and color coded 10 years ago, creating challenges finding the correct information in a timely fashion. “Paper on…
BY STEVEN H. MILLER Size matters. The components used to build wind farms are very big, and that affects everything about constructing them. The current generation of wind farms are bigger and more spread out, too, and they are growing in number. Wind turbines are an important tool to slow global warming — generating electricity sustainably and reducing the use of fossil fuels in power plants. Energy companies are investing increasingly in wind. The industry has developed a way of setting up wind farms on other people’s properties, across farmland and forests, sometimes involving multiple landowners. The towers are spread…
NEITHER THE MIDWESTERN WINTER NOR MISSISSIPPI RIVER SURGES WERE A MATCH FOR MASSMAN CONSTRUCTION CO., WHOSE CHAMP CLARK BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT TOOK HOME THE 2021 BUILD AMERICA GRAND AWARD BY A.D. THOMPSON Since 1928, the Champ Clark Bridge had enabled travel and commerce, linking Missouri and Illinois via Highway 54, but after a century of wear and tear, says T.J. Colombatto, “the old truss bridge was beyond its useful function — and structurally deficient.” Colombatto, project manager for Massman Construction Company, ran point on the design-build operation, which saw Massman partner successfully with dual owners — the Missouri and Illinois…