The past year has been full of challenges and opportunities for the construction industry.  Each day, AGC of America has been working hard to represent Building Contractors.  Whether through the AGC Building Division, advocacy, safety and health, environment, labor and workforce, education and training or contract documents...AGC is focused on protecting your interests, helping your business, and improving your industry.Please click here to review a summary of some of the major AGC of America activities of the past year on behalf of Building Contractors.  For more information, please contact Mike Stark, Senior Director, Building Division at starkm@agc.org.

Unveiled at the recent Building Contractors Conference, the AGC Lean Construction Forum is an inclusive and collaborative community that is open to anyone with an interest in lean construction processes.  The Forum is focused on facilitating dialogue and information sharing through its Web site (www.agcleanforum.org) and developing a curriculum and learning opportunities on the use of Lean principles in the construction industry.  Anyone with an interest in Lean Construction can "join" the Forum at www.agcleanforum.org.  AGC members with a Username and Password for www.agc.org can use that same information to log-in to the Forum Web site.  If you do not have that information you can simply create a profile and join the Forum.  This is a brand new Web site and improvements are still being made.  Please share any comments or questions about the Forum and/or the Web site at starkm@agc.org.The Forum will hold a two hour session at the AGC Annual Convention on March 17, which will provide a brief overview of Lean Construction and highlight AGC of America's current and future efforts related to this exciting topic.  The Forum will also meet at the AGC Building Contractors Conference in Midway, Utah, on June 10, 2010.

More than 120 attendees participated in the AGC Building Contractors Conference on January 20-22, 2010 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  The Conference included the debut of the AGC Lean Construction Forum, which featured 7+ hours of educational sessions, interactive demonstrations and open discussion.  Additional programs included a presentation and break-out discussion on the "business of safety" and sessions focused on green construction risks, federal legislative & regulatory issues, and contractor surety Issues.  Conference presentations can be found here.Save the date for the next AGC Building Contractors Conference, June 9-12, 2010, Zermatt Resort, Midway, Utah.  Information and registration will be available soon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently considering whether or not to expand and strengthen requirements of the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule to cover renovations of both the exteriors and the interiors of all public and commercial buildings.  EPA's anticipated action is required by a legal settlement it reached in August 2009 with environmental and health advocacy groups that had challenged the RRP rule.  The current RRP requirements, which will take full effect on April 22, 2010, require paid contractors and maintenance professionals to be trained and certified on certain mandated lead-safe work practices before renovating or repairing housing and facilities for children built before 1978.EPA is considering extending the lead RRP requirements to all commercial buildings.  This action results from a legally-binding "agreement" EPA reached with environmental groups to settle a lawsuit that Sierra Club and others filed in the Federal Court of Appeals against the Agency concerning its RRP rule.  Under the settlement agreement, EPA is required to reconsider certain provisions of the RRP regulations and issue a series of rulemakings.  Specifically, EPA has agreed to the following:By April 22, 2010, EPA will issue an ANPR (advance notice of proposed rulemaking) discussing its intention to propose work practice requirements for renovations on the EXTERIORS of public and commercial buildings other than child-occupied facilities (schools and child care centers already covered by the final RRP rule); and to evaluate whether renovations in the INTERIORS of these buildings create lead-based paint hazards, and, if so, propose work practice requirements for those renovations.By December 15, 2011, EPA will issue a proposed rule to establish work practice requirements for renovations on the EXTERIOR of public and commercial buildings other than child-occupied facilities. EPA must take final action on the EXTERIOR proposal by July 15, 2013.By September 30, 2011, EPA will consult with the EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) on a risk assessment methodology to evaluate the hazards posed by renovations in the INTERIOR of public and commercial buildings not covered by the final RRP rule. Eighteen months after receiving the SAB report, EPA must either issue a proposed rule to establish work practice requirements for INTERIOR renovations in public and commercial buildings or conclude that they do not create lead-based paint hazards. The proposal must include, if necessary, new hazard standards for these buildings. EPA must take final action on the proposed rule within 18 months of publication.All future EPA rulemakings will be available for public comment.First Round of Proposed Changes to RRPBack in October 2009, EPA proposed a first set of revisions to the 2008 Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting rule that would eliminate what EPA refers to as the "opt-out" provision.That provision allows renovators to opt out, or be exempted from, the training and work requirements of the rule. (Firms can be exempted if they obtained a certification from the owner that no child under 6 and no pregnant woman resided in the residence.)  The Agency also is proposing to increase recordkeeping requirements and changes affecting training.  EPA also would require renovation firms to provide the owner and occupant with records documenting compliance with the rule. 74 Fed. Reg. 55506, Oct. 28, 2009.In related news, EPA is also currently working with the Department of Housing and Urban Development to modify the definition of lead-based paint in its regulations.For more information, please contact Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org or (703) 837-5332.

An updated version of the popular Contactor's Guide to BIM. This new edition includes up-to-date information on the process of incorporating BIM into your company, collaborating with other stakeholders as well as a detailed matrix of the varied types of software tools that comprise building information modeling.Topics Include:Intro to BIM conceptsManaging the BIM processContracts and legal issuesSelecting and implementing BIM tools and resourcesCriteria for selecting BIM consultantsItem No. 2928 Retail Price: $75.00 Member Price: $50.00To order go to www.agc.org/bookstore or call 1-800-244-1767.

Only $1.7 billion of the $11 billion dollars allocated for school construction bonds have been used, according to the News & Observer.  The school bonds were created in the stimulus package and a recent provision passed in the House would allow any unused bond allocations to be rolled over to the following year. This might allow states more time to find companies willing to purchase school bonds.Read the entire article here.

Multiple cities across the nation are utilizing public-private partnerships to rescue projects and stimulate economic growth.  In a Reuters article, examples from Las Vegas, Seattle and Cleveland demonstrate how local and state governments have assisted private-sector developments, and in some cases are saving entire projects.For the complete article, please click here.

According to the Wall Street Journal, a recent study found that half of the nation's non-residential buildings will be green by 2015.  This number includes both new construction and renovations, and indicates a large jump from the 15 percent of buildings that are currently considered green. The study, released in November, uses LEED standards as a measure to determine what would qualify as a green building, however buildings would not have to achieve LEED certification to qualify as 'green;' they must only adhere to LEED standards. For the complete Wall Street Journal article, please click here.

AGC, the American Subcontractors Association (ASA), and the Associated Specialty Contractors (ASC) created this resource that explores the keys to a successful construction project and the specifics on how contractors can reach their mutual objective to "successfully deliver to the owner the specified project safely, on time, at the contract price, and achieve a reasonable profit in return for performance of its work."  A new flyer about the Guidelines can be found here and the complete Guidelines can be found at www.constructionguidelines.org.

January 28, 2010 - 3:00p.m. ET Gain insight into the future of construction as expert economists provide an in-depth look at residential and nonresidential construction activity including the institutional, industrial and heavy engineering sectors. Tune in for the first webcast in the 2010 Market Insights series, Economic Recovery: Under Construction as Jim Haughey, Ken Simonson and Kermit Baker discuss:What to Watch in 2010 - key market indicators to help guide you through the year.Construction Hotspots - segments and geographic areas with the most promising signs of recovery.Construction Employment - when will confidence return and hiring begin?Analysis - why is the recovery in construction lagging behind?Click here to register!