The Architecture Billing index, a leading indicator of the U.S. construction activity nine to 12 months into the future, demonstrated its strongest growth pace since December 2010. In the month of October the ABI score was 52.8, up from the mark of 51.6 in September. Any reading above 50 is said to indicate expansion, while any reading below 50 is said to indicate a decline in the demand for design services.
The newly revised ConsensusDocs standard subcontract (ConsensusDocs 752 for Federal Work) will make it easier for general contractors and subcontractors to perform federal work. The updated ConsensusDocs 752 Federal Subcontract Agreement is designed to address recent changes in federal contracting such as requirements for certifying small business entities and new reporting of executive compensation requirements.
According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in construction will be one of the best-paying jobs through 2020, along with health care and social assistance, scientific and technical services, waste management, and transportation. The report projects that approximately 1.8 million jobs will be created by a construction boom across the country.
Lean is a philosophy and tool set that is as important to trade partners as it is for general contractors. This webinar looks at the Lean journey for TDIndustries over the past 17 years. Reflecting on how TD's vision for Lean has changed, the presentation will explore Lean as it is applied in a pre-fab shop and at the project site. This includes the 5 areas of focus: 5S, Pull Planning, Constraint Analysis, 6 Week Planning, and Essential Conversations.
There is a better way to build, and ConsensusDocs is transforming contractual negotiations in the design and construction industry with the launch of a new open and collaborative technology platform. Technology has long been harnessed to improve safety, efficiency and quality in construction – now ConsensusDocs has utilized the advantages of technology to simplify project cooperation for improved and expedited contract negotiations that will speed the time to construction and fairly allocate risk, while reducing costly contingencies and adversarial negotiations.
The Architecture Billings Index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity nine to 12 months into the future, fell 2 points to 48.4 in April. Any reading above 50 is said to indicate expansion, while any reading below 50 is said to indicate a decline in the demand for design services. This drop into negative terrain came after 5 consecutive months of positive readings. According to AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, the decline in demand for design services isn’t too surprising, considering the overall volatility of current economic conditions and a slow recovery.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has made available the newest draft of its green building rating system for public comment until May 28, 2012. The 2012 version of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) up for review contains changes pertinent to contractors, specialty contractors and manufacturers of building materials—such as a new credit addressing “chemicals of concern”.
The cost of construction materials took a breather in April, while contractors showed slightly greater ability to roll past price increases into their bids, according to an analysis of producer price index figures released today by AGC.
The 2012 AGC Contractors Environmental Conference, June 7-8, 2012, in Arlington, Virginia, is your chance to network with your peers and learn from more than 30 speakers the latest environmental strategies that are saving contractors money, improving operations and taking firms to the next level.
AGC of America has released a white paper discussing the impact federal and nonfederal contractors, as well as other interested parties, can have on the accuracy of Davis-Bacon wage determinations. The white paper, titled "Impacting Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations: A Guide for Contributing to the Accuracy of Published Prevailing Wage Rates in Construction", is available for download on the AGC website.