AGC of America Specialty Contractor Council (SCC) Member Jason Hickey of Premier Fire Protection Inc., has been appointed to the SCC Executive Committee.  Jason is President of Premier Fire Protection Inc., which is in its second generation of leadership and is located in Paducah, Ky.  Jason has been on the Board of Directors of AGC of Western Kentucky since 2002 and also served as President in 2008.For more information, contact Mike Stark at (703) 837-5365 or starkm@agc.org.

The AGC of America Specialty Contractors Council (SCC) has released a two-page "Best Practices Guidance for Retainage" document.  Developed by the SCC Executive Committee with input from the more than 1,000 AGC specialty contractor members who responded to an AGC retainage survey in late 2008, this resource is intended to provide guidance to specialty contractors who face cash-flow issues related to retainage.The guidance document is available here.  Additional resources include a summary of the AGC retention survey results and the AGC-ASA-ASC Guideline on Retainage from the Guidelines for a Successful Construction Project.  The Guidelines for a Successful Construction Project is a joint effort of AGC of America, the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) and the Associated Specialty Contractors (ASC). For more information, contact Mike Stark at (703) 837-5365 or starkm@agc.org.

ConsensusDOCS recently released the first and only Federal Subcontract Agreement designed specifically for federal government construction projects.  The release is especially timely in light of increased federal government construction activity, as well as implementation of new rules including E-Verify.  The ConsensusDOCS 752 - Subcontract for Federal Government Construction Projects - is designed to help contractors and subcontractors comply with complex federal laws and regulations.  The ConsensusDOCS Federal Subcontract is the only standard agreement that addresses new terms and conditions essential to comply with the Federal Acquisition Regulation ("FAR").  Even seasoned federal government contractors, but especially those new to the federal market, should consider using ConsensusDOCS when subcontracting federal work.  The 752 addresses E-Verify, Ethics Compliance, the Federal Prompt Pay Act, and much more.  ConsensusDOCS even provides users a sample exhibit regarding required FAR flow-down provisions.Order Today!  To download an excerpted sample document, please visit the AGC Bookstore.

It's not too early to start planning for 2010!  AGC's 2010 Annual Convention will be held March 17-20, 2010, in Orlando, Fla.In addition to the SCC Executive Committee meeting on March 18, a Specialty Contractors Council Reception, open to all specialty contractors (additional fee required), will be held from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm that evening.  The Specialty Contractors Council Session will be held on Friday March 19, from 9:30 am to 11:00 am.  You won't want to miss joining in this discussion of the important issues that impact your business. For more information about AGC's 91st Annual Convention, visit convention.agc.org.

The Specialty Contractor’s Subforum of the AGC BIMForum has created the MEP Spatial Coordination Team Requirements for Building Information Modeling.  This document provides guidance to companies and individuals involved in 3D MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection) spatial coordination.  Its aim is to help the MEP spatial coordination process using 3D and BIM technology and to assist in developing team structures, definition of roles and responsibilities, recommendations for technical and IT considerations, social structure, and accountability.The document will later be available at www.bimforum.org.

AGC has compiled all of its project delivery resources in to one document to provide an easy, "one stop shop" reference for its members.  From contract documents and bookstore offerings to webinar and web resources...you can take a look at AGC's entire project delivery library by clicking here.  You will see that each resource has an Internet link bringing you directly to that particular product. For more about project delivery, please visit www.agc.org/projectdelivery.

Join us January 20-22, 2010 in San Juan, Puerto RicoJoin leaders from top building construction firms, owners, specialty contractors and service and supply companies at the next AGC Building Contractors Conference at the Caribe Hilton in downtown San Juan, Puerto Rico January 20-22, 2010.Building construction professionals, owners, specialty contractors, service and supply firms and anyone who wishes to contribute to the industry and benefit from valuable information and best practices cannot afford to miss this conference.  The practical guidance and networking opportunities found at the Building Contractors Conference are crucial and necessary in these tough times.

Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and identify best practices at AGC's latest IPD webinar.The webinar will include a discussion and explanation of IPD, the advantages and disadvantages of IPD from the Owner perspective, IPD best practices and why Owners choose multi-party agreements.All registrants will receive a free sample of the ConsensusDOCS 300 Tri-Party Agreement and access to the "IPD: Lessons from the Trenches" webinar recording (a retail value of $179.00). Register today at www.agc.org/ipdwebinar.

Every state government establishes unique statutes that affect construction and the enforceability of construction contract provisions.  These laws can vary greatly from state to state, and every contractor needs to be aware of the current requirements.  To help you, AGC is hosting a webinar titled "Know the State Laws That Impact Your Construction Contracts" on October 21 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm ET.Our panel of experts will discuss issues you need to consider with any construction project.  They will help you to identify and manage project risks through examination of the project, the participants and the contract documents.  Learn how to use the AGC State Law Matrix to assist you with this risk identification process.Register today!  AGC members pay just $99 ($229 retail price).  For more information, contact Megan McGarvey at mcgarveym@agc.org or 703-837-5369.

The AGC Project Delivery Committee released Qualifications Based Selection of Contractors on August 24.  Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) is a procurement method in which the final criteria for selection are qualifications and demonstrated competence without consideration of price/cost until contract negotiation.QBS of contractors is emerging as one response to the demands of the current marketplace, wherein owners are increasingly seeking collaborative early contractor involvement.  This white paper explores the trend of QBS of contractors, discusses QBS benefits and challenges, considers how QBS works with various project delivery systems and offers owner suggestions for QBS best practices.   Qualifications Based Selection of Contractors was developed by the QBS Working Group of the AGC Project Delivery Committee and can be found at www.agc.org/projectdelivery, or by clicking here.