Monthly Archives: March 2012

LEED for Schools Webinar (free AIA learning unit)–(Today’s Tip)

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Interested in LEED as it is applied to schools?

Need to get some AIA learning units?

Then you might want to check out this upcoming, free webinar, “LEED for Schools: Overcoming the Challenges.”

When:  Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 at 2pm EDT

Register for the Webinar Here.

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 From the website:  This intermediate seminar will look at the Center of Lifelong Learning in Sayerville, New Jersey, a Platinum level project certified under the LEED for Schools rating system as a case study. The webinar will look at the perspectives of the different team members, including the architect, the construction manager, the owner, and the commissioning agent. Each of these panelists will provide examples of the challenges the project incurred and how the team overcame those hurdles for the project to earn Platinum level certification. The intent of the webinar is meant to provide the attendees with actual strategies specific to the LEED for Schools rating system focusing on the importance of integration and communication.

Upon completion of the seminar, a participant will be able to:

  • Identify proactive measures when pursuing a LEED project during design and construction under the LEED for Schools rating system
  • Assess the challenges of pursuing certain LEED strategies, as related to local building codes
  • Identify the benefits of communicating, education, and training of the entire project team
  • Compare the advantages of the commissioning process

Editor’s Note:  there are certain requirements to getting the LU credit, involving obtaining a passing score on a 10 question quiz following the webinar.  (See site for particulars).

Day Laborers & NC’s Lowest Responsible Bidder law (News Note)

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blue jean contractorsTriangle Grading and Paving is a Triad-area company with multiple public contracts, 18 since 2000 from the NC Department of Transportation alone. Frequently the low bidder, Triangle Grading has a long history of performing work for the state. However, a recent high profile controversy has threatened to remove the company from the bid lists for public construction work.  In this past year, the company was fined $400,000 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Burlington-based company has the highest fine in North Carolina dating back as far as 2009.  

As you undoubtedly are well aware, North Carolina law requires that any public construction project requiring an estimated total expenditure of greater than $500,000 (or an estimated expenditure on supplies and materials greater than $90,000) be subject to formal bidding procedures. Further, the state or municipality soliciting the bids is required to accept “the lowest responsible bidder.” Some of the factors taken into consideration when determining what a responsible bid is includes performance, quality, and time to completion as specified in the bid.

Knowing that the contract must go to the lowest responsible bidder, contractors may be tempted to cut corners by hiring undocumented workers, who work for less pay than their documented counterparts. By hiring such workers, contractors can lower labor costs significantly, making them much more likely to be the bidder who wins the lucrative project.

Immigration fines may not cause Triangle Grading to lose all potential public clients. The DOT has stated that, when conducting the yearly review of its list of contractors, that while “safety records will be considered […] immigration fines would not be a factor.” However, Winston-Salem is investigating whether these immigration violations should merit a removal from the bid list.

What are your experiences with the requirement of “lowest responsible bidder” on state projects?  Are there changes that need to be made to the program?  Can the system be gamed? Post in the comment section, below.

And, if you have not already signed up for email delivery of these posts, please do so on the right hand side of the blog’s main page.  You’ll not only never miss another post, but you’ll also get a copy of my free white paper on the 7 critical mistakes that engineers and architects make on construction projects.

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New Safety Standards Issued by ASSE and ANSI (News Note)

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The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE)  have recently announced their approval of two new safety standards to enhance construction site safety.

The two new standards, which are set to take effect during June 2012, are the ANSI/ASSE A10.1-2011 Pre-Project and Pre-Task Safety and Health Planning for Construction and Demolition Operations, and the ANSI/ASSE A10.26-2011 Emergency Procedures for Construction and Demolition Sites.

The new A10.1-2011 standard was designed to assist construction owners, contractors, and designers by ensuring that safety and health planning were standard parts of their pre-construction planning. It is also intended to help owners of construction sites to establish a process for evaluating constructor candidates with regard to their safety and health performance planning.

The A10.26 standard applies to emergency situations, including fires, collapses, and hazardous spills. The standard deals with emergency rescue, evacuation, and transportation of injured workers, and also plans for coordinating with emergency medical facilities ahead of potential disasters.

In addition, the ANSI/ASSE A10.33-2011 standard, Safety and Health Program Requirements for Multi-Employer Projects, received an update, which will become effective May 7, 2012. The standard delivers minimum requirements for programs where multiple employers are engaged in a common undertaking, and is intended to address cost-efficient and coordinated safety on the construction site.

These new standards are part of a larger rollout designed by the A10 Accredited Standards Committee on Safety Requirements for Construction and Demolition operations.

Comments or questions? Drop me a line in the comments section, below.

Source: ABC.org.