The Builder January 2012, Volume 15 Issue 4

A Builders Association Publication

Build

ers A

ssoc

iatio

n

IN

THIS

ISSUE...

Long-time active member Fred Levy passes away at 72.

Page 9

Financial forecast sees good things for manufacturing, oil.

Page 3

Technology set to take center stage at next

Contractor Safety Forum. Page 8

Annual Meeting Recap Page 4

2

Labor

Days Days Of Of

OurOurBoardBoard

It’s amazing what one can learn from a little website analysis.For instance, in a relatively short period of time, online stories

run by the Builders Association on the National Labor Relations Board – which had been about as popular as broccoli is to children – are now among the most clicked-upon items at www.bldrs.org. It’s easy to see why: There’s a lot changing around the NLRB these days, as what used to possess all the excitement of a PBS Telethon has quickly turned into a soap opera.

The most recent dramatic-music-moment in this particular soap opera was precipitated by President Obama, who in early January bypassed the Senate confi rmation process to make three recess appointments to the NLRB. Those appointments included:

Sharon Block (D), Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the Department of LaborTerence Flynn (R), Chief Counsel to existing NLRB member Brian HayesRichard Griffi n (D), General Counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers

With the addition of the recess appointments, which don’t expire until the end of 2013, the NLRB will have its full roster of fi ve voting members for the fi rst time since the summer of 2010.

Builders Association member Jeff Risch of SmithAmundsen LLP stated in a Labor and Employment blog, the move was seen by many in the construction community as a nod to big labor’s interests. Republican opponents in the Senate were also quick to point out something else about the recess appointments – the Senate was not technically in recess at the time.

“The NLRB is faced with handling many important cases impacting employers and employees,” The AGC of America said through a press release.

“AGC believes that it is important that the decisions will be impartial and will not be subject to legal challenges surrounding the President’s authority. AGC is also concerned that the President bypassed the traditional vetting and confi rmation process in the Senate and is instead escalating the partisanship in Congress rather than working on fi nding common ground on important legislation, such as a long-term appointments.”

Meanwhile, the NLRB delayed the effective date of a new regulation that requires private sector employers to post union sign-up rules. Instead of January 31, these regulations now have a tentative posting date of April 30. The delay was prompted by a judge’s request for more time to consider the issues in light of numerous court challenges.

This was the second delay in posting rules made effective by the National Labor Relations Act, which were originally slated to be up on jobsites by November 14, 2011. According to the NLRB’s website, the Board received over 7,000 public comments after posting the proposed rule in the Federal Register, and at least one lawsuit to overturn the rule – put into play by the National Association of Manufacturers – was fi led immediately.

In another recent ruling, the Board declared it a violation of federal labor law to require employees to sign arbitration agreements that prevent them from joining together to pursue employment-related legal claims in any forum, whether in arbitration or in court.

Stay tuned to future Builders Association publications for more on this soap opera and why it matters to Chicagoland’s construction community.

•

•

•

Recent Activity From National Labor Relations Board

Hints At Busy Year Of Boosting Union Presence

3

AGC of America

Manufacturing, Healthcare Look Strong, But Much Of 2012 Is Anybody’s Guess, Say Economists

For those who believe in the Mayan Calendar’s prediction that the end of the world is coming before the end of 2012, the state of the construction market probably isn’t your biggest concern right now.

For the rest of us, there’s the AGC of America’s fi nancial tools and resources.

Through Chief Economist Ken Simonson and a constantly updated online press room, the AGC delivers members the latest construction statistics and lets contractors know what those numbers mean to them. Before the New Year, a Simonson webinar offered his insights to construction’s prospects for 2012.

“We’re going to see continuing problems for the offi ce and retail markets and a lot of uncertainty still out there,” Simonson said. “At the same time, power, manufacturing, warehouse, hospitals...all those markets show the potential for signifi cant growth.”

On the negative side, anticipated cuts for Federal and state budgets for construction will hamper recovery efforts, and while prices for materials have stopped rising quickly, they’re still rising faster than the overall consumer price index.

Positively, industry unemployment continues to inch its way down, and projections for total construction spending through 2016 show increases between 6-10 percent each year.

Educational, retail and manufacturing were each up at least 10 percent from October of 2010 to October of 2011. Continued growth in retail isn’t expected, but what is anticipated is the housing market beginning to crawl out of its long slumber, paced by a steep increase in apartments.

“I think apartments are going to continue to boom,” Simonson said. “The single-family market, however, is just as big of a mystery as ever.”

A map of shifts in industry employment

12.7%

19.4% 18.8%

13.1%

6.5% 9.4% 9.3% 8.2%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

Nov. '08 Nov. '09 Nov. '10 Nov. '11

Unemployment rates, Nov. 2008-Nov. 2011

not seasonally adjusted, █ construction █ total

?Questions Abound In

Financial Outlook

over the last year give a sunny disposition for every Midwestern state except Wisconsin. Construction employment in Illinois rose two percent while Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Iowa each saw four percent jumps. Construction employment in Wisconsin dropped nine points.

A Data Digest publication from mid-January confi rmed that prices for materials are dropping nationwide, but Simonson doubts the impact on construction’s fi nancial health overall for a number of reasons.

“Any relief contractors might get from the recent declines in materials prices is being offset by their inability to increase prices for new construction projects,” he said through an AGC press release. “With overall demand relatively weak and public sector investments in construction declining rapidly, construction remains a buyer’s market.”

Numbers presented at an NAIOP event in early January by Marquette professor Mark J. Eppli told much of the same story. The Urban Land Institute anticipates increases

in renting households to be 350,000 per year between 2010 and 2020. Illinois has also seen a decrease in renters leaving the state in each of the last three years, pointing to positive things for Chicagoland’s apartment construction market. Nationally, apartment vacancy rates reached a high of eight percent in 2009, but have since dipped steadily to just under fi ve percent.

Eppli’s presentation also underscored that jobs recovery from the 2007 recession is dramatically slower than recovery from any of the other 10 periods of recession since World War II.

4

No Getting Around It...Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker Underscores Importance

Of Increasing Industry Effi ciency Through Lean Construction

AssociationAssociation

(Left) John E. Pridmore accepts the 90-year Member Anniversary Award on behalf of The George Sollitt Construction Company from Builders Association 2011 Chairman Howard Strong, also from George Sollitt Construction Company. (Right) Industria, Inc. President David Rambhajan accepts a Corporate Citizenship Award. Industria was honored for its work in support of veterans seeking employment, including participation in Helmets To Hardhats and the Illinois Warrior Summit.

Holiday celebrations for Assocations are typically events that focus on the successes of the past year. At the Trump International Hotel & Tower in December, Builders Association members used the opportunity to look into the future of construction.

In addition to handing out awards and welcoming a new Board of Directors, the BA was happy to host Chuck Greco of The Linbeck Group, Chair of the AGC of America’s Building Division. Greco has played a big role in incorporating Lean Construction principles into the business plan and overall philosophy of Linbeck.

Greco’s presentation summed up that the main goal of being Lean is to add customer value through reduced waste and improving continuously. Linbeck initially saw Lean 10 years ago as a unique way to get a competitive advantage. Now that much of the rest of the country is fully immersed in Lean and the Midwest is, in many ways, the last to arrive at the party, Greco has a different reason why companies should adopt these processes: Survival.

“I think for anyone who’s continuing to put this off, they’re putting themselves at a disadvantage, because these processes are being adopted in greater frequency all around the country,” Greco said. “We did things the same way with the same productivity in

the construction industry for a very long time. The data is there that shows us why we need to increase productivity any way we can.”

What followed was a massive array of fl ow charts and statistics all pointing to the same bottom line: Construction companies must increase productivity in order to be competitive in a post-recession job market.

Community Builder Award honoree Boyd Black of the University of Chicago also hit on the need for innovation during his remarks. Black is the Assistant Vice President of Capital Project Delivery at U of C, where numerous projects have been honored since his arrival not only for being delivered on time and under budget, but in a manner that refl ects a commitment to increased production in the construction industry.

Boyd served as the Construction Owners Association of America’s President in 2011. Along with Builders Association member Leon LaJeunesse of Custom Contracting and other innovation-minded individuals, Black is playing a part in the newly-formed Lean Construction Institute Chicago Community of Practice.

5

International Test & Balance, Inc.380 Northwest HighwayDes Plaines, IL 60090

Waleed Tarazi, Executive Vice President847-759-1800; www.inttb.com

International Test & Balance (ITB), an independent, certifi ed, company headquartered in Chicago, specializes in the testing and evaluation of the HVAC environmental controlled systems of various commercial facilities to maintain optimum performance. In conjunction with the nation’s most prominent clientèle, ITB continues to uphold its 34 years of building confi dence, professionalism, excellence and integrity to sustain comfortable, safe and profi table facilities.

New MembersSynergetic Solutions, Inc.

3890 Pheasant Ridge Drive, Suite 180Blaine, MN 55449

Christian Charais, Marketing Manager763-331-3345; www.synergeticsolutions.com

Synergetic Solutions optimizes experience modifi cation factors & recovers workers compensation premium overcharges. Nearly 80 percent of companies in our primary market have overpaid their workers compensation premiums. We know this because we’ve conducted over 30,000 compliance audits while serving 2,500 companies throughout the nation. We specialize in serving Illinois contractors.

AssociationAssociation

The Association was proud to welcome Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle for opening remarks. She spoke on construction-related activities by the Cook County Board in her fi rst year at the helm and other items pertaining to businesses in the room, including the reduction of the Cook County sales tax.

For the fi rst time since implementing the Corporate Citizenship Award in 2008, the Builders Association honored two companies with the award: Airtite Contractors, Inc. and Industria, Inc.

President David Chaffee of Airtite Contractors accepted the award for the contributions from his business to a number of charitable organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, One Small Voice and numerous food and blood drives. Airtite also takes suggestions from employees for service projects on a regular basis.

Industria President David Rambhajan - a Marine veteran himself- let Association members know the greater benefi t of participating in programs designed to help those returning from war fi nd employment and social services. In that vein, his company was one sponsor of the Illinois Warrior Summit at Soldier Field.

Ben Johnston of James McHugh Construction company was introduced as the Builders Association’s Chairman for 2012, and covered everything from enhancing Association services to a group singing session with union offi cials while explaining his goals for 2012. In addition, he thanked outgoing Chairman Howard Strong of The George Sollitt Construction Company and outgoing directors Leon LaJeunesse of Custom Contracting and R. Lynn Treat of Ryan Companies for their service to the Association and the industry.

Joining Johnston and Strong (Immediate Past Chair) on the Association’s Board:

Vice Chairman Jimmy Akintonde, Ujamaa ConstructionTreasurer Jeff Raday, McShane Construction CompanyKen Egidi, Pepper Construction CompanyMichael Mozal, Joseph J. Duffy Company

••••

Matt Sprenzel, Installation Specialists, Inc.Brad Swaback, Just Rite Acoustics Inc.Ray Wojkovich, Bulley & Andrews, LLC

A number of Association fi rms celebrated member anniversaries in 2011, including longest-tenured member The George Sollitt Construction Company which has now supported the BA for 90 years. Pepper Construction Company, Herlihy Mid-Continent Company and Henry Bros. Co. celebrated 75 years with the Association; A.J. Maggio Company has been a member for 50 years; DS&P Insurance Services and The Levy Company received 30-year anniversary plaques; Thorne Associates, Inc. for 25 years; Stein, Ray & Harris for 20 years; and Conway & Mrowiec and Country Gas for 10 years each.

Thanks once again to our sponsors for this event:

•••

Dave Chaffee of Airtite Contractors, Inc. and Shawn Kelly of DLZ Industrial Surveying.

6

A Year On The Move 2011 Year In Review

Our address has changed. Our commitment to our members and the construction industry as a whole has not.

The Builders Association moved its offi ces from Rosemont in November to a new home off of Chicago’s Cumberland Blue Line stop. While on the move, we’ve stayed focused on providing what member companies need: labor, safety, educational, communications, government relations and fi nancial services.

Reports from construction economists vary as to when the construction industry nationwide will “recover” from the recession. While the Association doesn’t have any more of a crystal ball than those economists, the BA and its members made signifi cant steps in 2011 towards predicting what’s ahead for the construction industry…and how to be ready for it.

Educational ProgramsThrough a number of seminars and meetings this year, the

Builders Association kept membership informed on developing trends. Thomas Rowen of Fifth Third Bank headlined the Spring Meeting with a presentation on personal and business investment strategies, and Scott Humrickhouse of FMI covered which trends are prevalent nationwide and what it should mean to your business plan during our Fall Meeting.

The Association also broached the topics of interest in-depth with expert opinions and a number of separate seminars throughout 2011, including:

Getting BIM Into The Field, where Nick DiBitetto and James •

Holt of Precision Midwest went through how to properly and effectively use spatial imaging toolsPlugging Pension Holes, with nationally-recognized pension expert Rocky Miller of Cox, Castle & Nicholson in Los AngelesAsk The Legal Experts, where Jeff Risch and Bob Lessman of SmithAmundsen and Bob Casey of Ogletree Deakins provided information on audits, workers’ compensation and a host of other complicated legal issuesLean & Green: Contrasting Fundamentals To Current Practice, where University of Wisconsin Professor John Nelson presented lean construction basics and how they mix with green principles contractors already have in place

The establishment of the Builders Education and Training Foundation will allow the Builders Association to continue to offer outstanding educational offerings to membership and think outside-the-box to provide greater member benefi t.

SafetyJoe Carini of Johnson & Bell, Ltd. offered a presentation on

what contractors can do on a daily basis through documentation and action to help the lawyers who defend them at November’s Contractor Safety Forum. The topic apparently resonated with Builders Association members, as a packed room of safety professionals welcomed him.

Total attendance at the four Safety Forums broke a record set in 2008 and represented a 17 percent increase in attendees over 2010. The 2011 Safety Forums covered a wide range of topics, including:

Bill Funk of Advanced Supply on Personal Protective Equipment in February Paul Satti of the Chicagoland Construction Safety Council on the Focus Four safety hazards in MayMichael Trombetta of AthletiCo on Workers’ Compensation legislation and its impact on Safety Directors in August

It was also a banner year for the Builders Association’s Safety Partnership with OSHA. The only safety program in the Chicagoland area that OSHA is a direct participant in reached another milestone in its ninth year by reaching 26 participating companies.

Twenty-three companies were recognized with Builders Association Safety Awards at our Spring Meeting, and this year marked the 10th in the row where at least one Association member has been honored for its safety performance on a national level by the AGC of America.

From helping to establish one of the country’s fi rst construction safety contests in the 1920’s to its current activities, the Builders Association is fi ercely proud of its history of helping to bring Chicagoland’s construction workforce home safe at the end of each day.

•

•

•

•

•

•

Bob Casey of Ogletree Deakins was among the presenters at April’s Ask The Legal Experts program, which covered everything from audits to project labor agreements to workers’ compensation.

We’d like to thank Paul Flentge of Pepper Construction Company for his enthusiastic and capable leadership of the Association’s Safety Committee. Paul has stepped aside to chair the newly created Builders Education and Training Foundation, while Dan Ruane of W.E. O’Neil Construction has assumed Chairmanship of the Safety Committee.

Government RelationsWith the help of BA lobbyist Jeff Glass at Capitol Consulting

Group and the AGC’s massive legislative resources, Builders Association members had their voices heard at the state and national levels in the past year when it came to legislation that could impact the construction industry. As detailed in our Government Relations Report, items monitored in Springfi eld this year included:

Workers’ CompensationEnvironmental Protection ActSubcontractor Direct PayMechanics Lien

The November issue of The Builder outlined a number of AGC’s activities this year on the government front. The AGC continues to fi ght for common sense environmental legislation by continuing its strong relationship with the Environmental Protection Agency as well as greater investment in infrastructure.

The AGC’s most notable legislative success this session could not have been accomplished without letters and help from contractors nationwide. Last month, President Obama signed into law a repeal of the 3% withholding law on federal and state contracts.

Comments and letters to offi cials from contractors and their employees have made a big difference for the AGC, and participation at the local level was important, as well. You can help our efforts to protect your business by donating to the Builders Association’s PAC Fund.

Thanks to those who have already made a commitment by contributing to the PAC Fund in 2012:

Bulley & Andrews LLCJoseph J. Duffy CompanyMcShane Construction CompanyPepper Construction CompanyW.B. Olson, Inc.

And That’s Not All...The Builders Scholarship Foundation reached a milestone in

2011, as we crossed the $200,000 threshold in scholarships to students seeking a future in construction. Since the Foundation was instituted in 2003, it has aided the education of 33 Construction Management and Construction Engineering students.

Association members showed their dedication to this great cause in July by battling Mother Nature at the Builders Foundation’s Golf Outing. The heat index approached 110 degrees at our annual fundraiser for our Scholarship Foundation, but that didn’t stop members from raising over $28,000 for the fund for these future construction industry leaders.

Late this summer, we debuted a new bi-annual magazine, Building Chicago, and received an overwhelmingly positive response from members. Designed to appeal to and open relationships with owners, developers, politicians and other real

••••

•••••

2011 Year In Review

7

estate, construction and community interests, this publication focused on lean construction. Keep an eye out for our second issue – focused on the fi nancial issues facing owners – due in March.

On the social media front, since the beginning of last year, the Builders Association has gone from 40 Twitter followers to nearly 200 and from 20 individuals in the LinkedIn group to over 250. We’d like to thank the member fi rms who have posted their own news on Twitter feeds, including:

Cambria USAClark Construction CompanyJames McHugh Construction CompanyMcShane Construction CompanyOgletree Deakins Nash Smoak & StewartRyan Companies US, Inc.Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Also in 2011, the Builders Association created a new program called Sponsortunities, giving members the opportunity to support a number of events over the course of the year at once at a discounted rate. For more information on this program or how it would benefi t you, contact Stacey Kelly at 847-318-8585.

We’ve also been proud to sponsor a number of events over the course of the year, including supporting the Gala for ACE Tech’s Charter High School in October.

The Association takes pride in having a roster of members that builds the best structures in Chicagoland and are also among its best corporate citizens. We look forward to serving you and your company for another 105 years.

•••••••

A group from Thorne Associates, Inc. poses for a picture at the Builders Foundation Golf Outing in July.

You don’t even have to leave your offi ce to get expert advice on what’s new, what’s old and what’s of note in Illinois’ Tax Code.

There’s still time to register for Illinois Sales and Use Taxes for Contractors, a Builders Association webinar slated for January 26 from 2-3 p.m.

Katie McCubbin and Bill Schenkelberg of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP will cover a number of topics for construction-minded CFOs and executives, including:

Illinois state and local taxesWhich activities qualify as construction contractsTax responsibilities of contractors, contractor retailers, repairs and maintenance and out-of-state contractors working in IllinoisExemptions that may be available to your business

Learn about what’s the same, what’s changed and what your options are when it comes to Illinois tax law for only $39 through this members-only webinar. Register at www.bldrs.org or contact Stacey Kelly at 847-318-8585 for more information.

••

•

•

What’s New With Taxes?

Member Milestones

8

Celling SafetyFebruary Safety Forum Focus: What Mobile Devices Can Do To Increase Your Effi ciency

Coming Events

Ramping up your use of technology in lieu of paperwork where possible can save you more than papercuts and headaches...it also may save you the pain of some jobsite accidents.

A Builders Association member who makes use of the Field ID system and Field ID representatives will discuss the benefi ts of using technology to increase the effectiveness of a safety program at our next Contractor Safety Forum Thursday, February 9 at the Chicagoland Construction Safety Council. The event runs from 8-10 a.m. and, as always, will also include an open forum discussion about other jobsite safety issues.

Field ID uses software, handheld devices and the internet to automate safety compliance inspection. This paperless system has been shown to increase the reliability of safety reporting in addition to saving time. Field ID will also raffl e off a one-year subscription at the event.

Contractor Safety Forums afford safety professionals a chance to network and talk about the complex safety problems facing the industry today. Attendees dialogue about safety best practices and learn from one another’s experiences. As evidenced by a steep increase in attendance at these events in 2011, Safety Directors are fi nding tremendous value in Safety Forums and other aspects of the Builders Association’s Safety Program.

Register for this event online at www.bldrs.org’s Calendar of Events, or contact Stacey Kelly at 847-318-8585 for more information on this or any other aspect of our Safety Program.

The Association is also happy to welcome Dan Ruane of W.E. O’Neil Construction Company as the new Chair of the Safety and Health Committee.

Pepper Construction Company’s Paul Flentge - who had Chaired the Committee since February of 2009 - is now the

Chairman of the Builders Education and Training Foundation. At the Annual Meeting in December, Flentge informed members of both that Foundation and the Association’s new safety initiative, SafeSite.

SafeSite was designed to bring the constantly evolving safety services offered by the Builders Association under one umbrella. Participating companies must meet the following criteria:

Participation in the BA/OSHA PartnershipTCIR equal to or below national averageAnnual submission of employees’ safety & health trainingParticipation in the Association’s Contractor Safety Forums

•

•

•

•

9Park Douglas, completed by McShane Construction Company.

Member News

Fred Levy, 72The Builders Association

offers its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Fred Levy, who passed away January 6 at the age of 72.

Fred served on the BA’s Board of Directors in 2001. He was an active member in the Builders Association for many years before and after that through The Levy Company.The photo at the right shows him accepting the 25-year Anniversary Award on behalf of Levy Company at the Annual Meeting in 2006.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, three children and eight grandchildren.

Member Milestones

The George Sollitt Construction Company, McShane Construction Company and Oakley Construction Company were recently recognized by the Construction Industry Service Corporation (CISCO) as having 2011 Projects of the Year.

George Sollitt and Oakley teamed up for a joint venture to take top prize in the New Construction-Chicago category with Engine Company 109/Little Village Library. The Public Building Commission project shares sustainable site features between the buildings, including a shared geothermal wellfi eld.

McShane Constrution Company was the General Contractor at Park Douglas, the winner for top Residential Construction project. Each part of the 19-building project met with Chicago Green Homes Program standards.

The Construction Advancement Foundation named Thatcher Foundations, Inc. its Contractor of the Year for the third year in a row.

Chicago’s South Shore High School, a Public Building Commission project, was honored with the Chicago Architecture Foundation’s 2011 Patron of the Year award. Contractors working on the project included BA members George Sollitt Construction Company and Brown & Momen, Inc.

Clifton Gunderson LLP and LarsonAllen announced the completion of a merger to become CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. The

combination puts the fi rm amoung the Top 10 accounting fi rms in the nation.

The Construction Financial Management Association honored CliftonLarsonAllen’s Jeff Tyner as Associate Member of the Year during its Build Chicago Awards ceremony. At the same event, Assurance Agency’s Bill Reidinger was recognized with the President’s Award.

The Chicago Tribune named Rose Paving Company the 10th best small-size business to work for in the Chicagoland area, based on employee surveys and a dynamic, supportive workplace culture. Sikich LLP was named 28th among small fi rms.

Congratulations to Molly Eastman and Arthur Rooney, both recently named Partners in the Chicago offi ce of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.

Jeff Smith of Ryan Companies US, Inc. was named to the 2011 Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame by Real Estate Journals.

Joseph F. Schmidt joined Shefsky & Froelich Ltd. in January as intellecutual property Senior Counsel.

Columbus, Ohio’s Main Street Bridge - designed by DLZ Industrial Surveying - served as the cover photo for the December issue of Roads & Bridges Magazine.

Conway & Mrowiec’s John Mrowiec was featured in the January issue of Leading Lawyers Network.

10

AGC of America

Building BitesSummary Of Activities From AGC’s Building Division

The following are some of the major AGC of America activities of the past year on behalf of Building Contractors. Please visit www.agc.org regularly for updated information about AGC activities, products, and services. For information about the AGC Building Division visit www.agc.org/building or contact Mike Stark, Senior Director, Building Division at starkm@agc.org.

Environmental Advocacy: From National Air Standards to Stormwater Discharge Limits to Lead Paint ‘Clearance’ Testing, AGC of America was engaged in the environmental issues that impacted your business over the course of 2011. Delaying the stormwater legislation for more study was a victory made possible by comment letters to the Environmental Protection Agency on how much implementing the legislation would cost by AGC members.

Take a look at AGC’s Environmental Victories and its Environment page for the latest information.

Lean Construction: The AGC Lean Construction Forum is focused on both creating a community where those interested in Lean can engage in a dialogue and developing education resources and learning opportunities on the use of Lean principles.

In 2011, the Forum led a session at the Annual Convention, hosted a webinar titled “Three Lean Tools to Help Your Company Be More Competitive,” created a Citation Database, and worked to develop much of the content for the IPD and Lean Construction Building Conference held in San Antonio. AGC is also developing a comprehensive Lean Construction Education Program intended to help organizations develop the tools and processes needed to transform their projects and companies using Lean processes.

In September, AGC and the Lean Construction Institute agreed to a formal partnership designed to educate

the construction community about the lean construction process. Both groups will now be able to work together to create additional resources and learning opportunities for contractors about lean construction.

AGC IPD & Lean Construction Conference: The AGC IPD and Lean Construction Building Conference was held in September 2011 in San Antonio, Texas with a record attendance of more than 230 participants. Attendees came together to hear from an excellent line-up of industry experts about the impact of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Lean Construction on the construction industry and enjoyed numerous networking opportunities.

Building Information Modeling: The AGC continues to be a leader in the promotion and education of BIM. AGC’s efforts are focused through the BIMForum, whose mission is to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of BIM in the AEC industry, and the BIM Education Program, a fi rst-of-its-kind curriculum of comprehensive training for the BIM process. AGC recently released the Certifi cate of Management—Building Information Modeling (CM-BIM), an assessment-based certifi cate credential that denotes knowledge and understanding of concepts related to BIM adoption, practice and process transformation outlined in the AGC BIM Education Program.

The Builders Association is proud to be a testing center for the BIM Education Program and will be offering all four units of the course during 2012. For more information, call Stacey Kelly at 847-318-8585.

Contract Documents: In 2011, ConsensusDOCS released 11 updated and two new documents. The Coalition has now

grown to 35 members (a 70+% increase since initial publication) and usership and market share have grown to more than 4,000 offi ce locations. In addition to the six educational webinars that covered construction law or particular aspects of the ConsensusDOCS contracts that were offered throughout the year, thousands of people participated in the more than 150 industry conferences and other educational events across the nation.

ConsensusDOCS documents can be integrated within Paskr software. Signifi cantly, a beta version of an entirely new technology platform to deliver ConsensusDOCS contracts that will empower users to collaboratively develop, negotiate, and store contracts through the Internet and cloud services has been developed, and will be released in the fi rst quarter of 2012.

Sustainability and Risk Summit: AGC of America and the American Institute of Architects (AIA) released an executive summary of the industry summit on sustainability and risk the organizations jointly held in 2011. Initiated from a discussion by the AIA-AGC Joint Committee, the summit brought together representatives from various industry stakeholder groups to explore the rapidly shifting legal landscape.

11

Industry News

ZamRay.com Making Industry Inroads

Thanks To Our 2012 Sponsors

Interested in the benefits of our Sponsortunities Program? View our brochure online or contact

Stacey Kelly at skelly@bldrs.org.

Double Diamond

Diamond

Golf Outing

The Builders Association partners with a number of organizations including GradeBeam.com, Enterprise Fleet Services and Verizon Wireless to provide members with discounts on goods and services they may use already.

Over the course of 2011, the Association added partnerships with both ZamRay.com (industry classifi eds) and MindEdge (project manager training).

ZamRay is designed to let construction companies nationwide buy and sell surplus building materials and equipment, view jobs and fi nd service providers. Recently, ZamRay CEO Kurt Fisher spoke with the Builders Association about the company’s fi rst year in business.

“We have just surpassed 650,000 visitors, ninety percent of them unique, and just over 2.3 million page views and continuing to grow,” Fisher said. “These numbers have blown away my initial expectations and there are not too many websites that can claim that kind of traffi c in its fi rst year of operation.

“Many of the ads and news articles contractors have placed on our site have had hundreds of hits and some have thousands. ZamRay is really starting to catch on within the construction community and I think it’s a matter of time before it goes mainstream.”

For more on ZamRay or any other Partnership offered by the BA, see the Money Saving Partnerships page under the Membership section of www.bldrs.org.

Meetings Cover What’s Changed With EPA Lead LawsThe Illinois Department of Public

Health’s Lead Program is holding 11 meetings around the state to inform the public about changes in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Renovation, Repair and Painting law.

All of these meetings will include a continental breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and a program that runs from 9 a.m.-Noon. Meeting dates and locations include:

Feb. 29, DuPage County •

Administration Building (Wheaton) Mar. 6, Oak Forest Health Center Auditorium Mar. 7, Joliet Junior College Mar. 28, Oakton Community College (Des Plaines) Mar. 29, Gurnee American Legion

In other news from the Illinois EPA, Governor Pat Quinn announced a new online portal designed to make the environmental

•

••

•

permitting process more user-friendly by eliminating red tape for businesses (epa.state.il.us). It also allows applicants and other interested parties to track the progress of the Agency’s decision-making process.

Another tool is the Registration of Smaller Sources (ROSS) program tailored to smaller sources of air pollution, rather than requiring them to undergo the extensive permitting process that larger emissions sources must go through.

Membership Benefi ts

12

13

`

To find out more about these or other benefits, contact Denise Herdrich at 847.318.8585 or visit www.bldrs.org

“Membershipgives you the competitiveadvantage.”

Membership Benefits

The Builders Association and the AGC of America offer a wide variety of discounts on products and services to benefit member companies. Products and services at member discounts can save your company money over the long haul.

Simplify your management of pre-construction services using GradeBeam’s web-based construction communication networks. Upload documents, use online bid invitation tools, manage subcontractor databases and more.

Discounts on fleet operations, vehicle pricing, flexible vehicle funding, vehicle maintenance programs, a fuel program and a disposal program.

Take advantage of discounts and deals available for Builders Association member companies through Verizon Wireless, which can total a savings of over 20 percent off your current company wireless service.

Add photos of your projects to our website via Ascribe, which virtually showcases your work and drives traffic back to your website.

The Builder is published periodically by the Builders Association, a trade association of commercial, industrial and institutional contractors and affi liated industry fi rms dedicated to quality construction in Chicagoland.

2012 Board Of Directors Vice Chairman

Jimmy AkintondeUjamaa Construction, Inc.

TreasurerJeff Raday

McShane Construction Company

Past ChairmanHoward Strong

The George Sollitt Construction Company

Ken Egidi Pepper Construction Company

Mike Mozal Joseph J. Duffy Company

Matt SprenzelInstallation Specialists, Inc.

Brad SwabackJust Rite Acoustics, Inc.

Ray WojkovichBulley & Andrews, LLC

ChairmanBen Johnston

James McHugh Construction Company

2012 Builders Association Staff

President Al Leitschuh

Labor & Membership DirectorDenise Herdrich

Communications Manager Andy Cole

Project ManagerStacey Kelly

Offi ce Coordinator Patty Heier

Builders Association8430 West Bryn Mawr Ave.

Suite 710Chicago, IL 60631

About Us

Phone: 847-318-8585Fax: 847-318-8586

www.bldrs.org