The weather is consistently rated as one of the most frequent and harmful causes of construction project delays. Weather-related claims are also a frequent source of dispute between contractors and project owners. On this episode, Athenium Analytics explains how contractors, their risk management departments, and even their insurance carriers can use hyper-local forecasts as well as historical weather data to manage and mitigate delays, lost weather days, and onsite damages from natural hazards.

Tool for Contractors:

Protect your team, materials and timeline against weather-related risks. GaugeConstruction is the cloud-based weather analytics dashboard for the construction and business sectors, delivering short-term, long-term and post-event weather insights during every phase of your project – including hyperlocal forecasts, lightening alerts and analysis. You can also configure custom alerts for future weather events that may pose a threat to worker and site safety, based on the location and phase-specific needs for each project.

AGC members receive an exclusive 30% discount on GaugeConstruction – sign up using your AGC member ID. Find out more on the AGC Member Benefits Web page https://www.agc.org/member-benefits/ (click Member Discounts).

Our country is in desperate need of significant infrastructure investments. Tell Congress and President Trump to advance the $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill! The Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2) provides resources to build roads and bridges, public transit, airports, schools, hospitals, affordable housing, water infrastructure, locks, dams, levees and more. With 1,187,000 construction workers unemployed, and an increasing number of construction firms reporting cancelled or delayed projects, our elected leaders must act now to protect existing -- and create new -- construction jobs!

In this episode, AGC’s VP of Gov’t Relations Jimmy Christianson lays out how the proposed House infrastructure package would provide needed investments in a broad range of aging infrastructure and support economic recovery by promoting demand for new construction careers, equipment and materials.

Listen to find out how you can tell Congress and President Trump to enact the “Moving Forward Act” to combat the threat of more project delays and worker layoffs.

Resources:

Get Involved: www.advocacy.agc.org

Take Action: https://advocacy.agc.org/moving_forward_act

AGC Highlights of H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act: https://bit.ly/2Bdc11M

Get the key facts on how the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act of 2020 makes significant improvements to the original program that will allow businesses more flexibility in using their loan funds. AGC’s tax, fiscal affairs and accounting expert Matt Turkstra walks through the notable changes regarding how borrowers can spend the funds, and how long they can take to spend the funds, and still qualify for loan forgiveness. This episode also covers new safe harbors for hiring or rehiring qualified employees, as well as changes in the terms of the loan and the repayment timing of any unforgiven loan amounts.

NOTES:

Visit AGC coronavirus Web page for the latest news and information -- www.agc.org/coronavirus.

In this episode, three “Lean” practitioners and advocates share their personal stories on how to increase Lean engagement on construction jobsites to reduce waste, improve workflow and add value for project stakeholders. Hear Henry Nutt of Southland Industries, Keyan Zandy of Skiles Group, and Joe Donarumo of Linbeck explain their unique approach to getting earlier and more Lean buy-in from the “boots on the ground” leaders in the field (superintendents and last planners), rather setting Lean performance goals by using a top-down approach. Discover how a “Builder’s Lean” model can produce immediate, positive change on your projects.

Guests:

Henry Nutt III, Preconstruction/Business Development Manager at Southland Industries

Keyan Zandy, Chief Operating Officer at Skiles Group

Joe Donarumo, Senior Superintendent & Director of Lean Application at Linbeck Group, LLC

All of the additional resources shown below can be found on: https://www.agc.org/news/2020/06/02/new-agc-podcast-episode-lean-construction

AGC Lean for Trades Toolbox Series

AGC Lean Construction Education Program

“Lean, Mean, Building Machines: Understanding and Implementing the Lean Method” by Henry Nutt III appeared in Consulting-Specifying Engineer (December 2019)

“The Top 3 Safety Factors Affecting Teams Today” by Henry Nutt III & Dodge Data & Analytics appeared in Construction Business Owner (March 2019)

The Lean Builder (book and blog) by Joe Donarumo & Keyan Zandy online

AGC 2020 Convention PowerPoint Presentation: “A Blueprint for Builder’s Lean: Six Simple Steps for the Field to Follow” by Joe Donarumo & Keyan Zandy (March 2020)

COVID-19 Information:

Southland Industries “A3” Factsheet: “COVID-19 Response–Lean Mitigation, Best Practices that Can Keep Workers Safe and Productive” by Henry Nutt III, Andy Rhodes & Natasha Schnaitman (last updated May 11, 2020, V1.0)

The Lean Builder blog: “The Daily Huddle – COVID-19 Protocol” by Keyan Zandy (April 6, 2020)

The Lean Builder blog: “3 Ways to Pull Plan during the COVID-19 Pandemic” by Keyan Zandy (April 21, 2020)

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on AGC educational programs. Since mid-March, all of AGC’s live events have been postponed or we’ve looked for a way bring the same caliber of information to contractors in a virtual format. On this episode, AGC staff goes over the changes AGC has made to move our programs and events online, including the upcoming Federal Contractors Virtual Conference (https://fedcon.agc.org/) and Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Virtual Conference (https://shec.agc.org/).

AGC’s Culture of CARE initiative is challenging leaders to take a bold and visible step towards ensuring their workplaces are welcoming, safe and inclusive for an increasingly diverse and talented pool of workers.

On this episode, our guests share how this important program got started, how it’s growing, how it’s benefiting contractors in the AGC family, and how more contractors can sign the pledge and get started.

Guests:

Pastor Lawrence Willis, Urban League Seattle - https://urbanleague.org/

Shannon Gustine, Hensel Phelps - https://www.henselphelps.com/

Kari Karst, BX Civil & Construction - https://www.bx-cc.com/

Visit the website www.BuildCulture.org to find out how your company can take the Culture of CARE pledge. Companies that sign the pledge, are able to take advantage of the many online tools and resources to help them establish a Culture of CARE in their workplaces. These include hardhat stickers, jobsite posters, toolbox talks, sample company policies as well as tips and best practices.

On this episode, we talk with senior AGC staff about Congress’ next coronavirus relief funding proposal, expected policy disagreements, AGC’s top priorities, and the great deal of outreach and advocacy work that the association is doing to keep workers safe and keep construction going. NOTE: As of press time, House Democrats released their recovery bill, and AGC is working on its analysis of the measure.

COVID-19 has led to a surge of project cancellations and shut down construction almost entirely in some states, as per AGC’s coronavirus survey results. In this episode, Ali Mills from Plum Contracting Inc., talks about how the new federal Paycheck Protection Program has made a meaningful difference for her company, allowing her to rehire and retain employees and endure the construction stop order in Pennsylvania. As construction is given the green light in PA on May 1, Ali anticipates all her employees will be back to full salary, a story that she will also share at a press conference at the White House today.

On April 23, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued new and troubling guidance on the Paycheck Program. This guidance recasts one of the several vague certifications that borrowers have to make, suggesting that it requires borrowers to prepare themselves “to demonstrate” that, at the time they applied for the loan, that they did not have access to enough other “sources of liquidity” to support their ongoing operations. In this episode, two partners in one of Washington’s most prominent law firms, Crowell & Morning, put the new guidance into context and explain how borrowers should respond to it, including the potentially severe consequences of not assembling the documentation they might need. This information is significant as AGC’s Chief Economist reports that a large share of construction firms have received loan funds, allowing contractors to add and retain employees, as evidenced by AGC’s latest survey results.

In this episode, AGC explains key changes in Version 3.0 of the feds guidance for identifying the “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workforce,” which state/local governments may use to decide what construction activities may continue during the pandemic. Recognizing that many firms are struggling to retain their crews, we update you on the federal Paycheck Protection Program that ran out of funding last week, and what relief small business contractors can expect in the near term. Also this week, Congress is expected to release a Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) reauthorization bill; listen as AGC shares its top priorities and key polices to protect the nation from floods and keep our waterways open to navigation.