ConstructorCast

Generation Z will be the future of construction work as baby boomers retire and a new crowd of young people enter the industry. On this episode, an 18-year old Gen Z expert Josh Miller and two AGC student chapter leaders Anna Bennett and Tyler Korte offer authentic insights on how to leverage their unique skills to improve your business. Discover how to target your construction firm’s training and recruiting strategies to better engage with the 16 to 24-year old demographic.

Speaker profiles:

Josh Miller, Northwestern University – Medill School of Journalism; former director of Gen Z studies at XYZ University (Jan 2018 – July 2020)

Anna Bennett, University of Louisiana at Monroe

Tyler Korte, Crossland Heavy Contractors, Inc. Field Engineer; Pittsburg State University (Class of 2020 – Construction Engineering Technology)

On this special episode, AGC’s Senior Director of Safety and Health Services, Kevin Cannon and Director of Safety and Health Services, Nazia Shah, showcase the events scheduled for September 14-18, 2020, (Construction Safety Week and OSHA’s Fall Safety Stand-down) and how contractors and their partners can take this opportunity to recommit to sending every worker home safe each day. Find out how to participate, access online materials and best practice resources, and be recognized for your efforts.

RESOURCES

1. Construction Safety Week: https://www.constructionsafetyweek.com/

• Resources: https://www.constructionsafetyweek.com/plan-for-safety-week/

• Certificate of Participation (via AGC): https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2V7ZLP2

• Media Coverage Request Form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/summary/9bg7gA4eWUXCdgP_2BrNCDb3DF5ZYzqHnAjhb0Tvo9qF8A8obQFe9iQmazK1DWRREp

2. OSHA National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction: https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/

• Resources: https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/resources.html

• Certificate of Participation: https://www.osha.gov/StopFallsStandDown/index.html#cert

If you have further questions about these two events, please email us at [email protected].

On this episode of ConstructorCast, we feature three AGC member companies that are pioneering tech solutions to challenges faced daily by the industry. As a result, they were named the 2020 winners of the AGC Construction Innovation Award. Listen and be inspired by their creations.

Guests:

Anne Brown -- “CopperWorks” by Christman Constructors Inc.

Christman Constructors developed a tool called CopperWorks – which is an iOS-based (or mobile) application that brings job-placement logistics into the 21st century.

https://www.christmanconstructors.com/

www.copperworks.app

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/370152701/650d17a7e0

Eric E. Cylwik -- “Slab Former” by Sundt Construction

Sundt Construction’s creation called Slab Former uses technology to automate means and methods to prefabricate concrete edge forms around a slab, saving contractors time, labor and money.

https://www.sundt.com/

VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CiV43oCgpE&feature=youtu.be

Susan Heinking -- “Net Zero Trailer” by Pepper Construction

Pepper Construction built the Net Zero Trailer – which turned out to be a more comfortable and energy efficient space that also improves jobsite sustainability.

https://www.pepperconstruction.com/

https://www.pepperconstruction.com/stories/ideation-net-zero-trailer

VIDEO: https://pepperconstruction.wistia.com/medias/va8x1jbsuf

Congratulations to our 2020 AGC Construction Innovation Award Winners – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwSseDQJF9U&feature=youtu.be.

Spotlight Your Achievements! AGC Launches 2021 Awards Season:

In 2018, AGC of America celebrated 100 years of serving the construction industry. While we celebrated and recognized the past it is important that we continue to look to the future to address ongoing issues affecting the industry. In this spirit, AGC decided to make the Innovation Awards an annual award to incentivize and encourage free thinkers to provide pioneering solutions to industry challenges. Apply by Wednesday, October 21, 2020 for full consideration. Learn more about AGC of America's awards programs at www.agc.org/awards.

AGC Project Innovation & Delivery Forum – Volunteer Opportunity:

AGC members can also join the Project Innovation & Delivery Forum. The mission of the forum is to align the execution of construction projects with the latest innovations in safety, quality and productivity, and to educate the industry on best practices in order to deliver quality projects on time and on budget. Visit www.agc.org/projectdelivery to learn more and to join the forum.

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.