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HEADLINES ADDED: June 23, 2008
Women Building Futures project proves women belong in construction trades
A bold Alberta program proves that women can do very well in the trades if they have support when they begin their journey to become journeywomen.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: June 13, 2008
Firm gives away sunscreen to workers
A construction firm in Northern Ireland has started to offer its workers free sunscreen to protect them from sunburn as the weather hots up.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: June 12, 2008
Projects Gone Awry
Anyone who has spent time in the trenches of the construction industry can relate horror stories about projects that have gone awry, causing budgetary overruns, scheduling nightmares or even worse. It is through experience, being detailed oriented and by working with qualified teams that projects are kept on track.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 31, 2008
Construction Company Structure
Something to consider if your construction company is an LLC. LLC stands for Limited Liability Corporation. That works both ways. I am not an attorney, but I can tell you what several attorneys that understand construction and many insurance brokers and agents have told me. You have limited liability, yes, but you also have limited coverage. If you are in construction, there is an excellent chance you will end up in a disagreement with a customer at some point in time. Almost all of the contractors that I have... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 28, 2008
References of Stevens Construction Institute, Inc.
Firm References.pdf Please find attached dozens of construction contractors references of our firm.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 17, 2008
Top 10 Signs You Might be an Architect
A good-humored look at architects, in support of the 2008 AIA convention.File Download (2:37 min / 2 MB)... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 16, 2008
NY Times takes the remodeler's side
Good article today in the NY Times about the problems remodelers have with homeowners. You can read the full article here. It's nice to see an a...... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 02, 2008
New research on ancient concrete
The Boston Globe recently ran an article about research suggesting the pyramids in Egypt included blocks cast from the world’s first concrete. It’s interesting research, since no one knows for sure how the pyramids were built. Portland cement wasn’t invented until the 1800s, but cement as abuilding material had a long history before that time.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: March 31, 2008
The Lighter Side
Contractor's Definitions: Government Contractor: A gambler who never gets to cut, shuffle or deal the cards. Bid Opening: A poker game in which the losing hand wins Low Bidder: A contractor who wonders what he or she left out of their bid Engineer's Estimate: The cost of construction in Heaven Project Manager: The conductor of an orchestra in which every muscian is in a different union Critical Path Method Scheduling: A managment technique for losing your shirt under perfect control Strike: An effort to increase golden egg production by... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: February 17, 2008
Harvard Research to Be Free Online
Harvard University will soon begin posting research and articles produced by its faculty on the Internet for free.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: February 14, 2008
How the Subprime Mortgage Mess Began
The federal government made the subprime mortgage mess inevitable when it imposed social engineering rules on private mortgage contracts. The long process began with the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and the regulatory bureaucracy that these two legislative acts required.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: February 02, 2008
Czech workers guilty of battering boss to death
The boss of a Bolton-based construction firm was murdered by two of his own workers, a court has found.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 28, 2008
Great Insights
Flying out to Florida on Sunday I was reading the lastest copy of Fortune magazine and came across a couple fantastic tid-bits of insight that everyone could benefit from. The first comes from Melinda Gates -"If you are successful, it is because somewhere, sometime, someone gave you a life or an idea that started you in the right direction. Remember also that you are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped"We could all benefit from feeling a little more indebted and... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 16, 2008
Window Washer Defies Laws – Of Gravity and Nature
In case you haven’t heard around the water cooler, a window washer fell off a 47 story New York skyscraper and lived. Sure he was hurt – some injuries to his brain, spinal column, ribs, abdomen and multiple broken bones in his arm and both legs, but doctors report a miraculous recovery. According to the New York Post, he is talking, watching TV, can move all his limbs, has no paralysis and is expected to walk again.Since this is a construction industry blog from a law firm, first lets... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: January 01, 2008
Constructing the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball
I know that giant crystal ball construction is a little off topic for this blog…but it’s New Year’s Eve and I just can’t resist. Today marks the 100th anniversary, or ‘birthday’, of the New Year’s Eve Ball. In 1907, New York Times publisher Adolph S. Ochs commissioned the construction of the first Ball that would be lowered to count down the New Year. Since then, the Ball has gone through a number of evolutions. Now, a century later, a new LED Crystal ball has been developed that is twice as... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 20, 2007
Best of 2007: Smaller Businesses
Was it a year of regulatory concessions for smaller companies or were their demands for scalable, less-costly rules ignored? Turns out, it was a little of both.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: December 19, 2007
Google Knows How Late Your Flight Is Running
Google has announced a flight tracking service that provides up-to-date information for those flying over the Christmas/ New Year break.... Read More
Business-Plan Contests Become "American Idol Meets Trump"
11 DEC 2007 from the Wall Street Journal | Read the full story» Business-plan competitions, long an academic ritual to help business-school students develop ideas and pitch investors, are becoming an increasingly popular way for business owners and would-be entrepreneurs to raise extra cash while honing their business strategy. Many of the newest contests aren't hosted by colleges, but rather by product makers and Web sites courting small-business owners and by investment firms or nonprofits trying to spur economic activity in a particular region or industry. (Subscription required)... Read More
Fortune's 101 Dumbest Business Moments of 2007
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HEADLINES ADDED: October 25, 2007
The Impact of Infrastructure on our Daily Lives
Last week, I traveled to Chicago for the opening of ASCE's Me, Myself and Infrastructure: Private Lives and Public Works in America exhibit. I would like to thank Greg Dreicer from the Chicago Architectural Foundation for his partnership in bringing this exhibit to Chicago and putting the grand opening event together. The opening reception attracted a number of civil engineers and architects, in addition to others who were simply interested in learning more about the social impact of infrastructure. The relationship between civil engineers and architects is a special... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: October 01, 2007
Are There Too Many White Collars in the Construction Process?
It is our observation that there are too many “white collars” in the building of a construction project. Have you ever looked at the total numbers? We count over 10 different people involved who are in a “profession” It begs the questions, “Who is doing all the heavy lifting?”, “Who is taking the most risk?”, and “Who is delivering the most value?” Here is a sample listing of the people wearing a necktie involved in a typical construction project. Before the project is started: 1) Developer 2) Real Estate... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 24, 2007
Five Trends That Will Transform Society
Author Richard Watson examines emerging patterns and developments and society, politics, science and technology, media and entertainment, and other industries in his book Future Files: A History of the Next 50 Years -- and makes educated, and witty speculations as to where they might take us.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 18, 2007
Social Entrepreneurship: Ten Questions with David Bornstein
... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 07, 2007
Do You Know Where Your State Treasurer Is?
The ex-purse-holders of South Carolina and New Mexico strayed into cocaine and kickbacks.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: September 06, 2007
Couple Plead Guilty in 'Pillow-talk' Case
A former Morgan Stanley finance executive and her husband, a former ING hedge fund exec, are guilty of insider trading.... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 14, 2007
Firing Neeleman; JetBlue Just Blew It
Mark February 14th, 2007 as the day that destroyed JetBlue. Not because the airline massively screwed up, stranded 1,000 planes, and turned passengers into captives. But because David Neeleman, JetBlue's founder and CEO, was unable to recover from the debacle. Despite more apologies than Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin combined, last week he was removed as CEO from the company he visioned into flight. The board did what boards do: replacing a passionate, entrepreneurial creator with a skilled "operator." In this case, it's David Barger, who had been president... Read More
What's Wrong Here?
Hint: You’ve got mail... Read More
The Duty of the Internet
I was struck this morning by the juxtaposition of two very important stories having to do with the Internet’s role in the world. Specifically, its role in promoting transparency and freedom of information. The first story came out in the NYTIMES this morning. In an article entitled, “In Web Uproar, Antipiracy Code Spreads Wildly,” reporter Brad Stone writes: “Sophisticated Internet users have banded together … to publish and widely distribute a secret code used by the technology and movie industries to prevent piracy of high-definition movies. “…its relentless spread has... Read More
Caltrans Scrambles To Fix Fire-Damaged Maze Fast
Two days after a 3,000° F fire from the crash of a tanker truck hauling 8,600 gallons of gasoline caused the collapse of a major San Francisco-area transportation artery, the Oakland office of Cleveland Wrecking Co. completed debris removal.... Read More
Test Drive: Rubber Tracks Go Almost Anywhere and more new products
It takes less than 10 minutes to master the simple, go-anywhere Scout, but your ears might be ringing for awhile longer.... Read More
Secure Mailing Envelope to Shield Smart Card Data
Prevents personal data in the smart card's embedded integrated circuit from being transmitted via radio frequency (RF) waves to reading device.... Read More
Smart Card Alliance Says 2-D Barcode in Proposed Real ID Driver's License Would Be Inadequate ...
Static nature of 2-D barcode allows printed media to be copied and disassociated from the original ID and its bearer, enabling misuse of the information.... Read More
Governor Rendell Announces $8.6 Million Federal Grant to Enhance Port Security
"This grant will enhance our ability to deal with any potential threat."... Read More
The Best Industry in the United States
My child is in college. She is starting to ask about industries and careers. Olivia has made me think further about what construction contracting has to offer her. I have concluded it is the best career a young person could choose. You may not believe it, but the facts will show our business is unmatched. It offers participants long term tangible benefits. However, many people will argue that point. Let me show you the many virtues our industry has. You be the judge. The Industry is Not Going Away... Read More
Autodesk Teams help with Gulf Coast Recovery Efforts
... Read More
Cisco Compass Series Peer-to-Peer Networking
My associate, Kellee Johnson, wrote up a nice story about my April 24 appearance at the Cisco Compass Series Peer-to-Peer Networking event in San Jose.An upbeat room of 150 women, and 100 more watching by Cisco TV, are significantly outnumbered by male peers back at the office. About 87% of this networking and router company is male. When Keith asks them to introduce themselves and share themselves with someone they don’t know in the room, few mention something personal or act with passion. Are we as women trained to... Read More
HEADLINES ADDED: May 01, 2007
Google's Worst Nightmare: Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales Has His Sights Set on the Search Business.
... Read More
Virginia Tech Engineers Struggle for Normalcy
Virginia Tech’s civil and environmental engineering department and other programs at the Blacksburg, Va., university are slowly and painfully seeking to recover from the April 16 massacre of 32 students and faculty.... Read More