[VIDEO] Teen Runs over Police Car with Bulldozer, Chase Ensues

Smaller heavy construction equipment is the most likely to be stolen on a jobsite, but most of the time the thieves try to sell the equipment for money.  On rare occasions, the thief just takes the machine out on the town for a joy ride and leading the police on some pretty frustrating pursuits.  Early last year, a man in Florida stole a backhoe and lead police on a wild 3 hour chase as the hammer attachment drug along the asphalt throwing sparks the whole way. Just last week, police dash cam footage showed an 18 year old backing over a police cruiser, with an officer still inside, and then leading several other officers on a slow chase.

Read more

[VIDEO] Contractors Hoist 28K Pound Scaffold to Top of Seattle Space Needle Ahead of Renovation

The Seattle Space Needle is not a normal building, which makes it a unique project to try to renovate. The iconic building is set to receive a $100 million renovation dubbed the Century Project that promises much better views thanks to new floor to ceiling exterior glazing. To prepare for the project, construction crews recently hoisted a 28.000 pound ring of scaffold to the tower’s Tophouse, around 400 feet in the air. 

Read more

Average Hourly Wage of Carpenters, By State

In our weekly quest to analyze each individual construction profession by state, we’ll examine carpentry.  The two previous professions we examined were general construction laborers, followed by heavy equipment operators.  You can also see the full list of all past and future professions by clicking here.

Read more

OSHA Offers 30-Day Silica Dust Compliance Grace Period for “Good Faith Efforts”

On Saturday, September 23, OSHA’s much talked about and controversial new Silica Dust Exposure Limit regulations went into effect.  Late last week, the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of OSHA, Thomas Galassi, released a memorandum that issues a 30 day “grace period” for compliance.

Read more

World’s Largest Battery Powered Dump Truck is Being Developed

As electric vehicles are becoming more and more popular around the world, researchers are trying to find ways to adapt the technology to heavier duty applications.  Due to the large size of projects and amount of money in the industry, the mining industry has seen its fair share of technological advancement. Several manufacturers, like Komatsu, have developed and released driverless dump trucks for mining operations in the past few years.  A team of companies in Switzerland is now working on a gigantic battery powered dump truck that will be tested for 10 years.

Read more

Beijing, China to Place 4 Month Ban on Construction Projects to Reduce Pollution

Rapid growth and the industrialization are the major contributors to China’s noted air quality issues. 4 years ago, the Chinese government issued a “war on pollution” aiming to improve air quality and reduce other environmental hazards, such as land and water contamination.  Air quality is at its worst in the winter months across the country, due to households relying more on coal power to heat residents’ homes.

Read more

[VIDEO] Workers Safely Dismantle Construction Crane Damaged by Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma ripped through the Caribbean and landed in South Florida a little over a week ago, sadly killing at least 50 people in Florida and causing plenty of property damage.  High winds that accompanied the storm also caused the collapse of 3 construction cranes – two in Miami and one more in Fort Lauderdale.  The crane in Fort Lauderdale was recently dismantled and the action was caught on video.

Read more

Average Hourly Wage of Heavy Construction Equipment Operators, By State

After sharing average hourly wage data for construction laborers, ranked by state, a little over a week ago, I’ve decided to begin doing the same for the other many different construction related professions.  Our second profession that we’ll be analyzing will be heavy equipment operators.

Read more

Researchers Show that Adding Cigarette Butts to Asphalt Reduces Heat Island Effect, Pollution

Asphalt is one of the world’s most popular pavement materials.  Because of that, researchers and scientists are constantly looking for ways to improve upon it.  Additives have been included in some asphalt mixes for years to improve strength, but recently researchers have been getting pretty clever with the types of additives they’re testing.

Read more

Live Construction Site Video Feed Helps Wisconsin Contractor Catch Trespasser

Video feeds on a construction site are not only great for timelapse videos, they can potentially help stop intruders who enter your site.

Read more