The nomination ballot is now closed on Construction Junkie’s Best Construction Podcast of 2015 and the voting ballot has officially opened, submit your votes on the form below. Voting will end at 5pm CST on May 6th and the winner will be crowned shortly after. Good luck to all of the finalists!
Read moreA Better, Stronger, Future Alternative to Cement
Photo courtesy of the Official US Navy Imagery
Cement has been around for a long time, historically since the Ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, whom used bitumen to bind materials together. In modern times, Portland cement has been the leader in the cement industry since it was created in Britain in the mid-1700s. Annually, Portland cement manufactures roughly 76.7 million metric tons of cement in the United States alone. There’s no telling how much they’ve manufactured for China, who has used more concrete in the past 3 years than the US did in the entire 20th Century!
Read moreKite Bricks Aims to Revolutionize the Way Structures Are Built
Remember back to when you were a child, playing on your living room floor with hundreds of multi-colored Legos littering the area around you as you attempted to assemble your dream house. Now, imagine doing that as an adult, but for real. That’s exactly what the inventors of Kite Bricks hope to accomplish.
Read moreHow Much Slope Should Your Trench Have?
photo by Andy Rogers
Trenches and excavation happen on nearly every new construction site and in many cases, not much is thought about them; it’s just a hole in the ground, right? Not quite. Trenches can be extremely dangerous, especially for those working in them. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 35 workers die from trench and excavation cave-ins EVERY YEAR.
Read moreStop Wondering When Your Next Batch of Concrete is Arriving
Truckest
There’s nothing worse for productivity or your schedule than sitting around the job site twiddling your thumbs waiting for materials to rise, especially when it comes to concrete. For most jobs, concrete pours are milestones that just can’t be missed without devastating consequences. The problem is, concrete deliveries place the contractor at the mercy of the supplier, making call after call following up to make sure there are no delays.
Read moreNYC's New Push for Modular Apartments
Like it or not pre-manufactured modular construction is coming to America. It has been used in other countries as fast inexpensive housing, but that doesn't make it bad. When most people think of modular housing they think of shipping containers, ugly squares and rectangles, trailer parks in the sky. But that stigma is about to change.
Read moreKnow What Should Be Included in Your Overhead Costs to Keep Your Company Profitable
Winning a bid is a wonderful thing. That is, unless, you win it and end up losing money in the process. A key factor in making a profit is having a good understanding of what your company’s overheads costs are.
Read moreA Complete Guide to Fall Prevention
Photo by Western Area Power Admin
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 57,000 people were injured by a fall to a lower level on the job site in 2013, with the victims averaging 20 days missed of work. These types of injuries are extremely costly to employers and, more importantly, detrimental to the wellbeing of the victim.
Read moreHow to Hold Your Subs Accountable For Their OSHA Violations
General Contractors are often tasked with being everywhere at the same time and OSHA takes no exception to that. OSHA’s directive number CPL 2-0.124 states that on any multi-employer worksite, multiple companies can be held liable for the same OSHA infraction, even the “controlling” entity (read: General Contractor) even if they didn’t cause the infraction.
Read more4 Reasons Your Project is Behind Schedule
photo by photosteve101
The ability to stick to a schedule is one of the most important skills in the construction industry and it takes years to master. Schedule delays not only cost the contractor time and money, but it can cost the owner thousands of dollars of lost sales and delay people from starting jobs. If the owner loses money, a battle for liquidated damages is likely to occur. As with many things, early detection and swift reaction is key to battling schedule slippage and knowing the causes of slippage makes it easier to detect.
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