Louisiana, home of jazz music, gumbo, and next door neighbor to #20 Texas, is the first one on our list to reach the teens in the rankings. America’s most swamp heavy state benefits from a low cost of living, 5.4% below the national average, according to MERIC.
Read moreHow the Milwaukee Buck’s New Arena Became the “World’s First Bird Friendly Arena”
You may have been sitting in your house or office one day and noticed the distinct sound of a bird hitting the window. It’s pretty common, as it’s estimated that as many as 988 million birds die in the US each year by colliding into glass. The new arena that will house the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks has incorporated some design elements that will reduce the amount of birds killed by the massive structure, allowing it to be dubbed the “World’s Most Bird Friendly Sports Arena.”
Read moreConstruction Industry Groups Unite to Reduce Suicide Rate Among Construction Workers
The construction industry ranks first in total suicides and second in suicide rate compared to all other industries in the United States, according to a 2016 study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). This sad fact led more than 75 industry groups to form an alliance to combat the epidemic in 2016. Some of the members recently met in in Washington DC to help construction companies to better address mental health issues among their workers.
Read more5 Most Common Causes of Construction Project Delays
Photo by Iain Farrel
Delays on your construction project can cause all kinds of problems for your business and it doesn’t just affect the project that’s been delayed. With limited resources in labor and equipment, a delay on one project can lead to delays on other current or future projects. To help contractors prevent delays, fleet management company Teletrac Navman, has compiled a list of the top 5 reasons for onsite construction delays.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #20 Texas
Texas is the second largest state in the entire country by land area, trailing only Alaska. It’s significant land mass and relatively low population density help the state have a very low cost of living, according to MERIC, at 9.4% below average. That allowed Texas to drop over 12 spots in our ranking.
Read moreOSHA Publishes Report on Cause of 3 Tower Crane Collapses During 2017’s Hurricane Irma
Just over a year ago, in September of 2017, Hurricane Irma blew through Miami, Florida, bringing extremely high speed wind with it. The wind caused 3 cranes to collapse in southern Florida, 2 in downtown Miami and 1 more in Ft. Lauderdale. Interesting video of the dismantling of one of the failed cranes was shared on Youtube.
Read moreOSHA is Considering a Change to The Silica Dust Standard
In September of 2017, OSHA’s new standard on exposure to respirable crystalline silica went into effect in the construction industry. The rule lowered the allowable exposure to the harmful substance to 50 micrograms per cubic meter, a measurement that we’re all familiar with [/sarcasm]. After a full year of enforcement, OSHA is considering making a change to the rule.
Read more[VIDEO] Latest Update on World’s First 3D Steel Bridge
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It’s been a long time coming, but the world’s first 3D printed steel bridge has passed all of its required testing and is ready to be installed. But, before it gets to its final home, it will go on a short publicity tour.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #21 Connecticut
Connecticut is a relatively small state with a very high population density, ranking 48th in total area and 4th in density. The state also has a very high cost of living, at 16.5% above the national average, according to MERIC.
Read more[VIDEO] Crane Collapses While Placing Concrete Wall Panel in California
Video footage was recently shared of a crane collapse during a concrete wall panel lift. Not much is known about the accident, there has been surprisingly no media coverage of the event, only a very short video description on YouTube.
According to YouTube user Brett Albrecht, the collapse happened in Napa Valley, California, while a crane was lifting 50 ton concrete wall panels. I was first made aware of the video through the Instagram page @osha_is_this_ok, which is a good follow if you aren’t already. One of their other followers claimed secondhand knowledge of the incident and said that no one was killed in the terrifying accident.
The fact that there have not been any news stories written about it is definitely a good sign that no one was seriously hurt by the incident. There look to be about 10 or 11 workers standing near both panels that eventually collapsed, so there was potential for catastrophic loss. BRAGG is visible on the side of the crane at the 19 second mark, but that’s all we know.
This incident is extremely similar to another crane collapse that happened in Austin, Texas in January of 2018. In that video, a crane lifting a similarly sized concrete wall panel collapsed, forcing several workers to run away in a panic. In that accident, 1 worker was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
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On Tuesday morning, February 23, the Syracuse Fire Department responded to a call about a collapsed crane on a construction site near the university. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.