Locating Public Officials that Deal with Construction…..AGC San Diego’s Website Can Help!!!!!.....A New Member Service!!!!!
By Jim Ryan AGCSD EVP 

This article details a new AGC San Diego member service that is located on the Home Page of our web site (www.agcsd.org) ….the San Diego County Public Officials Directory.  It contains information on 78 agencies and the contacts in those agencies that are important to the construction industry

During the AGC Board of Director’s Planning Retreat in October 2006, the Board directed your staff to develop a web-based program that would make it easier for AGC members to locate the public officials that deal with construction issues in the public entities throughout the county.  The problem that the Board is trying to assist members with involves the difficulties that have developed as public entities (and many private sector firms) adapt to the technologies that are available to make their operations “efficient and effective.”

In the past, members called a public entity….a live person answered the phone….we asked for the person that handles permits, upcoming projects, etc. and we were transferred to that person.  If the person was available, we asked our question and it was answered…if the person was not available we left a message with a live person and hoped for a return call.

Now….we call a public entity and immediately are thrown into an automated answering system that gives us options that may or may not fit the questions we have.  We dial an extension and usually get a voice mail….and leave a message with a person that may or may not be the correct person.  As an alternative, we can go to the public entity’s web site…..but as our Board noted…finding the right answer on the web site often is more similar to solving a mystery in a parlor game than it is to getting information “effectively and efficiently.”  Obviously, as we read this, it is apparent that most organizations today …public or private …are guilty of creating information systems that have similar flaws….in fact AGC’s system could be better!

So, in an effort to assist members in getting critical information as easily as possible, the AGC Board directed staff to create the San Diego County Public Agencies Directory on our web site…. www.agcsd.org.  The Directory currently contains easy to read information on 78 public agencies in the county.  AGC staff and consultants visited public agencies throughout the county and worked through their websites.  The resulting information was then posted on our website in what we hope is an easy to read and use format.  Our goal….we hope you can use this Directory to help save the time and frustration that you previously experienced trying to find key individuals in each public agency that deal with construction issues.

Now…please understand…this is a work in progress.  The information is constantly changing, and we have not proofed each and every entry…but we decided to put the information on the AGC website and allow members to work with it and give us feedback.  AGC has developed and implemented a system to update the information.  It should be noted that this information usually comes from the public entity’s website and will be updated as they update the information.

Accessing the information does not require a password….it is public information and is available to anyone….besides…..websites that require passwords, in my opinion, are seldom used.  Many of us struggle to remember our cell phone number let alone a password on a site that we use occasionally!!

Anyway…please call or e-mail Brad Barnum (858-558-7444 x 103 / bbarnum@agcsd.org) or Marcy Knopman (858-558-7444 x 104 / mknopman@agcsd.org) with your comments.  If you call and get caught in a frustrating voice mail loop…..dial 0 and leave a message!!!!

 

California Transportation Commission Staff Recommends $304 million in Prop. 1B funds for San Diego Corridor Projects

The California Transportation Commission (CTC) is expected to consider a CTC staff recommendation to help fund four specific “corridor” projects in San Diego that have been nominated to receive Prop. 1B funds due to construction relief and connectivity factors and to their project readiness for construction.  The projects total over $304 million, with the managed lane program on I-15 from Route 163 to Route 56 (including construction on the Mira Mesa access ramp) receiving the lion’s share ($200 million).  The other projects are on I-5/805 North Coast Corridor (includes Carroll Canyon Road Extension), and adding Southbound auxiliary lanes on I-805 from E Street to SR 54.

Earlier this year, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) released its “wish list” of projects, which totaled $1.6 billion. Caltrans then released its recommendations, which were substantially lower at $515 million.  Knowing that they wouldn’t get everything, SANDAG’s staff said “these are projects will attack congestion and we're ready to go with them…we're ready to go to work”.

The San Diego region is competing with other regions throughout the state for the first $4.5 billion that is available from the recently passed Prop. 1B ($20 billion bond).  The CTC staff is recommending about $2.8 billion in this funding cycle, and they are recommending the remaining balance be programmed in 2008 for “later delivery” projects (two are in San Diego: I-5/Genesse Ave Interchange and I-805/HOV lanes from Palomar to SR-94). 

A special meeting of the CTC is being held today in order to receive comment on the staff proposal from the eight regional transportation agencies.  SANDAG’s Executive Director Gary Gallegos, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, and a number of San Diego legislators are expected to make their pitch.  With “projects ready to go” and with a stable local funding source of Transnet dollars, the San Diego region appears to be in good shape.

The CTC will meet on Wednesday, February 28 in Orange County to formally vote on staff’s recommendation.

 

LAST CHANCE TO PARTICIPATE
FMI Workshop – February 21, 2007 11:00 AM
Understanding How to Lead and Develop the Next Generation 

In September, during Cal AGC and AGC San Diego’s Fall Conference, this workshop was presented at a  luncheons and those of us that were involved were impressed with not only the subject matter but the speaker that presented this topic.  The San Diego Education Committee thought this topic would be a great situational workshop to deal with this issue.

Ron Magnus is a very dynamic speaker / individual and with his hands on approach examines these critical issues impacting our industry.

The changing demographics of our nation are profoundly impacting our ability to recruit and retain quality people. The Baby Boomers are retiring at a rapid rate and the Generation X’ers are taking over and the Millennials are coming on strong  ………… so,

How do we win the war on this different talent?

How is your company planning to attract, motivate and retain this talent in an environment of rapid changes in the workforce?

How can you create a value proposition for current and future employees?

This is an important interactive workshop to help strategize with industry professionals about these issues and challenge your organization to answer these questions.

This workshop is a must for Department Heads, Human Resources, Project Managers and anyone in a position to hire new people and retain the talent employed.

 

Project Managers…..the Industry Needs To Meet Their Training Needs!!!!
By Jim Ryan AGC Executive Vice President 

I have always been amazed at the talents of our industry’s Project Managers.  These individuals are required to be…usually at a fairly young age…..engineers that understand the details of how to build complicated projects….construction estimators that have the ability to quickly put together and make sense of the cost implications of  a customer’s vague notion of a building or a structure…….a sophisticated business expert that is expected to start up and successfully run a multi million dollar business (a project) in an extraordinarily short time frame….a marketing expert that has the ability to develop long term relationships and to recognize opportunities when they appear…..a legal expert….a scheduling expert….an accounting expert…….The list goes on and on.

Our industry recruits these multitalented individuals from construction engineering programs at major universities and sometimes from business schools. We typically start them out as project engineers….by giving them a desk and a computer…assigning them to a few projects and telling them to get to work.  They are immediately required to somehow translate the theory they learned at the University into becoming productive members of the contractor’s team.  No real training is involved…the survivors figure out what needs to be done and somehow make it through.

The most promising of these individuals are then promoted to become project managers…..usually about 5 years before they have the necessary experience to handle the responsibility they are to assume.  Again, they are given no real training.  They are expected to immediately transfer from the technical side of construction to become the multi-talented individual we described earlier in this article. Most were educated as engineers…..the problem is that a project manager probably needs more business, management, and people skills than they need engineering skills.

So our industry has a problem….we are putting good people that have some of the best work ethics in the business world into positions that they really are not ready for…..and this often results in a project bottom line that does not produce the positive results that were expected. Designed to transition quickly we take these bright, up and coming project engineers and project managers from the technical phase of their career to the management phase of their career, without much training.

AGC-SD’s Construction Education and Training Committee and AGC-SD staff have developed the AGC-SD Project Management Certificate Course.  Currently, we have 32 individuals enrolled in this 26 week course and 44 have been issued certificates from the 2005 and 2006 class. This course has been so well attended that Palomar College has partnered with us for certification.

We are doing this by utilizing Mr. Paul Stout of Power Summit…an educational consulting firm that has a construction focus…Paul was a senior project manager in his past life….and bringing in on a weekly basis some of San Diego’s most talented individuals to teach the critical components of construction project management. 

Now remember…..Paul Stout is there for every course to make sure the lesson is learned.  Those successfully completing the course will be the guests of the AGC during the Installation Dinner in January 2008, and they will receive their certificates in front of the 400 plus individuals that attend.

A registration form for the next program is attached…..yes it is expensive….but most untrained project managers could loose more than that in a day on a project by making the wrong decisions.

What a concept….training PMs over 26 weeks instead of letting them figure it out for themselves over a number of years.  My advice….enroll a PM now for the next program.

Details….contact Glen Schaffer at 858 558 7444 x 108, gschaffer@agcsd.org or Laura Sanchez at ex 101, laura@agcsd.org. 

Sign Up Today for the March 6, 2007 Class and join the long list of successful “Construction Project Manager” certificate holders …………… Please send in a registration or go on line www.agcsd.org and click on the link to education to register

 

EEEC Member To Speak At March 7th Safety Committee Meeting

In late January the EEEC (Economic & Employment Enforcement Coalition) “swept” through Downtown San Diego construction sites issuing citations to contractors for various violations of California Regulations. These “sweeps”, which are happening all across California every day, consist of unannounced visits made up of representatives from the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Employment Development Department, Contractor’s State License Board, and the US Department of Labor. The EEEC is a state program whose goal is to “educate business owners and employees on federal and state labor, employment, end licensing laws; conduct vigorous and targeted enforcement against labor law violators; help level the playing field and restore the competitive advantage to law abiding businesses and their employees”.

To assist with the education on the importance of this coalition, AGC San Diego’s Safety Committee will be hosting a representative of the EEEC on March 7^th at their monthly meeting. The meeting will take place at AGC’s facility located at 6212 Ferris Square, San Diego, CA 92121. The meeting will begin at 7am and the representative is scheduled to speak at 8am. If you are interested in joining us for this informative presentation please sign up by emailing Laura Sanchez (LSanchez@agcsd.org).

For more information contact Peter Lupo (petel@tbpenick.com), AGC Safety Committee Chair or to visit the EEEC’s web page go to: http://www.dir.ca.gov/EEEC/EEEC.html.

 

Web Site Hot Link

Interested in having a web link on the AGC’s website? It is only $60 /year to have your company’s website linked directly on AGC’s website and listed under “Member Listings.”  Start off 2007 with an easy and simple way to get more “hits” on your website. – Click here for registration form: http://www.agcsd.org/members/membership.htm

 

First AGC Mixer for 2007- Tuesday, February 27th

The AGC Affiliate Council is hosting the first AGC mixer of the year! As in previous years, the Mixer will be held at Dave & Buster’s in Mission Valley located at 2931 Camino del Rio North, San Diego, CA  92108 (619) 280-7155, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2007, 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM.  Members must pre-register to attend.

The Platinum Sponsors for this event are: ABD Insurance, Hawthorne Machinery Company, KPS Insurance Services, Marks Golia & Finch, LLP and San Diego Precast.  Additional sponsors are listed on the attached notice.

For additional information, contact Rae Krushensky at 858-731-8175 or see attached flyer

 

“Meet Your Owner” – March 15^th

The AGC Specialty Contractor’s Council is proud to present a “Meet Your Owner” event on March 15 at the AGC featuring UCSD and Jim Gillie, Sr. Director of Construction Services, Facilities Design & Construction. 

Like past “Meet Your GC” events, the program will include a forum of representatives that will discuss topics such as:  How to find out about UCSD’s upcoming work; Project Delivery Methods; Pre-Qualification; Bidding – Addendums – Alternates; Basis of Awards; Labor Compliance Program; Construction RFI’s, and more….

We thank Jaynes Corporation and Standard Drywall, the Major Sponsors for this event.  Registration information is attached and is mandatory to attend.  Please contact Rae Krushensky at 858-731-8157 with any questions.

 

AGC Committee Sign-ups

Members may still sign up to join any of the AGC committees (and the 2 new committees) Please click on the following link, which will take you directly to the registration page on our website:  http://www.agcsd.org/aboutagc/committeevolunteer.php. 

If you have any questions or need additional information please contact Brad Barnum at 858-558-7444 (ext 103) or at bbarnum@agcsd.org.
New committees still need volunteers:
Electronic Age Committee
Foundation for Success Committee

 

“AGC Education & Training….Building a solid Foundation”

Register on Line
For Education classes click on the following link: http://www.agcsd.org/calendar/calendar.htm
For Safety Training classes click on the link: http://www.agcsd.org/calendar/safetytraining.htm

UPCOMING AGC CLASSES
Construction Education Training
February
Fails Management Institute presents: Understanding How to Lead and Develop the Next Generation” by Ron Magnus Feb. 21
STP – Feb. 22
WEBCM - Feb. 27  

March
Blueprint 103 – Mar 6    
Construction PM – Mar 6
Microsoft Project – Mar 7
CQM – Mar 13 & 14
Excel II – Mar 20     
Prevailing Wage in Riverside – March 21      
WebCM – Mar 27
Deferred Compensation – Mar 28 (Flyer Attached)

Safety Training
February
Trenching & Excavating - Feb 21
CPR/First Aid – Feb 28
SWPPP – Feb 28

March
Focus Four – March 8 & 9
OSHA 10 HOUR – March 16
Scaffolding CPT & Hazard Awareness Training – March 23

Save the Date:
UPCOMING APRIL EDUCATION CLASSES:
EM 385-1-1 – Thursday & Friday, April 5 & 6
Mechanics Lien Law / Prompt Pay Workshop – Wednesday, April 4

 

February Committee and Councils Meeting Dates
Feb. 21 – County Liaison @ AGC – 1:00 PM
Feb. 22 – Affiliate Members Council @ AGC – 12PM
Feb. 26 – Airport Authority @ Airport – 11AM

March Committee and Councils Meeting Dates – Dates subject to change (all meetings at AGC office unless indicated otherwise)
March 07 – Safety Committee – 7 AM
March 09 – Builders, Exchange – 7 AM - AGC
March 20 – Human Resources Practices Committee– 11:00 AM
March 21 – Public Building Liaison Committee – 7 AM
March 22 – Affiliate Day Committee – 11:30 AM (First Meeting)
March 28 – Government Relations Meeting- 10 AM

 

NEXT HIGHLIGHTED EVENT:

• February 27 – AGC Mixer at Dave & Busters- 5:00 PM

UPCOMING EVENTS
March 13- Meet your Owner
March 20-22- AGC National Convention- San Antonio, Texas