CARB Member….Ron Roberts
By Jim Ryan, Executive Vice President

County Supervisor Ron Roberts is a long time member of the California Air Resources Board (CARB).  At the conclusion of the CARB hearing on off-road diesel emissions, which was held at the Del Mar Marriott on Friday, Ron said,

…”the industry's testimony yesterday was “less than convincing.” At the end of the hearing, he held up his asthma inhaler and told the crowd that new regulations were inevitable.

“Get realistic,” Roberts said. “We are going to start cleaning up diesel exhaust from construction equipment just like we have from every other thing in the state.”

Ron, the construction industry agrees. We want to clean up the air.  However, there are a number of key details that need to be worked out in the next two months before CARB votes on the regulation.  The CARB staff and the industry need a leader to step up and work out a compromise that balances the goal of cleaning up our air with the costs involved, and the technology that is available.

Ron, you are an architect, you understand the industry, and you, in our opinion, have always understood the importance of achieving a balance between the cost of government regulations with the ability of the affected industry to pay for those regulations.

Ron, how about taking a leadership role on working with the CARB staff and the industry to work through the difficult points in this regulation?

The construction industry anxiously awaits your reply!

 

The California Air Resources Board Diesel Emissions Regulation Hearing

The scene was a little “surreal” this past Friday morning at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) hearing on off-road diesel emission regulations, which was held at the Del Mar Marriott.

Several hundred representatives of the construction industry from throughout the state attended…but because the hearing was in Del Mar, members of the AGC-San Diego, EGCA, and BIA San Diego made up the majority of the attendees from our industry.

Your response was outstanding….GOOD JOB!

The Carpenter’s Union attended…with between 75-100 picketers marching with signs that cautioned CARB to adopt a regulation that will not involve sacrificing thousands of construction jobs.

The hearing room at the Marriott held about 400…my guess….375 of the 400 were representatives of the construction industry.

The hearing started about 9:00 AM…with a nearly two-hour slide/narrative presentation by the CARB staff.  The presentation detailed their work product, which was the result of several years of writing version after version of the regulation…then meeting with the industry…taking our comments without much discussion…and writing another version.

The CARB staff never seemed available to sit down and really work through some of the more difficult issues face-to-face with the industry…and the result is six proposed regulations with some serious flaws.

After the two hour presentation, 85 or 90 speakers were scheduled to each make 3 minute comments…my guess is 8 or 9 out of 10 speakers were from our industry.

The industry speakers, in my opinion, did an excellent job of detailing the industry’s position.  A number of AGC San Diego contractors spoke…including Diesel Emission Task Force Members, Scott Erreca, John Nelson, Steve Coker, and Mike Carcioppolo. 

The industry speakers effectively detailed our major concerns with the regulation.

1. It is too costly

2. The technology to comply is either not invented nor available

3. The time frame for implementation needs to be extended.

The opposition came from a variety of environmental groups. Their main arguments made repeatedly were:

#1  Whenever these type of regulations are made, the affected industry always claims the regulation costs too much…and CARB should ignore this argument.  None of the environmental speakers presented any objective arguments…”just ignore” the contractors…they are just “whining.”

#2  The technology to accomplish all of this may not be available now, but if the regulation is passed, products will come on the market…just because there is a regulation!

And…a series of African American speakers from Oakland urged CARB to adopt the regulation because diesel emissions are more prevalent in the neighborhoods than in the suburban neighborhoods…

Hmmm?

So what was the conclusion…well the hearing will be continued on July 26 in Sacramento and CARB expects to vote on July 26^th…so we have at least two more months. 

 

Construction Engineering is now listed in SDSU’s 2007-2008 General Catalog…A Tribute to the Determination of Pete Filanc
By Jim Ryan, Executive Vice President

On Thursday, May 17, I attended a memorial for Pete Filanc, the CEO of J.R. Filanc Construction Co. Several hundred of Pete’s friends and business associates spent some time during the memorial remembering Pete….those that spoke seemed to all have a common theme…throughout Pete’s life, he brought an unbelievable enthusiasm and a “can do” attitude to every aspect of life that he touched…he seemed to have a “knack” for turning dreams into reality. 

We recently received from Dr. Ken Walsh, the professor in charge of the J.R. Filanc Construction Engineering and Management Program, a copy of the SDSU 2007-2008 General Catalog. Page 138 of this catalog contains one of Pete’s dreams that is now a reality!

This page has the first listing of the new Construction Engineering major that is now “officially” offered by the university.

In the academic world, having this program listed in the SDSU catalog is no small accomplishment.  It means that SDSU now offers a Bachelors of Science Degree in Construction Engineering…it means that the curriculum is set…the course are listed…the faculty have been hired…and most importantly, the program has been through the long and rigorous California State University approval process.

I am told by those familiar with this process, that it often takes 12-15 years for a new major to become a reality in the CSU system…and it is never a reality until it is listed in the catalog.

Well… it may take 12-15 years normally, but when someone like Pete Filanc decides the San Diego construction industry needed the Construction Engineering major…it happened sooner rather than later.

In 2001, Pete came to my office and said he had just met with officials in the SDSU College of Engineering and had gained their endorsement for creating a new Construction Engineering major within the College of Engineering.  However, there were a few details…he then described the process…develop a curriculum…gain CSU approval…hire instructors…etc.

I said, “Pete, that is going to take awhile…certainly over 10 years.”

He said “well, normally, but we are going to do it in 5-6 years.”

Then he dropped the “bomb”...”Okay, and by the way…we are going to need to raise 4-$5,000,000 to get this done!”

Now remember, I’m from Iowa…in the last 150 years, the contractors in Iowa have not raised that much for contributions in total…let alone for one program.

“Pete, how are we going to raise that much, that fast?”

“Don’t worry, your AGC members will do it”…and then he outlined his thoughts on fundraising.

The rest is history.  With major gifts from Pete’s parents, Jack and Jane Filanc…and from Roel Construction, as well as a number of gifts from AGC members, including several at the $100,000 level, Pete had led the industry through fundraising efforts, and raised over $5,000,000 by 2005.

During all of this fundraising actively, Pete also worked with SDSU to hire faculty, to set the curriculum, and with Dr. Ken Walsh, to push the requirements through the CSU system.

There is a paragraph in the Construction Engineering section of the SDSU 2007-2008 Catalog that sums up what this was all about:

“Construction engineering is the application of engineering principles to the human
endeavor of construction.  The construction engineering major prepares students
to undertake careers in the leadership of construction enterprises for all types of
construction, including public and private sectors.  It also provides an understanding
of the interaction between society and the built environment and the ethical issues
involved in that interaction”

Pete’s “can do” attitude and his positive approach to life should be an inspiration for us all.  Pete faced an enormous number of challenges since 2001 to make this dream a reality. His determination has produced magnificent results…and they are right there beginning on Page 138.  We are going to miss you Pete!

 

CA. Dept. of General Services' Proposes to Change Competitive Bid System – Call to Action!

On Friday, the California Department of General Services (DGS) will hold a public hearing to receive public comment on a proposal to increase the number of Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) in public works construction.  The program will allow state agencies that have not met a 3% DVBE goal on construction projects to place a bidding incentive of 1-5% on projects they bid (with a discretionary cap of $100,000 per project).  

Although AGC support efforts to provide opportunities for certified DVBEs when awarding projects, the proposal will lead to confusing bidding adjustments and increased costs to the state, and it has the potential to severely impact the future success of certified DVBE construction firms. 

With only 200 certified DVBE firms listed on the DGS website, there will not be enough capacity for these firms to handle 3% of the $24.7 billion of the annual public construction work in California (2006 figure).  This will create a market for "broker" firms to compete with legitimate construction firms, and it will cost taxpayers for contractors to comply with the DVBE requirements, which are difficult, if not impossible, to legitimately meet.

Call to Action - DGS needs to hear from the construction industry that this proposal will not work, is not cost effective, and will distort the current lowest responsible bidder process. 

Please take a moment to use our “Legislative Action Network” to write to DGS’ Acting Director and its Office of Small Business and DVBE Services (a letter has been drafted for you).  Simply click here and fill in your name, home and e-mail address below then click "continue".  You will then be asked to send it electronically, or print copies to mail.

 

Continuing Education for Human Resource Personnel

The AGC Human Resource Practices Committee is offering three, 3-Hour Seminars for all members dealing with HR and Employment Issues, including office and field supervisors, foreman, etc.

This Year’s Seminar Topics Include:

·         June 14, Key-Note Speaker:  Linda Aguilar, Deputy Labor Commissioner discussing O.T. Laws and Exempt vs. Non-Exempt Classifying Mistakes.

·         September 20, Employment Law Updates including Meal & Rest Period Rules.

·         December 6, Critical Work Shop for Field Supervisors in Dealing with Problem Employees and Developing Progressive Discipline Procedures

See the registration form attached and fax to Rae Krushensky at 858-558-8444.

 

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

UPCOMING AGC CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION & SAFETY CLASSES

MAY
Construction Education Classes
EM 385-1-1 - May 31, June 1

Safety Training Classes
CPR/First Aid- May 30 – CLASS FULL 

JUNE
Construction Education Classes
Microsoft Excel Formulas & Functions – June 12
HR Mini Series – Begins June 14th
Web CM - June 19
Intro to Prolog Manager – June 21

Safety Training Classes
Scaffolding & Hazard Awareness- June 8
Trenching & Excavating- June 13
Crane Awareness – June 16
OSHA 10 Hour – June 18
CPM Scheduling – June 20
CPR/First Aid- June 27 

Upcoming Classes in July
Sure Trak – July 12
Blueprint 102- July 10
CQM- July 17-18 (Contractor Quality Management)
Fall Protection – July 18

 

JUNE
June 4 – San Diego Port District Meeting – 11:30 AM at Port
June 6 – Safety Committee Meeting- 7 AM
June 8-  Builders’ Exchange – 7AM
June 20 – Public Building Liaison Meeting – 7 AM
June 21- Specialty Contractors’ Council Meeting – 11 AM
June 22- Electronic Age- 7 AM
June 25 – Airport Liaison Committee Meeting 11 AM at Airport
June 27 – County Liaison Meeting – 1:00 PM

 

UPCOMING AGC EVENTS
May 31- June 3- Spring Conference in Napa
June 19 – Baseball Bash and Padres Game – SOLD OUT!
July 20 – Day at the Races
August 6 – Affiliate Day Golf Tournament – Singing Hills
November 1 - Build San Diego Awards