AGC Board Votes to Join the Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition

The AGC San Diego Board of Directors voted on Thursday to formally join the Los Angeles based Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition (CIAQC).  AGC San Diego will be joining forces with the current associations that are members of CIAQC….AGC California….Engineering Contractors Association…Los Angeles…..Southern California Contractors Association….and the Building Industry Association of Southern California. The AGC San Diego Board voted to contribute $20,000 per year to CIAQC. 

As part of CIAQC, AGC-SD will participate in the upcoming negotiations concerning the Diesel Off Road Equipment Regulations, which are scheduled to be adopted by the California Air Resources Board(CARB) within the next year.  The AGC SD Board chose to affiliate with this group because CIAQC has been recognized by CARB and its staff as the organization that represents the construction industry throughout the state. 

An official CARB staff “final draft” of their recommendations for the off road diesel regulations to the CARB Board is scheduled to be released on Friday of this week.  CIAQC is scheduled to meet all day on Tuesday July 25^th to review the draft and begin to formulate a response. AGC SD will participate and represent our membership.

It is expected that CIAQC will lead the industry from throughout the state during this critical period.  The AGC-SD Board decided to focus AGC-SD’s financial resources and staff time on this effort. AGC SD will not formerly participate in the San Diego Construction Industry Air Quality Coalition (SAN CIAQC) which is being formulated by the Engineering General Contractors Association and the BIA San Diego. The stated purpose of SAN CIAQC is to lobby local politicians and officials and to fund an educational effort for the San Diego construction community.

The AGC Board understands that at some point a coalition of this nature will probably be necessary but the off road diesel regulations are a statewide problem and AGC-SD’s focus will be with CIAQC until the negotiations etc concerning the issue have concluded. The Board also believes that any educational programs associated with this entire problem need to be developed after the details of the regulations are clear.

Bottom line….this is a complicated problem that needs the attention of the industry.  AGC-SD will be part of the critical upcoming negotiations concerning off road diesel regulations along with major associations from throughout the state.  The AGC-SD Board of Directors will be updated as the negotiations develop and will communicate details of the situation on a regular basis to the membership.

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.

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 designed to transition quickly these bright, up and coming project engineers and project managers from the technical phase of their career to the management phase of their career.

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. Currently, we have 32 individuals that are participating…..and here are the courses they will take and the teachers for each course.

1. Early Issue Identification- Ernie Mashner – University Mechanical

2. The Owner’s Perspective- Jeff Hurkes- Hurkes I Harris Design Consultants

3. Bidding and Procurement – Ron Meler – Sundt

4. How a Construction Company Really Works – Kevin Elliot – Roel Construction

5. Management Reporting – Ron Meler – Sundt

6. Marketing for PMs – Jim Ryan (AGC) and Jerry Cole- Ferguson, Pape, Baldwin Architects

7. Successful Negotiating in the Construction Environment – Terry Broyles – Pacific Rim Mechanical

8. GC and Sub Relationships / Handling Subcontractor Defaults – John Elliott and Ken Campbell – Roel Consulting Group

9. Killer Contract Clauses – Tim Salter – Procopio Law Firm

10. Equipment Utilization – Mike Carcioppolo- Hawthorne Equipment

11. Construction Claims – Art Renga – Roel Consulting Group

12. CPM Scheduling – Terry Loose – Reno Contracting

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 2007, and they will receive their certificates in front of the 400 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.

Finally….I had the honor of helping teach the Marketing for PM’s class last week. Actually, I served as the “straight man” for Jerry Cole, a partner in Ferguson, Pape, and Baldwin Architects.  Jerry is recognized by many of us in the industry as the premier marketing expert in the San Diego construction industry.  In two hours, the 32 attendees were given lessons that would normally take years to learn about what owners expect when they make decisions concerning selecting contractors to build their projects.  I am confident that many of the individuals that attended are now equipped to “make rain” for their firms…..now.

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 15 or gschaffer@agcsd.org. 

AGC SD’s Construction Quality Management Course goes to Washington DC!!!!

For the past several years AGC-SD has held a contract with the Navy to organize and teach the required CQM course.  It has sold out each quarter for several years.  This week, our CQM educational team…..Glen Schaffer….Paul Stout (Power Summit)….and Kugan Panchadsaram (Kugan & Associates, LLC) are conducting the course through the AGC San Diego for the Corps of Engineers in a suburb of Washington D.C.  The Corps recognized that our program was a “quality” program and contracted with AGC-SD to conduct the program on the east coast. Congratulations Glen, Paul, and Kugan for a job well done!!!   

Construction Costs and Other Issues Addressed at Meeting with Public Agencies

With construction costs on the rise and a concern by public agencies about the impact of those costs, a meeting was held at the San Diego County Water Authority on July 5 with representatives of the construction industry and members of the recently formed Regional Construction Procurement Committee (staff from SANDAG, Port of San Diego, City and County of San Diego, San Diego City Schools , NAVFAC, Caltrans, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, and the San Diego County Water Authority). 

AGC’s President Thomas L. Brown, (Sierra Pacific West, Inc.); Navy Liaison Committee Chair Ron Harper, (Harper Construction Co, Inc.) and Public Building Liaison Chair Todd Gillum (Cox Construction Co.) joined representatives from EGCA, ASA, and NECA to provide a construction industry perspective of some of the issues affecting all the public agencies.  Questions addressed: “What could agencies be doing better in regards to construction procurement, and why are agencies seeing higher project bids and fewer bidders on projects? “

Tom Brown’s comments about the importance of better communication throughout the construction process were right on target.  The Procurement Committee members agreed they would have a better understanding of construction costs and would likely see more bidders and more competitive bids if communication between the agencies and the construction industry happened earlier and more frequently.  

The construction industry is committed to making sure that public agencies get the most out of every construction dollar, but it’s going to take a team effort.  We look forward to the next meeting with the Procurement Committee and the next round of Industry Liaison Committees!

Speaking of Liaison Committees…the Caltrans Liaison Committee meets Friday, July 21 at 8 AM at the new Caltrans Headquarters at 4050 Taylor Street, Building 2, Floor 2 (Mission Bay Town Hall Room). 

AGC Mixer last Thursday

AGC would like to extend a special THANK YOU to Barney & Barney for sponsoring the Mixer on Thursday, July 13. What a great turnout! The AGC Board of Directors and over 150 members attended! This mixer was in celebration of the opening of the new AGC Plan Room, giving members an opportunity to view the facility.  Look for pictures to hit the AGC website in the photo gallery soon!

“iSqft Randy’s” Tip of the Week and Obscure factoid

iSqFt Tip of the Week:

With the Internet Plan Room, you receive instant updates via e-mail or fax of change orders and addenda.

Obscure Factoid:

A hive of bees must pollinate 2 million flowers to make one pound of honey, requiring them to fly and equivalent distance of approximately 55,000 mile or more than twice around the globe

Welcome New Members

The AGC Board of Directors and the AGC Staff would like to welcome the following new members to the Association.  Remember….” It’s Good Business to do Business with an AGC Member!”

Company	Type of Work	Contact	Phone	email
Boyle Engineering Corp.	Consultant	Kirk Bradbury	858.268.8080	kbradbury@boyleengineering.com
Cleanline Concrete, Inc.	Concrete	Tom Christiansen	619.435.2130	stasia@cleanlineconcrete.com
Jon Whitehead Contracting	Tenant  Improvement	Jon Whitehead	760.578.1339	Jonwhiteheadcontracting.com
Professional Services Group	Insurance Services	Renie Colwell	760.294.1263	Renie1@cox.net
San Diego Printers	Printer	Ron Cortez	858.684.5200	rcortez@sdprinters.com
Walters Painting Inc.	Painting	Kit Walters	619.443.1051	Kwalte6@aol.com

Adding Your Employees to our e-mail list

We receive many calls from your employees who are not informed about the Monday Morning Quarterback, Mixers, Classes, and Events.  We would like to REACH OUT to all our members, so please complete the attached email form and return to Marcy Knopman, Director of Operations & Communications at mknopman@agcsd.org to add your employees who would like to be in “the know”.

WebLink

Did you know that you can add your company’s weblink to the AGC website, and it is only $60/year.  Please fill out the attached form and send back, and we will get your website linked immediately. It is a great way for members and non-members viewing our website to click onto your website with one touch of the mouse!

JULY CLASSES

July 19 – Fall Protection “CPT” 7:30 AM - FULL

July 21 – OSHA 10 Hour 7:00 AM - FULL

July 25 – Project Management Course 3:00 PM

July 26 – CPR/First Aid 8:00 AM

July 26 – Blue Print Reading 12:00 PM

 

Please note: If you will be attending any of these committee meetings at the AGC office, remember we are under construction, so please use the entrance at the back of the building. 

JULY MEETINGS

July 17 – Airport Authority Meeting @ Airport 11:00 AM

July 21 – Caltrans Liaison Meeting 8:00 AM at Caltrans

July 25 – Government Relations Meeting 10 AM

July 26 – AGC Toastmasters @ Roel 7 AM

 

THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTED EVENT:

July 21 – Day at the Races – SOLD OUT!!!!!!!!!

Save The Date:

August 7 – Affiliate Day Golf Tournament – Singing Hills Country Club

September 23– Aztec Football Tailgate and SkyShow

October 11-14^th – Joint Fall Conference with AGC of California in Palm Springs – In the mail and also on our website