Rental Show Reflects Optimism

The optimism and enthusiasm evident during The Rental Show 2012 in New Orleans was reflected in the Show’s attendance. For the second straight year, there was double-digit growth in both the number of attendees and the number of rental businesses represented at the Show.

Attendance for 2012 increased nearly 20 percent over 2011, with the number of rental businesses up nearly 25 percent. Those traveling to New Orleans came from all 50 United States, nearly every Canadian province and more than 40 countries.

“The Rental Show demonstrated that this industry continues to be a driving force in our economy,” says Christine Wehrman, American Rental Association executive VP and CEO. “Enthusiasm, optimism, pride and purchasing of equipment were seen throughout The Rental Show, which is the message everyone can take forward from New Orleans. I foresee a very favorable year for the rental industry in 2012 with equipment rental penetration increasing and a fundamental shift toward the value of rental by the customer base.”

Attendees and exhibitors at The Rental Show agreed there has been increasing positive change in attitude, which bolsters the fact that the equipment rental industry is positioned for continued growth and further market penetration. Nearly every exhibitor in all areas of the exhibit hall reported good traffic, many qualified leads and plenty of sales in New Orleans.

With the 2012 Show completed, ARA is now starting to focus on The Rental Show 2013, which is Feb. 10-13 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

FMI Nonresidential Construction Index for Q1

FMI, a provider of management consulting and investment banking to the engineering and construction industry, has released its Nonresidential Construction Index report for the first quarter of 2012.

The NRCI gained 7.8 points over last quarter, to 58.1 this quarter. This positive move to start the new year is not exactly the sign of a bull market for construction, but continuing confirmation that panelists believe that the construction activity is following the lead of the slowly improving economy. There are good signs in hiring plans for 2012, as well as construction-put-in-place predictions. However, panelists indicate that low project pricing and high competition are still driving the market place.

• Hiring: A 5 percentage points increase over this time last year, 42 percent of panelists indicated a 0 to 5 percent increase in full-time direct employees. Additionally, fewer panelists indicated a reduction in salaried employees.

• Construction Put In Place: Expectations for CPIP are positive but cautious, as 41.3 percent of panelists expect growth of 0.5 to 2.5 percent for 2012.

• Overall Economy: The component for the overall economy showed the strongest improvement of all index components with a jump from 43.6 last quarter to 68.7 in the first quarter, a 25 point gain. This score reflects the improvement in many economic indicators including the unemployment rate.

• Nonresidential Building Construction Market Where Panelists Do Business: At just 54.9, the local markets for nonresidential construction are inching ahead. However, panelist responses reflect a perception that their own business is performing a bit better than the overall nonresidential construction market. This indicates that local markets are still very competitive.

• Cost of Materials: Despite a slow economy, material costs continue to rise, with no panelists indicating material costs were lower than last quarter. The cost of materials component moved down nearly 5 points to 26.2. This factor is continuing drag on the overall index and is likely to raise the cost of projects while lowering profit margins for contractors.

• Cost of Labor: The cost of labor improved just slightly to 41.5, indicating little change over the score of 40.0 last quarter. However, no panelists indicated they were experiencing lower labor costs.

• Productivity: Contractors are continuing to make moderate gains in productivity. However, at 52.9, this component is still too weak to offset rising costs for labor and materials.

For more information, visit www.fminet.com.

OSHA Outreach Training Program Providers

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced its selection of 10 OSHA-authorized training providers to deliver 25 online courses as part of its Outreach Training Program. The OSHA Outreach Training Program teaches workers how to identify, prevent and eliminate workplace hazards. The program also informs workers of their rights, employer responsibilities, and how to file a complaint.

The online courses are voluntary and are not required by OSHA, but they provide training that can help protect workers’ safety and health, and help employers reduce the high costs of worker injuries and illnesses.

The organizations selected by OSHA to offer the online courses will provide a variety of 10- and 30-hour classes designed for construction, general industry, and maritime. Since OSHA began authorizing training providers to offer Web-based distance learning in 2001, the online Outreach Training Program has grown significantly. More than 135,000 workers were trained online in 2011 – a five-fold increase from the number of online students trained in 2007. Access to courses and other information about the program are available at http://s.dol.gov/L6.

These selections are the culmination of a national competition announced last March. The newly selected OSHA-authorized Outreach Training Program online training providers are:

· Construction 10-Hour: AdvanceOnline Solutions, CareerSafe, ClickSafety, Compliance Solutions, PureSafety, Safety Unlimited, Texas Engineering Extension Service

· Construction 10-Hour Spanish: ClickSafety and PureSafety

· Construction 30-Hour: AdvanceOnline Solutions, ClickSafety, PureSafety, Texas Engineering Extension Service, Turner Knowledge Network

· General Industry 10-Hour: AdvanceOnline Solutions, CareerSafe, ClickSafety, North Carolina State University, PureSafety, Safety Unlimited, Texas Engineering Extension Service

· General Industry 30-Hour: AdvanceOnline Solutions, ClickSafety, PureSafety

· Maritime 10-Hour: Moxie Media

Workers must receive additional training on hazards specific to their job. OSHA provides no funding to authorized Outreach Training Program training providers.

Enabling Mobility in Your Construction Firm

By Diane Haines

Your construction or real estate company balances back office functions – billing, paying invoices, running financial reports, payroll, planning logistics, etc. – with the physical presence needed on the job site or in a client’s office. Just like you, the entire construction industry is well known for its mobility of assets, materials and workers. Like other industries, construction is increasingly reliant on real-time updates and the constant connectivity offered by mobile technologies to improve operational efficiency. Today’s technological solutions must be able to serve users like you in both work settings.

Improvements through mobility

New technology that optimizes operations has been welcome in the construction industry, but only when contractors know they will be able to see real improvements and a strong return on their investments. Flawless scheduling that properly coordinates all aspects of a construction project – assuring the plumber comes before the drywallers are expected, for instance – is vital to preventing cost and deadline overruns. When delays do happen, it’s equally important that the field manager alerts every group that could be affected, in order to prevent a backup.

Having constant access to information from the back office, no matter where you are, can help inform supervisors in the field and assist them as they manage construction projects in any location. Companies are looking to connect their mobile workforces and share information between anyone within the business, almost instantly.

The use of mobile phones in the construction industry is nothing new, and it has long been helpful for keeping a dispersed workforce current on the latest developments of a project. Keeping in contact with employees can be a challenge, particularly for construction firms running projects remotely. Establishing a mobile framework for staying in contact with a scattered employee base can help managers maintain productivity and keep track of top talent.

Reporting and time tracking from the field

The idea of tracking timesheets with mobile technology is gaining greater traction in the construction industry. Having the ability to keep workers out in the field instead of anchored to the jobsite trailer office has been especially appealing as every sector struggles to maintain productivity, while having fewer workers on the payroll.

More than 67 percent of companies that responded to a ConstrucTech survey in 2011 said that they remotely report from the field, and more than half – 54 percent – said they manage projects remotely. While only 20 percent said they use remote solutions to track and maintain equipment, 37 percent report on monitoring safety remotely and 40 percent use mobile time tracking.

Construction companies have reported from the field for many years, but more are moving away from the pen-and-paper method and are beginning to use a variety of mobile devices to deliver those reports in a cost-effective way.

Mobile devices

As noted by Constructech’s 2011 IT survey, contractors take project information “out to the jobsite with mobile devices as well as applying a host of applications on these mobile devices.” As the survey notes, construction companies are reporting from the field as well as “carrying out project management, scheduling, punch lists and time tracking tasks in the field today.”

This is evidenced by the growing momentum of mobile technologies in the construction industry. Yet, the type of device varies as much as the job sites do. According to the survey, “the smartphone is still one of the most commonly used devices at the jobsite (81 percent of survey respondents). Laptops (69 percent) and tablets (26 percent) also receive a significant response.” Given the advances in and adoption of tablets such as Apple’s iPad during the last few years, growth is anticipated in the use of the tablet in the construction industry as well.

Diane Haines is director of strategic marketing for Sage. Find out more about authorized Sage development partner solutions at www.sagecre.com/Products-and-Solutions/Additional-Solutions.

Guidelines for Responsible Quarrying

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) released “Guidelines on Quarry Rehabilitation,” which provides practical guidance for managing the impacts of quarrying activities and ensuring that environments are properly revitalized. Led by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), the project was carried out by a group of member companies, and is based on methods that have been employed successfully.

The Guidelines reflect the principles of quarry rehabilitation, established by consensus among the CSI members, and outline the conditions and milestones for developing rehabilitation plans. These include defining context and assessing baseline conditions; setting technically and financially sustainable objectives; planning finances; developing and implementing plans; and monitoring, adjustments and post-closure land-use management. This type of planning constitutes a proactive approach to quarry operations and rehabilitation, applicable for both new and existing sites.

The Guidelines feature 30 operational case studies, covering a wide range of quarry types and local habitats around the world. It also analyzes how legislative environment and external stakeholders can be taken on board and contribute to the successful development and execution of a rehabilitation plan. Continuous communication and open dialogues with stakeholders play a vital role in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome for both stakeholders and operators. CSI solicited, discussed and considered inputs from a wide range of external reviewers during the drafting process.

Bon Catalog Features 6,000 Tools

Bon’s line of contractor-grade hand tools and materials for the building trades has been expanded to nearly 6,000 products and includes over 600 new items introduced in January 2012. The full product line is featured in Bon’s Master Catalog - Volume 2012.

The newly published catalog is Bon’s largest yet, representing one comprehensive resource for Bon products. Bon is an industry leading manufacturer and distributor of construction tools for professionals. The large selection of tools available at Bon include tools for masonry, concrete and decorative concrete finishing, concrete restoration, drywall, interior construction, floor covering, asphalt, roofing general construction and more. The complete catalog of products can be viewed on line at bontool.com.

New products of interest span the trades including Bon’s Mixing & Pouring Barrel Transporter and Micro Topping Squeegees for concrete restoration work; Bon’s Nylon Face Dead Blow Hammers and Paver Joint Wire Brush for hardscape contractors; and Bon’s new Saw Cut Groover available as hand tool or as a walking tool for concrete finishing.