AGC introduces new innovation award
In 2018, the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) will celebrate 100 years of serving the construction industry. While it celebrates and recognizes the past and the present, it is also looking to address the issues currently affecting the industry in order to ensure the future of construction. In this spirit, AGC is introducing the Innovation Award to provide incentive to encourage free-thinkers within the field to provide pioneering solutions to a challenge faced daily by its members.
Selected semifinalists will be invited to present at the 99th AGC Annual Convention, Feb. 26-28 in New Orleans. Semifinalists will receive two complimentary convention registrations.
Of these semifinalists, three finalists will be selected and invited to participate and present at the Centennial Celebration Sept. 28-Oct. 1, 2018. A third, second and grand prize winner will be determined and substantial cash prizes will be awarded.
For more information, visit www.Agc.org or call (703) 548-3118.
Struck-by hazards leading cause of construction injuries
Struck-by hazards were a leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in construction from 2011 to 2015, says a new quarterly data report from The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). During this time period, 804 construction workers died from struckby injuries, which is more than any other major industry, the report says.
According to the report, between 2011 and 2015, struck-by injuries increased 2. 5 percent.
Fifty-two percent of the struck-by fatalities were incidents caused by being struck by an object or equipment, and 48 percent were caused from being struck by a vehicle, says CPWR.
For more information, visit www.Asse.org or call (847) 699-2929.
Trump targets delays, red tape in infrastructure permitting
President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at streamlining the environmental review, permitting and approval process of infrastructure projects.
The executive order, Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure, will make the environmental and permitting processes needed for major infrastructure projects more efficient and effective, and establishes a two-year goal to process environmental documents for major infrastructure projects, according to a White House fact sheet.
According to the fact sheet, a 2014 Government Accountability Office report, it takes seven years on average for a complex highway project to go through the entire environmental review process.
The order also revokes Executive Order 13690, signed Jan. 30, 2015, Establishing a Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and a Process for Further Soliciting and Considering Stakeholder Input, which industry groups complained makes the government process of determining how to factor climate change impacts into projects more complicated.
For more information, visit www.Abc.org or call (202) 595-1505.
Free NIOSH Sound Level Meter app available
There is now an app available for noisy environments such as construction sites. NIOSH estimates 22 million workers are exposed to hazardous noise levels every year. In addition to damaging workers' quality of life, occupational hearing loss carries a high economic burden. The NIOSH Sound Level Meter app can be used by safety and health professionals and industrial hygienists to assess risks -- similar to how they would use a professional sound level meter -- and by workers to make informed decisions about the potential hazards to their hearing in the workplace. The app allows the user to acquire and display real-time noise exposure data and help promote better hearing health and better prevention efforts.
For more information, visit www.Cdc.goc/niosh or call (800) 232-4636.
