How the Construction & Demolition Recycling Association is providing support and a unified voice for recyclers of concrete, metal, shingles, wood, asphalt and gypsum.
Stockholm-based Husqvarna has debuted its new Husqvarna Fleet Services system to collect and present data regarding a contractor’s or rental company’s machine fleet. Features of the system include:
Genesis Attachments, Superior, Wisconsin, has announced the launch of its new Razer X Multi-Jaw Demolition Tool (GRX) for excavators. Features of the GRX include:
Volvo Construction Equipment, Gothenburg, Sweden, announced that it is adding to its E-Series compact excavators in North America with the launch of the ECR18E and the EC20E. Features of the ECR18E include:
Single Phase Power Solutions, Cincinnati, has introduced a 100-horsepower single-phase electric motor designed to minimize voltage sags and flicker on long single-phase distribution lines. Features of the motor include:
EvoQuip, a Dungannon, Northern Ireland-based company that offers a portfolio of products to address the needs of the compact crushing and screening markets, showcased its Cobra 230 impact crusher at World of Concrete 2019 in Las Vegas. Features of the crusher include:
Brunswick, Ohio-based Best Process Solutions Inc. (BPS) says its feeders with vibrating troughs can be made to custom lengths and special trough designs are available. Features of the vibratory feeders include:
The Sweden-based manufacturer of remote-controlled demolition machines, Brokk, has introduced the Brokk 200. The Brokk 200 is one of four new next-generation remote-controlled demolition machines the company showcased at World of Concrete 2019. Features of the new machine include:
BossTek of Peoria, Illinois, has announced the release of the new DustBoss DB-60 Fusion. The DustBoss DB-60 Fusion is a suppression system driven by a 25-horsepower electric motor paired with a gen set featuring a heavy-duty four-cycle indirect injection diesel engine. Other features of the DustBoss DB-60 Fusion include:
Construction employment grew in 273 out of 358 U.S. metro areas between December 2017 and December 2018, according to an analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). Industry employment declined in 37 metro areas and remained stagnant in 48.
Association officials say the job gains came amid strong demand throughout 2018 for construction projects but noted that tight labor market conditions likely prevented additional job gains last year.
“Construction employment continued to expand in most parts of the country in 2018 as demand for many types of construction projects grew,” says Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “As welcome as the job gains were, many firms would likely have added even more workers if labor market conditions were not so tight.”
The Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, metro area added the most construction jobs during the past year (19,400 jobs, 9 percent). Other metro areas adding a large amount of construction jobs over the past 12 months include Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas; Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona; and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida. The largest percentage gain of 28 percent occurred in the Weirton-Steubenville, West Virginia/Ohio area.
The largest job losses in that time period occurred in Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, California (-2,800 jobs, -3 percent), followed by San Diego-Carlsbad in California and Honolulu. The largest percentage decrease occurred in Lawrence-Methuen Town-Salem, Massachusetts/New Hampshire (-9 percent, -300 jobs), followed by Abilene, Texas; Wichita Falls, Texas; and Elmira, New York.
Association officials say workforce shortages are limiting the full economic benefits of robust demand for construction. They urged federal officials to increase technical education funding and enact immigration reform to allow more people to legally work in construction.
The full analysis is available on www.agc.org/agc-news.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released its annual list of Top 10 States for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the world’s most widely used green building rating system. Illinois topped the list, which ranks states based on the number of LEED-certified square feet per person. The top 10 states for LEED are home to 128 million Americans and together include more than 468 million gross square feet of LEED-certified space.
USGBC says buildings that are LEED-certified create healthier spaces for people, use less energy and water, reduce carbon emissions and save money for taxpayers, families and businesses.
“These top 10 states are examples of how we can create lasting, measurable change and improve the quality of life for everyone in our communities. A better future requires a universal living standard that leaves no one behind—and that future would simply not be possible without the extraordinary work being done in these states,” Mahesh Ramanujam, the president and CEO of USGBC, says in a press release.
As the No. 1 state for LEED certification in 2018, Illinois certified 172 green building projects, representing 5.31 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident. This is the first time Illinois has taken the top spot since 2015. Washington and Texas returned to the top 10 this year, securing the highest rankings in each state’s history. In addition, Colorado made notable strides in its LEED activity, moving from No. 10 in 2017 to No. 6 on this year’s list.
The top 10 list is based on 2010 U.S. Census data and includes commercial and institutional green building projects certified throughout 2018. USGBC says it calculates the list using per capita figures to allow for a fair comparison of the level of green building taking place among states with significant differences in population and number of overall buildings.
While the top 10 recognizes progress at the building level, LEED is also now used to measure sustainability performance at the city and community levels. This year, nine of the top 10 states are also home to LEED-certified cities and communities, including Chicago; Seattle; Austin, Texas; San Diego County and more. There are currently more than 137 registered and certified LEED cities and communities around the world, representing more than 50 million people. Despite Washington, D.C., not appearing in the official top 10 list because of its status as a federal territory, USGBC says it has consistently led the nation in LEED certification. For the full list, including notable projects in each state, visit www.usgbc.org.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says that to protect worker privacy, it has issued a final rule that eliminates the requirement for establishments with 250 or more employees to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300 (Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses) and OSHA Form 301 (Injury and Illness Incident Report) to OSHA each year. These establishments are still required to electronically submit information from OSHA Form 300A (Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses).
By preventing routine government collection of information that may be sensitive, including descriptions of workers’ injuries and body parts affected, OSHA says it is avoiding the risk that such information might be publicly disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). OSHA says this rule will better protect personally identifiable information or data that could be attributed to a particular worker by removing the requirement for covered employers to submit their information from Forms 300 and 301. The final rule does not alter an employer’s duty to maintain OSHA Forms 300 and 301 on-site, and OSHA will continue to obtain these forms as needed through inspections and enforcement actions.
In addition, OSHA says this rule will allow it to focus its resources on initiatives that have been shown to be useful—including using information from severe injury reports that helps target areas of concern and seeking to fully utilize a large volume of data from Form 300A—rather than on collecting and processing information from Forms 300 and 301 with uncertain value for OSHA enforcement and compliance assistance.
The agency is also amending the recordkeeping regulation to require covered employers to electronically submit their employer identification number (EIN) with their information from Form 300A. OSHA says the final rule’s requirement for employers to submit their EIN electronically, along with their information from OSHA Form 300A, will make the data more useful for OSHA and the Bureau of Labor Statistics and could reduce duplicative reporting burdens on employers in the future.
OSHA determined that this final rule will allow it to improve enforcement targeting and compliance assistance, protect worker privacy and safety and decrease the burden on employers.
Collection of calendar year 2018 information from the OSHA Form 300A began on Jan. 2, and the deadline for electronic submissions was March 2.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.
