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Biodesign Institute Wins AGC Award
Sundt/DPR joint venture received the 2007 Aon Build America
Award for Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute during
the annual AGC convention in San Antonio.
ASU Biodesign Institute Wins National, International Awards
The joint venture team of Sundt Construction Inc., and DPR
Construction Inc. won a 2007 Aon Build America Award for construction
of Building B at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State
University. Sundt/DPR received the award during the Associated
General Contractors of America annual convention in San Antonio,
Texas on March 23.
The Sundt/DPR joint venture was chosen for the award due to
its overall excellence in project management and completion
of the research facility, including its success at taking
ownership of the institute's distinct challenges, overcoming
those challenges, and meeting goals. The 183,000-sq-ft Building
B combines many of ASU's top biomedical science programs,
including research efforts in biotechnology, information technology,
manufacturing, technology transfer and workforce development
in one location. To complete the project on a timeframe that
would allow ASU to fully utilize the laboratory for recruitment
purposes and initial research, Sundt/DPR adopted a fast-track
construction plan using phased documentation. This allowed
the joint venture to deliver biotechnology and nanotechnology
laboratories approximately one year faster than could have
been accomplished using more conventional approaches.
The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University was designed
by the team of Gould Evans Associates and Lord, Aeck &
Sargent Architecture. The state-of-the-art facility was also
recently recognized internationally by R&D Magazine as
the 2006 Laboratory of the Year.
Arizona NAIOP Honors DFD with Award
DFD CornoyerHedrick was one of a handful of winners at the
"2006 Best of NAIOP," an annual gathering hosted
by the Arizona chapter of the National Association of Industrial
and Office Properties on March 1st.
The firm, along with project developer SAXA and general contractor
Caviness Construction Co. Inc., received the award in the
category of "Spec Office Building Greater Than 125,000-sq-ft"
for its design of Scottsdale Ridge, a 139,255-sq-ft mixed-use
project located on the northeast corner of Scottsdale and
Deer Valley roads.
Martin-Harris Wins NAIOP Contractor of the Year Award
Martin-Harris Construction was selected as Contracting Firm
of the Year by the Nevada chapter of NAIOP. Martin-Harris
was also the general contractor of the following Honor Award
winners: Konami Gaming for Office/Warehouse Interiors; G&K
Services for Special Purpose Industrial; and Corporate Gateway
II, Beltway Business Park for Common Area Design.
NCA Names Recipients of the 2007 "Howdy" Wells Scholarship
The Nevada Contractors Association recently named the recipients
of its 2007 "Howdy" Wells Construction Scholarship.
The winners are Matthew Newman, Anders Farstad, and Pak Ho
Cheung. All three are full-time students enrolled in the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Engineering. Each will receive
a $1,000 stipend to apply toward academic expenses for the
Spring 2007 semester. The scholarships are meant to ecnourage
students to pursue a career in construction.
Local ASA Chapters Receive National Awards for Excellence
After a complete changeover in staff and an overhaul of its
governance structure, the American Subcontractors Association
of Arizona demonstrated achievement in several criteria throughout
2006, leading the national ASA to bestow the chapter with
the ASA Chapter of the Year Award 2006 during an awards ceremony
at the ASA Business Forum & Convention 2007 in Tucson, Ariz.
this March.
The Arizona chapter was also presented with the 2006 Outstanding
Industry Relations Program Award for initiating a program
that would improve members' connections with local general
contractors while simultaneously providing valuable educational
opportunities.
The ASA also honored Chuck Cambron, a member of the New Mexico
chapter, with the 2006 Outstanding Service Award for spearheading
the effort to establish a partnership between the association
and the state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration
to improve safety in the state's construction industry.
National AGC Safety Award Goes to AUI Inc.
AUI Inc. took first place in the category of Heavy Construction,
300,001 to 700,000 hours worked, in the national Construction
Safety Excellence Awards (CSEA) competition, sponsored by
the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America.
The award was presented on March 23 to Herminio Chavez, safety
representative for the firm, at the AGC/Willis Safety Awards
breakfast during the National AGC Convention in San Antonio,
TX. Raul Carbajal, superintendent for AUI's operations in
Las Cruces, won Superintendent of the Year in the same category.
The New Mexico Building Branch, AGC, nominated both AUI, Inc.,
and Carbajal for the awards.
Criteria for the company award included the completeness of
the company's safety program, which demonstrated commitment
by top management and the company's accident prevention plans
and procedures, new-hire safety orientation, employee safety
training, emergency procedures, jobsite inspections and low
company injury/illness incidence rates.
The superintendent's award was based on the candidate's leadership
in effecting safe work practices among the company employees
and subcontractors. A standard practice on Carbajal's projects
is a daily 15-minute foremen/crew safety meeting where site-specific
safety issues are addressed and employees go through stretch
exercises to help prevent strain injuries.
Of the 31,664 work hours completed under Carbajal's supervision
in 2006, there were no lost workday incidents reported by
the company or its subcontractors.
CORE Construction Makes Major Gift to ASU
CORE Construction has committed $1 million to Arizona State
University, with the majority to be allocated to the Del E.
Webb School of Construction's capital campaign Building Foundations.
The new world-class construction program will use the gift
to enhance school curriculum, further the construction of
a new state-of-the-art facility and invest in innovative technologies
to prepare students for the industry.
"An investment in construction education is an investment
in our company's future and our community's future,"
says CORE President Jim Jacobs. "We've long been a supporter
of Dr. Crow's vision of a New American University and feel
this program helps ASU achieve that vision."
CORE Construction has donated more than $2 million to the
university over the past three years to fund various initiatives.
A portion of the company's gift will also be used to support
the Alliance for Construction Excellence, housed within the
School of Construction, as well as scholarships to the school.
Facilitated by the ASU Foundation, Building Foundations is
raising $40 million to fund a new facility, increase the number
of faculty and students and enhance programming that maximizes
the convergence of all the academic disciplines that impact
construction including engineering, business, law, and architecture.
The new facility would be located on the Tempe campus near
Rural Road and University Drive and will include high-tech
classroom and laboratory space.
"The statistics that support the development of an interdisciplinary
education approach focused on construction are astounding,"
said Dan Withers of D.L. Withers Construction, an executive
committee member of the Del E. Webb School of Construction
Industry Advisory Council and co-chair of the capital campaign.
"Arizona's construction industry represents 1 in 11 jobs,
and nationally the industry employs 7.1 million. All signs
point to this number rising rapidly over the next several
years."
The Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of
America has already committed $4 million to the fundraising
campaign through their membership to support the heavy construction
curriculum and the construction of the facility.
Subs at National Convention Praise Immigration Act, Chastise State Policy
The American Subcontractors Association praised U.S. Reps. Jeff
Flake, R-Ariz., and Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., for introducing
bipartisan immigration reform legislation in the U.S. House
of Representatives.
The construction trade association announced its support of
the legislation, dubbed the STRIVE Act of 2007, during the ASA
Business Forum and Convention 2007 held last week in Tucson.
The bill, named from the acronym of "Security Through Regularized
Immigration and a Vibrant Economy," would overhaul the
current immigration system.
"Our current immigration laws are at odds with reality,"
Flake said in a statement released March 22. "This bill
addresses that problem by bolstering border security, increasing
interior enforcement and creating a temporary worker program
that's enforceable and fair."
The bill would increase border enforcement personnel and infrastructure
while creating new and expanded worker visa programs.
"Rep. Flake and Gutierrez showed a lot of initiative and
took the immigration debate in the right direction with the
introduction of the STRIVE Act," says Stephen Rohrbach,
ASA's 2006-07 president. "ASA supports its comprehensive
approach over an enforcement-only approach. It's a starting-point
to reach a middle ground on the immigration issue."
The ASA also announced at the annual convention the results
of its analysis-
The ASA Report: The Policy Environment in the States.
ASA's annual report, now in its third year, scores each state
in individual policy areas that the association deems subcontractor-friendly,
such as prompt payment and antibid shopping policies.
New Mexico topped the ranking for the third straight year with
a score of 69 out of a possible 100. Every other state and the
District of Columbia had a failing grade with less than 60 points.
"The overall picture presented by the report is of states
whose policies consistently and dramatically fail to protect
subcontractors," Rohrbach says.
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