The 2012 AGC Building Contractors Conference will be held September 12-15, 2012 at the Charleston Place Hotel in Charleston, SC.  The theme for this year is "Make Your Firm a Top Performer: Learn the Industry's Best Practices for Success."  More information will be made available soon.  Contact Mike Stark at starkm@agc.org with any questions.

The 3rd Annual LEAN Construction Summit, jointly presented by CURT, AGC of America, LCI and AIA, is set to take place June 13th at the Ameristar Casino in St. Louis, MO. This year’s Summit, Optimizing the Project, Not the Pieces, will offer attendees the opportunity to explore why and how owners are implementing LEAN construction principles to improve the delivery of their capital projects.

There is a better way to build, and ConsensusDocs is transforming contractual negotiations in the design and construction industry with the launch of a new open and collaborative technology platform. Technology has long been harnessed to improve safety, efficiency and quality in construction – now ConsensusDocs has utilized the advantages of technology to simplify project cooperation for improved and expedited contract negotiations that will speed the time to construction and fairly allocate risk, while reducing costly contingencies and adversarial negotiations. 

The Architecture Billings Index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity nine to 12 months into the future, fell 2 points to 48.4 in April. Any reading above 50 is said to indicate expansion, while any reading below 50 is said to indicate a decline in the demand for design services. This drop into negative terrain came after 5 consecutive months of positive readings. According to AIA chief economist Kermit Baker, the decline in demand for design services isn’t too surprising, considering the overall volatility of current economic conditions and a slow recovery.

In a recent study conducted by McGraw-Hill, 46% of organizations surveyed report using BIM on their infrastructure projects, up from only 27% two years prior. Furthermore, McGraw-Hill’s report concludes that once these organizations adopt BIM, level of use rises rapidly, with more than half of the organizations currently using BIM expected to be using it on more than 50 percent of their infrastructure projects by 2014.

At the AGC Annual Convention in Hawaii last month, several Building Division leaders ascended to new positions within the association. Terry Wooding, executive VP of Petra Construction Corporation in North Haven, CT and Eric Hedlund, executive VP and COO of Sundt Construction Inc. in Tempe, AZ, became the 2012-2013 chair and vice chair, respectively, of the AGC Building Division.  Both will also serve on the AGC Executive Board.

Joe Jarboe, Senior Vice President of Clark Construction Group in Bethesda, MD and David Hanson, Senior Vice President of Walbridge in Tampa, FL became AGC of America’s president and treasurer, respectively, at the AGC Annual Convention held last month in Honolulu, HI.

The Building Division held 11 general sessions and committee meetings at the AGC Annual Convention last month in Hawaii. Highlights include sessions sponsored by the Project Delivery Forum, Construction Marketing Forum, and the Building Division.

The U.S. Architecture Billings Index came in at 51.0 in February, remaining above 50 for the fourth straight month. While any reading above 50 indicates a construction market poised for recovery, the index was only up .1 points from 50.9 in January. According to the American Institute of Architects, the fact that the reading is practically flat as compared to the prior month means that there are still obstacles to a faster and steadier recovery. Read the complete article here.

The 2012 AGC Contractors Environmental Conference, June 7-8, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia, is your chance to join your peers and learn the latest strategies that are saving money, improving operations and taking firms to the next level. AGC has assembled more than 25 speakers on key environmental issues for construction companies, with technology demonstrations and special break-out sessions for building contractors.  Attendees will hear the information they need and tips for success from regulators, experts, and peers.  Secure your spot today and register online.