The Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) today published a Request for Proposals (RFP) to conduct research and create a course plan for a comprehensive Lean construction curriculum for the commercial construction community.Lean construction, an adaptation of lean manufacturing principles and practices from the beginning to end of the design and construction process, is a culture and a process focused on creating the greatest amount of value for a construction project through a reduction in waste of materials, time and effort. AGC seeks to address challenges the construction industry faces in the adoption of Lean construction processes, and provide a commonly accessible and sustained educational effort. For this project research of literature, interviews of industry stakeholders, a plan for a compressive curriculum, assessment of learning outcomes, and development of a credentialing plan and strategy for instructor training is requested of those submitting proposals.Proposals are due September 15, 2009 by 5:00 PM EST. The AGC Lean Construction Advisory Group, consisting of members and chapter staff, will evaluate all submissions and select a proposal to be awarded on October 5, 2009.Inquiries concerning the RFP should be directed via email including name, phone number and organization name to Amy Fields, Senior Director, Curriculum & Program Development at fieldsa@agc.org.

August 13, 2009, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ETOn Thursday, August 13, 2009, from 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM EDT, labor and employment law attorney Bert Brannen of Fisher & Phillips, LLP and construction-industry HR expert and consultant Doug Mure will take a tag-team approach to explaining the legal, practical and emotional aspects that HR professionals in the construction industry are faced with and how to avoid the pitfalls when forced to release employees.  For more information and to register, click here!

AGC is recognized as the Association of choice for over 13,000 specialty contractor firms.  The AGC of America Specialty Contractors Council (SCC) requests input from AGC's specialty contractor members on an important survey, available here, regarding how the Council can best serve and engage specialty contractors.  Responses will be instrumental in shaping the direction of the Council in the years to come.  The survey will close on Friday, August 14.  For more information about the AGC of America Specialty Contractors Council, visit www.agc.org/SCC.  Please contact Cassia Griffin at griffinc@agc.org with any questions.

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), responsible for ensuring that contractors doing business with the federal government do not discriminate and take affirmative action, will soon begin conducting compliance reviews of construction contractors who receive funding and grants from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). According to OFCCP's Recovery Act Plan (the Plan), the majority of ARRA funding and grants will provide direct funding or federal assistance to construction projects and "consequently, OFCCP will place a special emphasis on the construction industry."  Beginning in July 2009, OFCCP will begin to review a minimum of 360 construction contractors and 90 supply and service contractors, including at least 10% of first-time federal contractors.  These reviews will be followed by quarterly compliance evaluations through September 30, 2010.   To help contractors maintain compliance with the agency's guidelines, OFCCP plans to host a series of compliance events to be held periodically through the September 30 date, including nine national events and six webinars specifically for federal construction contractors, new federal contractors and contracting officers.  Additionally, OFCCP plans to host 93 regional compliance events, 11 regional forums, and a national Prevailing Wage Conference, which will address prevailing wage issues as they relate to ARRA over two-and-a-half days.Additional OFCCP compliance resources for construction contractors include AGC's Davis-Bacon Manual on Labor Standards for Federal and Federally Assisted Construction and Affirmative Action Manual for Construction, which can be found on AGC's Labor and HR Topical Resources website.For more information, contact Denise Gold at (703) 837-5326 or goldd@agc.org.

On June 22, AGC submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) written comments for consideration in the interim final regulation on federally-assisted projects. These projects would include building, highway and municipal and utility projects funded by the stimulus. In addition, OMB that same day published Implementing Guidance for the Reports on Use of Funds Pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 ("Recovery Act"). This guidance details the reporting requirements included in Section 1512 of the Recovery Act for recipients of grants, loans and other forms of assistance. The reports required by Section 1512 will be submitted by recipients beginning in October 2009 and will provide information to the government, such as:Who is receiving Recovery Act dollars and in what amounts?What projects or activities are being funded with Recovery Act dollars?What is the completion status of such projects or activities and what impact have they had on job creation and retention?The reporting framework in the referenced guidance has been updated and enhanced to capture additional spending data from prime recipients and sub-recipients of federal financial assistance Recovery Act awards. Further, OMB has deployed a nationwide data collection system at the website www.FederalReporting.gov that will reduce the information reporting burden on recipients by simplifying reporting instructions and providing a user-friendly mechanism for submitting required data.To read AGC's comments to OMB, click here.To read the OMB Memorandum and Guidance Document click here.To view the Recipient Reporting Data Model - Template, Data Dictionary, XML Schema, click here.To read the List of Programs Subject to Recipient Reporting, click here.For more information, contact Marco Giamberardino at (703) 837-5325 or giamberm@agc.org.

At the end of June, the U.S. House passed H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, by a vote of 219 to 212 (8 Republicans supported the bill, and 44 Democrats voted against it).  While elements of the legislation could create jobs by inducing demand for energy efficiency improvements to buildings and alternative energy generation, no one is certain of the true impact on the economy.  AGC believes that the bill goes too far too fast and that Congress has not adequately mitigated the impacts.Policymakers have acknowledged that the "cap and trade" program in the bill would increase electricity costs with varying regional effects.  A climate change cap and trade bill would significantly increase the cost of energy used in producing construction materials and powering construction equipment.  The bill also includes provisions giving free rein to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate small stationary emitters and to implement standards for a variety of mobile sources used in construction, including new heavy duty trucks and off-road equipment.  The increased costs and new regulations would ultimately decrease demand for construction at a time when the U.S. economy can least afford it, especially when one in every five unemployed workers is a construction worker. AGC appreciates the response by individuals in the construction industry that answered the call to action and sent over 2,000 messages to Congress in opposition to the bill.  The legislative debate will move to the Senate where a vote could occur as early as September. The Senate will likely refer to, or use, the House bill in drafting their legislation.  Meanwhile, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved the American Clean Energy Leadership Act (ACELA) on June 17, 2009.  Some of the ACELA provisions are similar to the House bill, but it does not yet address cap and trade of greenhouse gases, which the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee may consider as early as this month.  The resulting legislation from the Senate will need to secure passing votes in both houses of Congress before a final bill is sent to President Obama to sign.AGC urges all members and Chapters to weigh in with their Senators and urge them to oppose the House bill as written.  For more information and to send a letter to your Senators, please use AGC's Legislative Action Center.  For more information, contact Karen Lapsevic at (202) 547-4733 or lapsevick@agc.org.

On August 5, 2009 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET, ConsensusDOCS will host a webinar titled Introducing the Subsubcontract.  The expert panel will explain the new ConsensusDOCS 725, the industry's first and only standard agreement designed specifically for use between a subcontractor and subsubcontractor.  The panelists will discuss the unique benefits and challenges of using a simplified agreement to help you understand provisions that are well-suited to the somewhat simpler relationships that subcontractors typically share with subsubcontractors, including:Value in adopting a fair form agreement tailored to the subsubcontract relationshipFlexible provisions for the incorporation of exhibits and other documentsCoordinating flow-down clauses and payment terms with other Upstream AgreementsAGC members pay just $99 ($229 retail price). Please contact Megan McGarvey at mcgarveym@agc.org or 703-837-5369 should you have questions.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an emerging technology that is rapidly gaining acceptance throughout the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. AGC is developing a BIM Education Program, consisting of six courses for construction professionals and others in the AEC community eager to learn essential concepts of BIM and prepare for BIM adoption. At the completion of this series of courses, a BIM credential is being explored on a parallel track to content development.With all six courses being released before the end of 2010, a lot is happening with this exciting program! The first course, Unit 1-BIM 101: An Introduction to Building Information Modeling was released April 6, 2009 and provides participants a broad overview of BIM and to introduce the important concepts that will be necessary for the advanced courses and BIM adoption. This eight-hour course addresses topics such as: what is BIM?, BIM visualization uses and spatial coordination, scheduling, estimating, facility management and getting started with BIM.Contact your local Chapter to find out if BIM 101 has been added to their training calendar.In the fall of 2009 Unit 2-BIM Technology will be released. This course is divided in three sessions, allowing participants to receive a broad understanding of all of the available BIM tools, hands-on software training and teach them how get the various compatible software tools to work together on one project.You can find information on current and future BIM Education Program courses and training locations at www.agc.org/BIMEP, or email curriculum@agc.org.

The theme for Fall BIMForum meeting, to be held on October 8-9, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pa., will be "BIM AS THE EVOLVING STANDARD OF CARE: Driving process transformation for designers, contractors and owners."The BIMForum Leadership is submitting this call for proposals to solicit ideas for presentations that explore the depth and breadth of this topic. Click here for more details about the Fall BIMForum Call for Presentations.For more information, contact Dmitri Alferieff at (703) 837-5386 or alferieffd@agc.org.

In recent weeks, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun fulfilling its promise of investigating employers who hire illegal workers by initiating two major steps: conducting audits of employers' I-9 forms and preparing for increased monitoring of the E-Verify System.As mentioned in the AGC article DHS to Focus on Prosecuting Employers Who Hire Illegal Workers, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of DHS (ICE) has notified several hundred companies of the intent to audit their I-9 forms.  Employers chosen for the administrative audit received a Notice of Inspection (NOI) with instructions to present all original I-9 forms and supporting documents within three (3) days along with the company's hiring records.  According to a July 1 press release, ICE issued these notices to 652 businesses nationwide, compared to 503 notices issued in all of 2008.  In the press release, ICE identified the 652 employers as those resulting from "leads and information obtained through other investigative means."  Review AGC's Seven Critical Steps for Surviving an I-9 Audit for guidance once an NOI is received.ICE isn't the only division of DHS tasked with handling employer relations when it comes to immigration compliance.  The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services division of DHS (USCIS) has announced its plans to use a new system to monitor the use of the E-Verify system.  The new Compliance Tracking and Management System (CTMS), which is intended to alert employers of potential issues and misuse of E-Verify in order to correct any deficiencies, will be used to identify such things as the fraudulent use of Alien numbers, wrongful employee terminations due to tentative non-confirmations, verification of applicants instead of employees, verification of only some employees and failure to use E-Verify consistently, to name a few.  Although USCIS does not have the authority to investigate and prosecute employers or workers based on its findings through CTMS, USCIS may share the information it gathers with ICE as well as other law enforcement agencies in order to build a case against an employer.Employers are encouraged to be proactive in developing a system for using E-Verify before a circumstance arises.  A first step is to review the basic guidance provided by USCIS with expert counsel to outline a specific set of best practices, such as:·        Providing E-Verify basic compliance training and I-9 training for all E-Verify users;·        Running and evaluating reports on E-Verify use on a regular basis and sharing the information with an individual who is not involved with E-Verify operations;·        Having outside auditors and legal counsel review the process to assess exposure and concerns;·        Establishing and maintaining safeguards to prevent use of the E-Verify process for unlawful discrimination;·        Creating and implementing procedures for handling a possible E-Verify review by USCIS, including contacting legal counsel; and·        Conducting integrated, annual I-9 and E-Verify internal audits.As immigration enforcement and monitoring becomes a more pressing concern for companies across the country, it is important for employers to become aggressive in developing and executing Best Practices for staying compliant with current immigration laws.Some information in this article is provided by Greenberg Traurig, LLP. For more information, contact Denise Gold at (703) 837-5326 or goldd@agc.org.