Employers reporting a workplace death or injury to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration should be cautious about submitting such information online, which could put them at risk of admitting fault, some lawyers say. "I don't know a single employer who completes an effective and thoughtful incident investigation in eight hours or 24 hours, so I think it's premature to commit in writing to some version of the incident," lawyer Eric Conn says. Business Insurance (tiered subscription model)
Contractors need to be well prepared when applying for insurance and surety bonding. Insurance experts offer their advice and insights on the essentials, including documentation, credit insurance and bonding capacity. The Construction Executive Blog
A positive work culture is key to employee well-being and will have bottom-line benefits for employers too, say Emma Seppala at Stanford University and Kim Cameron at the University of Michigan. They write in the Harvard Business Review that having a positive workplace culture increases positive emotions and well-being, improves employee relationships, increases workers' productivity and acts as a buffer against negative experiences such as stress. Harvard Business Review online (tiered subscription model)
Caterpillar has partnered with TORC Robotics to develop the next generation of remote-control construction equipment. The new skid steers, compact track and multiterrain loaders use autonomous vehicle technology, offering the operator more stability and control. "It responds immediately. The feel and response mirrors the operator controls of the machine itself," said Bob Shoop, Caterpillar product demonstrator/instructor. TotalLandscapeCare.net
Referring to real-world experiences, the National Safety Council's Campbell Institute has issued a report on best practices for contractor management, with a focus on safety and collaboration. The recommendations pertain to all five steps in the contractor life cycle, drawing on various companies' experiences to "help other employers establish safe contract relationships that run the gamut, from delivering mail to major construction projects," said Deborah Hersman, president of the National Safety Council. EHS Today
It's important for contractors to pick their risk allocation battles wisely when negotiating contracts, writes John Kofron. "Savvy owners tend to want risk allocated to the person best able to prevent it," writes Kofron. "They can consider the limit of liability clause a deal breaker. Focus on dealing only with risks that are not caused by the construction company and therefore cannot be managed by the company." The Construction Executive Blog
Everyone related to the construction process has incentive to get the project done faster and at a lower cost – from the project owners who want to see tangible results for their investment to the contractors and designers who want to do their job well and move on to the next project. Lean Construction is based on the holistic pursuit of continuous improvements aimed at minimizing costs and maximizing value on a construction project: planning, design, construction, activation, operations, maintenance, salvaging, and recycling.
The construction off-season is prime time for many of those tasks that may have piled up when things were busier. Ron Roberts lays out a list of priorities that fall under the general headings of increasing marketing and sales, adjusting your production management expectations based on job costs and making your
team even better.
ForConstructionPros.com
How should you contract, manage and execute BIM most effectively on a project based on current BIM practices? ConsensusDocs is about to release a comprehensively updated standard BIM contract document based on today's evolving practices, terminology and knowledge. This webinar will provide best practices regarding reliance on the model and executing a BIM Execution Plan. Register now.
How should you contract, manage and execute BIM most effectively on a project based on current BIM practices? ConsensusDocs is about to release a comprehensively updated standard BIM contract document based on today's evolving practices, terminology and knowledge. This webinar will provide best practices regarding reliance on the model and executing a BIM Execution Plan. Register now.