Industry Dirt
November 1, 2008
Construction Industry Ranks No.1 in Occupational Fatalities
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported
5,488 fatal work injuries in 2007, or 3.7 deaths per 100,000 workers, which
represents a 6% decrease from 2006 figures. The preliminary result of the 2007
Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) is the lowest annual preliminary
total since the census was first conducted in 1992.
The construction industry experienced the highest fatalities of
any private-sector industry reporting 1,178 fatalities, or 10.3 deaths per
100,000, which is an overall 5% decrease from
2006 figures. Site preparation contractor fatalities decreased 13% to 149,
including 60 transportation incidents (73 in 2006), 49 from contact with objects
and equipment (67 in 2006), 11 from falls (16 in 2006), 21 from exposure to
harmful substances or environments (five in 2006), three from fires and
explosions (four in 2006), and five due to unnamed events or exposures (seven
in 2006). Construction equipment operators experienced a total of 54
fatalities, comprising 10 in the Paving, Surfacing and Tamping Equipment
Operators category and 44 in the Operating Engineers and Other Construction
Equipment Operators category. The construction and extraction occupations
reported 1,152 fatalities, or 12.1 per 100,000 workers, including 19 suicides
and 39 deaths from assaults and violent acts.
Overall key findings include a 13% rise in workplace homicides,
or 610 fatalities; fatalities among non-Hispanic black or African American
workers increased by 5% in 2007 to 591, which is the highest number reported
since 1999; fatalities among Hispanic workers decreased by 8% to 908. Of the
5,488 fatal occupational injuries in 2007, 959 deaths, or 17%, occurred among foreign-born
workers, and 44% of those were born in Mexico,
and 18% were born in Asia.
The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, which is part of the
BLS occupational safety and health statistics program, compiles a count of all
fatal work injuries occurring in the U.S. each calendar year. The
program uses diverse state, federal and independent data sources to identify,
verify and describe fatal work injuries. More than 21,000 unique source
documents were reviewed as part of the 2007 data-collection process. CFOI data
are published annually with a one-time revision approximately eight months
after the preliminary release. Final results for 2007 will be released April
2009. The preliminary data is available at
www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm.
President Approves $8 Billion to Delay Highway Trust Fund Crisis
The Highway Trust Fund was created by the Highway Revenue Act of 1956 and is used to finance and maintain the Interstate Highway System. The fund consistes of a Highway Account, which funds highway and intermodal programs, and a Mass Transit Account. The Highway Trust Fund is financed by tax revenues from fuels, truck-related taxes, such as truck tires, sales of trucks and trailers, and heavy-vehicle use.
The Congressional Budget Office had estimated that the fund would experience a $1.4 billion shortfall beginning in fiscal year 2009. The predicted shortfall, however, was accelerated as a result of decreased summer driving and the subsequent decline in gas-tax revenue—a major source of income for the Highway Trust Fund—together with increased spending during the summer highway construction season. According to the DOT, in September, the Highway Trust Fund’s Highway Account took in $2.7 billion but had requests for $4.4 billion in reimbursements. Peters said the crisis could have been avoided if Congress had acted on the president’s February 2008 proposal to transfer funds from the surplus in the Highway Trust Fund’s Mass Transit Account, a move that Peters said would have had no effect on current transit investments, according the DOT’s Office of Public Affairs.
To avoid future shortfalls, Peters said it was time to implement new funding mechanisms that respond to today’s transportation challenges and are in keeping with national energy policies. “The current approach may have made sense 50 years ago,” Peters said, “but it is ineffective and unsustainable when we are trying to reduce congestion and encouraging Americans to embrace more fuel-efficient cars.”
Pete Ruane, president of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association agrees. “The cash-flow crisis that is being temporarily averted by this action should be taken as a wake-up call for the new Congress and president,” Ruane said. “The federal responsibility to make the surface transportation capital investments necessary to keep the American economy growing cannot be sustained with a static, 15 year-old gas tax rate.”
For more information on the Highway Trust Fund, go to www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/financingfederalaid/fund.htm.
Construction Academy Prepares Women for Leadership
The Women’s Leadership Academy is intended to provide women with tools to elevate their careers and leadership roles within the construction industry. "While women in our industry have made great strides over the last decade, we are still faced with the challenges of working in a male-dominated industry. We continue to have to prove our qualifications in the industry,” Green said. “We are also challenged with balancing work and family life, as many women are still the primary caregiver at home."
Approximately 25 women attended the three-day academy. Intense training sessions addressed a variety of topics, including time management skills, productivity, leadership and management styles, negotiating and problem-solving techniques, and conflict resolution.
Upon completion, participants receive continuing education units from Clemson University and may receive industry-recognized credentials from NCCER’s National Registry. The 2009 Women’s Leadership Academy is scheduled for June 27-30, 2009, in Florissant, Colorado.
For more information, visit www.nccer.org and www.nawic.org.
ConstructMyFuture.com Names 2008 Scholarship Winners, Increases 2009 Awards
Andrew Retzlaff, William Gumbert and John Lynch were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship to be used for construction-focused education. Applications were evaluated based on essays, school transcripts and personal references. Retzlaff, of Mankato, Minnesota, will attend South Central College to become a heavy construction equipment technician with a focus on diesel mechanics and hydraulics. Gumbert, of Allenport, Pennsylvania, will attend Penn College of Technology for technology management and to become a heavy equipment technician/operator . Lynch, of Fort Mill, South Carolina, will attend Clemson University for construction management.
ConstructMyFuture.com is a cooperative effort of the Associated Equipment Distributors Foundation (AEDF), the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) to promote construction careers among students, parents and teachers. ConstructMyFuture.com scholarships are available to students and construction industry professionals for higher-education tuition or for the purchase of tools for those who are entering or working in the industry. In 2009, ConstructMyFuture.com will offer 10 scholarships valued at $1,000 each, which are funded, in part, by Kobleco Cranes. “The industry has a new face today, with thousands of highly-skilled people needed in construction and related fields to utilize new efficiencies and technologies to build everything from homes and shopping malls to highways and skyscrapers,” Hallada said. “With these scholarships, we are helping to ensure a qualified workforce to meet future needs.”
To read the winning essays, or for a 2009 scholarship application, go to www.constructmyfuture.com.
BUSINESS NEWS
Caterpillar Inc. (www.cat.com)
and Trimble (www.trimble.com)
created a joint venture company and a distribution agreement. The new company,
VirtualSite Solutions, integrates the expertise of both parent companies in
product design and software development to transform the way contractors manage
their businesses. The joint venture is focused on creating information-rich
worksites allowing customers to more efficiently and safely manage their
equipment fleets, reduce operating costs and improve productivity in the areas
of fuel consumption, maintenance, worksite productivity and fleet logistics.
The joint venture is located in Westminster, Colorado, home of Trimble’s Engineering and Construction
product development and marketing; an office will also be established in Peoria, Illinois,
where the joint venture staff will work closely with Caterpillar’s Electronics
& Connected Worksite Division, which has enterprise responsibility for
product-related hardware and software technology and Caterpillar’s global
electronics strategy. VirtualSite Solutions will initially focus on
applications for road construction, paving, heavy construction and
quarry/aggregates worksites. A new distribution channel, SITECH, will be
established to bring these technologies to users and will be the outlet for
products and services for the aftermarket. Trimble will have primary
responsibility for managing the SITECH dealer relationship. Caterpillar dealers
will continue to be the channel for technologies integrated into new
Caterpillar machines while forming strategic relationships with SITECH dealers
to provide total site solutions for customers.
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE)
(www.volvo.com)
announced plans to move the majority of its motor grader activities from
Goderich, Ontario, Canada, to the company’s U.S. facility in Shippensburg,
Pennsylvania, by 2010. Volvo CE will incur an estimated restructuring cost of
approximately $45 million U.S., to be recorded in the third quarter of 2008. The
central parts warehouse in Goderich will be relocated to the Volvo Parts
warehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
Gehl Company (www.gehl.com),
a manufacturer of compact equipment used worldwide in construction and
agricultural markets, signed a definitive agreement to be acquired for $30 per
share by its largest shareholder, Manitou BF S.A.,
headquartered in France, a manufacturer and distributor of material handling
equipment for the construction, agriculture and industrial sectors.
NorAm Construction Equipment (www.noram65.com) relocated its
office to 50 N. Brockway Street #308, Palatine, Illinois 60067 effective Oc. 1. Telephone
numbers, fax number and e-mail addresses remain the same.
Pennoni Associates (www.pennoni.com)
opened a new testing laboratory at 506
Grove Street, Haddon Heights, New Jersey. The laboratory tests concrete,
soils, asphalt, masonry and aggregate. This is the firm’s third construction
materials laboratory, including two other accredited testing facilities located
in Bethlehem and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
The construction equipment division of Yanmar
North America (www.yanmar.com)
increased the warranty on its line of excavators, loaders and backhoes to three
years or 3,000 hours. This warranty covers all elements of the machinery.
McCloskey International (www.mccloskeyinternational.com),
a designer and manufacturer of innovative screening and crushing products,
announced that Holland Equipment Co. (www.hollandeq.com) is the
company’s official distributor for Utah,
southeastern Idaho and southwestern Wyoming and Celtic Equipment Inc. (www.celticequip.com)
is its official distributor for Indiana.
Michelin North America (www.michelin-us.com)
launched an updated version of the Michelin Earthmover Tires Web site,
www.michelinearthmover.com.
Features include new graphic designs; a tire selector, which allows users to
input a machine type, manufacturer and model number and find appropriate tread
designs; and a dealer locator.
Side Dump Industries (SDI)
launched a new Web site,
www.sidedumpindustries.com.
The new site features information on the entire SDI product line, videos, a
photo gallery, a dealer locator, an interactive blog, company news, testimonials
and more.
PEOPLE NEWS
The Association of Equipment
Manufacturers (AEM) (www.aem.org)
named Robert G. Harvell and Scott R. Nelson to the AEM board of directors.
Harvell is president and CEO of LBX Company LLC, Lexington, Kentucky.
Nelson is president of Bobcat Company Worldwide and CEO of Doosan Infracore
International, West Fargo, North Dakota.
Strata Systems Inc. (www.geogrid.com) appointed Joe
Nagy to regional sales manager for the company’s north central territory, which
extends from the Dakotas to the coast of Virginia.
Nagy has more than 25 years of civil engineering and technical sales experience
in the government, commercial and private sectors of the construction industry.
Also, Strata Systems Inc. (strata@geogrid)
appointed Elizabeth (Liz) Nicholson to sales manager for the U.S. West Coast
region. A former sales manager for a geogrid manufacturer, Nicholson brings
more than five years of geosynthetics experience to Strata Systems and has
expertise in the segmental retaining wall industry.
Doosan Infracore Portable Power (www.doosanportablepower.com)
named David Stahlman as vice president of global marketing. Stahlman is
responsible for strategic marketing initiatives worldwide for the full line of
Ingersoll Rand branded portable equipment and is based at the Statesville, North Carolina,
headquarters.
Godwin Pumps (www.godwinpumps.com)
promoted Grant Salstrom to chief operating officer. Salstrom is responsible for
all day-to-day operations involving service, parts, warranties and fabrication.
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