Demand for design services in May remained essentially flat in comparison to the previous month, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA). AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score for May showed a small increase in design services at 50.2, which is slightly down from 50.5 in April. Any score…
Architecture
AIA to Enhance Tax Services to Members
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is forming a new partnership with Engineered Tax Services, Inc. (ETS) to help architects better utilize federal, state and local tax incentives, including 45L credits, research and development (R&D) tax credits, Historical Tax Credits, and the Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction (Section 179D). “Depending on the project, architecture firms…
Slight Rebound for Architecture Billings in April
Following a sizable decrease in demand for design services in March, the April Architecture Billings Index (ABI) climbed back into positive territory according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA). AIA’s ABI score for April showed a small increase in design services at 50.5 in April, which is up from…
Designing with Employee Welfare in Mind
The design plan we put together, was thorough, even by the most rigorous standards. The first level called for a series of process rooms, totaling 140,000-square-feet, to house complex proprietary production equipment, as well as clean rooms, development, testing and QC labs. The building’s process flow design, efficiency and overall environment prioritized the high-performance battery…
Contracting
USG + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index – 2019 Q2
The USG + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index (CCI) is a quarterly economic index designed to gauge the outlook for, and resulting confidence in, the commercial construction industry. Results from the Q2 2019 USG Corporation + U.S. Chamber of Commerce Commercial Construction Index(Index) indicate that more than half of contractors are highly confident that…
Five Electrical Safety Tips for Commercial Buildings
To some, a workplace may feel like a second home. It’s a place where employees form bonds and battle hardships together. Whether you’re a company CEO, a higher-up, or the owner of a commercial building, keeping your establishment a safe place for everyone will increase their productivity and give you peace of mind as well….
Modular Construction: From Projects to Products
Shifting construction away from traditional sites and into factories could dramatically change the way we build. Will modular construction make a sustainable impact this time around? Learn more in the new report from McKinsey. For decades, construction has lagged behind other sectors in productivity. Modular construction offers the industry an opportunity to make a step change:…
Construction Input Prices See Slight Increase in May, says ABC
Construction input prices rose slightly by 0.3% in May on a monthly basis and are up 0.6% over the last 12 months, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released today. Nonresidential input prices were also up 0.3% compared to the previous month and are 1.1% higher…
Energy
Duke Energy Awards $3.2 million to Innovative Education Programs
Duke Energy announcedit is awarding $3.2 million in grants to support 131 innovative K-12 education programs across the communities served by the company. “Bright futures begin in the classroom, and every child deserves a fair chance at academic success,” said Cari Boyce, president of the Duke Energy Foundation. “The grants we are making today are…
USGBC Launches LEED Zero Certification for Net-Zero Buildings
USGBC’s new certification program encourages net-zero operations for carbon emissions, water and energy use, and waste management. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched LEED Zero, a new program that will address net zero operations and resources in buildings. “Net zero is a powerful target that will move the entire industry forward,” said Melissa Baker,…
Dominion Energy Seeks Solar and Onshore Wind Generation Proposals
Dominion Energy is seeking bids for up to 500 megawatts of solar and onshore wind generation as part of a plan to develop 3,000 megawatts of additional solar and wind power under Virginia’s new Grid Transformation & Security Act (GTSA). The GTSA, which became law on July 1, 2018, paves the way for the largest…
Kings Mountain Energy Center Begins Operations
Cleveland County officially became home to one of the cleanest and most efficient power plants in the nation today, as NTE Energy’s Kings Mountain Energy Center (KMEC) formally began operations. Officials from NTE Energy joined with city, county, and state leaders Tuesday to cut the ribbon on the $500 million facility. The 475 MW natural…
Engineering
Engineering Firm Revenues Expected to Rise
Engineering service revenues in the United States are forecast to advance 3.8% per annum in nominal terms through 2023, according to Engineering Services: United States, a report recently released by Freedonia Focus Reports. Demand for services from domestic engineering service establishments is closely tied to domestic construction expenditures, which are forecast to rise 4.3% per year…
GeoCarolinas Conference Set for Early March in Charlotte
The Carolinas Chapter of the Geo-Institute is pleased to announce the second GeoCarolinas Conference. The event will take place March 4 and 5, 2019 at the UNC Charlotte Center City in Charlotte, N.C., and will include state-of-the art technical presentations by leaders in the field of geotechnical engineering, interaction with 24 industry leading exhibitors, as…
Jacobs to Sell Energy, Chemicals and Resources Business to WorleyParsons for $3.3 Billion
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Energy, Chemicals and Resources (ECR) segment to WorleyParsons Limited (ASX: WOR) for $3.3 billion, consisting of $2.6 billion in cash and $700 million in WorleyParsons ordinary shares. The transaction value represents a multiple of more than 11.5…
New ASCE Manual of Practice Focuses on Infrastructure Resilience in a Changing Climate
ASCE’s new book, Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Adaptive Design and Risk Management, MOP 140, provides guidance for and contributes to the developing or enhancing of methods for infrastructure analysis and design in a world in which risk profiles are changing and can be projected with varying degrees of uncertainty requiring a new design philosophy to meet this…
Equipment
Williams Scotsman to Acquire Acton Mobile
WillScot Corporation (NASDAQ:WSC) (“Williams Scotsman”) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement whereby Williams Scotsman International, Inc. will acquire the entity that owns Acton Mobile (ActonMobile.com) from Prophet Equity for a cash purchase price of $235 million, subject to customary adjustments. Brad Soultz, president and chief executive officer of Williams Scotsman, commented,…
EquipmentWatch Establishes New Standard for Standby and Idling Cost Calculation
EquipmentWatch, a leader in data, software, and insights for the heavy equipment industry, has expanded its Cost Recovery product to include hourly cost rates for standby and idling equipment. These new rates are a welcome addition to the standard Rental Rate Blue Book active use rates specified by the Federal Highway Administration, most state DOTs,…
Ritchie Bros. to Close Raleigh-Durham Location as Buyers Move Online
Construction and industrial equipment sales group Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Incorporated (NYSE:RBA) will be closing five locations across North America in a move to focus on online sales and larger locations. In an email to employees, Ritchie Bros. CEO Ravi Saligram said the closure of small sites comes as more people are taking part in auctions…
EquipmentWatch Announces Lowest Cost of Ownership Awards Winners
Today, EquipmentWatch named the winners of the 2017-2018 Lowest Cost of Ownership Awards. The announcement was made during the awards ceremony held during EquipmentWatch’s 1st annual customer conference, Traction. The winners represent the models, within their respective equipment types, with the lowest five year total cost of ownership and were identified using proprietary EquipmentWatch Ownership…
Facilities
Eight Reasons Why You Need to Have Annual Plumbing Checks
Running a business can be a daunting feat. New problems will catch you off-guard and sometimes all you can really do is take the bull by the horns, and hope that everything will return to normal. Even a short business interruption can mean losing thousands of dollars! A business owner keeps an eye on the…
Five Electrical Safety Tips for Commercial Buildings
To some, a workplace may feel like a second home. It’s a place where employees form bonds and battle hardships together. Whether you’re a company CEO, a higher-up, or the owner of a commercial building, keeping your establishment a safe place for everyone will increase their productivity and give you peace of mind as well….
8 Reasons Why You Need to Have Annual Plumbing Checks
Running a business can be a daunting feat. New problems will catch you off-guard and sometimes all you can really do is take the bull by the horns, and hope that everything will return to normal. Even a short business interruption can mean losing thousands of dollars! A business owner keeps an eye on the…
Survey Reveals Majority of Facilities Teams Are Unprepared for Catastrophes
Survey statistics in the just released eBook, “Information Management for Facilities and Operations” show that building managers and their facilities teams aren’t as prepared for the next catastrophe as they’d like to be. Released by AIIM Market Research and ARC Document Solutions, the eBook highlights trends in facilities management on preparedness and recovery, including cloud…
Maintenance
Culvert Rehabilitation Project Features InfraSteel
The InfraSteel culvert rehabilitation solution is chosen by the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for its Booker Creek Culvert at Elliot Road Rehabilitation Project. The InfraSteel slip-liner will preserve the existing failing bridge structure and avoid a road closure. According to InfraSteel executive Cullom Walker, “Elliot Road is busy and intersects heavily traveled US…
Products
Clemson’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute Celebrates Five Years Promoting “Wood is Good”
CLEMSON – Trees have provided a viable building material for centuries, and although steel and concrete have taken center stage in contemporary construction, lumber is making a comeback. Building with wood has a number of advantages. For the past five years, Clemson University’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute (WU+D) has been educating individuals in the Southeast about…
NC State Researchers Develop Technique to Characterize Strength and Failure of Cement
Researchers from North Carolina State University have, for the first time, used a “micropillar compression” technique to characterize the micro-scale strength of cement, allowing for the development of cement with desirable strength properties for civil engineering applications. “The information collected using this technique can be used to better understand the behavior of concrete when it…
Lumber Tariff to Impact Construction Costs
As construction material price are rising, the US Commerce Department took action that will contribute to an additional rise in the prices of a key building material. Wilber Ross, US Commerce Secretary has announced a new 20% tariff on imports of Canadian softwood lumber. The US currently imports about $5.66 billion worth of softwood lumber…
Culvert Rehabilitation Project Features InfraSteel
The InfraSteel culvert rehabilitation solution is chosen by the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for its Booker Creek Culvert at Elliot Road Rehabilitation Project. The InfraSteel slip-liner will preserve the existing failing bridge structure and avoid a road closure. According to InfraSteel executive Cullom Walker, “Elliot Road is busy and intersects heavily traveled US…
Suppliers
Metromont Corporation to Acquire Shockey Precast Group
Metromont Corporation, a manufacturer of precast concrete materials, announces its plan to acquire Shockey Precast Group of Winchester, Va. “The Shockey Precast Group has an outstanding reputation. Don Shockey has built a quality operation and organization. Our culture and business models are very similar which will make for a smooth transition that’s beneficial to both…
Carolina Comfort Air Recognized as the #3 Top Volume Trane Dealer in the Nation
With a 4000% growth since 2007, Carolina Comfort Air was recently recognized among Trane’s top volume performers in the country. The award is based on purchase volume of Trane equipment in residential, light commercial, and new construction. Winners are selected based on their ability to implement Trane’s technical and business acumen, and they are required…
Acton Mobile Completes Asset Acquisition of Mobile Office Units from Mobile Mini
Acton Mobile (ActonMobile.com), America’s mobile facilities company, announced today the acquisition of Mobile Mini’s mobile office fleet in Tennessee. This is the second asset acquisition from Mobile Mini within the last two years. “In addition to Acton Mobile’s remarkable organic growth during 2016, this transaction will further accelerate our market penetration throughout Tennessee, North Carolina…
Culvert Rehabilitation Project Features InfraSteel
The InfraSteel culvert rehabilitation solution is chosen by the Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina for its Booker Creek Culvert at Elliot Road Rehabilitation Project. The InfraSteel slip-liner will preserve the existing failing bridge structure and avoid a road closure. According to InfraSteel executive Cullom Walker, “Elliot Road is busy and intersects heavily traveled US…
Sustainability
Greenbuild International Conference & Expo Releases 2018 Sustainability Report
Informa and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced the release of the 2018 Greenbuild Sustainability Report, highlighting valuable metrics and key benchmarks regarding the impact on sustainable sourcing, community involvement, and carbon footprint reduction at the 2018 Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, held last November at McCormick Place in Chicago. The event achieved an…
Duke Energy: Cleaner Energy Mix can be Affordable, too
Duke Energy continues to generate cleaner energy at prices below the national average for its 7.7 million residential, commercial and industrial customers. Those facts were spelled out today in the company’s 13th annual Sustainability Report – a report card on the company’s progress at meeting its sustainability goals. The report can be found here –…
Duke Energy Renewables completes acquisition of 150-MW North Rosamond solar project from Clearway Energy Group
Duke Energy Renewables, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, announced it has acquired the 150-megawatt (MW) North Rosamond solar project in Kern County, California from Clearway Energy Group. The North Rosamond solar project is Duke Energy Renewables’ sixth solar generation facility in Kern County. “North Rosamond is a great addition to our growing solar portfolio,” said…
Competitive Process Yields Carolinas’ Biggest One-day Collection of Solar Projects
Bringing more cost-effective solar energy to the Carolinas, 14 utility-scale projects have been selected during an independently judged bidding process – part of a 2017 comprehensive renewable energy law. Based on an independent evaluation process, Duke Energy will produce or purchase a total of 602 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from projects under the North Carolina’s Competitive…
