Small design firms take big risks in seeking federal jobs

67% of architectural firms make less than $1 million a year, and the average cost of going after a federal design-build award is $260,000.

By Ron Gallagher • May 23, 2013

Survey: Business and mergers will both rise next year

A report based on a survey of high-level executives and managers at construction companies worldwide found that they see good things coming.

By Ron Gallagher • May 22, 2013

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 stories from Construction Dive

Construction Dive editors curate some of the industry’s top stories from this year.

By Construction Dive staff

New ASTM standard makes hollow steel sections easier to use

ASTM is issuing a new standard for various aspects of hollow steel sections and product vendors say the change will make their use easier for building and bridge designers.

By Ron Gallagher • May 22, 2013

Contractors fight Labor Dept. survey of workers on worker/contractor rules

Associated General Contractors told the U.S. Department of Labor it would be disruptive to survey 10,000 workers about their employment.

By Ron Gallagher • May 22, 2013

Architects' billings fall in April

But inquiries still increased from March.

By Ron Gallagher • May 22, 2013

When home-building jobs disappeared, so did the people who had them

The numbers support the cries of contractors, especially home builders, that there just aren't enough construction workers any more to meet the demand that is returning.

By Ron Gallagher • May 22, 2013

Demolishing a hospital garage quietly? Not as impossible as you might think

The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati planned an orthopedic and spine center where it had a visitor-parking garage, and O'Rourke Wrecking Co. got the nod to do the job—without vibrations.

By Ron Gallagher • May 21, 2013

U.S. construction backlog down slightly, but regions vary widely

For the first quarter, the national backlog of work slipped from 8 months in the last quarter of 2012 year to 7.9 months in the first quarter of this year.

By Ron Gallagher • May 21, 2013

Witnesses paint complicated picture in Canadian garage collapse inquiry

A provincial investigation into the collapse of a garage into a shopping mall beneath it in Elliot Lake, Ontario, last year has brought out several curious aspects of the history.

By Ron Gallagher • May 21, 2013

Think about what records you'll wish you had to back a claim, then keep them

In additional to daily records, files documenting memos, meetings and other activity can bolster the case of a contractor who has a claim for added expenses.

By Ron Gallagher • May 21, 2013

Women build careers through construction's male-dominated terrain

Female executives shared some of what they have learned with up-and-coming construction women at a conference in New York.

By Ron Gallagher • May 20, 2013

New remote control software may bring robots to construction sites

The platform from DreamHammer Inc. promises to be an across-the-board operating system for remotely controlled vehicles, with developers creating applications that run on it.

By Ron Gallagher • May 20, 2013

Construction jobs slip in 32 states

The new reflects the uneven nature of the recovery in the construction industry.

By Ron Gallagher • May 17, 2013

Geopiers create solid foundations in loose soil

Geopiers use crushed rock to create a base for conventional foundations.

By Ron Gallagher • May 17, 2013

Architects can replace windows with 'animated apertures'

B+U Architecture of Los Angeles has gotten as far as the concept phase with openings that combine windows, balconies and plazas in three-dimensional fiberglass opening that can shift shapes.

By Ron Gallagher • May 17, 2013

Companies look at prepaid cards to control employees' spending

Companies can cut their risk of employees' overspending or misspending if they use prepaid credit cards instead of ones that draw on the company's credit.

By Ron Gallagher • May 16, 2013

Gilbane names Chicago exec to head for New York, Midwest units

Michael Bohn, who has been with Gilbane Inc. since 1985 and is regional manager in Chicago, will become executive vice president of the two regions for the Providence, R.I.-based company.

By Ron Gallagher • May 16, 2013

How do you rebuild a crane 1,100 feet up? Very carefully

A crane broken by Superstorm Sandy's howling winds in New York City last October and seen around the world is back in business after a painstaking replacement of its 150-foot boom.

By Ron Gallagher • May 16, 2013

Software promises 3-D modeling, calculations for collapse risks

The University of Sheffield has new software that will let engineers do three-dimensional assessments of structures and foundations and calculate margins of safety.

By Ron Gallagher • May 16, 2013

Researchers eye concrete towers as ideal wind turbines

Steel towers for turbines stick at 80 meters as their usable height limit, but there is better wind higher up, and engineers are looking at how concrete can fill the bill.

By Ron Gallagher • May 15, 2013

Steady national materials prices may obscure volatility for contractors

The wide calculation of prices for construction materials taken together looks pretty steady, but price volatility is rising because of global economic conditions.

By Ron Gallagher • May 15, 2013

Veteran Affairs, not contractors, to blame for construction problems, says GAO

Slow response to change orders and inexperienced staff are among the problems the Government Accountability Office said the Department of Veterans Affairs suffers from.

By Ron Gallagher • May 15, 2013

Steel saddles to fix Bay Bridge's busted bolts problem

The specially fabricated devices will fix the problem of long, thin embedded bolts contaminated with hydrogen, which broke during concrete post-tensioning.

By Ron Gallagher • May 15, 2013

The 10 best—and worst—states for construction jobs

A 12-month comparison found the 10 largest increases and 10 steepest declines in construction employment between March 2012 and March 2013.

By Ron Gallagher • May 14, 2013

Boring machine completes twin tunnels from Port Miami to nearby highways

A tunnel boring machine called Harriet returned to where it had begun working in November 2011, and the Port Miami project now has twin tunnels to be readied for trucks.

By Ron Gallagher • May 14, 2013