Florida Construction
Connection, Inc., works with employers to not just hire, but
make the right hires.
We work with currently employed construction management,
administrative and accounting professionals to help them make
smart career decisions.
Whether you are seeking information to help you in your current
situation or seeking information about the marketplace and need
help, please give us a call.
Construction
Material
Testing Tips
This Month: Compressive Strength Concrete Testing
Compressive strength
testing is the most common industry test to measure concrete
strength and its performance.
What is this test
used for? This test is used to determine if the concrete mixture
delivered to the project meets the specified strength as
required.
Who or what agency requires
it? Concrete test cylinders
are required by Florida Building Code. Who typically is
responsible for testing? Testing of the concrete is typically paid for by the General
Contractor; however owners and developers will sometimes retain
these services. Who does the test?
Concrete testing is performed by Professional Testing
Laboratories. These companies must be licensed Engineering
Companies and have at a minimum Construction Materials
Engineering Council certification to perform
these tests. Technicians performing the test should have American Concrete Institute
Certification. Who is responsible
for making sure the testing is done? The site superintendent is responsible for scheduling the
testing laboratory in accordance with the project specifications
and Florida Building Codes requirements. What are the
consequences that could happen if the testing is not done? If concrete testing is not performed per the requirements
the Building Official may not issue a Certificate of Occupancy
and the engineer of
record can not ensure compliance to the design requirements. In
a worst case scenario defects in the concrete if unknown could
cause catastrophic failure of the structure. What does the person
who is contracting
GFA International for testing
get when the test is done? The testing laboratory will issue concrete break results
reports after the 28 day breaks is signed and sealed by a
professional engineer. This report is to prove compliance with
specifications and Florida Building Codes.
How GFA
International can help. GFA International can provide all
these services and many more tests and inspections required by
codes and specifications.
Employee Free Choice Act This proposed law, if enacted, could change business as we
know it in Florida and the country. The law is called the
"Employee Free Choice Act" but it actually does away with free
choice.
What the Law does is eliminates secret ballot elections overseen
by the National Labor Relations Board for union certification
votes. Instead the law, supported by every South Florida
Democrat in Congress and opposed by every South Florida
Republican, replaces a secret ballot with a "card check" system.
The "card check" system would only require union organizers to
publically obtain 50% plus 1 signed cards by your employees,
indicating they want a union. Depending on who you vote for
this November this Orwellian legislation could become the law of
the land. NOTHING has the potential to change your business more
than this.
Members of Congress from South Florida who are
AGAINST secret
ballots in the workplace and workers rights.
Con. Alcee Hastings
Con. Ron Klein
Con. Tim Mahoney
Con. Kendrick Meek
Con. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz
Con. Bob Wexler
Members of Congress from South Florida who are
FOR
secret ballots in the workplace and workers rights.
“Interoperability and
the AEC Community”
Thursday,
October 2, 2008
6:30-7:30 AM Registration / 8:00 AM Breakfeast
Location: The Westin Fort Lauderdale
400 Corporate Drive, Ft. Lauderdale
FACTS:
The construction industry is
in the midst of an unprecedented technological revolution
and demand for increased business productivity.
Creating an interoperable or connected business environment
between your project team and workflow tools is the critical
path to growing productivity and profit.
Join Associated Builders and
Contractors and
McGraw-Hill Construction to learn more about how
Interoperability is driving productivity in construction.
There is no charge to attend; however,
seating is limited and is on a first-come, first-served
basis, so register today!
Moderators - Hill International
Frank
Giunta, SVP & Managing Director
John
Paolin, Vice President of Marketing
Shawn
Pressley, Project Engineer
Panelists
Gary
Lowe, Senior Director
McGraw-Hill Construction
John
Breistol, Senior Executive
The Foram Group
Miles
Wilson, Director of IT
Pirtle
Construction Company
Bill
Kleis, Senior VP
InSource,
Inc.
Ron
Perkins, VP of Business Development
Adenium
Systems, Inc.
Jonathan Bowman, Business Development Manager
AEC/EPC
Vertical Market Adobe Systems, Inc.
Questions to be answered in the forum
include:
•Why does
Interoperability and BIM Technology drive productivity?
•
What tools should AEC companies be leveraging to help grow
business, reduce costs, eliminate redundancy, and minimize
risk?
•
How can
you increase Interoperability and effective collaboration
among project teams?
•
How to
improve prequalification, bid coordination, version control
and electronic closeout?
To RSVP call Nancy Bryant 561-302-8595 and for more details
Click Herefor invitation and registration form.
American
Society of Professional Estimators 2008 Annual Golf Tournament
To Benefit Educational
Scholarships at
Florida Atlantic University and
Florida International University
Friday, October 17, 2008
Jacaranda Country Club, Plantation, FL
11:30 AM Lunch / Registration - Shotgun 1:00 PM
Register Online
www.ASPEchapter49.com
For more information
Click Here or contact Stacey Miller
(954) 975-4304 -
ASPEsupport@comcast.net
What
are a surety’s rights and obligations in disputing a
subcontractor’s claim made under a payment bond? More
particularly, what is the effect of a general contractor’s
payment bond surety’s failure to fulfill a contractual provision
requiring it to answer a subcontractor’s payment claim within 45
days after receiving the claim?
The terms of a standard surety bond form provide that the surety
must “[s]end an answer to the Claimant, with a copy to the
Owner, within 45 days after receipt of the claim, stating the
amounts that are undisputed and the basis for challenging any
amounts that are disputed”. This language requires that a surety
set forth those portions of the claim that it intends to dispute
within the 45-day period.
This provision was added to promote timely payment of claims
under the bond. It protects subcontractors who, through no fault
of their own, are forced to absorb the risk of non-payment by
the contractor and the owner for an extended period of time.
Two recent cases out of Virginia and Maryland may be part of a
national trend and rule that a surety has only one opportunity
to raise its defenses to a subcontractor’s claim. If the surety
fails to do so, the entire claim will be deemed undisputed.
Also, if a surety raises certain defenses to payment within the
45-day contractual period, it is stuck with those defenses
through the course of any litigation and cannot raise any new
defenses. The argument that a surety could simply dispute a
claim through inaction, i.e. failing to answer within the 45-day
period, was rejected. The Virginia case held that the surety
could, however, raise technical legal defenses during litigation
and is not precluded from conducting discovery and raising facts
that relate to the bases of contention properly raised in the
contractual period.
Practically speaking, when a subcontractor makes a claim under a
payment bond, it should calendar a deadline for the surety to
respond within the time period provided in the contract. If the
surety fails to raise any defenses or otherwise respond within
this period it may lose its right to raise defenses to payment.
If the surety does raise defenses, those defenses may very well
be the only ones it will be allowed to use in the course of the
parties’ dealings, including any litigation.
These court rulings protect subcontractors who seek recovery
under payment bonds, and hamper the ability of a surety to drag
its feet in paying legitimate claims.
The
Cell Phones for Soldiers
program was started in April 2004 by 13-year-old
Brittany Bergquist and her 12-year-old brother Robbie of
Norwell, Massachusetts.
Robbie and Brittany's goal is to help our soldiers serving
overseas call home. They hope to provide as many soldiers as
possible with prepaid calling cards. Through generous donations
and the recycling of used cell phones, Robbie and Brittany have
already distributed thousands of calling cards to soldiers
around the globe.
It's
simple and FREE! Every phone you donate will help increase the
amount of talk time they're able to provide to our troops!
Donated
cell phones are sold to a company that recycles them and the
money is used to buy calling cards to the Soldiers.
The Miccosukee Cone on
Your Phone is a free* service provided by WSVN 7-News of South
Florida.
The Miccosukee Cone on Your Phone enables you to
receive the latest forecast cone for any storm threatening South
Florida area straight from the 7 Weather Center.
Requirements:
In order to properly view the Cone
on Your Phone you must have an internet ready phone and be able
to receive SMS/Text Messages.
Before
the storm:Get the
latest forecast cone, watches and warnings from
the 7-Weather Team. During the storm:If you lose
power be able to access the latest radar imagery
on your internet ready mobile phone.
After the storm:Use the
Miccosukee Cone on Your Phone service to
gather important recovery information such as
where to find FEMA, gasoline, ice and more.
To
Subscribe:
To subscribe to Miccosukee Cone on Your Phone
simply text the word "CONE" to 23000 on your
internet ready phone.
To
Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe text the phrase "STOP
CONE" to 23000 to quit at any time.
*Standard text
messaging rates apply. SMS messages will be sent
to your when there is new hurricane information
that applies to South Florida. Text 'STOP CONE'
to 23000 to quit at any time.
Thank
you to everyone that participated on our August Newsletter contest.
We awarded a $25 gift card to Starbucks to two winners:
Nancy
Kligfeld at Keith and Schnars, P.A. and
Lisa Pourmaleki at Pavarini
They tied as the first to give the correct answers
for
China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters in Beijing
and it's two design architects Rem Koolhaas and Ole Scheeren
of OMA.
The first person to e-mail us the
CORRECT ANSWERS
TO BOTH QUESTIONS
will win
a $25.00 gift certificate
to
Starbuck's.
Pay Close
Attention and Read Carefully!
While it's
not a Picasso painting, some consider this building to be
somewhat of a construction masterpiece.
Not
considered a "one-of-a-kind" architectural design, but
this building is in fact the only one of its kind ever
built in the world.
What is the name of this existing building and location?
What is the name and location of
the building currently in design and development that has a
similar unique function as this building?
Email your
answer to
flcc@bellsouth.net
Computer Tips:
Cool Sites
Fuelly
-
http://www.fuelly.com/ Welcome
to Fuelly, a Web site that lets you keep track of your gas
mileage, share it and compare it with other users.
We recommend watching the video tour of the site first. It helps
you get a feel for whether or not this is a site you'd like to
use.
To join,
simply fill out the form with an e-mail address, create a
password, a username, provide your name, prove you're human by
typing in the words shown in the box and then click on the
Register button. Then check your e-mail for the confirmation
letter. After you confirm, they will send you a welcome e-mail
as well.
The
welcome e-mail explains how to use the site and you’ll also get
the same kind of information when you log in.
If you
decide you don’t want to track your gas mileage, you can still
check out the Tips section.
This Web
site provides a great way to keep track of your gas mileage
between fuel ups and it gives some great tips for better fuel
economy.
FACTS:
American
Society of Professional Estimators 
It's
simple and FREE! Every phone you donate will help increase the
amount of talk time they're able to provide to our troops!
Before
the storm: Get the
latest forecast cone, watches and warnings from
the 7-Weather Team. 
Thank
you to everyone that participated on our August Newsletter contest.
We awarded a $25 gift card to Starbucks to two winners:
The first person to e-mail us the
