CONSTRUCTOR
COVERING GENERAL BUILDING & GENERAL ENGINEERING CONSTRUCTION agcsd.org
THE MAGAZINE OF THE ASSOCIATED GENERAL CONTRACTORS OF AMERICA, SAN DIEGO CHAPTER, INC.
NEW AGC BUILDING FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY
Plus... AGC Apprenticeship Training Program Implements Technology at New Facility The Attack on Fair and Open Competition AGC San Diego Launches New Website
2021 VOLUME 3
THE VOICE OF CONSTRUCTION
Innovative Practices • Advanced Technology • Lean Construction • Preconstruction In-House BIM/VDC • Prefabrication • Design Build • Integrated Services • Technology Systems
□
221 MByBrs AvBnuB
I
□ I
Escandida. CA 82 28
(76
□) 746-1 □□ 3 I
www.bBrgBIBctric.cam
I
□ □ I
Lic.#Cl -85 46
lffl
�nked111 com/company/62227
I
rJ
facebook com/beroelect11ccorp
I @)
bergelectuc_offic1al
CALL US.
Trench Shoring Company was founded in 1973 on our commitment to provide the construction industry with the finest in shoring equipment, including steel Trench Plates composite Trench Covers, Trench Shields'", Hydraulic Shoring, Slide Rail and additional underground equipment. Our Trench Plates come in thirteen standard sizes with special sizes available on request. We also offer same-day service from our eleven locations. What's more, because we know every job is different, your rep will personally consult at your job-site.
Providing same day service from our 11 locations to Southern California, San Leandro/Bay Area, Bakersfield, Fresno, the San Joaquin Valley and the Las Vegas.areas.
San Diego
858-530-2500 TrenchShoring.com
Our dedication to safety and service are key to our growth and customer satisfaction. Trench Shoring Company will be there to service your most challenging job requirements.
SERVICE I ENGINEERING I RENTALS I SALES I INVENTORY I TR AINING © Trench Shoring Company
"Commitment To Safety & Service" Since 1973
AGC
SAN DIEGO The Associated General Contractors of America, San Diego Chapter, Inc. East County Headquarters 10140 Riverford Road Lakeside, CA 92040 Government Affairs Office 6212 Ferris Square San Diego, CA 92121 Phone (858) 558-7444 Fax (858) 558-8444
@agcsandiego
www.agcsd.org
contents
2021 Volume 3
6 GOVERNMENT
The Attack on Fair and Open Competition: PLAs & Trained Requirements
10 ENGINEERING
With Infrastructure Spending Going Up: Who is Going to Do the Work?
14 AGC CHAPTER NEWS New AGC Building from Concept to Reality
16 APPRENTICESHIP
Apprenticeship Training Program Implements Technology at New Lakeside Training Facility
20 AGC COMMITTEE UPDATE What’s Happening at AGC San Diego!
26
EDUCATION Construction Project Management: Take Your Career to the Next Level
More Inside
THE VOICE OF CONSTRUCTION 4
AGCSD.ORG
12 Upcoming Events
28 Baseball Bash
18 New Website
30 Collection Drive
24 Blood Drive
32 Affiliate Golf
AGC SAN DIEGO CONSTRUCTOR Magazine is published quarterly. The opinions and assertions contained herein are those of the authors. Reproduction, either whole or in part, is not permitted without the express consent of the publisher. Copyright 2021 by AGCSD CONSTRUCTOR MAGAZINE. All rights reserved. Advertising rates are available upon request. Call (760) 466-7790. AGC San Diego, or Contractor News & Views are not responsible for content in ads submitted by AGC-SD Constructor Magazine’s advertisers.
GOVERNMENT The Attack on Fair and Open Competition: Project Labor Agreements & Trained Requirements By Dustin Steiner, Vice President Government & Industry Relations and Eddie Sprecco, CEO
Over the past few months, local governments have been busy working to undo fair and open competition by directing union-only Project Labor Agreement (PLA) language and Skilled and Trained requirements. The City of San Diego is considering a ballot measure that would rescind the 2012 voter-approved ban on PLAs, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is “negotiating” exclusively with the San Diego Building Trades Council for a union-only Project Labor Agreement (PLA) for their future projects, and the County of San Diego has preliminarily approved a “Working Families Ordinance” and other labor-friendly proposals. In July, the City of San Diego’s Rules Committee directed staff to begin work on a ballot measure to overturn 2012’s Proposition A, which put in place a ban on PLAs for city projects. Prop A was supported by 58% of the voters and the San Diego Union-Tribune (UT). In 2011, the State Legislature passed SB 922 to prevent cities from passing PLA bans by threatening to withhold state funding for construction projects. The same SB 922 is now being used as the justification for putting this back on the ballot despite no evidence that any money has been withheld or restricted by the State. Additionally, Prop A has a specific exemption that allows for a PLA when state money is at risk. This proposal is slated to go before the full City Council at the end of the year and is expected to be put on the ballot for 2022. In late July, the SANDAG board of directors voted to "negotiate" an exclusive PLA with the Building Trades despite earlier commitments from the same board to allow for apprentices from the National Black Contractors Association and other state or federally approved Apprenticeship programs, such as AGC San Diego Apprenticeship.
6
AGCSD.ORG
While disappointing, this is not surprising. PLAs of this type are not actually "negotiated" in any real sense. There is a standard set by the National Building Trades Unions and rigorously enforced. These standards use exclusion as a feature, not as a bug. They are intended to exclude non-union workers and force benefit payments to subsidize underfunded union plans at the benefit of their union members, and at the expense of the nonunion workers who earned the benefits but won't receive them. It is lucrative business for the San Diego Building Trades Council to pass PLAs, which is why they have invested over $10 million in the past decade to legislate unionization where traditional organizing efforts have failed. The long term, multi-front effort includes changing election laws and state legislation that restructures local government, and threatens to cut off state funding unless PLAs are adopted over the will of the local voters. The unrealized threat of losing state funding, which the Building Trades Council themselves created, is intended to make the costs of PLAs seem reasonable to the uninformed. Those PLA costs are HIGH. In practice, PLAs in San Diego have a history of increasing project costs by 15-25%, lowering workers' average pay,
undermining collective bargaining, hurting local hire efforts, and discriminating against minority craft workers. For these reasons, AGC has traditionally opposed blanket PLAs like currently proposed at SANDAG. It's not just that blanket PLAs will harm some of our members and be hugely disruptive to the construction industry - it's that those impacts will be felt mostly by the very bodies that authorize them. At the end of the day, AGC members will build the infrastructure of the region - it will just be delivered at a much higher cost to the cities or SANDAG budgets and at the expense of other priorities if under a PLA. In Sacramento, elected officials in the state legislature have come slowly to the realization what a corrosive force the Building Trades Unions can be. Per Politico, said one understandably anonymous Democratic lawmaker of the State Building Trades, "To not be able to make progress on housing and climate is totally unacceptable, and they're a huge part of the reason we're not making progress." The failure to address housing - a top issue for California voters - has also given life to the recall campaign against California Governor Gavin Newsom, which was once considered far-fetched. The political ramifications of the Building Trades Councils actions in San Diego will likely be more direct. At the same time as the City is attempting to overturn the will of the voters, SANDAG is expected to go to the ballot on a sales tax increase to fund the so-called “5 Big Moves” – a $166 billion dollar plan to build and upgrade San Diego’s transportation infrastructure. Attaching a PLA that excludes 80% of contractors, craft workers and voters in San Diego County severely jeopardizes SANDAG’s bold vision. AGC would prefer to work with SANDAG to build San Diego. But, our role is to work with local governments and point out to the decision makers the potential benefit or harm of a policy that will impact our industry while allowing small, local contractors, and local workers to participate and be fully compensated.
In the public building world, those benefits and harms are borne almost entirely by the taxpayers and voters of San Diego. Hopefully, the SANDAG Board will listen to the concerns of these many stakeholders and present a solution later this year that balances priorities. Otherwise, SANDAG risks being a regional planning organization in name only, with future construction funding and decisions going directly to local governments that will argue to their constituents, "you are better off keeping your tax dollars here than sending them to downtown San Diego." The County Board of Supervisors - once a bastion of fiscal discipline - has already added a billion dollars to the annual budget and has set in motion several labor-friendly proposals. They recently established the Office of Labor Standards, which AGC San Diego supported as an effort to root out bad actors and stop wage theft. These are indeed noble causes and AGC hopes to continue working with the County to make sure enforcement is met out fairly. AGC has also been tracking a subcontractor transparency measure, which will force contractors to publicly post subcontractors at the time of permit issuance. AGC has asked that the County ask for this at such time as Subcontractors are actually onboarded. The latest proposal – the so-called working families ordinance seeks to “set baseline employment standards for County construction projects” and “require the prequalification of prospective bidders and proposers on County public works projects.” Essentially, the County is wanting contractors to pay Prevailing Wage on public works projects (they already do) and employ a “skilled and trained” workforce on County-awarded contracts and on projects on leased County land. The Business Impact Statement of the Board Letter says quite bluntly “Implementing the Working Families Ordinance will likely have a business impact for construction firms, potentially increasing overhead costs and reducing competition in procurement.” The political landscape has shifted in San Diego County, but AGC remains committed to working with local governments, agencies, labor unions, and our workforce to ensure high quality projects and best value for public dollars.
AGCSD.ORG
7
We help our customers build better communities. You can count on Hawthorne Cat to be there to help you get the answers you need when you need them. Call us for all your equipment, parts, and service support needs to keep your business running. Chula Vista
1751 4th Ave. Chula Vista, CA 91911 619.336.2500
Escondido
1620 Mission Rd. Escondido, CA 92029 760.740.2900
Lakeside
12329 Mapleview St. Lakeside, CA 92040 619.561.8700
Oceanside
2401 Industry St. Oceanside, CA 92054 760.529.4700
HAWTHORNE
CJ.T
l H [ Rental S l I I [
Rancho Bernardo
16945 Camino San Bernardo San Diego, CA 92127 858.674.7000
HAWTHORNE
www.hawthornecat.com
Im
ENGINEERING With Infrastructure Spending Going Up: Who is Going to Do the Work? By Mike McManus, Director of Engineering Construction & Industry Relations
Construction employment in June totaled 7,410,000, yet 3.1 percent below February 2020, the high point before the pandemic drove construction employment down. The number of former construction workers who were unemployed in June, 730,000, dropped a quarter from a year ago and the sector’s unemployment rate fell from 10.1 percent in June 2020 to 7.5 percent this June.
It seems that infrastructure construction is likely to rise significantly in coming years. Despite generally being dysfunctional, Washington is poised to put together a national infrastructure spending package. California has a windfall from its richest taxpayers that will increase we hope, infrastructure spending in California in the next few years. Here in San Diego, the region is debating a $160 billion transportation infrastructure plan that is likely to go to a vote of the region’s citizens to increase the sales tax on goods sold in this county, probably in 2022. But there is a mixed bag of issues facing the construction industry as this point in time that need to be tackled strategically. Construction employment, nationally, declined by 7,000 between May and June as the industry still employs 238,000 fewer people than before the pandemic, according to government data recently released. Job losses in the nonresidential construction sector offset modest monthly gains in residential construction as many firms struggle with worker shortages, supply chain disruptions and rising materials prices. As we have noted recently, key building materials are scarce, and the prices for them keep climbing. Therefore, June’s job declines seem more about a lack of supplies to use and workers to employ and less about a lack of demand for projects. 10 AGCSD.ORG
The nonresidential sector—comprising nonresidential building, specialty trades, and heavy and civil engineering contractors—shed 22,600 jobs in June and employed 289,000 fewer workers or 6.2 percent less than in February 2020. But in California the story is a little different than nationally. Statewide in California the number of construction jobs dropped slightly from February 2020 to May 2021 from 891,900 pre-pandemic to 884,500 recently which is about a 1 percent drop in jobs. The Los Angeles area has shed 3 percent of construction jobs from the start of the pandemic until today. San Francisco’s construction industry has lost about 7 percent of jobs which is more than double the national picture. San Diego has maintained a strong industry through the pandemic, even adding a few positions from 84,000 to 84,100 positions. Despite the ongoing recovery from the pandemic, the construction industry is expected to experience low unemployment with little expectation that the current domestic workforce can alone meet future employment demand. Compounding the workforce challenges in the industry, currently the nation’s immigration system provides the high-tech sector, agricultural businesses, and seasonal employers with options to hire legal, work authorized immigrants however it does not for the construction Industry.
On June 30, the AGC-backed Workforce for an Expanding Economy Act ( https://www.congress. gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4288) was introduced in the House and would allow contractors to hire year-round construction guest workers, who otherwise have no legal immigration avenue; provide industries, like construction, access to new temporary workers while protecting American jobs; and, alleviate incentives for individuals to illegally enter the country. Also, in Washington which seems at time an alternate universe, on July 1, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3684, the INVEST in America Act, a $715 billion federal investment in America’s roads, bridges, transit, passenger rail, and drinking and wastewater infrastructure. AGC lobbied against several of the policies included in the bill. However, its passage in the House is a first step towards enacting record levels of federal investment in infrastructure. It continues to remain unclear how this legislation will intersect with larger infrastructure package negotiations between the White House and the Senate. Also, not clear is who is going to actually construct this new infrastructure in light of the workforce situation.
Public construction spending plunged 8.7 percent year-over-year and 0.2 percent for the month. Among the largest segments, highway and street construction declined 4.3 percent from a year earlier, although spending rose 1.4 percent for the month. Public educational construction decreased 14.2 percent year-over-year and 1.9 percent in May. Spending on transportation facilities fell 10.4 percent over 12 months and 1.9 percent in May. Firms in states that have ended the unemployment supplements have experienced an increase in the number of workers looking for employment. Firms in other parts of the country are still struggling to find qualified workers to hire. In addition, supply chain backups and rising materials prices are also hurting the industry. If the expected infrastructure spending materializes and California figures out how to build more housing, who is going to do the work?
Meanwhile, overall construction spending has declined in recent months, driven by continued drops in non-residential construction activity as firms struggle with supply chain disruptions, rising materials prices and labor shortages, according to an analysis of new federal construction spending data. The data suggests that many construction firms would likely be even busier if only they could find materials for their projects and workers for their teams. Construction spending in May totaled $1.55 trillion at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, a decrease of 0.3 percent from the pace in April, but 7.5 percent higher than the pandemicdepressed rate in May 2020. As has been true for the past several months, residential construction saw year-over-year gains while non-residential construction spending lagged. The residential construction segment climbed 0.2 percent for the month and 28.2 percent year-over-year.
AGCSD.ORG 11
AGC Register at www.agcsd.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
@AGCSanDiego #AGCSanDiego
JOIN US... FALL GOLF CLASSIC OCTOBER 11 @ Country Club of Rancho Bernardo Spend the afternoon on the golf course for this tournament set for 144 players - lunch and dinner included! Registration information available online.
CLC CAR SHOW & MIXER OCTOBER 14
@ AGC Lakeside
Enjoy a fall evening mixer complete with ice-cold beverages, food trucks, and a car show! Registration information available online.
AGC BUILD SAN DIEGO AWARDS @ Hilton San Diego Bayfront NOVEMBER 16 Celebrate the construction industry at this awards luncheon. Registration information available online.
HOLIDAY DINNER DANCE @ Hotel del Coronado DECEMBER 4 An elegant evening full of holiday cheer. Room Block is Open! Go to https://book.passkey.com/go/AGCAHolidayParty2021 and mention the group code AGCA. Or call: 1-800-468-3533 Registration information coming soon!
94TH ANNUAL MEETING @ Noble House Mission Bay DECEMBER 16 Annual CEO overview, Board of Directors voting, and a special presenter. 12
Registration information coming soon!
AGCSD.ORG 13
AGC CHAPTER NEWS New AGC Building from Concept to Reality By Eddie Sprecco, CEO
Four years ago, in 2017, the concept for a larger space for the AGC Apprenticeship & Construction Training Programs was presented at the AGC Board of Directors planning retreat. The AGC training program had grown to one of the largest open shop apprenticeship programs in the United States and more space was needed to continue to offer world class construction craft training. The need, and planning, for a new facility pre-dates 2017. From the year 2000 through 2020, the number of graduates from AGC’s seven craft programs grew from 22 to 230, per year! With a yearly enrollment of 900 apprentices, the 23,000 square foot San Diego office at Ferris Square was insufficient to meet the growing need for skilled labor in the construction industry. Once the AGC Board of Directors and Apprenticeship Training Trust agreed to move forward in January of 2018, the next step was to find a suitable piece of land to build on, with the right zoning and centrally located in San Diego County. Up stepped longtime AGC member Mr. Jim Furby of Lakeside Land Company who provided AGC a property at below market value situated in the heart of San Diego County’s growing construction hub in Lakeside. Having found the perfect site, the design work began in earnest under the AGC Building Oversight Committee – a group composed of AGC Board Members and Apprenticeship Trustees. After a competitive process, the Committee selected Ware Malcomb Architects, and after sketching the initial site layout, made the recommendation to move the entire AGC operation – Apprenticeship and Chapter Education – to the proposed Lakeside facility. With the project coming into shape, the next difficult task was to select a contractor from the hundreds of qualified AGC San Diego members! A Request for Proposals was distributed, and the Building Oversight Committee prequalified a list of contractors ready, willing, and able to perform the work – and drew one from a hat! Barnhart-Reese Construction was the lucky recipient of the most highprofile project in the AGC universe. In the fall of 2018, AGC submitted plans to the County of San Diego for a 44,000 square foot Headquarters and Training Center on Riverford Road in Lakeside. After some design tweaks and procedural hurdles cleared, the AGC held a formal groundbreaking in November of 2019 – attended by the AGC Members, Board of Directors, Apprenticeship Trustees, Elected Officials, and Community Leaders. 14 AGCSD.ORG
Little did we know what 2020 would bring…The project team juggled the COVID-19 challenges of new safety requirements, material shortages, and uncertainties of County approval processes under changing COVID protocol. In the end, the project was completed on time and on budget and AGC operations began in October of 2020. The Ferris Square facility in San Diego is still in operation and houses the AGC Government Affairs Offices, as well as the AGC Fall Protection and Confined Space Training Campus. The previous downstairs apprenticeship training center now houses the Western Electrical Contractors Association (WECA) Apprenticeship Program, as part of a collaboration between WECA and AGC to facilitate collaboration and inter-craft training found nowhere else in the industry. While COVID restrictions have kept us from utilizing both buildings as planned, the technology and additional space of the new facility has enabled remote learning and social distancing required for inperson meetings and education. Now, with COVID restrictions easing, AGC is ready to formally invite the AGC members and community leaders to a ribbon cutting on September 10, 2021 – the successful culmination of a 4-year planning and building process. Many people contributed to the success of this project – too many to be named here - and they will be recognized at the ribbon cutting and forever inscribed on the building that will serve as the new home of the San Diego construction industry for generations to come.
AGCSD.ORG 15
APPRENTICESHIP AGC Apprenticeship Training Program Implements Technology at New Lakeside Training Facility By Glenn Hillegas, Apprenticeship Executive Vice President
The AGC Apprenticeship is conducting all San Diego County training at the new AGC East County Facility in Lakeside. The facility replaces the two training buildings in Sorrento Mesa, along with the former training land at Director’s Place. The training property currently being used for heavy equipment is still being maintained in eastern El Cajon. The new 43,600 sq. ft. AGC East County facility accommodates office space for the AGC San Diego Chapter and the Apprenticeship administration staff, nine state-of-the-art training rooms and over 16,000 sq. ft of high-ceiling warehouse/shop training space. The large shop and the numerous training rooms have easily accommodated proper COVID social distancing needs. The new facility also has an open-land training area to help accommodate a variety of field construction activities. Technology in the East County Facility is state of the art. All training rooms have large touch-display units with high-end sound systems. The training room technology also allows an instructor to simulcast any lesson to distance learners.
16 AGCSD.ORG
The Apprenticeship has invested in four heavy equipment training simulators that allow operator trainees to receive supplemental technical hands-on training, in addition to their live equipment instruction and practice. The simulators provide constant objective feedback while various operations are performed. The new equipment operator simulators are greatly enhancing heavy equipment operator training. Each simulator has the capability to transform into six different types of equipment: excavators, dozers, wheel loaders, backhoe loaders, motor graders and articulated dump trucks. For example, a simulator running dozer scenarios with dozer controls can be changed to wheel loader controls and wheel loader software within minutes. The simulator training activities are very realistic, and the performance reports help to guide instruction. Apprentice in-seat “stick-time” practice is now increased. The simulators are also able to provide a detailed assessment report of any journeyperson’s or apprentice’s skill at any point in time. The large Lakeside shop training area has been providing enough training space to allow proper COVID social distancing in live craft classes. It is possible to run two sections of any hands-on craft classes to allow for social distancing. The shop area is also large enough to provide tool and material storage for all seven crafts offered by the Appprenticeship program. All craft classes have been 100% live (no virtual) and there have been no COVID outbreaks in the past 18 months. The AGC Lakeside facility has an open-land training area on-site. The dirt training space provides the opportunity to conduct outdoor training such as, trenching, trench shoring and trenching safety, concrete forming, footings and foundations, curb and gutter, concrete placement and finishing, concrete form systems, demolition, rigging, small equipment training, etc. The training space also accommodates four equipment storage containers and all materials for the cement mason, laborer, and concrete/form carpenter craft classes. Heavy Equipment training remains at the east El Cajon property. If you would like more information about the AGC Apprenticeship training programs or the AGC East County Training facility, then please feel free to call the Apprenticeship at (858) 558-0739.
AGCSD.ORG 17
NEW WEBSITE AGC San Diego Launches New Website and Member Portal By Kellie Korhonen, Digital Communications and Technology Manager
In late June, you might have noticed a new look to the AGC San Diego website as we launched a streamlined and responsive website that works on both the computer and mobile phones, features a new event and class registration system, and Member Portal. If you haven’t visited agcsd.org lately - check it out today! The website is part of a new backend digital infrastructure that provides the staff more tools to help manage the membership and provides new features for our members when accessing our new Member Portal. One of the new features is a robust online Member Directory which includes a variety of search features and listing features for members as a part of our new Member Portal. The online Member Directory includes listings for Certified Business, CSI codes and our directory of Service Providers. You can find the Member Directory on the website top menu under Member Services. The Member Directory is a membership benefit, so to view search results members will need to login to the new Member Portal. Another feature is our updated Event and Class Registration calendar and registration system. The event calendar features three views: a monthly calendar, a weekly calendar, and a list by month view. The calendar can be searched by date, or you can choose the event type under the “Filter by Event Type” to see just AGC Events or our Safety Training classes. To receive member pricing on our classes, please use the “log in” option at the top of the class registration page to login to the Member Portal. How do I get access to the Member Portal? Visit AGC San Diego website, on the top menu find “Login” and then choose “Member login” from the drop-down menu, this will take you to a page where you enter your company email and click on the “forgot your password?” link. Complete the information to receive the password reset to login to your account. We might not have you in our system yet, so if you receive this error "A user with that email was not found," please complete the Member Portal Login Form to be added: https://www.agcsd.org/requestmember-login.html If you have any additional questions about the Member Portal, you can email the staff at memberportal@agcsd.org Over the next few months, we will be rolling out self-service features to the membership including: • Online Member Directory listing updates • Updating listings under “Certified Business” • News and information tailored to your membership If you have additional questions or looking for something on the website you can’t find, please email Kellie Korhonen at kellie@agcsd.org 18 AGCSD.ORG
AGCSD.ORG 19
AGC COMMITTEE UPDATE What’s Happening at AGC San Diego! By AGC San Diego Chapter Staff
AGC is a committee-driven association that relies on the councils and committees to act as the creative arm for the industry. We have 22 committees which includes our five councils, eight industry relations committees and eight general committees that cover topics from government relations to safety. When an AGC member participates in one of these committees, they will play a key role in coming up with new ideas, new concepts and new programs that positively affect the industry as a whole and each company individually. Employees of all member companies are encouraged to participate on AGC committees. If you are interested in joining a committee, please sign up at https://www.agcsd.org/committeevolunteer-form.html Here is a quick update from our committees:
COUNCILS
Affiliate Members Council The Affiliate Council assisted with a successful Affiliate Day Golf Tournament in August. Council members have also focused on their mentor program with new Affiliate members, inviting them to attend meetings and events. Affiliate mentors become that go-to person for new members. They provide guidance and help identify resources for them within the AGC. Construction Leadership Council (CLC) The CLC is planning the upcoming fall CLC Car Show & Mixer set for October 14, 2021, at the Lakeside office. The committee was able to meet in June for a committee Happy Hour and visited the SDSU Mission Valley West site for a job site tour in August. 20 AGCSD.ORG
Engineering & General Contractors Council (EGCC) The EGCC’s mission continues to be to represent engineering contractors within the AGC by being a clearing house of information on industry specific issues, directing AGC liaison staff, and elevating major initiatives to the AGC Board of Directors for action. Some specific areas of focus are to continue to implement improvements at local agencies and to maintain an eye on programs, such as SLBE/ DBE, to look for opportunities to partner with elected officials on making industry supported changes to these programs to make them more effective. General Building Contractors Council Met jointly with Public Building and Engineering & General Contractors Council in February and heard a presentation on SDSU’s development of the Mission Valley site (formerly Qualcomm Stadium). Specialty Contractors Council Like the Affiliate Council, the Specialty Contractors Council have a similar mentor program, but with new Subcontractors and General Contractor members. This year, the council is also delving into how they can support the AGC mission statement in their meetings and activities. Read the AGC Vision and Mission at https://www. agcsd.org/about.html
INDUSTRY RELATIONS COMMITTESS
Airport Authority Liaison The Airport Authority Liaison met in April and July to discuss the Airport Development Plan, operations at Lindbergh Field during COVID-19, Airport Support Facilities, procurement, and other Capital Improvement Projects.
Caltrans Liaison Caltrans has issued guidance to the districts on writing change orders for handling treated wood waste, which became classified as hazardous material on January 1 and compensating contractors for the extra costs. They have also issued guidance for writing change orders to compensate contractors for providing positive protection for workers on foot in lane closures. There is on-going discussion about Caltrans changing the standards for temporary concrete barrier which will require contractors to sell or dispose of miles of existing barrier sitting in yards across the state. City of San Diego Liaison The City has had on-going issues with effectively closing out projects, and thus having a large backlog of contracts that are still open causing problems financially- and liability-wise for contractors. AGC has been working with the City staff to revise their processes for approving change orders, giving the mayor more authority to approve them which speeds up payments to contractors. Getting paid for emergency contracts continues to be a thorny issue. County of San Diego Liaison Asphalt concrete testing has been a continuing issue as we suspect that some acceptance testing for it has significant variability among testers which is causing delays and disputes for contractors. The County is in the process of making a major revision to their specs this summer. NAVFAC Liaison NAVFAC met in June with Captain Oestereicher on various issues including cybersecurity, source selection, modifications, and material price escalation. Federal Contractors Convention is set for November 9 and 10 in Washington D.C. Details and registration can be found here: https:// fedcon.agc.org/
Public Building Liaison Committee met in April with Dennis Astl, Manager, Construction & Facilities Planning, at Palomar College, who provided an update on the $694 million Proposition M bond program. He noted the Master Plan projects that have been completed/yet to be completed and highlighted three remaining large projects to be completed with most of the remaining $15 million in bond funds: Athletics, Fallbrook Building, and Student Services Retention Center. Water Authority Liaison The Water Authority continues to put out relatively small projects to rehab, update, or add to the County’s water supply system. They are in the planning stages of a pipeline project from the Colorado River to San Diego County to bypass the Metropolitan Water District system in the Los Angeles area. This project is still eight to nine years away, but could be a multi-billion-dollar decade long set of construction projects.
COMMITTEES
Build & Serve Charitable Alliance Since the beginning of the year when COVID restrictions were still in place, the committee decided on organizing several drives rather than in-person volunteering. These drives included an Electronic Drive for Computer 2 Kids, a Baby Drive for Support the Enlisted Project (STEP) for military families, and the AGC Annual Blood Drive located at 16 AGC member hosts. The Build & Serve Committee also completed a “build” project for Wish Kid Nora through Make-A-Wish who wished for a Backyard Makeover/Outdoor Theatre.
Port District Liaison The Port suffered serious setbacks in revenue from their tenants due to the shutdown orders during the pandemic. Much of their infrastructure work has been delayed. Some of their staff had to be laid off. The Chula Vista Bayfront project is continuing to move forward. AGCSD.ORG 21
Construction Education & Training Committee The committee has been working on the Build San Diego workforce development website for launch this fall. During quarterly meetings they receive updates from the Apprenticeship program, the AGC Education Department and SDSU, along with brainstorming how the committee can help promote workforce development for the industry. Construction Technology Committee During 2021, the Construction Technology committee has been brainstorming how we can help provide AGC members more information about technology advances and tools in construction. Be on the lookout for a Tech Survey this fall to help the committee direct our focus on the AGC member needs related to technology. The committee is also working on a Cybersecurity seminar to help members navigate how to best keep your company information secure. Government Relations Committee The Government Relations Committee met in March and July and heard from AGC’s Legislative Advocate, Felipe Fuentes, on bills of interest in Sacramento. Government Relations continues to monitor Skilled and Trained Workforce requirements, PLAs, the City of SD’s SLBE program, the County’s Subcontractor Transparency measure, and Office of Labor Standards, and SANDAG. Human Resources Practices Committee The HR Committee continues to have in depth meetings on important labor related topics, including workers comp, employee relations, new labor laws and now the COVID regulations dealing with safe distancing, masks, and vaccinations. Meetings & Events Committee Events in 2021 began with a first time ever, virtual Installation of AGC Officers & Member Awards. Our 2021 president, Mike Williamson, and 2020 president, Bill Haithcock, did a wonderful job handling the switch of presenting before a live audience to a virtual audience. We also had to cancel the annual Winter Conference due to COVID concerns. After that though, cases for the
22 AGCSD.ORG
virus dropped dramatically, and we were able to present the following successful events: Spring Conference in Scottsdale Arizona, Spring Golf at Maderas Golf Club, Baseball Bash at Petco Park, Day at the Races at Del Mar, and the popular Affiliate Day Golf Tournament. Planning is moving forward also with the rest of the events this year, including the Build San Diego Awards and the Holiday Dinner Dance. Political Action Committee The PAC met in May and recommended endorsement of Supervisor Jim Desmond for re-election to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, as well as other races of interest. Safety Committee AGC San Diego safety committee has had a busy “virtual” year so far. From talks and discussions on topics ranging from current trends to COVID enforcement and compliance the committee and its members have helped to share wisdom and resources together to help construction industry. Guest speakers this year have included state of the art eco-friendly and recycled hearing protection, governing entities, and compliance officers. Through our good catch and best practice program valuable insight has been gained and shared by all. With such a vast range of committee members from general contractors to insurance agents everyone helps to participate and share the first-hand knowledge that can be passed on and to ensure safety is being held as number one within not only the office but also on the field.
AGCSD.ORG 23
AGC's Blood Drive
A Huge Success!
478 PINTS
448 Pints Collected for the San Diego Blood Bank and 30 Pints for LifeStream = 478 TOTAL! AGC would like to thank its members and board members who showed their support by donating during the AGC's 11th Annual Blood Drive.
The SUPER HEROES of the Blood Drive were the Member Hosts and Site Coordinators, who worked hard in preparing, promoting, and executing the drive!
24 AGCSD.ORG
AGC Member Host
Site Coordinator(s)
Sherwood Mechanical
Bob Bridges
Dynalectric
Elizabeth Dudley
Condon-Johnson
Jessica Vesco
Sundt
Elizabeth Tague, Lamia Porter
Erickson-Hall - Riverside via LifeStream
Julia Hope
Acme Safety & Supply
Doreen Kuehler
Countywide Mechanical
Connie Valencia
C.W. Driver
Leanne Loera
Erickson-Hall - Garden Grove
Julia Hope
Hawthorne Cat
Sheri Hansen, Courtney Palmer
Balfour Beatty
Bambi Schulman, Corie Ortega, Megan Lucey
Erickson-Hall - Escondido
Julia Hope
TC Construction
Sandy Weeks, Heather Yambrovich
Swinerton
Tori Saynorath, Holly Robertson
PCL Construction
Morghan Heim
AGC
Marcy Knopman
AGCSD.ORG 25
EDUCATION Construction Project Management: Take Your Career to the Next Level By Becca Schaffer, Education & Safety Marketing Manager The AGC's Construction Project Management 26-week Certificate Program prepares students for professional employment in the industry while teaching them the skills to further their education for career advancement. Everyone agrees that a construction project manager must provide strong leadership skills. Project Managers are responsible for the overall planning and control of the project. They deal with critical issues daily, ensuring the project is completed to the satisfaction of the project owner, the company, and the authorities having jurisdiction. They must also have excellent understanding of time management, financials, public safety, quality issues, technical knowledge, human resources, and other issues. Successful construction managers demonstrate following skills: • Leadership and supervision • Decision-making • Delegating Responsibilities • Problem-solving • Planning and scheduling • Budgeting, Cost estimating and Analysis • Contract Administration
the
These skills are the fundamentals of the AGC’s Construction Project Management Certificate Program launching into its 16th year in 2022. This certificate program is designed for new Project Managers, Project Foreman, Engineers or Superintendents. It provides participants a valuable opportunity to learn from a diverse group of industry leaders about how they have achieved success and how they continue to progress in this ever-changing industry. To date, over 420 students have graduated the program and earned their certificate. The program is facilitated by Paul Stout, a contractor that has become one of the best construction educators in the country. Those successfully completing the course will be the guests of the AGC at our Installation Dinner each January as they receive their certificates in front of over 400 AGC San Diego members. Registration is now LIVE for the 2022 AGC's Construction Project Management 26-week Certificate Program. Visit https://web.agcsd.org/events and go to February 2022 to find the class listing and register today! 26 AGCSD.ORG
Five Scholarships Available for the AGC Construction Project Management Certificate Program The AGC San Diego Chapter will be offering five full-ride scholarships for the 20222023 session of the AGC Construction Project Management Certificate Program. Any individual candidate can apply, if their company is a current AGC San Diego Chapter Member in good standing. Scholarships will be awarded for the following: • Three Scholarships designated to an individual employed by an AGC San Diego member company (in good standing) • One Scholarship to be designated to Military Personnel (active, discharged, retired) • One Scholarship to be designated to San Diego State University J.R. Filanc Construction Engineering and Management Program graduate Who is eligible to apply? • Any individual candidate looking to continue their education and/or advance their career by demonstrating the desire to provide current employer added value. • Must have written consent of employer to attend the PM Training Program • Requirement: Be employed by an AGC San Diego member company in good standing. Download Application: https://bit.ly/2021-PMScholarship Scholarship applications are due September 30, 2021. If you have questions regarding the application or review process, please contact Kellie Korhonen at kellie@agcsd.org or call at 858-558-7444 ext. 208.
CNV CONTRACTOR NEWS & VIEWS
HAVE A
BIDDING OPPORTUNITY?
We can get the word out!
Leverage the strength of Contractor News & Views – Southern California’s Leading Construction Magazine – when it comes to getting contractors, small businesses and suppliers in the know about your project.
(760) 466-7790 | info@contractor-news.com www.contractor-news.com
AGCSD.ORG 27
Baseball0
BASH
28 AGCSD.ORG
June 17, 2021 Sponsored By: Swinerton and Finch, Thornton & Baird, LLP
AGCSD.ORG 29
La Joll Family Ho-use SEPT.7 throu�h .24
Collection Drive About La Jolla Family House
Opened October 2020, the La Jolla Family House at UC San Diego Health provides a haven of HOPE and COMFORT for families with a loved one in long-term or critical care.
The AGC Build & Serve Charitable Alliance
is collecting needed items for the La Jolla Family House, which could not have come at a better time since they have officially hit 100% occupancy.
How can YOU help?
Collect items at your office from the WISH LIST, then drop off at one of our three locations by Friday, Sept. 24.
WISH LIST: PANTRY GOODS Canned Soup, Mac & Cheese, Pasta/Sauce. Rice, Individually Wrapped Snacks (fruit snacks, chips, granola bars, etc.)
TOILETRIES Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Lotion, Shaving Cream, Disposable Shavers, Toothbrush/Toothpaste
MISC. ITEMS
·\�
Blank Journal, Coloring Book (adult & children}, Crayons, Colored Pencils, and Markers � �-...v·
��-�
�_fl
AGCSD.ORG 31
Affiliate
GOLF August 6, 2021 At Singing Hills Golf Resort at Sycuan Title Sponsors: Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. Moss Adams LLP
It's Good Business to do Business with an AGC Member
Skill • Integrity • Responsibility
Building Your Quality of Life
34 AGCSD.ORG
WWL 308B, STA 12+35 BORE PIT 13'x34' PIT, 16' DEEP
18'-HIGH LINEAR POST PS-OSP-236 (TYP)
ENGINEERING
20'x8' PS-P-820-XH SLIDE RAIL PANELS
12'x8' PS-P-820-XH
SLIDE RAIL PANELS
PLAN VIEW
RENTALS
NATIONAL
SALES
TRENCH SAFETY
ENGINEERING TRAINING
"THE TRENCH & TRAFFIC SAFETY SPECIALISTS"
SERVICE
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 888 234 9244 WITH A NATIONWIDE BRANCH NETWORK, WE'RE WHEREYOU NEED US TO BE
WWW" NTSAFETY." COM
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE
PAID
GARDENA, CA PERMIT # 40
AGC Apprenticeship Program
The AGC Apprenticeship Program is sponsored by the AGC San Diego Chapter and serves all five counties of Southern California. The program is designed to meet the needs of open shop contractors who want to train apprentices on State of California public works projects, federal and private construction projects throughout California.
Features of the program include: • • • •
Approved by the State Division of Apprenticeship Standards and Federal Department of Labor Provides a combination of practical, in-the-field training and classroom instruction Program graduates are certified by the state of California, Federal Department of Labor, and the AGC of America Offering training in crafts such as: carpentry, cement masonry, drywall lathering and finishing, heavy equipment operating and painting
For more information, go to www.agcsdatt.org