San Antonio Construction News • APRIL 2018
Page 3
The birth of a new company
Deregulation coming to the electrical industry
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Elizabeth Chavez in front of the Santa Rosa Street Bridge
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ince 2012, Elizabeth Yetman Chavez has been making a name for herself in the construction industry. She did this by starting her first company, ARS Specialty Contractors, a firm specializing in concrete and industrial coatings. Two years later, she added a division to ARS specializing in the installation of gypsum underlayment and lightweight concrete – which has given rise to the birth of her newest company, Garren Construction. Chavez founded Garren Construction in 2017. “We are hoping to grow Garren into a general contracting firm whereas our other divisions have been specialty contracting,” says Chavez. “Having just obtained our 8a status in June 2017, we are hoping to use the 8a as a tool to help make that happen.” Garren was awarded their first contract working on the San Pedro Creek improvements project for Sundt/Davila re-
habbing three bridges in downtown San Antonio. “This contract is our first foray into the general contracting world. We are rehabbing three bridges in downtown, the Santa Rosa St., Martin St., and Travis St. bridges. This is work we have never done before. We got into a road and bridge line of work that we were unfamiliar with before but definitely built some great relationships with some subcontractors and got to know a lot about the road and bridge business. “The future is bright for Garren and there is no telling where we will go. We are hoping to build on what we have done with this contract. If you had told me three years ago I was going to be a bridge builder, I would have never believed you, but sometimes you never know where growth is going to take you.” Garren Construction in a new general contracting firm specializing in road and bridge construction in San Antonio. -cmw
n keeping with the current trend of cutting burdensome governmental regulations and red tape, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently announced that the National Electrical Code (NEC) will be eliminated soon. The NEC has been in existence since 1897 and is normally updated every three years, 2017 being the latest update. But after a cost-review analysis, it was determined that 2017 will be the last revision to the textbook for all things electrical. The expected savings in not only eliminating the code book, as well as all regulations, is estimated to be $247 million dollars annually. “We feel this move will not only save money in the long run,” E.Z. Hertz, spokesman for the NFPA said, “but it will free up the local electrician in the field and their companies to be more flexible in meeting customers’ needs.” Some, however, view this new direction by the NFPA as detrimental to the public’s well-being and safety. “This is nuts,” one local general electrical contractor, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “Without the NEC, every Tom, Dick and Harry electrician will be able to basically wing it when it comes to wiring someone’s house or business. Who knows what type of electrical work they will do in order to cut corners and save a dime?” Still, others see this as a lifesaver when it comes to being able to do a job more quickly and efficiently. “I can’t wait,” said Moby Short, an independent electrician. “All those rules and regulations were making a simple job 10 times more complicated, not to mention costly. Now, I can lower my bids, which will make it easier to compete for jobs.”
A random phone survey of local electrical companies seems to echo this sentiment. “Why should some bureaucrat in an office somewhere dictate to me how I should be doing my business?” contractor Jose Watt asked. “I know how to wire a home.” The NFPA also announced that its last code change will be to eliminate the color of electrical wiring. Instead of having differing colors like red, green, white or black, all wires will now be blue. The purpose, the NFPA said, it to not discriminate against a person who wants to become an electrician who happens to be color blind. Any new policy change, especially one of this magnitude, is sure to cause some people to blow a fuse. We will have to see how eliminating the electrical code standards plays out and say, “April Fools.” -dsz