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FTBAâ€™S OFFICIAL PUBLICATION Summer 2020

TRANSPORTATION BUILDER

Managing Business During a Global Pandemic Employee Safety and Health Issues

The Future of Surety Bonds

Technology Advances in Construction

Know Your Bid Protest Rights

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Summer 2020

CONTENTS 10

FEATURES

COVER

Managing Business During a Global Pandemic

Return-to-Work Safety and Health Issues for Contractors By Phillip B. Russell and Dee Anna D. Hays

Preparing for a Potential “Hard” Surety Market By Robert P. O’Linn

anaging Worker Fatigue in a VUCA World: Volatility, Uncertainty, M Complexity And Ambiguity Shroud The Industry

See stories on pages 10, 14, 16

By Hal Rabbino and Jeffrey Bradshaw

DEPARTMENTS

Innovation in Construction Technology By Ron Perkins

Technology Advances Make Industry More Efficient By Greg Gutkowski

7 President’s Message:

Social Distancing and Our Economic Future By Ananth Prasad, FTBA President

Bid Protests: Know The Rules So You Don’t Lose Your Rights

9 Update from the Chairman:

By Megan M. Warren

The Next Generation: The Impact of Tampa Construction Career Days

Amplifying Our Voice During Trying Times By A.J. de Moya, The de Moya Group

By Cody Smith

Workforce Development at Its Best

32 Welcome, New FTBA Members

By Sharlene Francois Lairscey

nderstanding 2020 Environmental Resources Legislation and U Potential Impacts on Transportation By Jeff Littlejohn, P.E. and Mark Thomasson, P.E.

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Advertiser Index

Florida Transportation Builders Association 1007 E. DeSoto Park Drive Tallahassee, FL 32301 Phone: (850) 942-1404 Fax: (850) 942-5632 info@ftba.com

Executive Committee Chairman A.J. de Moya The de Moya Group President Ananth Prasad FTBA Chairman-Elect Henry Mayfield M of Tallahassee, Inc. Secretary-Treasurer Keith Waugh Leware Construction Company

Immediate Past Chairman Bob Schafer Ranger Construction Industries, Inc. Directors Foster Bachschmidt D.A.B. Constructors, Inc. Kevin Hicks Gator Grading & Paving LLC Scott Pittman Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC

Member News

Have a story idea? Best practices to share? Please email Jill Andreu, Editor, at jandreu@thewymancompany.com Published by:

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Florida Transportation Builder is the official publication of the Florida Transportation Builders Association. All rights reserved. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced without permission of FTBA and The Wyman Company.

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President’s Message

Social Distancing and Our Economic Future

n just a few short weeks, the world that we live in changed dramatically! We went from a thriving economy and record-low unemployment numbers in Florida to putting brakes on everything. Our society was asked to be socially distant, and the economy around the world paused. It is anybody’s guess as to what the recovery looks like or how long it may take. However, there is no disputing the fact that impacts in Florida could be deep and far reaching.

ANANTH PRASAD

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are unclear, and all eyes will be on the state’s economists and the Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) meetings, which now will meet monthly instead of quarterly to give us some sense of the state’s financial health.

I am thankful to the leadership of Gov. Ron DeSantis and his team during these extraordinary times, and I take comfort in the fact that his measured and thoughtful leadership coupled with the Florida Legislature setting aside record reserves of $4 billion in the upcoming fiscal year will help blunt the impact that Florida will see. Meanwhile, the Florida Legislature went extra innings and concluded its legislative session by passing the budget of $93.2 billion for the next fiscal year. The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are unclear, and all eyes will be on the state’s economists and the Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) meetings, which now will meet monthly instead of quarterly to give us some sense of the state’s financial health. As to the budget that was passed, FDOT’s budget saw an increase of $368.5 million for a total of $10.3 billion with $9.3 billion toward the Transportation Work Program. As REC tallies the actual receipts of gas tax, other fees, and tolls that make up the State Transportation Trust Fund, FDOT is required by law to have a financially constrained budget that will result in projects getting deferred from the next fiscal year to outer years to address revenue shortfalls. FDOT will have to take these steps regardless of what the Florida Legislature does.

That brings us to the next question of economic stimulus. Time and time again, an infrastructure stimulus package has been one of the go-to-remedies for an ailing economy, both at the national and the state level. Maybe this crisis will result in the much-needed structural fixes to the federal Highway Trust Fund to make it solvent and provide for a one-time infusion of funds. Stay tuned! As we closed the book on the 2020 legislative session, not much was achieved as to our priorities because of various reasons – some technical, some philosophical and some pure politics. I can’t thank Rep. Alex Andrade (R) enough for his tireless efforts to get his bill (HB 395) passed in the House (which he did) and to have the Senate take his bill and pass it. Unfortunately, the bill died in the Senate for reasons unknown to me. We will reboot our priorities again next year and have already laid the groundwork with future Senate leadership to achieve a better outcome. Here’s to hoping that, by the time you are reading this, things are getting back to normal where we are not socially distant, the economy is starting to rev up, and that there is a vaccination in sight for COVID-19. God bless America!

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Chairman’s Update

Amplifying Our Voice During Trying Times

A.J. DEMOYA THE DEMOYA GROUP

Note: As this message is heading to press, our state and nation face another great challenge with social and race relations. A single action of an officer and the tragic death of George Floyd has ignited the flames in society and has led to nationwide protests and riots in major cities. My belief is that we need to restore pride in our country among the young and disenfranchised. We are all Americans first, and we need to unite as one America.

his year has brought so many challenges for all of us. Our businesses have changed, our personal lives have changed, and the world we live in certainly has changed. The word “pivot” has been used so much that it has become a cliché way to describe how we made this pandemic challenge workable – both for our businesses and at home. Months of social distancing, virtual meetings/schooling, and an economic roller coaster forced us all to change normal routines and cope with something we have not experienced in our lifetimes. What most impressed me during this time was an incredible spirit of teamwork and knowledge sharing. Once again, our association established itself as an incredibly valuable resource, immediately scheduling webinars and posting checklists, SBA relief options, CDC and OSHA updates and more on www.ftba.com. Our state also made great teamwork strides when Gov. Ron DeSantis tapped representatives of so many industries – from printing to professional sports to education – to be part of his Re-Open Florida Task Force. I was fortunate to be part of the Task Force’s Tourism, Construction, Real Estate, Recreation, Retail and Transportation Industry Working Group as FTBA’s representative. What an experience. So many individuals within our industry provided information and ideas that I was able to contribute to the task force. It was a great opportunity to represent our industry and our state.

On our behalf, some of the constructionspecific challenges and recommendations to the Task Force were: 1. How do we keep our construction workforce working? With many private sector projects shut down or cancelled, contractors and their employees are facing extreme pressure. Our construction workforce was decimated during the recession 10 years ago, and many workers never returned to the industry. We cannot afford to lose those workers again, particularly with the state’s accelerating population growth. The Governor and FDOT understood this dilemma and have kept our industry working as essential businesses. 2. What can FDOT do to maintain employment for construction workers? FDOT implemented a workforce development program to encourage contractors to hire and train workers impacted by COVID-19. Moving forward, we recommend that FDOT use bid finance to accelerate projects in the five-year work program and issue short-term financing and debt (such as issuance of Garvee Bonds, Right-of-Way and Bridge Bonds). Florida can’t rely on the federal government and must act locally to keep our economy going. 3. How does the government promote work rather than unemployment? Tax savings and/or incentives must be provided for people to return to work and employers that continue to maintain their workforce.

This practice is much more economical for the government in the long run and better for society. Currently, a laid-off minimum wage worker earns $830 a week with state and federal unemployment programs. This wage is more than the starting pay for FHP officers and most teachers in Florida. We must promote that laid-off workers return to work. 4. How do we rebound quickly from COVID-19 and allow businesses get back to work without the risk of frivolous lawsuits? Florida should pass legislation that protects our businesses from frivolous COVID-19 lawsuits. Many employers are not comfortable bringing workers back – especially into large office buildings – not due to safety, because we are following proper protocols, but due to liability issues. There must be protections in place for businesses to resume operations and get our economy back to 100 percent. As an industry and an association, we are grateful that Gov. DeSantis accelerated timelines on roadbuilding projects throughout the state. I also am personally thankful for the work of so many fellow FTBA members and industry colleagues who worked together to keep us and our workforce safe, secure and thriving during these challenging times. As we move into the second half of 2020, we all must remember that everyone is working diligently to do the right thing. Not just for our industry, but for our state. WWW.FTBA.COM

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Return-to-Work Safety and Health Issues for Contractors BY PHILLIP B. RUSSELL AND DEE ANNA D. HAYS, SHAREHOLDERS OGLETREE, DEAKINS, NASH, SMOAK & STEWART, P.C. 10

FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION BUILDER

irst, let us say, “Thank you!” Thank you for staying in business and surviving (perhaps thriving) through an unprecedented time in our industry, state and nation. We are not only FTBA members, but we believe in business. Business provides jobs, opportunity, and in our industry, it provides individuals and families a way to connect with others across the state and nation. Roads and bridges matter, your businesses matter, and the jobs you have helped create and sustain matter. We have been honored to support and guide you as best we can through webinars, updates, phone calls, e-mails, and even a few in-person meetings (properly distanced, of course!). We will continue to support you and your business now and as this crisis and its impacts linger. Thank you for also keeping your employees safe and healthy. Our industry was not hit as hard by COVID-19 infections or deaths and remains a low-risk industry during the pandemic and its aftermath. Yet, FTBA members stepped up, led by the heart of our industry and many, many experienced and determined safety directors and professionals serving contractors and employees. The COVID-19 pandemic posed novel workplace safety and health legal issues for employers in the industry and nation. The transportation construction industry was deemed “essential” and continued to operate, but not at full strength and with new workplace safety and health challenges we never faced. Federal, state and local governments issued executive orders that affected contractors and employees in ways we have never experienced. Even when your operations have fully resumed, contractors will remain concerned about workplace safety and health in new ways. Many protocols implemented immediately before and during the COVID-19 outbreak will remain relevant as operations fully resume. Before determining what safety measures to implement, employers should evaluate the most recent guidance from the CDC, OSHA, the EEOC, local health departments and other government authorities. ARTBA and FTBA also have continued to provide industry-specific suggestions and best practices.

What Does OSHA Require? General standards. OSHA does not have a specific standard or regulation that requires employers to take any particular actions regarding COVID-19. However, employers must

comply with Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act (the “general duty clause”) that requires employers to maintain a “workplace that is free from recognized hazards.” Employer risk categories and our industry. OSHA has issued guidance for employers regarding COVID-19, which divides employers into risk categories. Most job sectors have a low risk of exposure. Notably, construction employers are not in the medium or high-risk categories. Nonetheless, OSHA issued a series of tips tailored to construction work to help reduce the risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Besides encouraging workers to stay home if they are sick and implementation of the usual measures regarding personal protective equipment, in “COVID-19 Guidance for the Construction Workforce,” OSHA recommends that construction employers take these actions: • “Allow workers to wear masks over their nose[s] and mouth[s] to prevent them from spreading the virus.” • “Advise workers to avoid physical contact with others, and direct employees/contractors/ visitors to increase personal space to at least six feet, where possible.” Even in work trailers, “workers should maintain social distancing.” • “Keep in-person meetings (including toolbox talks and safety meetings) as short as possible, limit the number of workers in attendance, and use social distancing practices.” • “Encourage workers to cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, and to follow other forms of what OSHA calls “respiratory etiquette.” • “If workers do not have immediate access to soap and water for handwashing, provide alcohol-based hand rubs containing at least 60 percent alcohol.” • “Use Environmental Protection Agency-approved cleaning chemicals from List N or that have label claims against the coronavirus.” • “To the extent tools or equipment must be shared, provide and instruct workers to use alcohol-based wipes to clean tools before and after use.” • “Clean and disinfect portable jobsite toilets regularly. Hand sanitizer dispensers should be filled regularly. Frequently touched items (i.e., door pulls and toilet seats) should be disinfected.” • “Encourage workers to report any safety and health concerns.” OSHA’s guidance is not as detailed as other niche-specific industry recommendations. The only OSHA recommendations actually

specific to the construction industry are those about work trailers, toolbox talks and equipment and tools. ARTBA and FTBA developed much more detailed and helpful best practices and tips for employers, which transportation construction industry employers may find helpful. For example, ARTBA provides more specific practice tips on how to conduct toolbox talks and minimize the number of workers in a vehicle. FTBA’s best practices list suggests no ride sharing, no tool sharing, and conducting job interviews by electronic means. Is OSHA’s guidance “the law?” OSHA’s guidance documents are not legally binding, but they could establish knowledge for an alleged violation or be the foundation of a General Duty Clause violation. Employers may find it helpful to consider guidance from OSHA, and other government health agencies, and specific recommendations from industry associations in determining how best to protect the safety and health of their workers. Recordkeeping requirements. Employers are required under OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation (29 C.F.R. §1904) to record illnesses that are “work related” and meet one of the recording criteria, which include days away from work, job transfer and medical treatment. A work-related illness that meets these criteria must be recorded on the employer’s OSHA Form 300, and a Form 301 also must be completed. An illness is work-related if it is more likely that a factor or exposure in the workplace caused or contributed to the illness. An employee who contracts COVID-19 from a family member or while on a personal trip has not experienced a work-related illness. However, if that employee infects a coworker, the coworker has suffered a work-related illness if one of the recording criteria (e.g., medical treatment or days away from work) is met. OSHA’s recordkeeping regulation exempts the “common cold and flu” from the recordkeeping requirements. However, COVID-19 is not a common cold or flu. OSHA’s guidance states “COVID-19 is a recordable illness when an employee is infected on the job.” OSHA issued enforcement guidance excusing non-healthcare employers from making a difficult “work-related” determination and allowing them to presume there is no work relatedness to an infection when the case involves a single infected employee at WWW.FTBA.COM

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An illness is work-related if it is more likely that a factor or exposure in the workplace caused or contributed to the illness. An employee who contracts COVID-19 from a family member or while on a personal trip has not experienced a work-related illness. However, if that employee infects a coworker, the coworker has suffered a work-related illness if one of the recording criteria (e.g., medical treatment or days away from work) is met. a worksite and no other objective evidence suggests the infection was work-related. Reporting infections. Employers may have to report an employee’s COVID-19 infection to OSHA. If the employee tested positive for COVID-19, the infection is work-related (e.g., the infection was contracted on the job or during business travel), and the infected employee is hospitalized as an inpatient, the hospitalization must be reported to OSHA within 24 hours of the incident. If the infected employee is not hospitalized as an inpatient but dies from the infection, the death must be reported to OSHA if it occurred within 30 days of the work-related incident. Inquire about exposure or vulnerability to COVID-19. Contractors should

consider whether to institute a temporary practice of making inquiries into an employee’s exposure or vulnerability to COVID-19. While some forms of medical inquiries would normally be considered medical examinations (and thus impermissible under the ADA unless job related and consistent with business necessity), the EEOC has issued special guidance about the forms of inquiries permissible in a pandemic. Employers may consider implementing these special measures regarding employees or applicants: • Screening employees for symptoms as updated through CDC guidance; • Checking temperatures, which is an imperfect but permissible means of assessing risk

during this pandemic (keep data and logs confidential); • Sending employees home with COVID-19 or if they are symptomatic; • Asking questions of employees who report to work feeling sick to determine risk levels; and • Requiring all employees to complete a regular recurring questionnaire regarding potential exposure and symptoms. Does OSHA permit employees to refuse to work due to safety concerns? The Occupational Safety and Health Act may protect employees from retaliation when they refuse to perform work as directed. Specifically, an employee may refuse an assignment in an “imminent danger”

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situation, which involves “a risk of death or serious physical harm.” In that circumstance, however, all of these conditions must apply: (1) the employee has “asked the employer to eliminate the danger and the employer failed to do so”; (2) the employee “refused to work in ‘good faith’” (a genuine belief that “an imminent danger exists”); (3) “[a] reasonable person would agree that there is real danger of death or serious injury”; and (4) “[t]here isn’t enough time, due to the urgency of the hazard, to get it corrected through regular enforcement channels, such as requesting an OSHA inspection.” Other legal issues that may arise from an employee’s refusal to work, which could also be protected concerted activity under the National Labor Relations Act. Paid sick leave as a safety measure. On March 18, President Donald Trump signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) in response to the spread of the novel coronavirus and the illness it causes, COVID-19. Among other fiscal packages, the act expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) tempo-

rarily (until the end of December 2020) to cover leave and loss of income when an employee needs to care for children because of school and childcare closures because of COVID-19; and created two weeks of paid sick leave for childcare and other leave related to the coronavirus. Both new laws apply only to certain covered employers (private employers with fewer than 500 employees and governmental agencies). The law became effective on April 1. The sick leave part of the law could be seen as a safety and health requirement for employers. Four of the qualifying reasons for the leave are directly connected to COVID-19 when an employee (1) is subject to a government quarantine or isolation order; (2) has been advised to self-quarantine by a health care provider; (3) is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and is seeking a medical diagnosis; and (4) is caring for an individual subject to a quarantine or isolation order or whose health care provider has advised the individual to selfquarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19. (The fifth reason is related to child care needs and is intended to coordinate

with the paid emergency family leave requirement in the FFCRA. The sixth reason is an undefined “miscellaneous category” that has not been used or explained.) Safety has always been a priority in the transportation construction industry. As employers ramp back up for full operations, employers should remain vigilant and follow CDC and local health department guidance. We also recommend continuing to engage in the industry through the FTBA and ARTBA and help each other with the common goal of protecting worker safety and health.

About the Authors Phillip B. Russell and Dee Anna D. Hays are both boardcertified labor and employment lawyers and shareholders at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. in Tampa. They are frequent FTBA speakers and members of the FTBA Safety Committee. Phillip can be reached at (813) 221-7265, and Dee Anna can be reached at (813) 221-7239.

Never compromise on your values around safety, behavior & culture. Alasdair Cathcart, President Bechtel Group

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BY ROBERT P. O’LINN, ESQUIRE FLORIDA SURETY BONDS, INC.

onstruction backlogs have grown with the expanding economy, and contractors have enjoyed a soft surety market in recent years. The soft market accommodated growth with more flexible rates and underwriting requirements. The fallout from COVID-19 threatens to harden the surety market, but you can still take steps to succeed.

We Know Nothing Lasts Forever, But Who Expected Things to Change So Fast On February 20, 2020, a crowd of construction industry leaders gathered at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida, to hear construction economist Anirban Basu deliver his 2020 economic forecast. Basu was decidedly upbeat about Flori14

da’s economy, which boasts low unemployment and some of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, but he indicated the risk of recession in the next 18 months was the highest since 2007. Basu cited uncertainty in global markets and the upcoming 2020 presidential election as factors pointing toward potential economic pullback. Unbeknownst to all, the stock market was about to drop over 30 percent in a few short weeks1 and tens of millions would lose their jobs as COVID-19 spread across the globe.2 The risk of recession is no longer abstract, and the Congressional Budget Office has revised its forecast, predicting a 5.6 percent decrease in GDP for 2020 and unemployment rising above 14 percent – a level not seen since the 1930s.3

FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION BUILDER

The State of Surety Before COVID-19 The unexpectedly sharp economic downturn comes at a time when contractors in Florida are carrying record backlogs4 and sureties have enjoyed a historic run of profitability stoked by low contractor failure rates and an expanding construction economy. In the past decade, new sureties and reinsurers have piled into the surety market seeking a share of strong profits.5 The increased capacity, competition, and readily available reinsurance created a soft surety market where contractors could obtain bonds on less stringent terms, with lower rates and larger aggregate programs.6 In general, the recent soft surety market allowed contractors to take on larger work programs with less working capital and at lower bond rates than ever. Despite some

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Preparing for a Potential ‘Hard’ Surety Market

large losses in recent years, including catastrophic international surety losses7, the surety market has remained soft. Now there is growing concern that the current economic shock will cause losses to contractors and sureties, causing the surety market to harden, meaning surety credit will be issued on less liberal terms.

We Are Lucky to be in Florida Where Construction Continues, but Surety is Global We are fortunate that Florida’s state leadership recognized construction as an essential service and that many transportation projects have continued uninterrupted, unlike in states like Pennsylvania.8 The surety markets, however, are international. Sureties guarantee projects in all segments of the construction industry around the globe and across the country. Temporary shutdowns and cancellation of construction projects in other areas increase the risk of surety claims when delayed projects resume. Many contractors who have been forced to sit idle during the pandemic or whose cash flows have slowed are still sitting on record backlogs. Contractors with insufficient working capital and limited available bank credit may struggle to remobilize on suspended jobs and prosecute their backlog, especially if they face accelerated schedules. It’s not hard to imagine some surety losses. How sureties will react to those losses remains to be seen, but we expect some sureties will stay the course when underwriting new business, but others will falter. Thankfully you can take steps to protect your surety credit against changes in the surety market.

What Can You Do to Prepare for the Potential Hardening Surety Market? 1. Preserve working capital and raise cash: As you work through your backlog, save as much profit as you can to bolster your balance sheet. Focus on timely collection receivables, since receivables over 90 days are discounted by the surety. Collect related party loans and receivables. Cash is the best asset for a construction company in a hardening market, as sureties discount many other current assets including inven-

tory, related party receivables, and investments in stocks, bonds and other securities. Raise and hold cash. 2. Maximize available bank credit: You’ve probably been in contact with your banker regarding a PPP loan; stay in touch with them and work on getting an increase in your bank line of credit. Explain your plan to retain working capital; your banker should appreciate that you’ll be keeping more cash in the bank than in previous years. If you are already into your bank line of credit, consider getting the balance of the line converted to a term loan. To the extent you drew on your line of credit to cover expenses after the disaster was declared, you might be able to pay down the line with the Federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan of up to $2 million at a 3.75 percent interest rate, and repayment periods of up to 30 years, with the first payment due one year after origination. The loan, however, cannot be used to refinance pre-existing debts or costs that are covered by a PPP loan.9 Refinancing won’t improve your debt-to-net-worth ratio, but it will improve working capital in the short term, lower your interest expense and free up your line of credit for emergency use. 3. Audit your overhead: Whether your work is slowing down or not, having a lean business with low overhead will help protect your balance sheet in the coming months. Equipment is a long-term asset sureties don’t count toward your working capital. If you have excess equipment, selling the redundant equipment for cash makes sense. You may want to rent equipment in the near term. While renting equipment can be a double-edged sword, you get more flexibility and avoid the immediate depletion of working capital that occurs when you pay cash or take on debt to buy equipment. Although unimaginable a few months ago given the limited labor pool, you might consider rightsizing your workforce while retaining key employees, especially if jobs have been cancelled outright. You also might want to implement technologies and modify processes to reduce costs and inefficiencies that you were too busy to address in recent years. 4. Review your contracts: Make sure you understand the force majeure provisions in your existing construction contracts and provide notices concerning COVID-19 if you haven’t already done so. On new contracts, negotiate force majeure provisions that provide time and cost allowances against future

delays due to COVID-19 and other epidemic events in the event of a resurgence in the virus this fall and winter. Have your lawyer look at your insurance policies to see if you can get coverage for any losses you’ve incurred during the pandemic. If you are negotiating private work, be sure to confirm financing on bonded and unbonded jobs. 5. Keep your CPA involved: Successful contractors know the importance of getting timely CPA statements. As the surety market hardens, CPAs continue to be integral in your plans to maximize working capital and ensure timely information flow. 6. Call your surety agent: A surety agent is supposed to be a trusted advisor. Your agent makes sure your needs stay front and center with your surety and can provide specific guidance to keep bonds flowing in a hard surety market.

References 1. www.cnbc.com/2020/03/23/this-was-the-fastest-30percent-stock-market-decline-ever.html 2. www.wsj.com/articles/states-strugglewith-coronavirus-unemployment-claimssurge-11588239004 3. www.cbo.gov/system/files/2020-04/56344CBO-presentation.pdf slide 3 4. ABC Construction Backlog Indicator for South Region reached 11.4 months in December 2019, which was the highest for any region in the last decade. https://abc.org/News-Media/ News-Releases/entryid/17037/abc-s-construction-backlog-indicator-rebounds-in-january 5. www.cavignac.com/wp-content/uploads/Q42017-Construction-Newsletter.pdf 6. www.constructionexec.com/article/2020surety-outlook-capitalizing-on-capacity 7. ontarioconstructionnews.com/ontariocontractors-massive-surety-default-largestloss-in-canadian-history-says-broker; www. constructionexec-pageviewer.com/cem/november_2018/MobilePagedArticle.action?articl eId=1438964#articleId1438964 8. www.post-gazette.com/news/transportation/2020/04/27/PennDOT-COVID-19-restarting-road-projects-May-1-Allegheny-BeaverLawrence-County/stories/202004270130 9. See 13 CFR § 123.303 (b)(1) “loan proceeds may not be used to refinance indebtedness which you incurred prior to the disaster event”

About the Author Robert P. O’Linn, Esquire, is a surety agent at Florida Surety Bonds, Inc., an independent, bondsonly agency in Maitland. Florida Surety Bonds has been helping contractors negotiate competitive surety programs in hard and soft surety markets for over 20 years. He can be reached at (407) 755-6354 or bob@floridasuretybonds.com. WWW.FTBA.COM

Volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity shroud the industry BY HAL RABBINO AND JEFFREY BRADSHAW JMJ ASSOCIATES

he transportation industry has faced many challenges for a long time. Highway safety issues, weather challenges, new regulations, driver training and licensing, and worker fatigue are just a few. These challenges have emerged in a relatively stable environment in which fluctuating demand, demographics and new logistics technologies and practices have been taken on by industry leaders. The sudden emergence of COVID-19 created deepening and unprecedented challenges for all, including the transportation industry, particularly in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis asking

FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION BUILDER

the FDOT to speed road building projects in the state. Today we are operating in a VUCA world of Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity. VUCA in the transportation world means: Volatile: Unreasonable demands across the supply chain. Uncertain: Drivers and workers facing additional stress, worrying about their families and their own exposure and health. Complex: Supply chain interconnectedness causing rapid course corrections due to unprecedented disruptions and uncertain response times from suppliers.

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Managing Worker Fatigue in a VUCA World

Ambiguous: Inconsistent and/or unclear policy changes from government and business heightening the likelihood of miscommunication. As a backbone of the U.S. economy, the transportation industry is a key strategic partner in responding to the massive public health challenges America currently faces. At the time of this writing, we are still unclear of COVID-19’s long-term impact on public health, but we do know that deliveries of food, medical and other critical supplies across the nation will remain urgent, with a chance that the virus will pick up again in the fall. Additionally, as the industry resets for the future after this crisis, that future will be different, too. To keep the supply chain moving, we have seen driver fatigue heightened even further. Many trucking companies already use a plethora of Internet of Things fatigue-monitoring technologies to help guard against fatigue, such as GPS trackers, hours of service electronic logging devices, IoT data analyses systems, and endless smartphone apps marketed to help monitor and minimize driver fatigue. Many such systems are in place with transportation building firms. Rather than relying on these types of systems, a total worker health approach can help organizations better understand the fuller context in which our workers make key decisions that affect delivery and safety performance. There is a need to expand our conversations about worker safety beyond the office or the job site to include the care of our workers 24/7. A more holistic, humancentric view of our workers’ safety and our leadership is needed now and in the future. As enterprise leaders, we need to ask ourselves a question – how will we balance the critical needs of the nation, while still ensuring the health and well-being of our workers who keep the transportation industry functioning? One way is to consider why and how we handle problems. Why is it that, despite our best efforts, worker fatigue is still a major challenge? Why do our technical fixes only work some of the time? What are we missing? We assert that if we do

not take the whole person into account, we will miss critical opportunities to act as leaders. We suggest looking at these challenges from a different perspective. Harvard professor and author Ronald Heifetz suggests that leaders need to consider and effectively address three types of problems, categorized as either Technical or Adaptive challenges: Type I: Technical problems that can be solved within the existing repertoire of tools, skills or behaviors. The problem has a “fix” and there is somebody available who knows how to apply it. (A patient has a broken arm, the doctor diagnoses the problem, sets the bone, and applies a cast. Problem solved.) The weight of problem solving is on the technical expert, rather than the patient. Type II: The problem is definable, but no clear-cut solution is available. Or, there might be a solution available, but it is unknown whether it will work. In this case, the one with the problem must create the solution. Worker fatigue is a Type II problem. Management might have some ideas about what must be done, but ultimately, the worker must change his/her lifestyle; sleeping habits, diet, exercise, stress regulation, and so on. There are some Type I (mechanical) solutions, but ultimate success depends on an adaptive change by the one with the problem. Type III: The problem is not clear-cut, and technical fixes are not readily available. In this case, the leader must induce learning so that the problem can be defined and broken down into both Technical (Type I) and Adaptive (Type II) solutions.1 More of our leadership time, effort and skill needs to be dedicated to addressing Type II problems. Strong leaders will be mindful of four potential obstacles in developing successful solutions to Type II, Adaptive challenges. The first obstacle is knowing how to identify an Adaptive challenge versus a Technical one. A problem is likely Adaptive if it: 1. Returns after being solved one or more times; 2. Challenges the “way we do things here”;

3. Generates internal reporting data reflecting performance of one group that may upset another. (Example, management is responsible for safety results and workers for safety performance); and 4. Written policies are very clear, yet not always followed. Second, once the Adaptive problem is identified, we often miss important participants who must be included in developing the solution. Ask yourself, how often are your workers included, in any meaningful way, in the writing or modification of safety policies that directly impact them? Those impacted by the problem need to be part of the team generating the solution, otherwise it is unlikely to be adopted or accepted. Third, we as leaders often trust that once a solution is developed, the problem will disappear or be taken care of quickly. For technical challenges, this is usually true. For example, apply a new technology for ensuring something is done faster and more efficiently and, after appropriate training, the new technology sticks. Sadly, this is rarely the case for adaptive challenges. They require learning how to solve and resolve for different aspects of the challenge until the new way of working is deeply accepted and embedded in the employee culture. Fourth and final, as enterprise leaders, we are responsible for writing and implementing the policies and procedures that our employees are supposed to follow. In stable times, we spend a lot of time here. In a VUCA world, taking on Adaptive challenges, such as worker fatigue, and understanding why and how we go after them will determine our ability to emerge thriving from these critical times. Now, more than ever, we need to focus our attention and skills on the cultural, Adaptive challenges of keeping people safe.

Summary The ability of leaders to address Adaptive challenges is an imperative in today’s VUCA world. The associated organizational uncertainties require leaders that encourage inclusive teams to iterate, test and address the complexities of Adaptive problems. WWW.FTBA.COM

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Patience and permission to learn in a safe-to-fail culture will anchor new thinking and new ways of working. Making it a priority to address head-on Adaptive challenges will enable organizations to thrive and competitively survive, while keeping employees and their families safe and healthy. In summary, four things leaders must do in a VUCA world: 1. Know the type of problem you are facing.

2. Build inclusive teams to address problems. 3. Foster a safe-to-fail learning culture to ensure adoption. 4. Make it a priority to not dismiss, but embrace adaptive challenges in this VUCA time.

About the Authors

Hal Rabbino

Reference 1. Adapted from Leadership Without Easy Answers, Ronald Heifetz, Pages 73-76.

Hal Rabbino and Jeffrey Bradshaw are part of the consulting solutions team at JMJ, an international company that focuses on safety products and services in hazardous industries. They can be reached at (512) 485-5061.

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Innovation in Construction Technology

BLUE PLANET STUDIO/STOCK.ADOBE.COM

BY RON PERKINS PRESIDENT, JOBSITE TECH GROUP

here can be no doubt of the impact emerging and innovative technology is making across the entire construction industry. From planning, design, construction and facilities or asset management, these latest “tools” are becoming the norm. There are challenges to consider when adopting new software or hardware solutions. People can be the biggest hurdle. Business owners must be convinced the ROI is there. Users must see that the learning curve is not so disruptive that it impacts the project schedule. There also

can be reluctance to embrace technology designed to address a process that has “always been done that way.” Nearly everyone agrees that IT makes sense and that it is inevitable. What to adopt and how to do it remain the two primary concerns. If you consider the latest statistics from Dodge Analytics, McKinsey, KPMG and others, you get a sense for what is being referred to as the “Construction Disruption.” It started with processes that were traditionally paper heavy and moved many of them to a digital workflow. Plan distribution, bidding and invoicing all have

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migrated in that direction. The benefits include more efficient processes with a higher level of accuracy. According to Command Alkon, their eticketing solutions for concrete save on average 10 minutes per load, per day. That means you can get an extra load in almost every day. The next level of innovation comes from hardware and software developers. Firms like Leica have introduced faster and more accurate laser scanners, rovers and total robotic stations. The use of drones has exploded with DOTs and contractors or inspectors working on those projects.

Virtual and augmented reality are just now coming into the fold with the leading-edge firms looking for better ways to communicate and collaborate more effectively with owner agencies, engineers and other project team members. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has the potential to be the same catalyst it was in the vertical construction market. According to the Federal Highway Administration, BIM is a collaborative work method for structuring, managing and using data and information about transportation assets throughout the lifecycle. More than 20 DOTs, including

FDOT, have joined the Transportation Pooled Fund â€“ TPF-5(372) BIM for Bridges initiative along with FHWA and The National Institute of Building Sciences. With several states now working on their Model as Contract programs, itâ€™s inevitable that anyone working on a transportation project is going to have to know how they interact with the model during the bid, build and handover process.

Streamlining Data Paths With this ever-expanding list of devices and means of field data acquisition tied to project delivery systems, it is growing

more important every day to automate or streamline as many of these data paths as possible. Leveraging these technologies is critical because of the accuracy and efficiency they bring to the project. Incorporating this data into project workflow while maintaining integrity is only the first step in the process. Infotech is one software developer that has a project going with Leica and HNTB to streamline the path for inspection data coming from the Leica rover and bringing that data in to the AppiaÂŽ software used to manage the inspection data. MaintainWWW.FTBA.COM

Turning ideas into reality

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ing the data and adding functionality to manipulate or run analysis during project delivery is the stage where the greatest benefits will be achieved. The early adopters of these types of solutions are all continuing to evolve their approach and usefulness of the technology. Firms that are just starting to leverage a drone today can quickly realize benefits such as monitoring progress, material delivery and traffic flow. The early adopters are adding AI and machine learning to perform volumetrics, safety monitoring, asset tracking and more. There can be a benefit for those that wait to learn from the early adopters. The risk is that those firms that invested early are reaching newer heights and do use that to differentiate themselves when competing for business.

Construction Disruption The KPMG “Construction Disruption” study recognized three different adoption levels for construction firms. Innovate Leaders were at the top 20 percent. Followers were in the middle 60 percent, and the last 20 percent of firms were referred to as “Behind the Curve.” This study further illustrated the fact that those Innovative Leaders are not only ahead of the curve with well-known technology such as laser scanning, rovers and drones, but they also are now leveraging that expertise in emerging technology like AI, Predictive Analytics and IoT. The point here is that software and hardware development cycles are increasing, not decreasing. This means that the longer it takes for many of the Behind the Curve firms to begin on this journey, the further behind they grow – more so than they probably realize. That same KPMG study states that 70 percent of construction companies believe those who do not adopt digital ways of working will go out of business. The end game is better lifecycle asset management. This is what is driving BIM and many of these other technologies. 3D modeling has been widely adopted across transportation and infrastructure projects, and it is well known that Bentley was help-

ing firms design in 3D long before Autodesk. The demand now is not just to help firms design better, visualize better or even communicate or collaborate more effectively. Those reasons are absolute benefits and should be considered when embracing 3D and the growing demand for model as the contract. What cities, states and other owners and agencies are asking now is how can they better manage assets, physical and digital, for the life of the asset. In the transportation sector this doesn’t just mean identifying guardrail location or streetlight condition anymore. The new assets will include sensors and cameras and other realtime data that are applied to what many refer to as Smart City technologies. The City of Tampa “Intersection of Innovation” program is a great example of the Smart City approach. Tampa has created a Smart Cities Alliance made up of the public, private and academic sectors. The priority areas are to develop a Regional Data Platform, Mobility as a Service and Reimagining Infrastructure.

Technology as a Requirement Cities, states, DOTs, municipalities and other owner agencies are realizing that in order to be ready for the future, they need to establish different requirements today. Many are at the point where a certain level of technology is being mandated to accomplish this. At this year’s FTBA Annual Conference, Nina Stickler, the Statewide Liaison Chair of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Florida, said, “Starting next year, all consultants will be mandated to design in 3D.” At the same conference, FDOT Secretary Kevin Thibault said, “We are migrating to 3D, we are migrating to all electronic.” He further suggested to those in the audience that it’s on them to make the difference. He said, “I look to you to include innovation to deliver this program.” The Commercial Real Estate study performed by Deloitte in late 2019 states that investors want companies to prioritize predictive analytics and business intelligence to make buildings future ready. The signifi-

cance of this study is that it clearly illustrates the fact that the commercial construction market has moved on beyond BIM. Virtual Design and Construction practices have become the norm in the vertical building industry. Transportation Research Board (TRB) studies and those completed by countless universities and others across the country all suggest that the horizontal market is following the path of vertical. This provides us with a glimpse into the future. On October 9, 2019, The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) signed an Administrative Resolution AR-1-19 Title: Adoption of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) Schema as the Standard Data Schema for the Exchange of Electronic Engineering Data. Data standards are a necessity for successful BIM programs and the integrations being developed today. Firms like Infotech, developer of AASHTOWare Project™, are working with the University of Florida M.E. Rinker School of Construction Management and other consultants to develop the schemas required to support this move. Many of these construction technology innovations are already here. There is a wealth of statistical data and studies that have been done, and the data can be used to help construction businesses of all sizes determine their path and where the most ROI will arise. As previously mentioned, the risk versus reward can only be measured by each organization. There is a benefit to wait and see and learn from the pioneers. There could also be a significant risk as those early adopters not only become more proficient with the technology others have yet to adopt, but they now are moving on the next phases to benefit their organization, their projects and their clients.

About the Author Ron Perkins has been in the AEC industry for more than three decades and is President of Jobsite Tech Group. Ron can be reached at (213) 537-9882 or via email: rperkins@jobsitetechgroup.com. WWW.FTBA.COM

FTBA Members Weigh in on Ron Perkins, President of Jobsite Tech Group, recently interviewed Kevin Cornish, Senior Vice President, AECOM, to learn how technology has supported business during the COVID-19 crisis. RP: Since the start of the coronavirus issues and related social distancing, have you seen increased adoption of software and cloud solutions across your firm? KC: Transitioning large jobs to the cloud was already happening, and now we are using this opportunity to move many of the small and medium projects to the cloud. RP: Are there any particular applications that stand out with the increased adoption? KC: Yes. We transitioned from Webex to Microsoft Teams. I have to tell you, and I don’t want to sound like an ad for Microsoft, but I couldn’t be happier with Teams. RP: What kind of pressure do you anticipate as people go back to work to

bring projects closer to original schedule? KC: Literally this morning we just got done hitting send on a very succinct message telling FDOT, one of our most important and significant clients, that we are going to continue delivering our work on time. We zeroed in on a half a dozen projects in each district that we are not going to miss. It’s our commitment to execute. We mean it. RP: What role will technology play in that? KC: We have been able to pivot with tech, but it’s not the same level of sophistication in all places. Some states like Florida are leaders, and some are followers. We are going to continue to see that same paradigm. What we are encouraging our teams to do is embrace BIM and CIIM and other advanced technical and digital solutions. We don’t need to be in a mandate environment to advance our work. More traditional designers may say we have always done it this way, it works very well, and then you start to task them with 3D, 4D and 5D process management. This isn’t

about jumping off a cliff and landing on your feet. There is an interim here. For a significant period of time there will still be a “hit print” option. It doesn’t mean you can’t have both. Bentley is pushing Digital Twins. We produce a 3D model for a bridge than you can mirror the construction and overlay the completion of the work in a digital way for progress reporting with tools like drones, laser scanners, cameras and other reality capture tools. But there has to be human accountability in all of these digital practices and innovative solutions. RP: What tech potentially offers the greatest efficiency on your projects? KC: The difference between a set of plans 30 years ago and now is a bit ridiculous. Many of the contractors simply don’t need so much of the paper that is being produced. I still feel strongly that you need to have the press print button. But do we really need the mountains of plans and documentation? Its more about process and output streamlining.

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Technology and Business Florida Transportation Builder recently interviewed FTBA member Andy DeCrane, Vice President, Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, to learn how his company manages technology and what best practices he has to share with other members. FTB: How has technology impacted your business in terms of efficiency and productivity? AD: From an operational standpoint, the biggest advancement has been using machine automation. We have managed jobs where we had the capability to go completely stakeless with everything connected to GPS: placing embankment, grading base, pouring curb, and paving asphalt and concrete – all without pounding a stake in the ground. This has its obvious benefits from a cost and efficiency standpoint. Technology that helps us manage day-today activities also has been helpful. Our transportation division has gotten several

new updates. Record keeping and tracking software has allowed our fleet of trucks to be managed by mobile/webbased apps. These help keep track of daily logs and maximize our production efficiency. We also have installed outward-facing onboard cameras in our vehicles to promote safer driving habits. During coronavirus, some of the software that companies are using for meetings, such as Zoom and Skype, has been used by our company for some time. It is just helpful to have video conferences if you have satellite or jobsite offices, so people don’t have to drive into the office. FTB: Do you find it necessary to have technology experts on staff? AD: Absolutely. You don’t have to hire a new person to manage technology, but you want to designate someone to learn and help with implementation. When I look back at the things we’ve struggled with, implementing new technology is one of them. We probably didn’t have the

The better your infrastructure, the better your outlook. We should know. We’ve been helping build Florida’s roads, bridges and highways since 1957. We know what it takes to be a leader in Florida. Not just the best equipment, service and team. But also a deep and abiding commitment to our community. After all, we don’t just work here. We live here too.

right champion on board for that particular technology or we didn’t provide the proper education. FTB: Do you have any best practices for other members about your experience with technology? AD: We have had our fair share of failures. Looking back at those, our expectations were wrong. You have to set reasonable expectations. Technology is another tool in the tool box, and you have to realize it has limitations – it’s not magical. You have to train people and educate them to guide your company through the process. Companies will fail when they don’t implement things properly with their workforce. It’s often difficult for our industry’s workforce to accept change and embrace new technology. Implementation is not an easy task, so be prepared. You have to take extra steps to make people feel comfortable. Make sure they know what the final outcome looks like and why the company is moving in that direction.

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Technology Advances Make Industry More Efficient 26

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EVERYTHINGPOSSIBLE/STOCK.ADOBE.COM

BY GREG GUTKOWSKI, FOUNDER 3CLICKS.US

f Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, were alive today, his net worth would be over $150 billion. He would be the richest self-made person in the world. His fortune could be larger than that of Bill Gates. Walton made his fortune not by making software, but by using it to build his business. When he started with a single store in Arkansas in 1962, Sears was the indisputable king of the retail industry. In 1991, Walmart overtook Sears as the nationâ€™s largest retailer. In 2019, Walmart had 11,000 stores

in 28 countries, and employed over 1 million people. The same year, Sears filed for bankruptcy. You may ask what Walmart history has to do with the construction business. On the surface, very little. Upon closer examination, a lot. Walton used software and digital communication to manage his operations in real time. Being dependent on moving thousands of items among thousands of locations, he mastered the realtime tracking of every item he was selling â€“ even a single $2 toothbrush. The number of toothbrushes in any Walmart store is known in real time based on the number of items purchased and recorded at the check-out registers throughout the day. Walmart automated reordering when the number of toothbrushes in any given store falls below a preset desired level. This automation eliminates the cost of error-prone paper forms filled out by hand and improves the timeliness of reordering. The result is more sales at higher margins. Success in the construction business is also dependent on the real-time coordination of thousands of moving pieces during the day. People, tools, materials, parts, documents, permits, vehicles and specialized equipment all need to be aligned in time and space. Without good software and communications, this alignment has been traditionally manual, time consuming, error-prone, delayed, and full of stress and frustration. Until very recently, good, powerful software like that used by Walmart has been too expensive for small construction firms. However, this is no longer the case. Over the last 20 years, the price of computing went down 10,000 times. Today, any construction company, regardless of size, can afford smartphone-based software as powerful as what is being used by Walmart. The lesson learned from Walmart is that the more detail you know in real time, the more money you make. Otherwise, you may end up like Sears. Just think about the construction business as a set of interconnected processes or

workflows. First, marketing is used to generate sales leads, which lead to appointments and orders. After that, it is time to order materials, and schedule and dispatch workers. Next comes the actual work in the field, followed up clean-up, invoicing, and of course, collections. That process, managed time and time again, grows your business. The good news is that you can accomplish all of these tasks with existing offthe-shelf software packages installed on your smartphone. Just make sure you collaborate with others in the industry to learn which software works best for each part of the workflow so your business can run more effectively and efficiently than ever.

About the Author Greg Gutkowski is founder of the business analytics software company 3CLICKS.US and teaches business analytics and digital strategies at the University of North Florida Coggin College of Business. He can be reached at (904) 834-1490 or greg.gutkowski@3clicks.us.

When Sam Walton started Walmart, Sears was the king of retail. By utilizing technology to better manage inventory and creating business efficiencies, Walmart took over the retail space, and Sears has since filed for bankruptcy. What is your business doing to be a Walmart instead of a Sears?

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Are You A Good Corporate Citizen?

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ur world changed this year when COVID-19 forced us to create a new normal. In Florida, hurricanes have taught us how to prepare for disaster, but this pandemic has been much different. We now face a new economy and new means of conducting business and operating our households. Things have changed in a major way. How did your business cope through this difficult time? Did you do anything special for employees? Did you have an opportunity to help struggling local businesses? How did your clients fare, and were you able to deliver the same level of service as you did pre-pandemic? We are looking for an FTBA member with a positive story about innovative ideas that helped make the best of a bad situation in the first half of 2020. This member will be awarded Florida Transportation Builder’s first Good Corporate Citizen Award. This new annual award will be given to an individual or company that exemplifies good business practices, in good times and bad: inspiration, strong values, a caring workplace, charitable involvement, and an overarching willingness to help others. If you would like to participate, please email Jill Andreu at jandreu@ thewymancompany.com and tell us what makes your company special. Please include your company name, number of employees, business type, and years in business. The winner of the Good Corporate Citizen Award will be announced at the FTBA Annual Convention and featured in the fall issue of the magazine. Deadline for entries is July 31. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Welcome, New Members

TBA is proud to serve its contractor, associate and affiliate members by providing one collective voice before the Florida Legislature. FTBA works with various agencies, including the Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, as well as the executive branch, to keep them informed of the needs and concerns of the transportation construction industry. We are thankful for our members and the value they bring to the association and industry. We welcomed the following new members between January and April of 2020. Please welcome them when you see them at upcoming conferences or other FTBA events.

Contractor Members Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc. Blackrock Asphalt Co. Blacktip Services, Incorporated Carr Construction LLC DYSEDC LLC Heavy Civil Inc. Maylor Foundation Contractors LLC Randall Engineered Wall Systems Southern Development & Construction Strongcore Group, LLC Valle Management LLC Watson Civil Construction, Inc.

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Associate Members AIT Bridges Allied Trucking Command Alkon Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. Infrastructure Consulting & Engineering, PLLC L&S Diversified, LLC MEEVER USA PREFORM LLC Samuel Roll Form Group Stantec

Affiliate Members BKS Partners Customers Rule Insurance Agency GSE Absolute Robert Cedeno, P.A. Signature Financial LLC Tread Technologies Inc. WorkComp Solutions, Inc.

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Member News Miami’s BCC Engineering Announces Strategic Acquisitions to Support Expansion Plans

BCC Engineering, LLC (BCC), Lakes Engineering, Inc. (Lakes), and New Millennium Engineering, Inc. (NME) recently announced the merger of their companies to expand their Florida operations into new territories and continue offering cuttingedge transportation, civil and Construction Engineering & Inspection (CEI) services to their established base of clients. BCC has acquired Lakes and NME, and the merged business will progressively transition into the BCC brand. NME, founded in 2006, has a proud tradition of providing CEI services for public infrastructure projects throughout Florida. Their offices are located in Miami, Davie, West Palm Beach and Maitland. Their highly qualified staff of over 100 construction professionals will grow BCC’s existing Miami CEI business line. Steve McCue, NME’s co-founder and President points out that “The merger with BCC Engineering, one of the best transportation firms in Florida, creates a full-service engineering company that will serve our clients better and will help improve our community.” Lakes, NME’s sister company, is a multidisciplined engineering firm that is committed to providing the highest quality engineering services to contractors, governmental agencies and private owners. Their three Florida offices and their office in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will strengthen BCC’s existing highway, drainage, and structures services lines, adding more manpower and new relationships, as well as fulfilling BCC’s geographic expansion plans. “This merger will create the total package for the engineering community,” said Eugenio Ochoa, Lakes’ co-founder and President. “It will extend our areas of practice to a wider market, while making available BCC’s depth of resources to new markets.” Jose Muñoz, CEO of BCC, said, “Culturally, it’s the perfect fit for our firms to join

forces. The strength of NME’s CEI practice and Lakes’ design and specialty engineering practice will further bolster our presence in Florida. The transportation design sector, particularly in the Southeastern United States, is one of the best markets in the country. All forecasts indicate it will continue to develop in the foreseeable future, creating a perfect environment for our companies to continue growing as one of the top engineering firms in the Southeastern U.S.”

HNTB Expands Presence in Bartow

A commitment to client service and future growth potential led HNTB Corporation to expand its presence and open a new, larger office in Bartow. The office serves a range of clients across Florida’s west coast. “HNTB brings regional and national expertise to solving complex transportation challenges for departments of transportation, toll agencies, airports, transit agencies and other mobility providers,” said Len Becker, HNTB West Florida Office Leader and Senior Vice President. “We look forward to supporting the local business community, strengthening regional partnerships and contributing to statewide initiatives that will move Florida forward.”

Program management, project management, public engagement, project development, traffic and intelligent transportation systems professionals staff the Bartow office today. HNTB anticipates expansion of its personnel to support full-service delivery for transportation clients across western Florida. “With Florida’s ongoing population growth, it’s important that our firm is close to our clients as we work together to help design and implement new infrastructure projects aimed at increasing mobility throughout the state,” said Bill Jones, P.E., HNTB Program Manager and Associate Vice President.

Pevida Highway Designers Hires Top Talent, Wins Two Awards

Pevida Highway Designers (PHD) recently announced that Jeremy Botto, P.E. has joined PHD’s West Palm Beach office as Senior Highway Engineer, and Kennedy Simmonds, P.E. has joined the Orlando office as Senior Drainage Engineer. Botto has more than 20 years of experience specializing in design-build and complex projects including the I-75/HEFT

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interchange as part of I-75 Express Lanes Segment AB, where he served as design project manager and roadway EOR. Simmonds also has more than 20 years of ex-

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Bid Protests:

Know The Rules So You Don’t Lose Your Rights BY MEGAN M. WARREN, PARTNER MCRAE & METCALF, P.A.

n today’s uncertain times, contractors are facing ever-increasing competition for government contracts. For this reason, it is important for contractors to understand their rights as a bidder and how to protect those rights if they suspect there may be a basis to challenge an intended award of a project. As we all know, state agencies are generally required to competitively solicit bids or proposals for public projects. A bidder

also has the right to challenge the specifications of the solicitation prior to submittal of its bid or an agency’s decision to award a project. The focus of this article is on protests of an agency’s award of a project, although many of the concepts apply to solicitation protests as well. In Florida, bid protests are governed by a variety of complex statutes, rules and case law. Perhaps the key characteristic of a bid protest is that it must proceed on an ex-

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tremely expedited timeline, and important rights can be waived if a bidder does not timely assert its rights. As such, knowing your rights and when you are required to assert them will go a long way in pursuing (or defending against) a bid protest. The following is an outline of the bid protest requirements for state contracts. Many cities and counties generally follow these same requirements, but not all. Some have abbreviated timelines and pro-

cedures, and some have none at all. For this reason, it is critical to move quickly to ensure that your rights are protected.

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Basics of Competitive Bidding The primary purpose of Florida’s competitive procurement laws is to provide a means by which an agency may acquire goods and services at the lowest possible cost and to protect the public against collusion, favoritism and fraud in the award of public contracts. To that end, competitive bidding is designed to secure fair competition on equal terms to all bidders. Chapter 287 of the Florida Statutes generally requires that state agencies competitively solicit bids or proposals for projects greater than $35,000. The three most common types of competitive procurements identified in statute are: 1) Invitation to Bid (ITB); 2) Request for Proposals (RFP); and 3) Invitation to Negotiate (ITN). Regardless of the method used, the criteria for evaluation of bids, proposals or replies should be detailed in the bid documents.

Bid Protest Deadlines and Requirements – Don’t Waive Your Rights Florida’s Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 120 of the Florida Statutes) and corresponding regulations generally govern state agency bid protests including the requirements a bidder must comply with to preserve its right to protest. Standing: A bidder that is “adversely affected” by an agency action, such as an award of a project to another bidder, has standing to file a protest. Usually, only the second-ranked low bidder has standing to challenge an agency’s award based on nonresponsiveness and other factors. In some cases, a third or lower-ranked bidder may have standing where all higher-ranked bidders are challenged or where the procurement process was fundamentally flawed and a re-bid is required. Non-bidders generally do not have standing absent special and extraordinary circumstances. 72-Hour Deadline: If a bidder or proposer wishes to challenge an agency’s award or intended award, it must file a Notice of Intent to Protest within 72 hours (excluding holidays and weekends) of the posting of the agency’s notice of decision or intended decision (or within 72 hours of the publication of the procurement docu-

ments if protesting the terms of the solicitation). This Notice is a brief statement informing the agency that the bidder intends to protest and that a Formal Protest will be forthcoming. Most importantly, a bidder’s failure to timely file the 72-hour Notice of Intent to Protest may waive the bidder’s right to protest. 10-Day Deadline: A bidder must file its Formal Protest within 10 days (including holidays and weekends) after the 72hour Notice of Intent is filed. The Formal Protest must state with particularity the facts and law upon which the protest is based and is often an extensive legal document referencing legal authority and evidentiary exhibits. As with the Notice of Intent, a bidder’s failure to timely file its Formal Protest may waive its right to proceed with the protest. Bid Protest Bond: When filing a protest, a bidder must generally furnish a bid protest bond payable to the agency. The timing and face value of the protest bond vary from agency to agency. For instance, in an FDOT protest, the protest bond is required at the time of filing the 72-hour Notice of Intent and the amount of the bond (for projects requiring prequalification) is 1 percent of the lowest bid submitted or $5,000, whichever is greater. Other state agencies do not require a bond until the filing of the Formal Protest and are based on a percentage of the estimated contract amount, not the lowest bid submitted. Given the variation in bid protest bond requirements, it is important to review the bid documents and applicable statutes to know the bond requirements for your protest. Again, if a bidder fails to timely submit a bid protest bond, it may lose its rights.

Common Grounds for a Bid Protest The grounds for a bid protest tend to be fact specific and vary with the circumstances and requirements of each procurement. To determine whether a bid protest would be appropriate, a bidder should consider the mandated objectives of competitive bidding and whether the agency’s actions in awarding the project run afoul of these objectives. Below are some common grounds for a protest: • Non-responsive bid submitted by apparent low bidder (e.g. material

• • • • •

• • •

variances from solicitation requirements) Sunshine Act violations by agency Improper ex-parte communications with the agency Arbitrary scoring and evaluation errors by evaluators Bias, improper conduct or ethical violations by evaluators Non-responsible bidder issues (e.g. lack of qualifications, lack of resources or financial ability, submitting false statements, abnormally low bid, or improperly named bidder) Conditional proposal apparent low bidder Improper post-bid submissions by apparent low bidder Improper post-award changes by apparent low bidder

This list is not meant to be exhaustive but is to outline some common issues to look for in the event a protest is warranted. It is important to remember that although courts give deference to governmental bodies in awarding projects, such deference is not unbridled. For example, the undersigned was recently involved in a bid protest where the ALJ overturned an evaluator’s scoring of a bidder for being arbitrary and capricious, and directed the agency to re-score the bidder’s proposal. See ArnAmy, Inc. v. Department of Management Services, DOAH 19-5502BID (February 5, 2020)(protester’s proposal score was “inconsistent and inequitable” where the evaluator gave credit to some bidders for providing information regarding their prior experience but not to the protester for providing the same information). What the above-listed items have in common is that they relate to defects in the award or evaluation process, not the specifications themselves. If the grounds for your bid protest relate to the interpretation or application of a certain specification, it may be considered an untimely specifications challenge and you will have waived your right to protest. For this reason, it is important to carefully analyze the impact of any questionable bid specification as soon as the bid documents are released. If you believe that it may have any impact on the outcome of the award, it may be prudent to file a protest and seek clarification from the agency. WWW.FTBA.COM

You Filed a Protest. What Happens Next? Once a bidder timely files its Formal Protest, the bid process is stayed and, unless extreme circumstances exist, no final award of the project may be made until the protest is resolved. The bidder and the agency then have the opportunity to resolve the issues raised in the protest through an informal mediation process. An agency must allow seven days to provide an opportunity for the parties to resolve the protest without a hearing. In addition to the agency and protester, the apparent low bidder may also participate in the settlement discussions and, if not resolved, the administrative hearing. In fact, both the protester and apparent low bidder should closely monitor the settlement process and request that the agency keep them informed of any meetings, discussions or correspondence from any other party. If the parties do not resolve the protest during the settlement period, the agency typically refers the protest to the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) for an

expedited formal hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Pursuant to Chapter 120, a bidder has the right to an administrative hearing to resolve any disputed issues of fact. As with most everything else dealing with bid protests, the hearing and post-hearing submittals must be conducted in abbreviated timeframes (e.g. the final hearing must be conducted within 30 days of DOAHâ€™s receipt of Formal Protest). However, unlike the 72-hour and 10-day requirements set forth above, these time periods can be waived by the parties. The administrative hearing is similar to a civil trial, and the parties are afforded similar rights, including the right to conduct discovery. The hearings are full evidentiary hearings where evidence and testimony can be presented to the ALJ. Following the hearing, each party submits a Proposed Recommended Order to the ALJ for consideration detailing the proposed findings of fact based on the evidence admitted at the hearing, conclusions of law and a recommendation. The ALJ considers the submissions by each party in preparing its Proposed Recommended Order to

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the agency. The ALJ then issues an order that the agency can accept, in whole or in part. The bid protest is concluded at the agency level, and the procurement is no longer stayed absent appellate court intervention.

Conclusion Floridaâ€™s competitive bidding laws are designed to ensure fair competition and to secure the best possible value at the lowest cost to the agency. Because of the expedited nature of the procurement process, and its inherent complexities, a bidder needs to be well informed of its rights and when to assert them. If a protest is contemplated, a bidder should move quickly to assert his or her rights to either file a protest or to defend against one.

About the Author Megan M. Warren is a boardcertified construction law attorney and partner at the law firm of McRae & Metcalf, P.A. She can be reached at (850) 386-8000 or mwarren@ mcraemetcalf.com.

The Next Generation: The Impact of Tampa Construction Career Days

BY CODY SMITH THE WYMAN COMPANY

PHOTOS BY CODY SMITH

ooking out at the Hillsborough County Fairgrounds, a once-empty field now was filled with construction vehicles and equipment as far as the eye could see: bulldozers, front loaders, backhoes, excavators, graders and even lifts. Did a massive construction project kick off at these fairgrounds? No. This was Tampa Construction Career Days. And behind the wheels of these vehicles? High school students. The Tampa Construction Career Days event, held this year on Feb. 20, is one of five annual Construction Career Days (CCD) events in Florida (others are held in Central Florida, South Florida, Northeast Florida and Northwest Florida, and the program is currently on hold because of COVID-19 and school suspension). Every year, big players in Florida construction come together to organize the event to give high school students a field trip into their world. This year’s Tampa event hosted learning labs, equipment and vehicle demonstrations and networking opportunities with dozens of companies. “We originally realized there’s a need to connect adults interested in full-time work to making a career out of road and bridge construction,” said Jill Cappadoro, Associate Vice President of Quest Corporation of America and a member of the Tampa Construction Career Days Steering Committee. “We also realized we needed to start to create that pathway for students whom we really need to entice for the careers available,” Cappadoro said. CCD works with both construction companies and local school administration to coWWW.FTBA.COM

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ordinate exhibitors and attendees. A steering committee of roughly 20 industry leaders gather and solicit learning labs, rental equipment for equipment areas and career center booths. Throughout the day, students and teachers met with company representatives to learn about topics such as welding and excavating. The equipment area gave students the chance to operate and drive actual equipment and vehicles with proper supervision and guidance from experienced chaperones. The goal of CCD is to expose students to the construction world and educate them on employment opportunities that don’t follow the traditional college or university route. CCD also offers scholarships for students who attend. “The pros of working in construction include no student debt and more training opportunities,” said Amy Lee Diel, Program Manager for Quest Corporation of America and Project Manager with OnBoard4Jobs, Construction Careers Consultants. Lee Diel also explained the construction industry extends to more than just operating heavy machinery and equipment. Students interested in technology, administrative work, science, math, engineering, landscaping, carpentry, painting and more also have routes to explore. “There’s opportunities for every kind of child,” Lee Diel said. “Every passion comes into one to do a construction job. Gamers can help run machinery. Even kids who always use their phones can help with software and technology.” With the industry facing a shortage of new workers, events like CCD help find new recruits and incentivize them with a chance for a financially secure future. “This event does a good job of showing there’s all kinds of opportunities with high-paying jobs,” said Dan Hart, Associate Principal at CPWG Engineering and Vice Chair of Tampa Construction Career Days. “[Students] need to understand there are opportunities without going to college. Get on a team, get certified and stick with it, and the hard work will pay off.” This year’s Tampa edition of Construction Career Days was organized by the Suncoast Utility Contractors Association, the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Transportation Builders Association. The event started in 2014 with an estimated 400 students. Five

years later, approximately 1,000 students attended, including students from new participating counties such as Polk. Penny Danielecki, Chairman of Tampa Construction Career Days, said she has noticed more younger people entering construction as a result of CCD. Ultimately, Danielecki said she hopes for students to leave Construction Career Days with interest in future employment. “The next step is to connect these students to employers,” Danielecki said. “[Students] can go back onto the Construction Career Days website and get in touch with our industry partners for careers. We reach out via email with companies hiring. If you are graduating high school and don’t have a career path, come talk to us.” The event also has helped introduce the industry to more diverse eyes. “We want to make sure our workforce is diverse and to really encourage women and people of color to look at opportunities,” Cappadoro said. “It’s not as much about brawn anymore. Now, our equipment and levels of technology are more about dexterity and being flexible and resilient.” A story from Danielecki exemplifies the impact Tampa Construction Career day has on students. “I had a young lady who got off a skid steer and said, ‘I can do this. I never thought I could do this.’ ” For more information about Tampa Construction Career Days and other CCD events, visit CCD’s website at www.ccdfl.org.

About the Author Cody Smith is a Managing Editor with The Wyman Company, publisher of Florida Transportation Builder magazine.

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Workforce Development at Its Best BY SHARLENE FRANCOIS LAIRSCEY, PRESIDENT QUEST CORPORATION OF AMERICA

ringing new ideas, renewed passion and fresh talent to Floridaâ€™s construction industry requires a huge commitment from all of us. It also requires that we care. Building on the momentum established by the contractors and consultants long committed to Florida Construction Career Days and OnBoard4Jobs Construction Careers program, the Florida Department of

Transportation (FDOT) expands how it is offering opportunities and changing lives. In 2019, the Florida Senate Committee on Infrastructure and Security reported the highway, street and bridge construction industry will grow almost 9 percent over the next eight years.1 Industry employment projections, however, indicate a shortage of trained workers. The Florida Transportation Builders Association and

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leaders among Floridaâ€™s road and bridge contractors have identified the need for more construction workers as a key priority for the industry. FDOT has implemented a Statewide Workforce Development Program in response to this need that includes working with community partners to identify and connect qualified workers with contractors for gainful employment on roadway

construction projects. The agency is also working to identify unemployed and underemployed workers, as well as entry-level workers throughout the state, to provide opportunities to build successful careers to improve lives. This program involves current and developing targeted activities to connect adult job seekers with contractors that are hiring, as well as initiatives to inform students about pathways to transportation industry careers.

Contractor Jobs-Readiness Training Initiative One focus of FDOT’s Statewide Workforce Development Program is to enable contractors to train road construction workers for employment. Under the Contractor JobsReadiness Training Initiative, contractors will receive reimbursement for recruiting, hiring, drug testing and training new employees to work on FDOT construction projects.

Correctional Transition Academy Another key initiative is FDOT’s partnering with the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) to present the Statewide Workforce Development Correctional Transition Academy. A large part of the FDC’s mission, and a goal of the academy, is to enhance the abilities of inmates and offenders under supervision so they become productive members of their communities after serving their sentence. The academy hopes to support FDC’s focus on inmate rehabilitation and successful re-entry into their communities. “This is a second-chance program, an untapped resource of employable work-

ers throughout Florida that are receiving training while incarcerated in the Florida Department of Corrections,” said Amy Lee Diel, Program Manager at Quest Corporation of America. “Most people are unaware that this training even occurs. We are here to help those behind the fence put that training to use to make a better life for themselves when they transition back into society. They need us, and we need them. We are here to build roads, bridges and lives together.” With the goals of increasing employment rates among transitioning inmates and decreasing the rate of returns to the correctional system, the Correctional Transition Academy will identify transitional adults (candidates) ready to enter the workforce; provide the training and skill set preparation necessary to enter industry workforce; connect them with contractors through our partner, OnBoard4Jobs Construction Careers Consultants; and work with the FDC Transition Team, OnBoard4Jobs and contractors to employ the candidate.

Build More Than a Job… Build a Life FDOT is working today to tee up tomorrow’s talent for building our state’s roads.

Initiatives are being developed to facilitate partnering with contractors, communitybased programs and institutions of learning for a win-win program. Jill Cappadoro, Associate Vice President, Quest Corporation of America, said, “Through the Statewide Workforce Development Program, students and young adults will have a host of opportunities to learn what it takes to build highways that keep Floridians moving – and also explore possible careers in the transportation industry.”

Footnotes 1. F lorida Department of Economic Opportunity memo to Florida Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee dated February 22, 2019.

About the Author Sharlene Francois Lairscey is President/Owner/CEO of Quest Corporation of America, a womanowned communications firm with over 20 years of experience providing public involvement, outreach services, and marketing and communications products to complex and controversial projects of every size. She can be reached at (866) 662-6273 or sharlene@QCAusa.com.

Interested in learning more about FDOT’s Statewide Workforce Development Program? Please email Quest Corporation of Florida at FloridaRoadJobs@QCAusa.com or call 833-Road-Job (833-762-3562). TADAMICHI/STOCK.ADOBE.COM

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Understanding 2020 Environmental Resources Legislation and Potential Impacts on Transportation

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BY JEFF LITTLEJOHN, P.E., PRESIDENT AND MARK THOMASSON, P.E., ASSOCIATE LITTLEJOHN, MANN & ASSOCIATES

s a self-described “Teddy Roosevelt Republican,” Governor Ron DeSantis campaigned and was elected on a platform that included several environmental policy “planks,” focused largely on reducing harmful algae blooms around the state. Around this time last year, we wrote about Gov. DeSantis’ major environmental and water policy reform initiative, entitled “Achieving More Now for Florida’s Environment.” The vehicle for his initiative was Executive Order 19-12, which directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) to, among other things, secure a record-setting environmental funding request in 2019 (done), establish a Blue-Green Algae 44

Task Force (done), immediately begin the Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservoir Project (done), hire a chief science officer (done), and create an Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection (done). It is now clear to us that, with the bold vision and firm commitment of the governor and the herculean efforts of the FDEP to implement his initiatives, Florida’s environmental leaders are taking quick action to respond to the threat of algae blooms. Fast forward 12 short months, and we are now summarizing a very significant piece of environmental legislation, the “Clean Waterways Act” (SB 712). This legislation was filed in the Senate by Debbie Mayfield (R-17) and in the House by Bobby Payne (R-19) and

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Blaise Ingoglia (R-35), but had several other contributors and supporters, including the governor. Sometimes described as the “governor’s environmental bill,” SB 712 implements the governor’s Blue Green Algae Task Force recommendations and contains many other significant provisions. When fully implemented, the Clean Waterways Act will affect the transportation and construction industries, local governments, public and private utilities, landowners, farmers and ranchers, and others. With a law of this scope and magnitude, it is important to understand its various provisions in order to conduct your business and assist your clients and customers. The contemplated revisions to the state’s stormwa-

ter regulations are particularly noteworthy and will require the attention of the transportation contractors. Here is a summary of the major provisions:

Stormwater •D irects FDEP, by July 1, 2021, to initiate rulemaking to update the “stormwater design and operation regulations using the most recent scientific information,” to consider low-impact design best management practices and measures for the consistent application of the “net improvement standard.” • Directs FDEP to conduct additional inspections of stormwater facilities. • Specifies that the model stormwater management program contain target nutrient reduction practices and green infrastructure.

• •

•

waterbodies for which sanitary sewage disposal is not allowed beginning July 1, 2025. Directs FDEP to adopt new biosolids management rules. Directs utilities to submit annual reports related to sewer overflows and infiltration and inflows in sewer pipes, and directs FDEP to adopt rules to implement inflow and infiltration studies and leakage surveys. Requires utilities to report data and costs related to pollution mitigation and prevention and requires power outage contingency plans for utilities. Doubles FDEP administrative penalties for wastewater violations and adds new penalties for failure to survey a portion of the sewer collection system and taking steps to reduce sanitary sewer overflows.

Septic Tanks

Agriculture

• Adds nutrient pollution prevention as a goal of the septic tank regulation program. • Transfers the septic tank (OSTDS) regulation program and all associated personnel from the Florida Department of Health to FDEP by July 1, 2021. • Directs DEP to implement a fast-track approval process for “NSF 245” approved nutrient reducing septic tanks before July 1, 2020. • Directs FDEP to adopt rules by July 1, 2022 to implement the program and to consider existing, advanced and innovative systems. • Adds “septic to sewer” projects to the annual water resources assessment conducted by the legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research. • Revises the Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) statute to address OSTDS remediation plans and deadlines.

• Requires the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to collect data on fertilization and nutrients from certain agricultural producers and to provide the records to FDEP each year. • Requires FDACS to perform on-site inspections at least every two years for producers that enroll in agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs). • Requires a cooperative agricultural regional water quality improvement element in BMAPs under certain conditions and establishes criteria for establishing the element. • Establishes that FDACS and the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences may develop a plan and request funding annually to evaluate, enhance and develop agricultural BMPs.

Wastewater and Biosolids •E stablishes a new wastewater grant program to upgrade sewer treatment facilities to “advanced waste treatment” (AWT), connect septic tanks to sewer systems, and retrofit septic tanks to nutrient reducing systems. • Requires a report, by December 31, 2020, on the status of sewer treatment facility upgrades to AWT. • Requires FDEP, by July 1, 2020, to prepare and submit a report on the costs of wastewater and OSTDS projects in BMAPs. • Adds the Indian River Lagoon to the list of

report and declares reclaimed water to be a water source for public water supply systems. • Bottled Water: Directs FDEP and the Water Management Districts to conduct a study of the bottled water industry in the state. • Funding Assistance for Transportation Corridors: Amends the FDEP water pollution control financial assistance programs and the “Small Community Sewer Construction Assistance Act” to promote efficiency and give priority to concurrent construction of sewer projects along transportation corridors. • Who knew this was necessary?: Prohibits the granting of legal rights to any part of the natural environment that is not a person or political subdivision. The law will take effect soon – on July 1 – so now is the time to study it carefully and begin to plan for its impact. In our opinion, this law contains some much-needed reforms to improve the quality and quantity of Florida’s important water resources. We also recognize that certain provisions of this law are (or soon will become) controversial. We strongly encourage your participation in the forthcoming stormwater rule revisions, which are very likely to include more stringent and costly design and construction requirements. Your experience and expertise as contractors and engineers will be recognized and appreciated as this law is implemented and new rules are being developed.

Other Notable Provisions

About the Authors

• Penalties: Increases the FDEP administrative penalty threshold from $10,000 to $50,000. • Water Quality Monitoring: Establishes a “real-time water quality monitoring program” within FDEP and encourages public-private partnerships to expedite implementation; Requires FDEP, by July 1, 2021, to report on the assessment of the water quality monitoring being conducted for each BMAP. • Potable Reuse: Directs DEP to initiate rule revisions by December 31, 2020 based on the Potable Reuse Commission’s 2020

Jeff Littlejohn, P.E., is President and Mark Thomasson, P.E., is Associate with Littlejohn, Mann & Associates, a Tallahassee-based Jeff Littlejohn government relations firm specializing in water, energy and environmental policy. Littlejohn also serves as President and Mark Thomasson Thomasson serves as Vice President of WSource Group, a Florida consulting firm dedicated to water resources, environmental regulations, and solutions to complex problems. They can be reached at jeff@littlejohnmann.com and mark@littlejohnmann.com, respectively. WWW.FTBA.COM

Thank You, Advertisers Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc..........................................34 www.ads-pipe.com AECOM.........................................................................................................22 www.aecom.com Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC..............................33 www.ajaxpaving.com Americut Diamond Grinding and Grooving.................. 34 www.americut.com Arcosa f/k/a Highway Systems Incorporated.......... 19 www.arcosa.com Beard Technology Solutions......................................................32 www.beardtechnologysolutions.com Bedrock Resources...........................................................................46 www.bedrockresources.com Central Florida Transport, LLC.................................................38 www.cfltransport.net Consolidated Pipe& Supply Company, Inc.............................................Outside Back Cover www.consolidatedpipe.com Dixie Lime & Stone Company..................................................46 www.dixielime.com Dobbs Equipment LLC.......................................................... 18, 28 www.dobbsequipment.com Dura-Stress, Inc.....................................................................................29 www.durastress.com Equipment Corporation of America (ECA).................... 41 www.ecanet.com Florida Precision Tool................................Inside Back Cover www.floridaprecisiontool.com Florida Surety Bonds, Inc..............................................................31 www.FloridaSuretyBonds.com Foundation Technologies, Inc.......................................................4 www.foundationtechnologies.com GRL Engineers, Inc............................................................................12 www.grlengineers.com

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BEDROCK RESOURCES

2441 E. Fort King St. • Suite 202 • Ocala, FL 34471

2441 E. Fort King St. • Suite 201 • Ocala, FL 34471

bedrockresources.com

dixielime.com

(352) 369-8600

FLORIDA TRANSPORTATION BUILDER

(352) 512-0180

ProductS WE SELL: • CDI Torque Wrenches • Sioux Air Tools (Emphasis on Impact Wrenches) • ATP Impact Wrenches • Skidmore-Wilhelm • Hi-Force and SPX Power Team Hydraulic Cylinders

727-734-8589

Floridaprecisiontool.com sales@floridaprecisiontool.com

ServiceS WE OFFER: • Calibration and Repair of Torque Wrenches • Hydraulic Cylinder Repair and Certification • Skidmore Bolt Testing • Skidmore Calibrations • Impact Wrench Repair

PipePile Pile Pipe

We offer various types of fabrication for all piling We offer various types of fabrication for all piling accessories, as well as splicing, wheelabrating, accessories, well as splicing, wheelabrating, beveling,as grooving, and threading for any specific beveling, grooving, and threading for any application. specific application. 5/8 offers an inventory from OD through CPSCPS offers an inventory from 6 5/8"6OD” through 48” OD structural carbon steel pipe. 48" OD structural carbon steel pipe. OurOur welders are are certified, and and our procedures welders certified, our procedure performed to AWS areare performed to AWS D1.1D1.1 and and AWSAWS D1.5D1.5 specifications. Mill Test Reports are on hand specifications. Mill Test Reports are on hand if if required, supplemental testing provided required, supplemental testing provided uponupon request, on-site testing is available request, andand on-site testing is available fromfrom Consolidated’s team of specialists. Consolidated’s team of specialists. OurOur Bessemer, Alabama yardyard consists of 25,000 Bessemer, Alabama consists of 25,000 tons of predominantly ASTM A252 ASTM tons of predominantly ASTM A252 and and ASTM A500 grades of pipe. A500 grades of pipe.

SheetPile Pile Sheet

We are a supplier of both hot rolled and cold We are a supplier of both hot rolled and cold formed sheet pile available for purchase or formed sheet pile available purchase rental. Inventories includefor ASTM A572, or A588, and rental. Inventories include ASTM A572, A588, A690 to grades 50 and 60. and A690 to grades 50 and 60. Cast steel end protection can attached Cast steel end protection can bebe attached toto our sheet pile with a minimum of weld. This our sheet pile with a minimum of weld. This prevents tearing and leakage and provides for prevents tearing and leakage and provides for maximum salvage. Reinforcing pile ends makes maximum salvage. Reinforcing for optimum penetration intopile anyends soil, makes which forisoptimum penetration into any soil, whichare especially beneficial when obstructions is especially beneficial when obstructions anticipated. are anticipated.

HOT ROLLED

COLD FORMED

H-Pile

We currently stock 10- and 14-inch sizes We currently stock 10- and 14-inch sizes of ASTM 572 Grade 50 H-pile. Point of ASTM 572 Grade 50 H-pile. Point attachments, mechanical splicers, and allall ofof attachments, mechanical splicers, and ourour Consolidated Pipe and Supply specialty Consolidated and Supply specialty coatings are available for usePipe on all H-pile. coatings areare available forfor useuse onon allall H-pile. coatings available H-pile.

Consolidated Pipe H-pile features APF Consolidated H-pile features Hard-Bite point with Pipe integrally cast cutting APF Consolidated Pipe H-pile features APF point with teethHard-Bite that typically allows forintegrally maximum cast cutting Hard-Bite point with integrally cast cutting penetration by breaking through debris and teeth that typically allows for maximum teeth that typically allows for maximum boulders. These teeth cut into ledge rock debris and penetration by breaking through penetration by breaking through debris and for full bearing and are optimal forinto finding boulders. These teeth cut ledge rock boulders. These teeth cut into ledge rock secure toe-hold on rock.

for for fullfull bearing andand areare optimal forfor finding bearing optimal finding secure toe-hold rock. secure toe-hold on on rock.

P.O. B OX 247 2 4 7 2 ,2, BIR MINGHAM, AL 3 5 2 0 1 35201 P.O. BOX BIRMINGHAM, AL P H O NE : 2 0 5 - 3 2 3 - 7 2 6 1 | 1 -8 0 0 - 4 6 7 - 7 2 6 1 | FA X: 2 0 5 - 2 5 1 - 7 8 3 8 P.O. B OX 247 |2 1-800-467-7261 , BIR M INGHAM , AL |35201 PHONE: 205-323-7261 FAX: 205-251-7838 CO NS O LI DAT EDPIPE .COM PH O NE: 205- 323- 7261 | 1-800-467-7261 | FA X: 205-251-7838 CONSOLIDATEDPIPE.COM

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