Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Feb 8, 2012, 7:51 am
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Despite the second-highest delinquency rate among all property types, U.S. multifamily CMBS fortunes have significantly turned for the better in recent months, according to Fitch Ratings. Multifamily loans, along with hotels, have rebounded by the most strides over the p...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Feb 7, 2012, 7:23 am
Although it’s no doubt been in development for some time, the 361,200 square-feet of mixed-use student housing and retail space at Drexel University in Philadelphia set to get started February 21 adds another bright spot in construction starts, and signals an interesting collaboration between pri...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Feb 6, 2012, 8:11 am
Construction contractors and equipment distributors are optimistic local non-residential activity will improve in 2012, according to a recent survey by Wells Fargo Equipment Finance Inc., part of Wells Fargo & Company. In the company’s 2012 Construction Industry Forecast, Wells Fargo’s Construct...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Feb 3, 2012, 7:44 am
Contractors who are building out and improving the country’s metropolitan landscapes don’t have to settle for off-the-shelf transit shelters, street furniture and advertising kiosks. That’s because companies that design and manufacture those fixtures are increasingly turning out custom produc...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Feb 2, 2012, 8:05 am
Dexter + Chaney’s newly formed Operations Group has just released Venture, a cloud solution that helps construction operations professionals manage project documentation, people, and communications on one easy-to-use platform. Venture keeps the threads of communication and information flowing be...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Feb 1, 2012, 7:18 am
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association which represents the $628 billion equipment finance sector, today revealed its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2012.  Given that every year U.S. businesses, nonprofits and government agencies spend in excess of $1.2 trillion in capital goods o...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 31, 2012, 7:46 am
According to a new report from Pike Research, worldwide revenue from building energy management systems will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 14 percent through the rest of this decade, reaching just under $6 billion a year by 2020. BEMS include software, hardware, and ser...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 30, 2012, 7:33 am
In 2012, companies looking to successfully add top talent to their company need to be aware of the shifting dynamics in the recruiting arena and become even more strategic in their approach, said Cindy Lu, CEO of The Novo Group, a national managed recruitment outsourcing firm. Novo has developed som...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 27, 2012, 7:58 am
In December the construction and trucking industries were the leading boosters of the Monthly Leasing and Finance Index, as exported by The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association. The index reports economic activity for the $628 billion equipment finance sector. New business volume for December...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 26, 2012, 2:57 pm
Construction outfits that have even a few vehicles also have at least a few gallons of fuel being wasted everyday. Closely tracking fuel purchases is one way to spot where waste might be occurring. Networkfleet, a vendor of wireless fleet management solutions, recently announced the availability of...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 24, 2012, 5:46 pm
By Erik Braunitzer, and courtesy of Douglas Elliman Real Estate Company, agents for New York City Apartments.  The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a rating system used for construction, operation and design of green homes, buildings and entire neighborhoods. It was developed by th...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 23, 2012, 11:01 am
If you’re at the International Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Exposition in Chicago (brrrrrr) today, tomorrow and/or Wednesday, look in on Booth 3128 to see Integrated Environmental Solutions‘ innovative energy modeling technology at work. Learn how to simplify LEED energy model...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 23, 2012, 7:18 am
Logan Homes (a Coastal Carolina builder) announced that by using BuilderMT workflow solutions it was able to achieve 10 – 12 percent, per-home margins across 150 starts averaging $300,000 per sale, according to a press release from BuilderMT. Apparently Logan isn’t the only builder choosing Buil...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 20, 2012, 7:35 am
Here’s an interesting idea. Solar panels that include the inverter and battery, right inside. Basically it’s plug-n-play photovoltaics that can be used easily, anywhere. Even at that mountain cabin for powering a computer, or lights, or fan or a medical device. The company is not in production y...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 19, 2012, 8:42 am
WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mitsubishi Plastics, Inc., in collaboration with Union Industry Co., Ltd., has developed an easy-to-install compact adsorption chiller with an integrated cooling tower (cooling capacity of 10 kW). The chiller, which uses the zeolitic water vapor adsorbent AQSOATM, can ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 18, 2012, 7:51 am
Technology allows consumers to access almost any content they desire instantaneously on Internet-connected devices – Chris Ely, manager, industry relations, CEA. Survey reveals – One in four consumers expressed an interest in purchasing a home media connectivity system. The Consumer Electronics ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 17, 2012, 3:13 pm
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The stage seems set for some mild improvement for U.S. housing industry metrics in 2012, according to Fitch Ratings, which will host a teleconference tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. ET. Most recent economic and construction statistics were positive or at least above conse...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 17, 2012, 8:58 am
There are a continuing number of signs that the home building market is beginning to turn around. Not only have foreclosures been bottoming out across the country as evidenced in one news report from Arizona where a county reported its lowest number of distressed properties in recent years, but ther...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 16, 2012, 7:52 am
Thermal mass gets rediscovered in new materials that promise significant energy-use reduction in buildings. Called PCMs, building products that incorporate these materials are already in production. Before air conditioners, electric resistance heating and fossil-fueled furnaces people often used pas...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 13, 2012, 7:45 am
MMM Group Limited, a Canadian program management, planning, engineering and geomatics firm selected Bluebeam PDF Revu as its enterprise-wide PDF solution to replace Adobe® Acrobat®. The company will deploy Revu CAD, Revu Standard and Revu eXtreme™ to meet the needs of nearly 2,000 users. Acco...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 12, 2012, 7:53 am
Prefab building in China has just advanced with the erection of a 30 story hotel to completion in just 15 days. The unique building process relies on prefabricated components that are wired, plumbed and finished before they get to the job site. Not only that, each floor section is raised into place ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 11, 2012, 8:31 am
Contractors who want to bid on large-scale construction projects most often will need to have a surety bond, and for those who are unfamiliar with the requirements for these bonds, Vic Lance, owner of Lance Surety Bonds, offers this detailed introduction to what they are, and the factors considered ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 10, 2012, 1:00 pm
Here’s a simple way to maybe win a pair of work boots by Wolverine valued at $333. Go to this site and leave a comment that answers the question: “Where Do You Wear Your Workboots.” Entries close on January 20 with a winner announced on January 23. If you win, you’ll get a boot called read ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 9, 2012, 8:12 am
Researchers have reduced the preparation time of quantum dot solar cells to less than an hour by changing the form to a one-coat quantum dot solar paint. How? Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are coated with cadmium sulfide (CdS) or cadmium selenide (CdSe.) The composite nanoparticles, when mi...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 6, 2012, 8:25 am
Legend’s Mechanical of Baton Rouge, La., needed a software solution that met its service needs and as well as its new construction needs. Ultimately it chose Dexter + Chaney and its Spectrum® Construction Software. We’re mostly service-related — that’s our forte, explained David Legendre, ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jan 5, 2012, 8:15 am
Medeco Security Locks’ M3 Logic electronic cylinder (eCylinder) was named a 2012 Top Product by Building Operating Management magazine. These lock cylinders let facilities managers and security professionals add audit and scheduling to nearly any opening by simply replacing the cylinder. Along w...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Oct 31, 2011, 7:40 am
By John C.K. Daly of  Oil Price.com  In any country, at the end of the proverbial day, both energy utilities and consumers are finally interested in the technologies that generate a kilowatt of electricity most inexpensively, all other considerations aside. Accordingly, all countries involved in s...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Oct 25, 2011, 5:49 pm
There is some big cash available for any undergraduate or group of students enrolled at a U.S.-accredited university, with at least one student seeking a degree in engineering, architecture, building and construction management, or chemistry. The Odebrecht Organization is introducing its award for...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Oct 19, 2011, 8:17 am
With construction’s employment statistics bouncing around like a rubber ball from month to month it’s difficult to get out from under the trees to see the forest. That’s leading to some shortsightedness on the industry’s part when it comes to who’s going to do the work in the long term. Wh...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Oct 17, 2011, 8:25 am
Review of Ansell ActivArmr HVAC Glove Pros: Excellent protection, grip and tactile response. Con: Sweaty hands. Much like work boots, work gloves have been undergoing a quiet revolution in design and materials. Ansell, the makers of a range of work gloves aimed at the construction industry and other...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Oct 13, 2011, 8:14 am
For those starting a new company, or a large-scale public construction project, most times obtaining a surety bond is step one to begin your business. However, for those who haven’t gone through the process before, finding a surety bond company (or even the bond types you’ll need to acquire) can...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Oct 10, 2011, 4:32 pm
This article in the New York Times covers Marvin Windows and Doors’ approach to keeping people working when the window and door business is dismal. The company employs 2,000 people in the 1,700 person town of Warroad, Minn. and hasn’t laid anyone off and is not intending to. It has that luxury ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Sep 22, 2011, 9:40 am
As the arguments for infrastructure spending increase yet again, I’m reminded of a report put out by the nation’s civil engineers at least 20 years ago. It basically said the nation’s infrastructure was not just crumbling, but that if repair and modernizations didn’t start soon we’d reach ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Sep 19, 2011, 6:22 am
Buildings in surprising portions of the country may be at risk for damages from natural disasters that exceed their design limits.
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Sep 15, 2011, 10:46 am
News about more exacting ways to detect structural problems in wood comes to us from the Fraunhofer Institute for Wood Research, Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut, WKI in Braunschweig, Germany. Researchers there agitate the wood with sound and can then measure the heat that is expelled by defects. Ultrasou...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Sep 12, 2011, 7:24 am
This is something that may have slipped beneath your radar but September is, you guessed it, mold awareness month. I was curious about who, or what, designated September for this rather musty title and I finally found one sourcethat named the “indoor air quality industry” as the originator. Ther...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Sep 6, 2011, 8:20 am
But in thinking about the whole construction blog topic I realized that construction companies, those who are actually doing the building, might be struggling with not just the value of having a company blog but also just what to publish.
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Aug 31, 2011, 8:08 am
Well, it’s that time again. Time for my annual Labor Day rant where I pose the question: Is Labor Day obsolete? Let’s face it, this is a holiday that found its origins in the labor movements of the 1800s. In fact, popular accounts have it that it was granted first in New York City to
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Aug 30, 2011, 8:57 am
This article explores the dangerous territory we enter when we begin to accept construction deaths as an expected part of the construction business.
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Aug 29, 2011, 7:31 am
Get the link to an app for the smart phone that alerts you when you and your employees need to take cover from heat related threats.
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Aug 24, 2011, 12:09 am
New York City has always been a bastion for the organized labor cause but many unions now are finding it tough to take a bite of the big apple. Things there are beginning to look like Wisconsin or any number of other places where organized labor has taken a beating lately. According to this report&#...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jul 7, 2011, 8:22 am
Many construction pros rose up through the ranks, learning the skills needed to manage construction jobs. Unfortunately, with our college-driven job markets they often don’t get serious consideration without some kind of degree. Even those with a lot of experience end up being handicapped by a lac...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jul 5, 2011, 8:03 am
Chase Gugenheim dropped a note to me about his site that offers links to construction management job sites. Each entry has a thorough description of what’s offered. Of particular note are sites that provide refresher ideas for people getting back into construction and others offering articles on a...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jul 3, 2011, 4:34 pm
                                History has shown us that ‘evil’ can be much more successful when it can color its deeds with patriotism, duty, and honor.” - Ben Mauldin I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.” –
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jun 16, 2011, 8:47 pm
Zoho has a range of very useful Software as a Service (SaaS) tools you can use “in the Cloud.”  This means you don’t have to store anything on your computers or servers. Additionally, this type of software makes it VERY easy to collaborate with others in remote locations and to share the pro...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jun 10, 2011, 9:22 am
The promise of roofing that creates electrical energy moves closer to mainstream with Dow Chemical’s announcement, reported in CalFinder Contractors, that it is going full bore into manufacturing solar shingles. The company will build a new plant in Michigan, a state hankering to expand its alter...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jun 9, 2011, 9:46 am
If you are in the construction industry, then you know that half of your job includes finding new projects to work on. Simply waiting around for new construction projects to work on is not going to make you any money. If you really want to be successful, you have to know how to find new
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jun 7, 2011, 7:58 am
As more construction materials and products manufacturers make their specs available online, paper-based submittals are going the way of dinosaurs. Not only that, but when you need submittal information in the field, as you are standing in front of the opening that’s waiting for a storefront, you ...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - Jun 6, 2011, 7:35 am
Today’s work boots bring a certain amount of complexity to the process of choosing a pair that’s right for you. In the old days you just needed to be sure they were in your shoe size, your toe didn’t jamb against the front and they were comfortable. Beyond that, the only other decisions were s...
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Duane C. posted an article on Construction Informer - May 25, 2011, 8:09 am
There are some changes coming in 2012 for the Americans With Disabilities Act requirements in places such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals, stores, factories and warehouses, according to DBTAC Rocky Mountain ADA Center, one of 10 regional centers funded by the National Institute on Disability and...
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