The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported that 22 workers died in the first half of 2022 due to deadly hazards present in trenching and excavation work. In response, OSHA has launched an enhanced nationwide enforcement effort and additional oversight of construction sites to ensure that contractors properly implement federal workplace safety requirements for... Continue Reading →
Modular buildings are coming to the forefront as the US pays more attention to reducing waste and embodied carbon in building construction. Modular construction processes build a project off-site under controlled plant conditions and then transport the components to the site for assembly and construction. Owners who are particularly concerned about reducing waste and meeting... Continue Reading →
As the US emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an increased demand for construction materials—a demand that will surge if Congress ever passes infrastructure revitalization investment legislation. Limited product inventory and ongoing supply change disruptions only compound the issue of swelling demand as this leads to increased construction costs and longer lead times for obtaining materials. In... Continue Reading →
In the US, putting a capital asset into place has traditionally been a disjointed and inefficient activity. Pressure from clients has forced both design firms and construction contractors to recognize that the process has to work more efficiently. Project teams shifting focus to project success rather than project disputes has resulted in a blurring of the... Continue Reading →
Although design errors or inadequacies are not the source of most professional liability insurance claims, they often lead to the erosion of client confidence in the design team and usually result in claims during the construction phase or soon thereafter. This happens because traditional professional liability insurance policies do not provide coverage until a demand... Continue Reading →
Guest blog post written by Joseph W. Cooch, Esq., of Lee/Shoemaker PLLC. Joseph W. Cooch is Counsel at Lee/Shoemaker PLLC, a law firm devoted to the representation of design professionals, in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. The content of this article was prepared to educate related to potential risks, but is not intended to be a... Continue Reading →
During the unveiling of the HoloLens 2 at the Mobile World Congress on February 24, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella talked about how the device will allow construction workers to create, view, and interact with holograms that appear as part of the physical world. The HoloLens 2 is an augmented reality headset that Microsoft is developing... Continue Reading →
According to a report prepared by Governor Roy Cooper, the early damage estimates to North Carolina’s businesses and infrastructure from Hurricane Florence stand at $12.7 billion. The report provides sector-by-sector assessments and discusses available funding sources. Design firms looking to provide services for recovery efforts can access the full report. As noted in the report,... Continue Reading →
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 extended a number of provisions that had expired at the end of 2016. Among these provisions was Section 179D, Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction, now available for newly constructed buildings or building improvements placed in service during 2017. The deduction is available to owners and tenants of commercial properties... Continue Reading →
Conflicting laws between the federal and state governments create many unknowns for all aspects of the expanding marijuana industry—including construction and design. Although to date, there’s only one documented insurance claim in the Schinnerer program related to the design of a marijuana facility—that’s yet to be resolved—design and construction experts are assessing how the industry... Continue Reading →
