Month: June 2020

PMI Legislative Forum Delivers Crucial Industry Insights

The two-hour, virtual event delivered important insights to its members on federal infrastructure legislation and critical housing and trade issues.

JUN 25, 2020

McLEAN, VA – Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) delivered important insights to its members on federal infrastructure legislation and critical housing and trade issues during yesterday’s PMI Virtual Legislative Forum.

“Our members gained access to valuable information from experts with remarkable knowledge and insights into issues affecting our industry,” said Kerry Stackpole, PMI CEO/executive director. “PMI members who could not attend will still have access to the forum’s recording and presentations, as well as to materials they can use to advocate on behalf of their companies to members of Congress.”

The two-hour forum was divided into four sessions. The first session, “Eye on Housing,” provided an economic analysis and forecast of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on home and apartment building from Robert Dietz, chief economist and senior vice president for economics and housing policy, National Association of Home Builders. He discussed the current construction and housing industry outlook and how housing will be a leading element for the nation’s overall recovery.

Ed Mortimer, vice president of transportation and infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, provided an update during the second session on various transportation and water infrastructure legislation designed to retain or create jobs, repair old systems, and stimulate consumer spending. He covered some of the key elements necessary to pass this vital legislation, including bipartisan solutions and the need for organizations, such as PMI, to continue their advocacy efforts.

During her presentation on the “Future of Trade in the Wake of COVID-19” during the forum’s third session, trade lawyer Nicole Bivens Collinson reviewed the dynamics of the United States-China tariff negotiations, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) effective on July 1, and the impact the pandemic is having on supply chains. Bivens is president of the international trade, customs and export law practice at Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.

Collinson discussed the short windows that PMI member companies have to ask the United States Trade Representative (USTR) for extensions to some previously approved China tariff exclusions. Depending on the plumbing product or component, the deadlines to request an extension range from July 7 to July 31, 2020. The extensions would last for one year and are being offered in an apparent bow to concerns about the tariffs’ impact on companies struggling with the coronavirus pandemic. The move would apply to some products excluded from the 25 percent tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on Chinese goods.

The final session, “Outreach to Congress: Take Action and Urge Lawmakers to Support Robust Infrastructure Package,” provided tools and information to assist PMI members in their advocacy efforts for the plumbing manufacturing industry. The tools include a customizable letter that members can use to urge local lawmakers to pass important infrastructure legislation and a directory of Congressional members.

The forum was hosted by Stackpole, as well as by the co-chairs of PMI’s Advocacy/Government Affairs Committee, Troy Benavidez, vice president of public affairs for LIXIL, and Lowell Lampen, engineering director, K&B NA sanitary products, Kohler Co., and Stephanie Salmon, PMI’s government affairs consultant.

Source: https://www.contractormag.com/industry-event-news/article/21135234/pmi-legislative-forum-delivers-crucial-industry-insights

By Tim Kampert | May 17, 2020

In 2018, my colleague John Koenig wrote about how ensuring a clean jobsite makes workers safer and more efficient, and how it tells customers that you, the builder, really do care about quality.

That article focused on the importance of tidying up at the end of each day and emptying the dumpster on a regular schedule. While important, the work of keeping a jobsite clean and well-organized starts further upstream, in the way you handle and store lumber and other building materials.

Too many builders fail to understand this concept. In about half of the 125 or so communities and thousands of new homes under construction I visit in a typical year, I see material handling practices that are not only substandard, but that also cost builders money.

Why So Serious?

We all know the problem: Lumber, sheet goods, roof trusses, and even wall panels get left out in the rain, snow, and mud, leading to host of moisture-related issues, such as warping and mold. Rain and snow also cause the breakdown of adhesives, causing wood-based panel products to swell and delaminate.

The direct hard costs are obvious: damaged lumber and panels need to be culled and replaced. The cost per piece may not be high, but it adds up when you’re building a lot of homes. There are also costs from schedule delays while framers wait for replacement materials.

lumber on jobsite covered by plastic tarp for protection from weather
Cover lumber on the jobsite and keep it raised off the ground to protect it from moisture.

Indirect Costs of Not Properly Storing Materials

Other costs are more indirect but just as serious. Builders tell me that homeowners have been getting more and more fussy about seeing materials carelessly strewn around the site, or when they see water-stained, dirty lumber during their framing walk, or even worse, mold. They begin to suspect their builder is careless, which leads to more scrutiny throughout the construction process.

Some homeowners will even take to social media to complain and post photos which, to say the least, doesn’t help the builder’s marketing efforts or reputation.

Easy Solutions for Better Building Materials Storage

These problems are easy to prevent, and the solutions are ones any builder should realize after just a few moments of thought.

For instance, schedule materials deliveries as close as possible to the time those materials will be needed so they spend less time sitting out in the weather or needing to be protected. Make sure the delivery crew puts the stacks of lumber, trusses, and panels on sleepers to hold them off the ground. And keep the materials under cover—in all weather—with plastic sheeting until you need them.

muddy jobsite with materials stored correctly off the ground and covered with plastic tarps
Good practice: building materials stored off the ground on a muddy jobsite and covered.

These practices don’t cost money (except maybe for some big tarps). And while they may require that you look at your system for ordering materials and require job supervisors to pay closer attention to material storage, the builders I know who have taken these steps tell me the payoff is well worth that minimal effort.

The bottom line is that when it comes to quality, maintaining a clean, well-organized jobsite is the lowest of low-hanging fruit. If you haven’t made this a priority yet, it begs the question: why not?

Source: https://www.probuilder.com/the-value-of-proper-building-materials-storage

6 must reads for the AEC industry today: June 3, 2020

5 ways to improve cleanliness of public restrooms and office owners are in no hurry for tenants to return.

1. Perkins and Will, Healthy Building Network advise against the use of antimicrobial building products (BD+C)
“According to Perkins and Will and the nonprofit Healthy Building Network, building products with antimicrobial treatments are not proved to be a safe or effective means of controlling the spread of COVID-19.”

2. 5 ways to improve hand washing and minimize germs in public restrooms (BD+C) 
“Germaphobes rejoice! Public restrooms may soon become a much more sanitary place than they have been in the past thanks to the effects of COVID-19. ”

3. Designers, owners reinventing restaurants to cope with COVID-19 (BD+C) 
“Options include rearranged seating, mobile ordering, designated flow spaces.”

4. Architects, health experts release strategies, tools for safely reopening buildings (AIA)
“As communities across the US initiate phased reopening plans, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is releasing new resources today to support employers, public officials and design professionals with re-occupying buildings more safely.”

5. The Spectacular Rise and Fall of WeWork (Bloomberg)
“In less than one year, WeWork went from having a $47 billion valuation and being the darling of the venture capital world to needing an $8 billion infusion to avoid running out of money. This is the story of how we got here.”

6. Office Owners Are In No Hurry For Tenants To Return (Bisnow)
“Owners of office buildings that have stood mainly vacant since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March say they aren’t in a rush to see their tenants return when they are permitted to do so by government officials.”

Source: BD+C

https://www.bdcnetwork.com/6-must-reads-aec-industry-today-june-3-2020