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��ѻ��ý of America’s Past Chair of the Lean Construction Forum Steering Committee, Jeff Esgar, Sundt Construction, was asked to contribute an article based on ��ѻ��ý’s Lean Construction Education Program’s Unit One course entitled: “Variation in Production Systems” for the Lean Construction Blog.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017 | 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. (ET) This lively, information-packed WebEd, brought to you by the ��ѻ��ý of America Business Development Forum, presents industry experts, Ken Simonson, Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America and Cliff Brewis, Vice President of Operations for Dodge Data Analytics as they provide construction industry leaders and Business Development professionals national and regional construction market predictions in light of a new presidential administration.

The Business Development Best Practices are an ongoing effort by the ��ѻ��ý Business Development Forum Steering Committee to bring more BD resources and best practices to the ��ѻ��ý membership. Written and developed by industry experts in Business Development, these best practices cover a wide range of topics, from relationship building and sales to marketing and proposals.

At the ��ѻ��ý Annual Convention in Las Vegas, NV, the Building Division by acclimation elected Douglas Maibach as Chairman for 2017-2018. Doug is Chairman of Barton Malow Enterprises and Executive Vice President of Barton Malow Company in Southfield, Michigan. He is a very active leader in local community and industry organizations.

Christie DeLuca, AECOM Grow, increase, expand. These concepts form the foundation of a company’s strategic goals. Although not all strategies require entering new markets, at some point, firms must expand beyond existing clients or geographies to achieve significant growth. Whether you’re on the executive team or serve in the business development space, answering these questions honestly can help your team determine where your company should focus its resources to achieve realistic and meaningful growth.

Matthew Lee, Young Contracting Have you ever had to sit through a presentation where you spend the entire time checking you phone for emails and messages even though you know you haven’t received any new ones? At some point in your career, whether you are in business development, sales, marketing, management, or otherwise, most of us will have to get up in front of a group of people and make a presentation. Here are FIVE tips that may help you give a meaningful presentation.

he Transportation Construction Coalition (TCC) sent a letter to all members of the new 115th Congress urging that it get off to a productive start and show the American public that its intention to make good on campaign pledges to work together in the best interest of the country by completing action now on a fully funded FY 2017 transportation appropriations measure. The letter points out that many state DOTs are unable to put their full list of construction projects out to bid because Congress has only approved FY 2017 funding for highway and transit programs through April 28, 2017. In addition, because the DOT funding is currently part of a continuing resolution to fund the entire government at FY 2016 levels, the highway and transit programs are funded at 2 percent below the level authorized in the one year old FAST Act. You are urged to also contact your Congressional delegation and urge them to complete action on this important funding bill. A message is available for you to send through the Hardhats for Highways site and can be accessed here. http://hardhatsforhighways.org/

Plan on participating in a National conference April 4-6, 2017 in Sparks, Nevada on, "Advancing Best Practices in the ART of Partnering." ��ѻ��ý of America, ��ѻ��ý of Nevada, and Las Vegas Chapter ��ѻ��ý are working with the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in this initiative emphasizing the need for partnering; highlighting the top two or three state of the art partnering practices; and, showcasing how these recognized leaders are supporting and advancing the use of partnering on highway construction projects.The conference is targeted at state DOT officials, contractors, chapter staff, and FHWA. ��ѻ��ý members are encouraged to participate to bring the contractor perspective to the issue of partnering. Further information, including registration and hotel details is available here.

The Senate Commerce Committee held a confirmation January 11, 2017 for President-elect Trump’s nominee to head the Department of Transportation, Elaine Chao. Ms. Chao – who previously served as the Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush and the Deputy Secretary of Transportation in President George H.W. Bush’s Administration – is expected to help shape an infrastructure plan that has been promised by President-elect Trump. Secretary-Nominee Chao offered no specifics of what a Trump infrastructure plan would include but she did acknowledge that the challenges with any plan lie in how it is paid for. During the hearing she expressed the belief that both direct federal spending and private financing will be a part of the incoming administration’s proposal. She went on the say that seeing a fix for the Highway Trust Fund – which will again be facing insolvency in 2020 – will be a “top priority” for the Department.

The federal highway Administration (FHWA) issued final rules on performance measures for congestion and freight movement that include requirements for states to measure and report CO2 (Greenhouse Gas- GHG) emissions from on-road vehicles for projects receiving federal funding. ��ѻ��ý and numerous other groups and Members of Congress advised FHWA in formal comments on the proposal that it lacked authority to expand into CO2 emissions but FHWA said it didn’t agree. In a separate action, the Department of Transportation (USDOT) released updated implementation procedures for states to use to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Not only did USDOT rush these procedures out for publication with limited (21 days) for comment, the document adds a new level of oversight to the environmental review process. This undermines efforts by Congress in the past three transportation authorization bills and previous administrations to streamline environmental review and shrink the time it takes for project approval.