Category: Construction Company

May 15, 2023

New Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act? The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which goes into effect on June 27, 2023, was passed to bridge the gap between the two other pieces of legislation that provide workplace protections for pregnant employees: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, and The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978, which was an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Prior to the PDA, employees affected by a pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions had little recourse if they were not treated by their employers in the same way as employees with medical issues not related to pregnancy or childbirth. The ADA expanded protection for pregnant workers to require that certain pregnancy-related conditions, such as gestational diabetes, hypertension, or severe, persistent vomiting, be treated as disabilities. Closing the Gap Still, there were a number of conditions related to pregnancy that were not considered to be disabling but...

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May 15, 2023

Tesla Considers Expansion at Texas Gigafactory

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. The Tesla Gigafactory Tesla’s existing manufacturing hub in Austin, Texas also serves as the company’s global headquarters. It encompasses 10 million square feet located on 2,5000 acres along the Colorado River. That’s the size of 100 football fields. But plans are in the works to expand what is already an enormous footprint. Construction of the first of several new buildings started in January 2023, with completion expected in mid-February of 2024. At 693,093 square feet, its cost is estimated at $368 million. Based on Tesla’s most recent filings with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration, the company’s total investment in its Texas Gigafactory is estimated to reach as high as $750 million. A Driver of Economic Growth Tesla tripled the growth of Austin’s workforce in 2022. Building new factories or expanding existing ones drives job creation in the surrounding areas, but not only for those manufacturing companies. Workers and their families need housing as well as goods and...

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May 9, 2023

Rising Construction Labor Costs Causing Concerns in Industry

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. The Construction Labor Shortage Construction costs in general have been climbing for several years. Labor costs are not the only factor contributing to the increase, but they top the list, followed closely by the cost of materials. The shortage of labor, particularly skilled labor, has been described as the single greatest challenge construction companies face and is largely responsible for driving up construction labor costs. The reality is that there simply are not enough construction workers to meet the current demand. In fact, there are roughly twice as many job openings as people seeking construction jobs. Surveys reveal that 70% of contractors consider their staffing low relative to their backlogs. While there has been a construction labor shortage for years, it has grown with the easing of Covid-19 precautions and the passage of the Infrastructure Improvement and Jobs Act. The Home Builders Institute estimated in 2022 that more than 61,000 new hires would be needed each and every month...

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May 9, 2023

How to Use Delay Analysis Methods in Construction

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Time Is Money There are few industries in which the old saying, “Time is money” holds as true as it does in construction. Construction delays can have a significant impact, which raises immediate concerns about how long, how much, what went wrong, and who’s responsible. The answers to questions like these are not always clear-cut, and thorough analysis may be required to resolve delay claims—a process referred to as forensic delay analysis. Critical vs. Non-critical Activities The starting point is determining whether the delayed activities are critical or non-critical. That determination is based on how many days an activity can be delayed (the “float”) without delaying the entire project. Critical activities have zero float, meaning a delay of even one day will delay the whole project. Non-critical activities only become critical when a delay exceeds their float. Common Causes of Construction Delays Causes of construction delays generally fall into these categories: Contract errors or omissions (e.g., missing, incorrect, or...

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May 9, 2023

Top 10 Reasons for Construction Project Delays

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. The potential causes of construction project delays are many and varied. This article highlights ten of the most common or problematic causes and provides some ideas for preventing them. 1. Inaccurate Budgets Mistakes made when budgeting can cause cash flow crunches that result in project delays. Problems are most likely to occur when data is not reported between the field and office on a timely basis, so job progress and billings do not match project costs. The best solution is to use cloud-based integrated construction management software that gives field and office staff access to real time data. 2. Inadequate Planning Construction projects are all about planning. There are plans at every phase of every project. When viewed as a whole, the plans for a given project are all about managing the human and other resources that serve as inputs to the process to produce the optimal project outcome. Failing to involve the right people who possess the necessary...

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May 9, 2023

10 Tips to Manage a Construction Backlog

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What is a Backlog in the Construction Industry? A construction backlog exists when a contractor has been awarded contracts that have not yet been initiated. A backlog typically is measured in terms of the number or the aggregate value of all projects in the pipeline but not started. It can also be described in terms of how far out into the future that projects are already scheduled. It’s good to have some amount of backlog because it ensures you will have money coming in for a certain foreseeable period. With no backlog, you would be worrying about where and when you will find your next job. Too much backlog could mean you’re underbidding to win contracts, which could leave you with an inadequate profit margin or even cause you to lose money on a project. And it could make potential clients question your project management skills and experience. This article presents 10 proven ways to help you find the...

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May 9, 2023

Qcells to Build $2.5B U.S. Plant

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. The Demand for U.S. Energy Independence The Solar Energy Manufacturing for America Coalition (SEMA), a group of top U.S. solar companies, was formed in early 2021 in recognition of the growing demand for renewable energy. A key aspect of SEMA’s mission was, and remains, to lobby and advocate for a domestic solar energy supply chain and the creation of incentives for domestic solar panel manufacturing. (In 2022, less than 20% of the solar panels installed in the United States were made in the U.S.) A stable domestic supply chain is essential to reducing or eliminating our reliance on China for key materials (particularly polysilicon and glass), components, and finished solar panels. SEMA’s inputs helped shape the clean energy provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law on August 16, 2022, by President Biden. The White House has described the IRA as the most significant action Congress has taken on clean energy and climate change in the nation’s...

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April 27, 2023

HUBZone Contractors: Advantages and Federal Opportunities

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Is the HUBZone Program? The Small Business Administration (SBA) operates the HUBZone program, which was created to enable qualified small businesses to compete for set-aside contracts and receive preferential consideration in competitive, open contract bidding. What is a HUBZone? HUBZones are historically underutilized business zones. The SBA designated them as such based on the most recent census data. HUBZone designations are re-evaluated and updated every five years. The previous review was in 2018, and the newly revised map will be released on July 1, 2023. The next review will take place in 2028. What Are the Qualification Criteria for the HUBZone Program? To become certified for the HUBZone program, your business must meet the SBA’s definition of a small business. It must also be at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, a community development corporation, agricultural coop, Alaskan Native corporation, Native Hawaiian organization, or Native American tribe. Your principal office must be located within a HUBZone,...

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April 27, 2023

Guide to Bidding on Government Work

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. Government Contracting Government construction contracting can be rewarding. Many of the largest construction companies regard it as a mainstay of their business. Public works projects are available at all levels of government, from towns, cities, and counties, to state agencies, to the federal government. But when you’re first starting out, even if you have significant experience in private construction contracting, moving into this new territory can seem a little daunting. And to be honest, it can take a little effort to get your head wrapped around the ins and outs of bidding on government construction projects. Government contracting can be a complicated matter due to its highly regulated nature, particularly at the federal level, and some states have a comparably complex procurement process. The high degree of regulation, however, helps ensure the fairness of the bidding process and minimizes the risks to the taxpayer dollars that fund public works projects. It also requires contractors new to the government construction...

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March 20, 2023

How Construction Smart Sensors Are Changing the Industry

Surety Bond Professionals is a family owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your construction bond needs. What Are Smart Sensors? Sensor technology has come a long way since the early days of factory automation when sensors made machine control of machine-controlled equipment possible. Back then, sensors could do little more than trigger an action by detecting the presence or absence of an item. Today’s smart sensors can gather a wide range of information and transmit it wirelessly. Some sensors contain onboard microprocessors that can act on the data collected before transmitting it elsewhere to support monitoring and decision-making. Some sensors are capable of detecting their own functioning and reporting the need for recalibration or maintenance. Advances in technology result in sensors that are smarter, smaller, lighter, and less vulnerable to outside forces. You can expect to see continued expansion of the possible uses of smart sensors, particularly in the construction industry. How Are Smart Sensors Used in Construction? These are just a few of the ways in which smart sensors are modernizing the construction industry:...

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