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www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 13 H Number 2 H FEBRUARY 2016Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital

Roger-O’Brien Construction has built several Oceans Behavioral Hospitals for SRP Medical, but the

recently completed hospital in Katy was the first tiltwall project. “We were able to mainstream a new process to build their hospitals with a lower budget and shorter schedule,” said Nicholas Flannery, project manager. “In addition, we were able to coordinate, with the use of SketchUp, how to cast all of the tiltwall panels by using the slab as opposed to mud slabs. We were able to pour 60 of the 66 panels with this pro-cess.” Located south of Interstate 10 and east of South Mason Road on Park Grove Drive, the Oceans Behavioral Hospital is a new construction, 48-bed specialty hos-pital focused on behavioral healthcare for senior patients (ages 55 and over). The 34,000-sf specialty hospital is a licensed acute care hospital by the Texas

Department of State Health Services. The primary exterior construction materials used were concrete tiltwall, cast stone, sticky stone brick and EIFs, struc-tural steel framing, TPO membrane roof-ing, metal roof panels and high perfor-mance paint coating. The interior materi-als used were gypsum board, cold formed framing, wood door, glass storefront, car-pet, tile, wood and vinyl flooring. According to Flannery, during the course of the project, the team experi-enced more than 20 days of rain. “We were committed to completing the project on time, so the project team made up the time by working evenings and weekends,” he said. At the start of the project, the elec-tricity provider told Rogers-O’Brien Con-struction they would be on the site in 6-8 weeks. The company did not come on site until nine months into the project.

Oceans Behavioral Hospital in Katy

Starting out doing boat carpentry in the Friendswood area 25 years ago, Rob Isbill and Kimo, West Bay Ma-

rine Service, expanded along the way to provide commercial cabinetry services. Isbill began doing carpentry work 41 years ago in high school and hasn’t stopped since. “I did carpentry work as a teenager because it paid more than a department store,” he said. “I paid my way through college. I eventually realized I had an ability to do the work.” Isbill says his favorite part of the job is working with his friend Kimo and hav-ing the opportunity to work in the field on beautiful days. “I am able to be creative every day,”

he said. “We do a lot of the design work. We can take a design from paper and put it into reality.” West Bay Marine Service has had sev-eral commercial cabinetry jobs outside of Friendswood lately. “Houston is booming right now,” he said. “We recently did the carpentry work at a restaurant project in Houston. We still go back to our roots and do boat car-pentry, too.” If a young person wants to make a living as a carpenter, Isbill says his advice is to go for it and follow your dreams. “I raised three kids who are now out of the house and I have two more kids in

L-R: Kimo and Rob Isbill have worked together for 25 years.

Lucas Construction has been family owned and operated for 25 years. Owner Willis Lucas began the civil

construction business in his hometown of Galveston. Lucas Construction continues to serve not only the island, but the main-land as well. The company has operated at the League City location for 15 years. Mike Hernandez, safety manager and coordinator, oversees the mechanics and Meriam Taylor, accounting manag-er, takes care of the accounts payable and receivables and contract administration. Leno Rios, controller, handles the administration work and financial report-ing. “We enjoy having company events

throughout the year,” Rios said. “We re-cently held our Christmas party at the back of our shop.” Employees ate a meal together, re-ceived bonuses and exchanged gifts at the party. “We also have a Cinco de Mayo party in May and anytime we have a couple of jobs go really well, we will have a party for the employees at the shop.” In the past six months, Lucas Con-struction has stayed very busy, especially with four high-profile projects near the Galveston Seawall. “Since Mr. Lucas is originally from Galveston, he has made several contacts

L-R: Mike Hernandez, Meriam Taylor and Leno Rios

Houston Construction News • Feb 2016

Splash of paintCasino royale

Submitted to Construction News

Lansdowne-Moody Co. employees played black jack at the company Christmas party held at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Houston Dec. 5. –ab

Esau Barajas, Hi-Tech Electric Inc., recently represented the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) Texas Gulf

Coast Chapter at the IEC National Convention in Tampa. –ab

Making things workSubmitted to Construction News

Brady Painting Con-tractors held its an-nual Christmas party

at the Houston office in De-cember. Owner Ted Brady thanked employees for all their hard work during 2015 at the party. Employees did a gift exchange and enjoyed fried turkey, ham and homemade tamales for lunch. Brady’s daughter Amy, office manager, has worked at the company for almost 20 years. “We have stayed very busy in the past six months,” Amy Brady said. “We have been very lucky! We look forward to the New Year.”

Ted Brady (left) and the Brady Painting Contractors staff

L-R: Beaux and Oliver come to the office every day.

Established in 1975, Brady Painting Contractors provides interior and exterior painting services. –ab


Breaking the mold Small town hospitality

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Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Buddy DoebblerEditorial/Production . . . . . . . Reesa Doebbler Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . .Cyndi WrightAdmin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lacie CortezProduction Manager. . . . . . . . . . Sue JohnsonMarketing Director . . . . . . Leslye Hernandez

CorrectionIn the January 2016 legal column, “Texas Mechanic’s and Materialman’s Liens on private projects in Texas,” it should have said the author, Janet Townsley, and the firm, The Cromeens Law Firm, are based in Houston. Construction News regrets the error.

Located in historic Old Town Katy, Katy Hardware is expanding in 2016. The family owned and operat-

ed company purchased land on Pin Oak and will build a new building. “We are look forward to moving into our new building this fall,” owner Kay Powers said. “We have owned the store for 14 years. Several businesses have moved to the area lately. The growth around the Katy area is incredible.” According to Powers, the current store is 5,500sf and the new building will be 12,000sf. ““Right now we have our lumber across the street in two buildings,” she said. “When we move, the lumber will be next to the hardware store. It will be nice to have everything together.” Powers says she does a little bit of ev-erything during the week. She helps ca-shiers, checks inventory and does ac-

Owner Justin Jackson says he chose Apex Stone for his compa-ny name because apex means the

“highest point.” “We leased one acre of land on I-10 and opened the yard to the public in 2003,” Jackson said. “We started out with two employees and a handful of Moss Rock and Texas Limestone pallets.” Pursuing an entrepreneurship de-gree from the University of Houston, Jackson started Apex Stone while he was still in college. “I just had to have something going by the time I graduated,” Jackson said. “I wanted to break the mold. I wanted to show my dad I could build a business from scratch.” Jackson says in 2005, the company grew to a 3-acre facility and the customer base in West Houston and Katy areas continued to grow as well. “Next, we acquired 12 acres of land just a few hundred yards from our origi-nal location,” he said.

counts payables and receivables. Her son Cullen builds screens for the company when he is not attending col-lege at Texas A&M University. He is pursu-ing a degree in engineering. Customer service is key at Katy Hard-ware, she said. “We like to greet customers when they walk through the door and ask how can we be of help,” she said. “We are al-ways staffed so that if customer has a question about plumbing, tools or any-thing else we are able to give the custom-er an answer and some advice. “Something that separates us from the big guys is we have front door park-ing and we will load merchandise for cus-tomers.” Katy Hardware provides hardware, fasteners, lumber, paint, plumbing and electrical supplies and custom window screens. –ab

L-R: Cullen, Ruby and Kay Powers

The company recently acquired an additional 45 acres for future expansion and now employs more than 30 associ-ates. “I enjoy doing business in general,” Jackson said. “There is something new and exciting every day. I like meet chal-lenges and overcome obstacles.” Jackson’s main hobby is working. If he is not at work, he says he is thinking about work. “I do like to go boating or jet skiing in the summertime,” he said. “I like to go to the movies or out to eat on the week-end.” Outside of business, Jackson says he’d like to travel more. “I’d like to go back to Germany one day and see more of the castles,” he said. “Business wise, I‘d like to continue to grow the company and open more Apex Stone locations.” Apex Stone services the stone needs for both residential and commercial projects throughout the United States. –ab

Apex Stone has grown a lot since opening in 2003 and keeps employees busy.

BESTConstruction Tool?

ADVERTISING inConstruction News

210-308-5800 www.ConstructionNews.net

Megan RyanOwner/ManagerBest Blue Print


Megan Ryan became the owner/manager of Best Blue Print in January 2012.

“I got into the print business by acci-dent,” Ryan said. “My husband, Judd, and I also have a construction company. A few years ago, he was subletting office space from a blue print shop. “We discovered that the print com-pany was closing its business, so Judd took over that lease agreement. He bought new print equipment and kept the employees employed. That is how we fell into the business.” Best Blue Print provides blue prints, stationery, envelopes, business cards, banners for construction sites, construc-tion and real estate signage, die-cut stick-ers, banner stands, window graphics and vehicle wraps.

Where were you born, Megan? I was born in Princeton, NJ. During my childhood, my family and I lived in several places in New York and Ohio be-fore moving to Houston. What high school did you attend? I attended Westchester Senior High School. I really liked creative writing dur-ing my high school years.

Do you still like creative writing to-day? I do enjoy writing. Earlier in my ca-reer, I produced magazines and wrote the articles for two private high schools. In addition, I was also involved in communications and training material development for a private company.

Did you have a job while you were in high school? Yes, I have worked since I was 14 and I haven’t stopped yet. My very first job was working at the concession stand and the ticket booth at a local movie theater. I also worked at a grocery store and an insurance company before beginning

my “first” career in information technol-ogy.

What did you do after you graduated high school? I jumped right into the workforce as a programmer and later a database de-signer for a couple of oil and gas and chemical companies. I did that for more than 23 years. I also took a few nighttime college courses on and off throughout that leg of my career. My second career was in communi-cations and quality assurance for a com-bined 10 or 11 years. Now I’m in my third career as a small business owner running the blueprint shop and currently launching a commer-cial metal fabrication company, Ms. Met-als.

Where did you and your husband meet? We met in Houston many years ago! Judd is originally from Houston. We were married in 1991 and renewed our vows on our tenth anniversary.

How many children do you and Judd have? We have two children. Our son is 23 and our daughter is 21. Our son is a superintendent for our construction company. He will also be one of our 3M certified reps at the print shop – and he has taken several welding courses in preparation for launching the metal fabricating company. Our daughter has also worked at our construction company over the years running permits. She works part time when she is home from college. She is in her third year at Texas Tech University in Lubbock studying personal financial planning.

Do you and your husband travel to Lubbock during the year? Yes, my husband recently traveled to Lubbock with our daughter. He has a con-struction jobsite in Pecos that he visits once or twice a month to check on the job progress. I look forward to visiting our daugh-ter in Lubbock in February for the annual Mom’s weekend.

How have things progressed at Best Blue Print since 2012? The business has done well. While our roots are in blueprints, we have ex-panded our service offerings through the addition of state-of-the-art equipment for producing marketing and presenta-tion materials for our customers. In addition, we have doubled our real estate space by leasing the suite right next door to our current suite. We are al-most done with the buildout and we are getting ready to move the graphics and design side of the house over to the new suite.

The current suite will remain as the reprographics side of the house and will also be slightly remodeled. We recently purchased a large HP Page Wide machine in December. It is in-credible and it is unbelievable how much faster it is and how much more durable the ink is. Why have you enjoyed working at Best Blue Print? I enjoy the versatility. There is such as wide variety of services we can offer to our customers. It also affords the opportunity to meet a lot of people. I have never met a stranger. I never forget a face. Most of all, I love helping people.

Do you do any type of volunteer work on the side? Over the years I've been a volunteer for the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council (co-leader and cookie mom); Habitat for Humanity; Dress for Success; Houston Food Bank; Council on Alcohol and Drugs; MD Anderson Cancer Center and Depelchin Children's Center.

What advice would you give a young person who wants to work in your in-dustry? No matter what your job is, you have to be trainable and be willing to listen. You should have great customer ser-vice skills. You should be pleasant, flexi-ble and be someone who likes to volun-teer and help. It is also very good to be dedicated, honest and reliable. I think if you have these personality traits, you should do well in any service-related business.

What do you do in your free time? I am launching a welding/metal fab-ricating company called Ms. Metals with Rosie the Riveter gone Wendy the Welder as our logo. The company is construction orient-ed and we will mostly do commercial projects. My newest hobby is going to be training our new Cane Corso puppy named Vinny (short for Vincent Capone). He was a Christmas present for my hus-band and daughter, yet he will most likely be coming to work at the print shop with me. He is 14 weeks and he already weighs 23 lbs. He could eventually weigh up to 120 pounds. My family is not short on pets. Over the years we’ve taken in several stray cats and dogs that somehow find their way to our house and never leave. We currently have four cats and two dogs. At the construction shop, there are

also two cats and one dog, Henry, who is dedicated to security. I love to cook and bake in my free time too. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I enjoy cooking all of the casseroles and the turkey as well as baking an assort-ment of pies. This past Thanksgiving I made pump-kin, apple, minced meat and pecan pies.

Do you and your family like to travel during the year? Since my husband and I are running the businesses, it is hard to get away. When we do vacation, we try to go somewhere different in our country each time, and somewhere with historic sites. We started this when the kids were little to show them the beauty and history of their own country. We would call the trips “family field trips.” The year before last, we went to San Diego, CA, to stay at the historic US Grant Hotel in the Gas Light District and visited Balboa State Park and the Maritime Mu-seum. Other family vacation spots include Wyoming, Florida, Colorado, Arkansas, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Louisiana, Nevada and of course several locations in the great State of Texas! Where is a place you and your family would like to visit next? At the top of the list for the next few trips are the Carolinas, the Dakotas, Ha-waii and Niagara Falls.

Have you ever traveled outside the United States? Yes, I’ve been to Canada and to sev-eral countries in Europe, including Bel-gium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Ireland, England and Scotland as well as to Austria and Switzerland and a very small country in the midst of the two named Lichtenstein. We just rented a car each time and drove to different countries. I also visited West Berlin and East Ber-lin via Checkpoint Charlie before the wall came down.

What are your future plans for 2016? We are very excited about the New Year. We anticipate an increase in color line drawings (due to city requirements) which we are well-equipped to provide “while-you-wait” and at very competitive prices, as well as a pick up in the graphics side of the house producing more ban-ners, canvas prints, posters and a variety of film treatments for windows, walls, floors, cabinets and vehicles. –ab

Megan Ryan (second from right) and the Best Blue Print staff.

L-R: John Williamson, Mike Lazarus and Robert Moreno take care of sales at Elliott Electric Supply in Galveston. –ab

Dynamic trioConstruction News ON LOCATION


Opening doorsConstruction News JOB SIGHT

L-R: Sean Teelucksingh and Kenneth West, Commercial Door Service, repair the kitchen exit door at the Sesame House in Dickinson. –ab

A positive impactSubmitted to Construction News

In December, Mobil Steel International Inc. management and employees recognized the holiday season with a Christmas luncheon and acknowledged local charities selected to

receive contributions and service from the Houston steel fabricator. –ab

Wonders of weldingTax break now permanent

John McClelland, vice president of government affairs and chief econo-mist for the American Rental Associa-

tion, says the passage of the Section 179 deduction as a permanent tax deduction in December is great news. The deduction will make it more af-fordable for small companies to buy up to $500,000 per year in equipment, in-cluding machinery and vehicles. “Since 2003, ARA has been a strong advocate for expanding the Section 179 expensing limit – now set at $500,000,” McClelland says. “We’ve been strong pro-ponents of making the $500,000 limit permanent. We think it is something that small businesses can use and they are a huge agent for job creation.” Before the law passed, the dollar lim-it on Section 179 fluctuated, creating un-certainty for businesses that spend a large portion of their budgets on equip-ment, McClelland says. “An important piece of this is the per-manence,” he said. “We’ve had times where we didn’t know what the limit would be until towards the end of De-cember. Sometimes, the new limit set would be for the year just past, but not the year coming up. This law creates cer-tainty so we can rationally decide what our equipment purchases are going to be now and in the future.” Section 179 allows qualifying capital items to be written off immediately on a business’ taxes, instead of being depreci-ated over a number of years. The deduc-tion is essentially limited to small and midsize companies - those that spend less than $2 million a year on qualifying purchases. “This is important especially for rent-

al companies who have a large capital outlay and may still be a small company,” McClelland said. “Annual expenses of $1 million are not out of the ordinary. A very high percentage of our members would be eligible to use Section 179.” McClelland cautions, however, that every business owner must study his or her own situation before making a deci-sion to increase inventory based on Sec-tion 179. “Your tax situation is unique to you,” he says. “Before you implement any kind of acquisition program, talk to your tax professional and figure out what is best for you. “If you are in a mode where you re-ally need to expand your fleet, taking ad-vantage of these rules is an important part of your strategy and is certainly worth looking at.” –cw

John McClelland

Bound for successSubmitted to Construction News

Women Contractors Association (WCA) members Susan Repka, Natalie Tobias, Donna Murillo, Dorothy Hernandez Janish and Heather Taylor Kelly presented a check for

Dress for Success in January. The donation was from the Hard Hats and Heels event. –ab

Owner Allen Klappenbach gained welding experience as a helper before he established Katy Weld-

ing three years ago. “My company took off surprisingly well,” he said. “I knew I wanted to go out on my own one day. I love what I do be-cause I am at a different job almost every day.” Klappenbach says his advice for someone interested in becoming a weld-er is to make sure to diversify. “Most welders only want to be weld-ers,” he said. “It is better to know how to fabricate or do multiple processes such as aluminum and stainless welding. I think this would make a difference, espe-cially for the younger guys.” Klappenbach has a one-year-old shop dog named Pilgrim and has two other smaller dogs at his house. “It is nice to have Pilgrim here at the

shop with me during the day,” he said. “He is a great dog. The veterinarian told me he is a Golden Retriever and Labrador mix.” Hobbies Klappenbach enjoys on the side including watching movies, going to the shooting range and barbecuing on the weekends with friends. “I have played around and built a few barbecue pits in my free time lately,” he said. “It is certainly fun for me.” Looking toward the future, Klappen-bach says he’d like to continue to expand the company. “We have doubled in size over the past three years,” he said. “I’d also like to handle more local jobs in Katy. I think this will happen in 2016.” Katy Welding provides residential and commercial light fabrication, construction and welding services. –ab

Allen Klappenbach welds at the shop in Katy.

Happy New YearConstruction News ON LOCATION

The McCoy’s Building Supply Galveston team is ready for 2016. The family-owned company is a supplier of lumber, building supplies and farm and ranch equipment. –ab


Gather ‘round the treeSubmitted to Construction News

The SpawGlass Houston division collected toys to benefit the Toys for Tots Organization in December. –ab

Business is a game! Play to win!Part 2 of a 3 part seriesCarrie D. Bradshaw, C.P.A.Brown, Graham & Company P.C.Georgetown, TX

Know your cost: Variable versus fixed cost and how to utilize the break even analysis tool

In part one; we discussed the importance of knowing your score to be able to win the game. This included un-

derstanding the story your financial statements tell about your company through ra-tio analysis, industry benchmarking and internal trend analysis.

This month, we will discuss evaluat-ing your cost and how to use a break even analysis tool to gain a more thor-ough understanding of your company’s current position. Before we get into the five steps that make up this break-even analysis tool, there are a few definitions that we should review. • Break-Even: The point at which revenue exactly covers costs.• Variable Costs (VC): Costs that are in-curred only if a sale happens.• Fixed Costs (FC): Costs that are not di-rectly related to sales.• Contribution Margin (CM): The amount of revenue remaining after variable costs are paid.• Target Profit: The profit the owner plans to achieve for the year. As we stated above; engaging in the exercise of using this break-even analysis tools is a five-step process, which in-volves the following steps: Step one: Classify expenses into fixed or variable costs. In order to perform this step you will need a detailed income statement for your most recent annual financials. Identify each cost as fixed (FC) or variable (VC). This is not to be con-fused with the definition of direct costs, indirect costs or selling, or general and administrative costs used by the accoun-tants. If you incur the costs regardless of whether you have any sales, it is fixed (i.e. rent or telephone). If you incur the costs because you made a sale, it is variable (i.e. job materials or tools).Step two: Determine the variable cost percentage (VC%). Add up all of the cost you determined were variable and divide that number by your total sales. For ex-ample, if your variable costs are $75,000 and your sales are $100,000, your vari-able cost percentage is 75 percent. Step three: Determine the contribution margin (CM). The contribution margin is the amount of revenue from the sale re-maining after the variable costs are paid. In the previous example, the contribu-tion margin is $25,000. ($100,000-$75,000(VC)=$25,000(CM)). In other words, $25,000 remains to pay for fixed costs.

Step four: Calculate your total fixed costs. Return to the identification process your performed in step one, and add up all the costs you determined were fixed costs. Step five: Calculate your break-even. Be-gin with the calculation of fixed costs. Let’s assume the fixed costs in step four are $100,000. Next, using the contribu-tion margin calculated in step three (25%), calculate the needed sales. In or-der to pay for the $100,000 in fixed costs, your company would have to generate $400,000 in sales. ($100,000(FC)/25%(CM)=$400,000 sales)To look at this from a different perspec-tive, consider this equation: $400,000(sales) - $300,000(75%(VC%)) = $100,000(FC) This calculation is well and good, however none of us are in business to break-even. We are in business to win! Let’s determine how much revenue from sales you need to generate profit. In order to do this, we need to make the as-sumption that you can achieve the next level of sales with the same capacity, and therefore not needing to increase fixed cost. (We will discuss the evaluation of funding growth in the final installment of this series.) For the purpose of this exam-ple, let’s assume your target profit is $50,000. How much do sales need to go up to generate an additional profit of $50,000? Most of us would immediately answer $50,000. However, we need to re-member that for every dollar of sales we generate, we are also generating 75 cents in costs. In order to create $50,000 in prof-it we would need $200,000 in additional sales. ($200,000(sales) - $150,000(VC at 75VC%) = $50,000 profit.) By truly understanding the costs of your business, you can develop the strat-egy to coach your team to greater suc-cess! Carrie D. Bradshaw, CPA and CCIFP with over 20 years of construction contrac-tor coaching experience, is the Managing Shareholder of the Brown, Graham & Com-pany, P.C.’s Georgetown office. You can con-tact Carrie at [email protected] or call 512-930-4090.

Work on Hand Reports – a key tool for underwriting

Clark Fresher, IBTXSan Antonio, TX

Surety underwriters carefully review work on hand reports for several im-

portant reasons: 1. Backlog- Most contractors have bond lines which require that the agent know what the aggregate backlog is be-ing carried by the contractor. The term "backlog" refers to "estimated cost to complete". Any new bids must fit into this aggregate backlog maximum.

2. Profit Fade- Since an important feature of contractor accounting is the percentage of completion method for in-come calculations, the jobs in progress are estimates of what the project will earn at completion. This is necessarily an uncertain way to calculate the financial health of an income statement, but it's the best we have. Surety companies use the work on hand reports, both at year-end and interim periods, to see how well estimated profits are holding up versus the original estimates. Clearly, a contractor showing signifi-cant and widespread profit fade will ex-perience a net loss and will face ques-tions from the surety. All contractors will experience profit fade on various jobs from time to time and this would not be a cause for alarm as long as it is not a habit. Contractor's inability to maintain esti-mated profits on projects as they pro-ceed is a serious concern for all surety underwriters.

3. Closed Jobs- Comparing final gross profit on a completed job to the original estimated gross profit sheds light on just how effective is the jobsite supervision and project management functions of the contractor. The closed job schedule can also be used to close bonded jobs and generate the bond dividend, if one is available.

Finally, one quick word of warning with regards to change orders. It is not unusual, though not ideal, that work will begin on a change order before the ac-tual signed change order is generated and received by the contractor. The prob-lem here is that the costs incurred in completing the change order will appear on the work on hand report but, con-versely, the increase in contract price and resulting revenue will not be picked up on the report until the order is signed and received by the contractor. It's pretty clear that the results of this process will negatively impact that report specifically and the financials in general.

Clark Fresher joined the IBTX team twelve years ago. He currently has more than 35 years of insurance experience and came to IBTX from Guarantee Insurance Services. Clark’s areas of expertise include Surety, Property and Casualty and Risk Management Services Plans. Contact us at 800-880-6689 or visit us at www.ib-tx.com for more information or to setup your poli-cy today.

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Leading the waySubmitted to Construction News

The Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) Houston Chapter first Young Engineer Professional Program (YEPP) class kicks off Jan. 1. The program pairs younger members

with a successful engineer for small group mentoring and leadership training. –ab

Guidance on safe ropesling use

Joann NatarajanCompliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

Natural and synthetic fiber rope slings are used primarily for temporary

work, such as construction and painting jobs, and in marine operations. Designate a qualified person to in-spect slings and all fastenings and at-tachments each day before use for dam-age or defects. Make periodic inspec-tions of natural and synthetic fiber rope slings at intervals no greater than 12 months.Make a thorough inspection of slings and

attachments. Items to look for include: • Missing or illegible sling identifica-tions, • Cuts, gouges, areas of extensive fiber breakage along the length and abraded areas on the rope, • Damage of 10 percent or more of the ropes diameter, • Uniform fiber breakage along the major part of the length of the rope in the sling such that the entire rope appears covered with fuzz or whiskers, • Fiber breakage or melted fiber inside the rope that appears along the length at the same relative position and involves damage estimated at 10 percent of the fiber in the strand at that point, • Discoloration and brittle or stiff areas on any part of the sling, Excessive dirt and grit in the interior of the rope structure, • Foreign matter that has permeated the rope and attracts and holds grit, • Kinks, distortion, or other damage in the rope structure, • Melted or charred areas that affect

more than 10 percent of the diameter of the rope or affect several adjacent strands along the length to more than 10 percent of their individual diameters. • Poor condition of thimbles or other fittings manifested by corrosion, cracks, distortion, or localized wear, and • Other conditions that cause doubt as to continued use of the sling. Where any such defect or deteriora-tion is present, remove the sling or at-tachment from service immediately. Do not use worn or damaged slings or attachments. Do not use repaired or reconditioned fiber rope slings. Do not use old or used rope to make up a fiber rope sling. Modifications or alterations to end attachments or fittings are consid-ered a repair. Do not allow natural and synthetic fiber rope slings to be used in contact with objects or at temperatures in excess of 194 degrees F (90 degrees C), or below minus 40 degrees F (minus 40 degrees C). Some synthetic yarns do not retain their breaking strength during long-term exposure above 140 degrees (60 degrees C). Long-term exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet radiation can affect the strength of natural, nylon and polyester rope slings. Consult the sling manufac-turer for proper retirement criteria for ny-lon and polyester ropes subjected to long-term storage or use in sunlight, long term heat exposure, or chemical environ-ments.

[email protected] x232

Knowing the difference between an invalid and a fraudulent lien

Tina Snelling, Of CounselThe Cromeens Law FirmHouston, TX

If you have performed work on a construction project, and filed a lien on the property, you could find your-

self facing penalties as well as criminal charges. Texas has specific laws governing the filing of fraudulent liens and the refusal to release a fraudulent lien.

There is a difference between an in-valid, as opposed to a fraudulent, lien. Texas law entitles the person to claim a lien against an owner’s property to se-cure a debt. However, the steps to “per-fect” a lien can be complex, if not out-right costly. Failure to comply can oper-ate to render the lien invalid. Five rele-vant examples of an invalid lien are: (1) failing to provide notice of the claim to the owner or original contractor, (2) the filing of a faulty affidavit, (3) failing to give notice of the filed affidavit to the owner or original contractor, (4) the filing of a lien after expired deadlines, (5) the filing of a lien on homestead property. If an invalid lien is filed and the owner proves it in court, a lien claimant can be ordered to pay court costs and attorneys’ fees. However, there is a difference be-tween an invalid lien and a fraudulent lien. If an owner proves the lien claimant knew when he filed his lien that it was in-valid, the claimant could be subject to further penalties under the Fraudulent Lien Act. The Fraudulent Lien Act, found in Chapter 12 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code, provides that a per-son may not make, present, or use a doc-ument or other record with: 1. Knowledge that the document is a fraudulent; 2. intent that the fraudulent docu-ment be given the same legal effect as a valid document; 3. intent to cause another cause an-other financial injury, physical injury or mental anguish; and 4. intent to defraud.

Under section 12.002(b) of the Act, when a person files a fraudulent lien, the in-jured party can receive: (1) the greater of $10,000.00 or actual damages; (2) court costs; (3) attorney’s fees; and (4) exem-plary damages. Moreover, there is the potential for criminal sanctions for failing or refusing to promptly remove a known fraudulent lien. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $4,000, and incarceration for a period up to one

year, or both. One case which addresses the ele-ments of knowledge the lien is fraudu-lent and of the intent to cause financial injury is Taylor Electrical Services, Inc. v. Armstrong Electrical Supply Co., 167 S.W.3d 522 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth, 2005, no pet.), which involved work done for the same owner on two different churches. Subcontractor, Taylor, claimed material supplier, Armstrong, falsely promised and failed to deliver materials on a guar-anteed date, which caused Taylor to fall behind schedule. Taylor paid Armstrong $7,732.99 but withheld $6,110 due to Armstrong’s delay. Armstrong held Tay-lor’s check and filed a mechanic’s lien on the properties. Then, after filing the sworn lien for the sum for the full balance owed, Armstrong cashed the check. Armstrong’s lien was challenged and, at trial, the jury was asked if it found that Armstrong presented a document to the county clerk with knowledge it would create a fraudulent lien or claim against the property with the intent that the document be treated as a valid lien against the property. The jury answered “yes” and the court found sufficient evi-dence of a fraudulent lien because Arm-strong failed to credit the sworn-to lien amount by the amount of the later cashed check. Additionally, the evidence revealed Armstrong was previously warned to make timely deliveries be-cause of Taylor’s potential financial losses of falling behind schedule and that Arm-strong’s notice of lien notice letter stated “[w]e do not wish you any harm in your business.” The court found this evidence sufficient to establish the element of in-tent to cause harm. In sum, there is a difference between an invalid lien and a fraudulent lien. If you are unsure of the validity of a lien you filed or wish to file, it is advisable to consult with counsel experienced in me-chanic’s and materialmen’s’ lien law.

For more information on our services, please visit www.thecromeenslawfirm.com or call (713) 715-7334.

Travis BurrowSalesmanClements Fence Co. Inc.

Industry FOLKS

Twenty-one years ago, Travis Burrow began digging holes for Clements

Fence Co. “I gained lots of experience install-ing fences before I became a salesman,” Burrow said. On a typical workday, Burrow says he bids, goes out to look at the jobs and lines up the crews for the jobs. “It is my responsibility to make sure everything gets done right,” he said. “In addition, I make sure the materials are ordered for the job.” If a young person wants to become a salesman in his industry, Burrow says his best advice to stay focused, work hard and you will succeed. “I love my job,” he said. “These days my hours are flexible and I can come and go to the office as I please. “I am out in the field in Houston and the surrounding areas most days. It is nice to not be stuck in the office all the time.” Growing up in Katy, Burrow attend-ed Katy High School. He played on the high school baseball team. Burrow en-tered the workforce right after he grad-uated high school. Today, Burrow is married and has three daughters ages 27, 25 and 20.

“Two of my daughters have gradu-ated and married and one daughter is a sophomore at Baylor University in Waco,” he says. When he is not working, Burrow enjoys watching the Houston Astros and Texans. “I also go saltwater fishing on the weekend when I have the opportuni-ty,” he said. “Most of the time, I go to Matagorda Bay.” Burrow says he is happy to work with the folks at Clements Fence Co. and is looking forward to 2016. Katy-based Clements Fence Co. spe-cializes in all aspects of commercial and industrial fence including chain-link, or-namental iron, guardrail, wood as well as security access systems. –ab

Tumbling dice


The 3rd annual Champions of Diversity Awards Ceremony took place at the Houston Public Library’s Historic Julia Ideson Building in December. Congrats to the Construction

Contactor of the Year award winners Manhattan Construction Co. and Horizon International Group. –ab

Reaching for the starsSubmitted to Construction News

Warehouse manager Art helps a customer load his truck with supplies at the Mastercraft Stucco Supplies Katy location. –ab

Ready, set, stackConstruction News ON LOCATION

L-R: Will Whittington and Garza, Trinity Data Communications, install the surveillance and communication system at the Cowboy Chicken project on Interstate 10.

The GC is Building Concepts. –ab

Data mattersConstruction News JOB SIGHT

Bill Frank Plumbing Federated Insurance Morrison Supply

Raven Mechanical Tipton Co. Modern Plumbing

Champions Restoration ESR PHCC members play blackjack.

Attendees enjoy fajitas for dinner.

Plumbing and HVAC contractors and suppliers enjoyed a night of gambling and network-ing with friends in the industry at a Casino Night held at the Cadillac Bar & Grill Jan. 22. The Gulf Coast Plumbing Heating Cooling Contractors (PHCC) held the event. –ab


BAFFIN BAY –– LAGUNA MADRE –– LAND CUTSPECKLED TROUT –– REDFISH –– FLOUN DER

FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

STEVE SCHULTZ OUTDOORS, LLC

(361) 813-3716

www.baffi [email protected]

U.S. Coast Guard &Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed

Expect theunexpected!!

by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Waypoint Marine, Majek Boats, E-Z Bel

Construction, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor, Aggregate Haulers, ForEverlast

Hunting and Fishing Products MirrOlure, and Columbia Sportswear.

I can’t believe that I am saying this, but I’m glad to see deer season come to a

close. It’s been a busy couple of months on the road from South Texas to West Texas and back with a few spots in be-tween. Lots of memories made through-out the way with friends, clients and of course my two boys. Both of my boys killed awesome management bucks this year and I must say they are becoming great outdoorsmen. I can’t wait to get

Capt. Steve Schultz holds up his 44in. redfish caught in Baffin Bay on a gamblerflappin shad last month. Fish was released after photo by Malek Afram.

them back on the water this spring and summer for some saltwater action. February starts one of the most challenging times of the year to be on the water. Weather can be so unpredict-able it is very hard to plan outings in ad-vance. It’s one of those times of the year that you literally have to be ready to go on a moments notice, or perhaps already be here when the weather allows you to fish. That was the case last month when I visited Modern Pawn and Guns Shop and my good friends Malek and Mark

Afram, which by the way run one of the best guns shops in South Texas. I got to talking about fishing and how I haven’t been in several months because of guid-ing hunts all winter and how I had the urge to wet a line. Unfortunately I was boatless at the time after selling mine, and the new one still not rigged. They also were having some withdrawals after a long holiday season, working long hours at the shop and happen to men-tion that their boat was ready to go. I checked our schedules and glanced at

the upcoming weather and a plan was quickly established. Our day started with a cold north breeze and temperatures in the low 50s, but we knew clear skies would warm us up quickly. After a short ride to Baffin Bay, we eased over the side on the Majek Illusion and began our wade. Fishing was rather slow at the start but we managed to string several specks in the first half hour. After a brief lull in the action I set the hook on what I thought was a trophy trout that about ripped the rod out of my cold hands. After realizing that I had a redfish instead of the trophy trout we were seeking, the excitement went away until the fish emerged in front of me. OMG I shouted, It’s a huge red. Granted I have caught many big redfish before, (up to 48 in.) but all out of the boat. This was by far the largest red I have caught wade fishing. The redfish measured over 44 in. and weighed over 40 lbs. and after a short photo session it was revived and re-leased back into it’s environment. Whether you’re fishing for trophy trout, or just wanting to catch a few fish for dinner or the freezer, always expect the unexpected. You never know what’s going to be on the end of that line. I have already started to fill the cal-endar for the upcoming 2016 season. Don’t wait till all the good dates are gone! To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at SteveSchultzOutdoors @ gmail .com. Good luck and Good Fishing.

Operations Manager Jacob Matthews, Diamond Hydraulics Inc. and his sons Clay, 11, and Jacob, 13, recently went

hunting together at a Texas ranch. Clay shot is first Rio Grande turkey and Ja-cob shot a nice eight pt. buck. Matthews also shot a Rio Grande turkey during the hunt. –ab

Gobble, gobble

Clay Matthews and his Rio Grande turkey

Jacob Matthews and his Rio Grande turkey

Below: Jacob Matthews and his buck

Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSince 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country,. You can hear Ken on radio on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6-8

AM on AM 1300, The Zone – Austin, or http://www.am1300the zone.com


TexasStyle

San Antonio Austin Dallas/Fort Worth Houston South Texas

www.constructionnews.netpublishing the industry’s news

I know, spring hasn’t sprung yet but I can feel it coming and I’m just all kinds of excited about it!

This will be the first time in five years we have had water in our part of Lake Buchanan! Yes, Buchanan has been low before and came back up before; this certainly isn’t my first rodeo on the back of that nasty bronc. What makes this time special is that our water was gone so long this time. Years of no flooding rains covering up the Colorado River bottom land that our grandfathers once farmed and Native Americans once roamed had begun the process of erasing the fact that a lake had ever been here. The river itself had wavered itself all over the mud flat and chosen a course again and tall willow, cottonwood and sycamore trees had established themselves on the new river banks. Now the flooding of last summer and fall that caused so much hurt and damage for some finally spilled enough water upstream to restore our river and lake to normal levels and return life to our part of the watershed. Everyone up here from the parched ranchers to the anemic tourism industry is breathing a sigh of relief. Even though our rains seem to have already stopped for now, we remain hopeful for more. The exciting part for a fisherman on Lake Buchanan and on Lake Travis too, I expect we have vegetation now covered by water like we have never

seen before. Even when the lakes were brand new and flooded for the first time there was a whole lot of farm land, little settlements and homesteads that were covered up. Even the wilder parts of the new lake bottom had been put to the ax to clear the way for the lakes. They downed everything from scrub cedar to gigantic oaks and pecan trees while the dams were being built. This time the no man’s land that the lake bottom became was allowed to grow in its own wild way. In addition to the impenetrable willow thickets were all kinds of wild scrub brush and wildflowers growing so thick in the rich silt, it often was taller than a man’s head and so thick and tangled that you couldn’t walk through it. Now imagine what a bunch of fish could do with that! As that vegetation decays and enriches the water the whole food chain on the lakes and river from alga on up to shad and all the game fish that feed on them thrive. Plenty to eat and a chance to get back to all the old spawning places mean that there will be all kinds of little fish with plenty of cover to hide and feed and grow. The most exciting part is the larger fish that have been able to grow during the drought because they haven’t been fished and caught as heavily are experiencing good growth and are looking for their next meal. I plan on being there looking for those guys! We are even going to be booking some catfish charters too this year in addition to stripers and hybrids. Spring Break is coming, so grab a kid and your fishing hat and let’s go!

C’mon Spring!

Lakebed Oct. 2015

Same lakebed after the lake came back up

Art on the streetSubmitted to Construction News

L-R: Daphne Dow, Chelsea Serrano-Piche, John Cadenhead and Christina Zeibak, Powers Brown Architecture, were contributing artists at the recent 10th Annual Via

Colori Street Painting Festival in Houston. –ab

Have an outdoor photoyou’d like to share?

Send to:

[email protected] call Abby at 832-595-0091


Good day at the ranchSubmitted to Construction News

Vice President Martin John, Toney Construction Services Inc., went hunting at Apache Creek Ranch in Hondo, TX. The deer had 23 points and scored a 193.5. –ab

Standing tallSubmitted to Construction News

Kirksey employees planted 300 donated trees in partnership with the Memorial Park Conservancy at Memorial Park Jan. 9. This year the firm celebrated their 29th year of

planting trees in honor of their clients. Photo by Ruben Serrano, Kirksey –ab


Texas just got greener

The U.S. Green Building Council (US-GBC) strives toward efficiency and sustainability for buildings and their

construction, and now the 501c3 has re-structured to become more efficient and sustainable in the State of Texas. As of Jan. 1, all of Texas’ previous US-GBC chapters were consolidated into the USGBC Texas Chapter with five regional councils to continue representation and association activity across the Lone Star State. The five regions are Gulf Coast, based in Houston; South Texas, based in San Antonio; Central Texas, based in Aus-tin; West Texas, based in El Paso; and North Texas, based in Dallas, the new statewide chapter’s headquarters. “The biggest point of our restructur-ing here in Texas is being able to be a more efficient and effective organization,” says Jonathan Kraatz, the Texas Chapter execu-tive director, who is based in Dallas. “It al-lows us the opportunity to centralize our administrative costs and our administra-

USGBC’s Texas Merger Taskforce L-R: Joe Riccillo, Sundt Construction, El Paso; David Matiella, UTSA, San Antonio; Pam Carpenter, 7th Generation Design, San Antonio; Brad Garner, W2

Real Estate Partners, Austin; Sergio Grado, Mitsubishi, The Woodlands; Jane Baxter-Lynn, JBL Strategies, Austin; Tim Murray, EYP Architects & Engineers, Houston; David MacLean, Sebesta,

Houston; Michelle McEuen, USGBC chapter staff, Dallas; Eloisa Portillo-Morales, City of San Antonio; Heather Holdridge, Lake Flato Architects, San Antonio; Keith Lindemulder, Nucor, Denton; Brian Uhlrich, DBR, San Antonio; Kirk Johnson, Corgan, Dallas; Thom Powell, GFF,

Dallas; Jonathan Kraatz, USGBC Texas executive director; Scott Gerhardt, Interceramic, Austin

Map of the new USGBC Texas Regions

tive duties and really gets our volunteers back to working in their communities as their primary focus instead of on adminis-tration of the organization.” A LEED Green Associate, Kraatz had been on staff with the USGBC North Texas Chapter since 2010, previously serving as executive director of North Texas before taking on the role of the first executive di-rector of USGBC Texas. He notes that he will be visiting as well as video conferenc-ing regularly with the regional councils. Under the new structure, one of the biggest changes is San Antonio and Aus-tin being separated into their own re-gions. Previously, they were both covered under a single office, the Central Texas-Balcones Chapter. Individual chapter memberships were automatically transferred over to USGBC Texas, and annual membership renewal will continue to be on the anni-versary of joining date. –mh

Charles Henry Wood, a life-long Houstonian, was born Jan. 8, 1932 and passed away Jan. 2, 2016. Henry was a life long Aggie, beginning his collegiate studies at Texas

A&M University in the Corps of Cadets. Henry owned and operated Elliott-Wood Electric Co., a Houston-based electrical contracting company, for more than 50 years. He held many official titles and leadership roles in various organizations, his favorite being a loving patriarch to his family. He enjoyed spending his free time in Hempstead, where he grew up visiting family. Charles is survived by his loving wife, Mary Lou; three children, daughter Debra Martinez, husband Joe, son Mark Wood, wife Beverly, and son Matthew Wood, wife Terri. Charles leaves behind eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and many extended family members. Charles is preceded in death by his parents, Henry and Ruth Wood and sister-in-law Beverly Faye Gibson. –ab

In Memoriam

What is yourfavorite dessert?


No signs of slowing Heating things up

McCarthy names new president

McCarthy Building Companies Inc. announced that Ray Sedey has assumed the position of

president of the company’s Texas region. Sedey moved into this new role after a transition period last fall with former Mc-Carthy president Michael McWay, who retired Dec. 31, 2015. Prior to his appointment, Sedey served as executive vice-president, over-seeing company operations in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. He began his career with the company as a project en-gineer in 2000 and eventually served in all aspects of project management in-cluding project superintendent, manag-er, director, executive and vice president. He has managed nearly $700 million in construction projects and was instru-mental in evolving McCarthy’s presence in Nevada and New Mexico and recently spearheaded the opening of McCarthy’s newest office in Denver. In addition to his experience with McCarthy, Sedey has been actively in-volved in a variety of professional organi-zations and received an Engineering News-Record Southwest “20 under 40

Award,” among others. He holds a Bach-elor of Science degree in Construction Engineering from Montana State Univer-sity. –mjm

BIG RED DOG Houston has recently had the opportunity to expand be-yond the Texas market, working on

multi-family projects in Utah, Arizona and Florida. “Outside of residential projects, we look forward to a strong year on the com-mercial side,” said President Bob Brown. The firm will remain busy with na-tional retailers like AutoNation, Jack in the Box and CVS. “In addition, we will primarily focus on land and site development within the Houston market with plans to expand service lines into public works and trans-portation engineering,” Brown said. Brown says the firm will start the year with seven employees and expects to have 20 members by the time 2017 rolls around. Brown has been involved in the site selection, design and permitting of mul-

tifamily, retail and industrial site develop-ment projects in Houston and greater south and central Texas since 2009. Over the years, Matthew Stewart, vice president, has been the principal in charge for site development projects throughout the Houston area. Stewart oversees the performance the project design teams and spearheads the firm’s community outreach and vol-unteer efforts. Additional projects the firm has worked on include the Brazos Crossing Apartments, District at Memorial and Dis-trict at Greenbriar multifamily projects. BIG RED DOG Houston is a locally owned and operated civil engineering firm specializing in civil engineering, permitting, and land use consulting for real estate and natural resource development. The firm also has sister offices in Austin, San Antonio and Dallas. –ab

Bob Brown (left) and Matthew Stewart (right) attend the ICSC Texas Conference.

Gemaire Distributors opened in Galveston 19 years ago. Today, Patrick Martorell is the sales

manager and Rick Silva is the counter salesman. “Rick and I do a little bit of everything here at the store,” Martorell said. “We in-teract with customers, answer phones and take care of all customer business. Our goal every day is to sell lots of HVAC supplies.” Martorell says things have been steady at the Galveston location for the past six months. “I think we have stayed in business all these years by providing good customer service and in the long run a quality line of equipment,” he said. Martorell joined the company when it first opened in Galveston. “I started my career in counter sales,” he said. “I continued to work my way up

over the years. I’d say my favorite part of my job today is customer interaction. We meet lots of nice folks on a daily basis.” If Martorell were to give advice to a new graduate interested in working in his industry, he says get your foot in the door, learn the trade and get familiar with all the products. Martorell enjoys spending time with his family when he is not working during the week. Silva says one of his favorite things to do outside of work is riding his bike on the Galveston Seawall on Saturdays and Sundays. “I like to call it cruising,” Silva said. “Riding my bike is a good way to get my exercise in too.” Gemaire Distributors is a wholesale distributor of HVAC equipment, parts and supplies. –ab

L-R: Rick Silva and Patrick Martorell

Pecan pie is my favorite!Ken Fairbanks, Magliore Construction

I love homemade sopapillas.Sergio Macias,

EMCO Air Conditoning & Heating Inc.

Christmas cookies.Stacey Orlando,

Marble & Granite Designs

I love to bake in my free time. I especially enjoy making pumpkin, apple and pecan pies! I did a lot of baking this past Thanks-giving. Megan Ryan, Best Blue Print

Chocolate!Gutember Urtiz,

Garage Doors & Openers

Anything sweet!Larry Melancon, Stoneco Inc.

Birthday cake. Anthony Wendel,

Wendel’s Tool Rental

I like any kind of cookie, especially choco-late chip, sugar, peanut butter, chocolate and oatmeal cookies. I really love the smell of my kitchen after I bake lots of cookies. Margarita Gonzalez, Mundo Tile

Any kind of dessert! There are so many to choose from. Bonnie Webb, One Stop Hardware

My favorite dessert is any dessert my son likes! Stephen Guerrero, Binswanger Glass

The Baez Electrical Services crew does the electrical work at the Venetian Spa project in River Oaks. –ab

Wire connectionConstruction News JOB SIGHT


Taylor Stevens, Gullo Commercial Construction, checks on the Pacific Dental Services job in League City. –ab

Best foot forwardConstruction News JOB SIGHT

L-R: Shane Lovel and Tony Torres, Clear Glass, take out existing glass to install an entry way at the Malay Malay Restaurant in League City. –ab

Crystal clearConstruction News JOB SIGHT

Steve Hrncir, PE, (center) received the 2015 Award of Honor at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Houston Branch dinner event at Saint Arnold

Brewing Co. in December. –ab

And the winner isSubmitted to Construction News

Teal Construction Co. representatives took part in the Katy ISD South Transportation Center groundbreaking ceremony in January. –ab

Ready to rideSubmitted to Construction News

Paving the waySubmitted to Construction News

President and Owner Sam Craig prepares for a productive day at Craig & Heidt Inc. The company provides civil construction services in the greater Houston area. –ab

Taking flightSubmitted to Construction News

Balfour Beatty Construction representatives and City of Houston officials recently gathered at the Houston Airport System Training Center groundbreaking ceremony. –ab

Planning ahead

The Associated Builders & Contrac-tors (ABC) of Greater Houston and Construction and Maintenance Ed-

ucation Foundation (CMEF) presented the 2015 board and active members with awards for their efforts and introduced the new board at Marek Brothers Sys-tems Inc. Jan. 20. Attendees engaged with the new leadership and decision makers for the association and heard their plans for the future of ABC and CMEF. –ab

2016 OfficersChairman: Mike Holland, Marek Brothers Systems Inc.Chairman Elect: Warren Adamson, S&B Engineers and Constructors Vice Chairman: Robert Burlesmith, E.E. Reed Construction LPSecretary: Brandon Mabile, Performance Contractors Inc.Treasurer: Todd Fry, Karsten Interior Ser-vicesPast Chairman: Darlene East, Holes Inc.ABC President: Russell Hamley

2016 BoardBrian Anderson, G.R. Birdwell Construc-tion; Rusty Barnhill, Force Corp.; Leonard Bedell, Mobil Steel International; Kerry Bennett, ISC Constructors LLC; Sam Craig, Craig & Heidt Inc.; Matt Daniel, BE&K Building Group; Matt Elliot, Spawglass Construction Corp.; Laura Price Gautreau; Polk Mechanical; Dinesh Ghia, Gilbane Building Co.; John Golashesky, Turner In-dustries Group LLC; John Marshall, Sat-terfield & Pontikes Construction Inc.; Da-vid McClesky, Brown & Root Industrial Services Inc.; Rhonda Mitchell, Aggregate Technologies Inc.; Rod Molyneau, Brock Services Ltd.; Phillip Morgan, CB&I; Rod-ney Page, REF-CHEM LP; Tim Ricketts, HSG Constructors LLC; Wendell Rychlik, W.T. Byler Co.; William Sanchez, Oxford Builders Inc.; Christina Stone, Stone & Stone; Phil Restivo, Turner Construction; Mark Williams, Bechtel Construction Ser-vices; Ben Westcott, Andrews Myers and Lohn Zylicz, D.E. Harvey Builders

ABC President Russell Hamley speaks at the event.

Construction Safety


Keepers of their brothers and sisters

Mike Gunter, Vice President of SafetyYates ConstructionSan Antonio, TX

In 2014, Yates Construction began for-malizing its safety processes and pro-

grams. Unsatisfied with an incident rate of .41 – which Mike Gunter, vice president of safety, notes is many times below the national average – Yates implemented fully documented processes through three programs that reduced that rate to .27 by early 2015. “By design, safety is Yates Construc-tion’s number one core value and an inte-gral part of our day-to-day operations,” explains Randy Powell, senior vice presi-dent of the Texas Division. “This culture of safety has been recognized many times, most recently as one of only nine recipi-ents in the country to be selected for the prestigious 2015 ABC National Safety Pin-nacle Award as a result of our continued commitment to jobsite safety, exemplary safety performance and programs.” The construction safety culture that earned Yates this honor is comprised of the Blue Vest Monitoring, Family Pledge and Brother’s Keeper (and Sister’s Keep-er) programs. All of the above focus on behavior rather than punitive action.

Randy Powell, Senior Vice President -Texas DivisionYates ConstructionSan Antonio, TX

While punitive action is sometimes nec-essary, Yates uses it as a last resort. Preferring to focus on areas of higher risk, Yates has found that the company needs to spend the majority of its time and safety education on new employees. The Blue Vest Monitoring Program is aimed at acclimating new people to Yates’ safety culture, specifically those with less than one year at Yates, and more so, those with the company for less than six months. One key step to emphasizing and encouraging safety on the job is to make sure new hires are identifiable on the job site. As the name of the program sug-gests, Yates’ new employees wear a blue vest on site. If a client asks that all crew-members wear the standard yellow vests, then Yates will use a different identifier for the new hires, such as colored stripes on their hard hats. When the employees are on the job, they see a new hire in the blue vest and know that they need to be their brother’s (or sister’s) keeper and pay special atten-tion to that person. New employees also

go through an additional orientation that addresses new hires, expectations of them and the Blue Vest Monitoring Program. After a couple of weeks, as the new employee becomes acclimated to Yates’ policies on safety and health, the superin-tendent can take them in to re-test them on their grasp of this culture. This is also reinforced by a second orientation. After several months, the supervisor can allow the employee to attempt to test out of the blue vest. If they are still struggling with their grasp on the procedures, the employee will continue to wear their blue vest or stripe. Additionally, Yates has what it calls a safety task assessment process. “The safety task assessment process is a document that’s filled out in real time before work to address the known antici-pated risk of the job that the employees are going to be performing for the day,” explains Mike Gunter, vice president of safety. “It’s also opened up for the em-ployees to ask questions or to provide input. In addition to identifying those potential at-risk situations that may be encountered, the supervisor also offers up the ways that we will manage or miti-gate those anticipated risks. Meaning that we all get on the same page before we begin work in the mornings. We know what our expectations are. We know what we anticipate as a risk. We identify how we’re going to be able to either mit-igate it or through another means man-age it, and the employees then sign off, stating that they understand that. “To make sure of that, we assign a mentor to each new hire employee on that safety task assessment process so that during the day, if any one of the new hires has a question, they can go to Mary, their supervisor, and say, ‘I know we talk-ed about this this morning, but I’m not really clear, and I want to make sure I do this right.’ So, they’re allowed to freely ask questions and allow us to coach them through the process.” Another program is Brother’s Keep-er, which also has a version for the ladies, Sister’s Keeper. In this program, employ-ees commit to be their brother’s keeper.

This means that if they see any employee, new or not, in the field doing something they consider at-risk, those employees are willing to intervene, identify the po-tential risk, and work with the employee to find a safer way to do it. Part of this commitment includes the employees’ willingness to accept comments about making their job safer. Yates gives pro-gram-themed T-shirts to those that com-mit to this program. While fellow employees try to look out for each other and make sure every-one goes home to their family after a safe workday, the Family Pledge Program ex-tends the promise to be safe to the family at home. Yates asks employees to volun-tarily commit in a one-page document to work safely every day so that they can go home to their spouses, significant others, children or parents and other loved ones. Then, the employees take the pledge home for their family and loved ones to sign as a commitment to ask them every day if they worked safely that day. This also gives the people at home ideas about what to ask, such as “Did you wear your hard hat and your safety glasses?” and helps them keep the employee ac-countable and responsible for working safely. Yates sends themed T-shirts to the employees and each family member at home for this program as well. All of these safety measures led to the .14 decrease in the company’s inci-dent rate, as Gunter points out, “There was a marked improvement to year end-ing ’15. We were significantly lower on our number of near hits. That’s an event that’s occurred where there could have been property damage or personal inju-ry but there was not. We saw our inci-dents with injury drop. And on our lost time rate, we’ve always been right at or around zero.” Celebrating its 52nd anniversary, Yates Construction is a commercial general con-tractor with offices in San Antonio, Houston and Fort Worth. Based in Mississippi, the com-pany also has locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Mexico. –mh

A safety mindset

Terry Buza, Director of HSESlack & Co. Contracting Inc.Houston, TX

What kind of safety training do Slack & Co. Contracting employees partici-pate in during the year? We are proactive about safety train-ing. Every employee that works for Slack & Co. receives the OSHA 10-hour training and every foreman and above receives the OSHA 30-hour training. Our foremen and lead men also get excavation, confined space and first aid/CPR training. Our equipment operators receive hands-on training. Additionally, each of our crews includes a minimum of two people who have completed an 8-hour rigging class that focuses on safe-ly placing utilities in the ground. We utilize a third party safety consult-ing company to assist us with our training and to conduct jobsite audits for us.

What can be done to increase safety awareness? We conduct our training classes in both English and Spanish, and give our employees visual aids to reinforce key messages. This is important since a high percentage of Slack & Co employees are Hispanic. We hold off-site safety meetings four times a year that all employees (field and office) are required to attend. These meetings are designed to increase awareness of how easily incidents can occur and how to avoid them. Every one of our employees has the responsibility and authority to halt work when they feel unsafe conditions exist. Our goal is to create a mindset where-by everyone incorporates safety into his or her work. It’s a constant process.

What are the major risks in construc-tion? Workers can fall or be electrocuted. They can also get caught between or struck by equipment. Since multiple trades work simulta-neously on one jobsite, we teach our people to constantly lookout for other contractors’ people, equipment and ma-terials. How important is a good safety record in the construction industry? A good safety record is very impor-tant. The GC’s we work with expect us to maintain an excellent safety record. They cannot afford to have unsafe people or work conditions on their jobs.

What is the most significant challenge the safety industry faces? One of the challenges we face is the increased number of unskilled workers on a jobsite. Often they are not familiar with the safety risks that exist on a jobsite, or the situations that require extra caution to avoid an incident. To address this, all our new employees must attend a New Hire Safety orientation before they can go to the field. The language barrier is another chal-lenge, since everyone on a jobsite must be able to communicate with others

when an unsafe condition occurs.

What is rewarding about your job? I sell safety every day and I love it. Years ago when I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, a mentor intro-duced me to the safety industry. And thanks to him, I found my niche and I have been doing this for 27 years now.

What is on the horizon for construc-tion safety? The construction industry is headed towards more stringent safety require-ment than ever before. Owners and developers are more safety conscious. And, OSHA regulations are becoming stricter. Companies with excellent safety re-cords will be rewarded with more work opportunities. That means, if we want to be the contractor of choice, we will be the saf-est. Slack & Co Contracting is a prime and specialty contractor on public and private projects. The company works in densely populated, tightly confined areas like the Texas Medical Center, the Galleria and downtown Houston, as well as in the mid-dle of wide-open fields. The majority of the company’s work is performed in the south and east regions of Texas. –ab

Construction Safety


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Effective safety training strategies

Anna Pelletier, CSMNational Association of Safety,Board member, Shelby, NCLiberty Construction, Boston, MA

Within the construction industry, shout-outs like “be safe,” “safety

first,” “zero tolerance” and so on are ever plentiful. Marketing endeavors to share the message include catchy phrases, slo-gans, stickers, and gifts to reward, pro-mote and highlight any and all safety-success moments. While there is merit to spreading the news, it is equally impor-tant to ensure that, along with a cam-paign, education is a key component in promoting safe practices. Such educa-tion can stem from in-house training programs and on-site refresher courses conducted by safety managers, or by outsourcing with consultants for obser-vation, analysis, and recommendations. Recent statistics reveal a disturbing fact – over half of all construction injuries and fatalities are due to lack of or improper training. Therefore, an effective training program must be your top priority. There are a variety of training pro-grams that range from an introduction and overview of a topic (i.e. tool box meetings) to more in-depth content where one receives a certification. Train-ing programs are available in electronic form, for those who are working and find it challenging to attend classes in person. For example, project administrators can take on-line courses in construction ter-

minology and HR personnel might be in-terested in current behavior-based safety studies. It’s common for construction companies to require that employees complete their OSHA 10 Outreach train-ing; this hazard awareness training is avail-able on-site by safety trainers, on-line and offered through many schools of higher education. A company must ensure that the instructors are certified to teach and that the methodology used is appropriate and adheres to current standards. When considering the options of safety training programs, you must know your audience. Will the training be for craft workers at a large hospital-remodel-ing project that involves working near sterile environments or catered to office personnel with the focus on active shoot-er and hostile situations? Upon comple-tion of the training will participants earn CEU’s, or will refresher courses be led by in-house safety trainers and attendance entered into a company database? Spe-cialized training can include First Aid and CPR, Confined Space Entry, Material Han-dling Equipment, Rigging and Signaling, Scaffolding, HAZCOM, OSHA Recordkeep-ing, Silica Safety, Emergency Response, PPE and ANSI standards to name a few. Be certain that the training is specific to the hazard, the process, and equipment. For

example, if a sub-contractor brings a scis-sor lift onto your site, individuals must be trained on that particular scissor lift. Train-ing must include the practical operation of the lift by someone who is familiar with the equipment along with the proper documentation. Take into consideration the following:• Which type of training would be most beneficial, in-house, on-line or out-sourced to professionals with experience in the subject matter?• Is the training affordable and does the investment make economic sense for yourself and your company?• If the decision is to use in-house safety trainers, are they familiar with the con-tent and will they present in a way that captures the attention of attendees?• Is the subject matter relevant?• Is the material current and viewer friendly, (it can be extremely disappoint-ing to pay for thrown together binders, copied pages laden with typos and bor-ing power point presentations)?• Are the tools and equipment being used clean and in good condition? Social media can prove valuable when opting for networking opportunities to learn about safety training programs. However, be cautious of selecting offers that sound too good to be true and take the time to vet the program or the instruc-tor. Endorsements from safety profession-als within your network are significant, read reviews and ask questions. Inquire about associations that are recognized and in good standing. Membership with them can work in your favor as one can take ad-vantage of webinars, conferences, and continuing education programs. Assistant Department of Labor Sec-retary David Michaels recently said, “We

are seeing untrained workers – many of them temporary workers – killed very soon after starting a new job. This must stop. Employers must train all employees, including temporary workers, on the haz-ards specific to that workplace – before they start working. The bottom line is this: training is ar-guably the most important element of an effective safety program. It’s not an area to cut corners or take lightly. Take the time to qualify yourself to provide the training in-house or choose an outside vendor whose training is quality, reputa-ble and cost-effective.” Anna Pelletier, a native of Prescott, AZ holds the position of National Corporate Environmental Health and Safety Coordi-nator at Liberty Construction (a division of Suffolk Construction). Anna graduated Summa Cum Laude at Sacred Heart Univer-sity in Fairfield, CT and is furthering her studies in Occupational Safety and Health at Columbia Southern University. She cur-rently sits as a member on the National As-sociation of Safety Professionals (NASP) Board of Advisors. NASP is a non-profit membership or-ganization providing training, consultative services, and third-party certifications that validate knowledge, skills and abilities in the area of workplace safety. The primary mission of NASP is to provide safety profes-sionals with innovative training opportuni-ties and professional certification to assist them in carrying out their safety related functions with confidence and proven com-petence. NASP offers workplace safety and environmental safety courses and certifica-tions for general industry, the construction industry, and the petroleum industry. For more information, visit them at www.naspweb.com.

Risk: Identify it and reduce it

David P. Consider, CSPDirector – Safety & FacilitiesBriggs EquipmentDallas, TX

What are the major risks in con-struction?

Construction sites are a health and safety nightmare, as almost every con-ceivable hazard exists within this con-stantly changing work environment. So, I will answer this question two ways:

1: The top four causes of construction fa-talities are falls, struck-by, caught-in/be-tween and electrocutions.

2: The main hazards encountered on a typical construction site are working at heights; moving objects; slips, trips and falls; noise; hand/arm vibration; material and manual handling; trench collapse; asbestos; airborne fibers and materials; and electricity.

What are ways to reduce risk? Ways to identify and reduce risk are through “JHA’s” (job hazard analysis), regular inspections and training.

How important is a good safety record in the construction industry? The construction industry has, in ad-dition to the moral commitment, an eco-nomic incentive to help reduce the num-ber of accidents that occur on construc-tion projects. The high cost of accidents gives owners and operators of construc-tion companies a good reason to concern themselves with the safety efforts of the contractors they hire and ensure they have a record of good safety perfor-mance. This requires attention during the processes of qualifying contractors for

bidding work and selecting contractors for a contract award. A prospective con-tractor with a history of good safety per-formance is more likely to perform safely in the future than a contractor with a poor, or less-than-average, safety record. Several relatively objective measures of past safety performance are available, notably the “EMR” (experience modifica-tion rate) which is applied to workers’ compensation premiums, and OSHA re-cordable injury and illness incidence rates. Both may be obtained from con-tractors. Both indicate a contractor’s ac-cident experience on past work.

How does construction safety impact your company? We are impacted by the construction industry by the equipment we sell, rent and supply parts for, and ensuring it is in-spected on a regular basis, functioning properly by performing OM (operational maintenance), and the people operating this equipment are trained.

Does an increase in volume of con-struction affect safety? Absolutely. Any time there is an in-

crease in equipment, miles driven, peo-ple and man-hours worked, there is al-ways an increase in risk and exposure.

What can be done to increase safety awareness and create a safe work en-vironment? Hire competent workers; insist on safety in the workplace by practicing what you preach (“walk the talk”); post signs; give workers the tools and resourc-es they need to be safe; continuously find ways to improve; keep a clean house; provide maintenance on all machines and equipment; reward safety and train – and then do more training. Briggs Equipment is a materials han-dling equipment provider, offering short-term rentals, parts sales, service equipment, new and used premier materials handling equipment sales and fleet management strategies. In addition to locations through-out seven other southern states, Briggs Equipment offers Texas locations in Abilene, Austin, Beaumont, Brownsville, College Sta-tion, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Freeport, Hous-ton, Laredo, McAllen/Pharr and San Anto-nio. –mjm

Round-UpHouston Construction News • Feb 2016

Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ABCAssociated Builders & Contractors

Feb 4: Member MixerFeb. 18: Texas Hold’Em TournamentFor more information call 713-523-6222

AGCAssociated General Contractors

Feb. 4: Member Mixer, 4:30pmFeb. 9: 2016 SMPS & AGC Economic Fore-cast featuring Patrick J. Kiley Feb. 18: Member OrientationFeb. 22: 2016 Advocacy Sporting Clays TournamentFor more information call 713-843-3700

AIAAmerican Institute of Architects

Feb. 6: University of Houston Art & Archi-tecture Campus TourFeb. 13: Buffalo Bayou Walking TourFeb. 20: Rock Building Stones: Down-town Geology & Materials TourFeb. 27: Museum District Walking TourFor more information: www.aiahouston.org

ASAAmerican Subcontractors Association

Feb. 3: Membership meeting, 9am and Schmooze & Mingle, 4pmFeb. 5: Associate Member Happy Hour, 4 pm, Yellow Rose DistilleryFeb. 18: General Lunch meeting, 11:30amFor more information call 281- 679-1877

FPAFoundation Performance Assoc.

Feb. 10: Monthly meeting, 5pm, The HESS ClubFor more information:www.foundationperformance.org

IECIndependent Electrical Contractors

Feb. 17: Monthly meetingFor more information call 713-869-1976

MCAMechanical Contractors Association

Feb. 10: Membership meeting, 11:45am, HESS ClubFeb. 24: Joint Membership meeting, 11:30am, HESS Club, Guest Speaker: Pat-rick Kiley, Kiley AdvisorsFor more information call 281-440-4380

NAWICNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Feb. 9: General Dinner meeting, 5:30 Networking, 6pm Dinner and Business meeting, HESS Club, 5430 WestheimerFor more information:www.nawic-houston.org

RCATRoofing Contractors Association of Texas

Feb. 3: Licensing Boot Camp Day 1, Hous-tonFeb. 4: Licensing Boot Camp Day 2, HoustonFeb. 5: Board/Membership meeting and Lunch and Licensing Boot Camp Day 3, HoustonFeb. 6: Licensing Exams, HoustonFor more information call 512-251-7690TSPETexas Society of Professional EngineersFeb. 21-27: E-WeekFor more information: www.tspe.org

WCAWomen Contractors Association

Feb. 4: February Luncheon – Houston Economic Forecast, 11:30am, Maggiano’s Little Italy, 2019 Post Oak Blvd.For more information: www.womencon-tractors.org

This is a monthly section for brief company announcements of new orrecently promoted personnel, free of charge, as space allows.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Email (w/digital photo, if available) by the 15th of any month,

for the next month’s issue (published 1st of each month).Email info to appropriate city issue, with “Round-Up” in the subject line:––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

San Antonio: [email protected] Austin: [email protected] Dallas/Ft. Worth: [email protected] Houston: [email protected] South Texas: [email protected]

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Vishal Merchant has joined John-ston LLC as associ-ate/senior project manager. Merchant brings more than ten years of experi-ence as a registered civil engineer, de-signing and developing commercial and residential projects. Merchant holds both a Bachelor of Engineering from Mumbai University and a Master of Civil Engineer-ing from Lamar University.

Pacific Consulting Group (PCG) has hired Linda Yang as project manager. Yang has almost 10 years of experience working for global architectural firms around the world. She will direct PCG’s production teams and work directly with clients. Yang stud-ied architecture at Tsinghua University in China.

Mark Tomlinson has joined KCI Tech-nologies Inc. as a regional practice leader. He will be responsible for growing the multi-disciplined firm’s presence in Texas and its offices in Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Irving. Previously, he worked for TxDOT for nearly three decades. He earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engi-neering from the University of Texas. He also graduated from the American Asso-ciation of State Highway and Transporta-tion Officials’ National Transportation Leadership Institute.

Plumb busyConstruction News JOB SIGHT

L-R: Carlton Summers and Carmelo, Brazos Plumbing, fill in concrete at a teashop project on Hwy 90. –ab

Raba Kistner has hired Ashley Jones to serve as an ar-chaeologist in the firm’s Houston of-fice. Jones brings four years of experi-ence in archaeolo-gy to Raba Kistner, including projects from across Texas, the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Jones received a M.A. degree in Anthro-pology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and B.A. degree in Anthro-pology from the University of Virginia.

Meeks + Partners has promoted Trev-or Meeks, AIA, as partner in the firm. With the addition of Trevor, M+P now has six partners ac-tive in the design and planning pro-cess of multifamily designs including mixed-use, student, senior, mid-rise and high-rise buildings, as well as urban land planning. Meeks re-ceived his Masters in Architecture from the Tulane University in 2008.

Anthony T. Golz has been promoted to principal at the law firm of Cokinos, Bosien & Young. Golz’s practice fo-cuses primarily on appellate matters for a wide range of clients. Tony has represented contractors and owners in a variety of commercial disputes including construction defect/delay claims, me-chanic’s and materialman’s lien claims and breach of contract.

At Construction News, we receive several questions from our readers each month, and often readers in-

quire as to how to get the paper. We are very happy to say that our website, www.constructionnews.net, makes it easy to get copies and subscriptions. Here are a couple of those frequently asked ques-tions and their answers.

How do I subscribe to the paper? On our website, go to the menu bar and click “Subscribe.” Fill out the sub-scription form. The subscription is free upon approval. You can only get a free subscription if your office is located in the area of the paper for which you are requesting a subscription. Please check the county listings for your city/paper to make sure you are in that coverage area. If you are approved, you will receive the next month’s issue in the mail. If you apply after the 20th of the month, you will receive the issue following the next month’s paper. Free subscriptions are given to company decision makers, such as presidents, CEOs, vice presidents and branch managers. Only one free sub-scription is allowed per location. Free subscriptions are not approved for companies that are outside the con-struction industry or for employees, oth-er than decision makers, of a company. Free subscriptions for residential con-tractors are only given in San Antonio. If you are not approved for a subscription, you can request a paid subscription for

How to get the paper

$35 for the year per city, payable by Pay-Pal, or you can choose one of the follow-ing options. Read on for details.

How do I get copies of the paper? People who would like copies of the paper have a few choices. For starters, you can pick up free copies at any of our rack locations. On our website, go to the menu bar and click “Rack Locations.” Select your city. The map will display all of the rack locations in your surrounding area. There are many racks in each city in offices, shops and other supplier and vendor locations. Those locations only carry the paper for that area. Also, you can download a free PDF copy of the paper. On our website, go to the top right corner and click “Paper Ar-chives.” Digital versions of each paper for each city going back to 2001 are available for download from our online archives. Furthermore, you can request a digi-tal reprint of an article, often used for framing. These are digital versions of the complete article, full size and full color, with the masthead from the issue in which the article appeared. On our web-site, go to the top right corner and click “Digital Reprints.” To order a digital re-print, fill out the reprint form. The charge for a digital reprint is $42 plus tax, and the form will redirect to PayPal. Upon payment, you will receive a PayPal re-ceipt. Your digital reprint will be deliv-ered by email soon after. –mh

continued from Page 1 — Smooth sailing

continued from Page 1 — Road to success

continued from Page 1 — Careful coordination


“When the electricity provider came on site, the engineers had to resurvey the area to ensure the duct bank was being fed to the property for the hospital to re-ceive permanent power,” he said. “Also, the original design of the transformer pad was smaller than the electricity pro-vider’s requirements for the particular transformer. The electricity provider re-engineered the pad and we built it to those specifications.” A challenge the construction team also faced was the manufacturer discon-tinued the handrail that was selected for the project when it came time to order. “We informed the architect of this change so that they could provide us with a similar style to match what they designed,” Flannery said. As a whole, the Oceans Behavioral Hospital project progressed very

smoothly - a product of great teamwork. “The team worked closely to ensure everyone was on the same page of de-sign and work-in-progress,” Flannery said. “The key to the success of this proj-ect was coordination and communica-tion.” Founded in 1969 by Pat O’Brien and Steve Rogers, Rogers-O’Brien Construc-tion has three locations in Dallas, Houston and Austin with 300 employees. The gener-al contractor specializes in the healthcare, higher education, corporate, mixed-use, senior living, retail, public, worship, indus-trial and residential sectors. –ab

Key Professional Team:Assistant Project Manager: Wilfred Men-sahSuperintendent: Mitch KennedyArchitect: Ascension Group Architects

The desk area

New beginnings

The Houston Contractors Association (HCA) celebrated the beginning of its 60th year as an association at a

Christmas Dinner & Dance held at the Houstonian Ballroom in December. “This year’s Christmas Party was, yet again, another outstanding success,” said HCA executive director Jeff Nielson. “We added an additional $5 to the ticket price as a per person donation to the Toys for Tots Foundation in honor of Brandon Schweitzer.” New board members were sworn in at the event including president Mark Boyer, Boyer Inc.; vice president/trea-surer Gregg Reyes, Reytec Construction Resources; Jim Winter, Double Oak Construction; Anthony Colombo, Main Lane Industries; Brian Conrad, Conrad Construction and Robert Pike, Bay Oil. David Boehm was sworn in as direc-tor emeritus, which is a one-year term. The other board members will serve a two-year term. –ab

2016 HCA Board of Directors

HCA President Mark Boyer, Boyer Inc.

the house and this is the only work I have ever done,” he said. Isbill says after a long work week, fishing is a way of life for him and Kimo. “We do a lot of saltwater fishing on the weekends,” he said. “It is nice to live near the bay.” Kimo is originally from Hawaii, so he loves spending time by the water. Grow-ing up, he enjoyed surfing at the beach. He would love to go back to Hawaii in the future. “Kimo and I also have had a rock band on the side,” Isbill said. “It is so much fun to play music near the Kemah Boardwalk and around the waterfront in Seabrook.”

Kimo is a singer and guitarist and Is-bill is the bass player. “We were playing music one day 14 years ago and a friend of ours who knew the music scene got us a few gigs in Ke-mah and Seabrook,” he said. “It hap-pened all in about two months. Now we play music all over town!” Looking ahead, Isbill and Kimo want to continue to doing carpentry work in the Houston area. “It is only work if you are not having fun,”Isbill said. West Bay Marine Service provides boat and commercial cabinetry services. –ab

Katy kilowattsConstruction News ON LOCATION

Project manager Mike Kelly spends time at the Brandt Electrical Services Inc. office in Katy before heading to a commercial job. –ab

Early risersConstruction News JOB SIGHT

L-R: Luis Blanco and Cervando Mieto, Scarlett Stone Construction, provide the construction services at an office building project on Highway 90 in Sugar Land. –ab

over the years,” Rios said. “He has been able to land several projects on the is-land. “Lucas Construction has stayed com-petitive in the industry over the years due to the fact that the company owns it own equipment and has a full staff of mechan-ics and service crews to maintain that equipment. “Our surveying, earthwork and con-crete crews are fully trained and have years of experience with all phases of

civil work. We self-perform all work and have better quality control because of it. “Looking ahead, we plan to continue to stay committed to performing each project with professionalism. We want our customers to know they are impor-tant to us.” Based in League City, Lucas Construc-tion provides civil construction services in-cluding concrete work, site work and soil stabilization. –ab

Escape routeSubmitted to Construction News

The JE Dunn Construction Houston office kicked off 2016 with an unusual team-building event at Escape the Room, an interactive entertainment concept located in mid-town Houston. Teams were tasked with finding hidden objects, figuring out clues and solving puzzles to earn their freedom out

of several differently themed rooms – all within 60 minutes. –ab


Gingerbread winner

The Bury Inc. offices recently put their creative problem solving skills to use for some good old-fashioned

fun in the first annual company-wide gin-

gerbread house contest! Check out the creative entries that came in from various markets all over the state, with descrip-tions from the teams responsible. –cw

Most unique: The Millennium Falcon - The design process came in several stages. The Millennium Falcon was first sized based off images and Internet movie fandom to determine how the ship was proportional to itself. The attachment includes an image rendering for an approximate dimension proportion of the Millennium Falcon. The gingerbread Millennium

Falcon at a 0.007 scale to the actual Millennium Falcon. The attachment shows the blueprints using the scaled gingerbread dimensions.

Midtown Apartment Tower - A gingerbread structure to mimic one of Bury’s unique building developments. It is a high-rise luxury apartment tower with an amenity deck located in the

fast-growing and popular neighborhood of Midtown Houston.

George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum - The different materials used were graham crackers and ginger bread (walls), vanilla wafers (columns), pretzel sticks (help with structural

support), mint M&Ms (grass), gummies (trees), candy canes (red and green, crushed for the concrete), edible black paper (windows), and fondant (to cover some of the vanilla wafers and

were used as columns).

Dream teamConstruction News ON LOCATION

L-R: Douglas Tryoski, Clayton Allphin, Kevin McFalls and Patrick Chamberlain make things happen at the H&E Equipment Services Katy branch. –ab

Wearing many hats, Mike Duhon and Brian Payne run the CED/Tidal Electrical Distributors

Galveston location. “Brian and I both handle sales, floor sweeping, and ordering,” Duhon said. “We are a small location.” According to Duhon, the company has operated in Galveston for 13 years and moved to its current location in Dec. 2014. “We enjoy meeting electrical con-tractors and hearing their stories,” he said. If someone wanted to work in the electrical supply business, Duhon says his best advice is to learn the trade as best as you can. “You have to have people skills too,” he said. “You will interact with electrical contractors and homeowners every day.” Duhon says 90 percent of the com-pany’s business is contractor business.

It takes two

“The past year was one of the best years we have had since we have been here in Galveston.” Duhon said. “Things look to be getting better too. Galveston is booming. Homes and buildings are go-ing up left and right. “The next two months will be busy for us because everyone is gearing up for Spring Break.” Duhon and Payne like spending the work week with Nola, a friendly American Bulldog. Nola greets customers who walk in the store. “When we have free time, we like to go fishing here in Galveston or deer hunt-ing in West Texas,” Duhon said. “The company has a deer lease in Ozona. We bring customers out there a couple of times a year. It is nice to get off the grid for about four days.” CED/Tidal Electrical Distributors is an electrical supply distributor. –ab

L-R: Nola and Mike Duhon

houston construction news february 2015

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