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CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 30, 2009

Green Opportunities
Filed under: Energy — Tags: — nedpelger

That big splash you just heard was all the almost-out-of-work contractors  jumping into the pool of green construction. An article in ENR today noted that Orlando Electric Utility is bidding a 10 MegaWatt solar project and has 27 teams of bidders. That amount of interest surprised everyone. A similar request for proposals last year netted 10 bidders.

Several years ago OEU put photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of the Orlando Convention Center at a cost of $7M and production of about 1 MegaWatt. They must be pleased with the PV solar performance to be returning to the table for a much bigger helping.

The article further noted that FPL (Florida’s biggest utility) is also planning some PV solar projects. Though the fact that they stated they can produce electricity for $0.12/kwhr with coal and $0.26/kwhr with PV solar made me wonder.

I’ve recently had several customers ask me about ways to use green solutions to help the environment and save costs. That’s the kind of problem I enjoy solving. An electrical contractor and friend also started pushing that side of his business. This combination of trying to do good and do well appeals to me.

I’m working on several large (1 MegaWatt to 16 MegaWatt)  PV solar projects and having great fun with them. I love figuring out the most efficient ways to build and maintain things, so I’m like the proverbial pig in poop. The photo below shows a similar project at The Solar Grove® at Centocor Headquarters in Horsham, PA (a Johnson & Johnson company).

If you find yourself with some available time, learn about the various green technologies. Just go to Google and start searching and reading. Remember, your value in the market depends much more on what you do than what the market does.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 26, 2009

Maestro with the Tape Measure
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — Tags: — nedpelger

This short video will make you smile. The Maestro Measurer treats you to some Tape Measure Magic.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx_5GI0QRdw]

Here’s another short video that shows some fun hammer tricks. My German’s a bit rusty, but I think I get the idea.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMUgUn-rdz8&feature=related]

Hope you had a Merry Christmas and are moving toward a productive New Year. 2010 will probably be unlike any year you’ve previously experienced. Most of us will be challenged to find new ways to be effective in this environment. Please take some time to think and plan before you act. Think deeply about the situation you’re in, who you are and who you are capable of becoming.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 24, 2009

Banta Tile: A Cautionary Tale
Filed under: Industry outlook,Uncategorized — nedpelger

Banta Tile and Marble installs some of the best looking stone in our region. They put the granite counters in our home kitchen. I’ve enjoyed working with them since I started in the business in 1981. They started in 1929.They are a good solid company who does excellent work.

Now they are no more. Lancaster Online reported that a US District Judge just signed a writ of execution for $2.9M for Local 5 of the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers against Banta. The immediate reaction, of course, is for Banta to declare bankruptcy and shut down the company. Their payroll of up to 50 employees now will look for other things to do.

Apparently Banta worked on a couple of union projects years ago and signed contracts without paying too much attention to some of the clauses. Almost anyone who runs a construction company has rushed through contracts at times. These clauses, apparently, required Banta to continue to pay into the Local 5 of the Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers pension program even though their employees weren’t members of the union and would never collect.

Frankly, I wouldn’t have thought that sort of thing was even possible, much less legal. The law, though, need not follow common sense.

I remember working for Cal High of High Construction in my early days as a PM. We were exploding with growth and always promised quick completion schedules. I couldn’t find the construction craftsman to get our commitments met and told Cal we could just get some fellows from the union hall. Quickly he squared me up about that step having many consequences beyond my immediate needs. He told me to figure out another way and I did.  As I read about Banta Tile today, I realized I’d received yet another great lesson from Calvin G. High.

So the take-away on this piece? No matter what you do in construction, don’t rush into contract agreements without understanding the potential consequences.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 23, 2009

Hoover Dam Bridge: Photos from the Sky
Filed under: Cool Projects — Tags: — nedpelger

A friend’s friend’s son works as Construction Superintendent on this beautiful bridge project and they sent me these photos. This $160M project was under construction last year when TBW and I toured Hoover Dam. They’ve made substantial progress since then and seem to be nearly completion.

The 53 concrete arch sections (each 24′ long) have been cast on site and lifted into place. The steel cables supporting the concrete are temporary and will be removed when the arch connects and starts to act like an arch.

This $160M seems like a reasonable investment for America to make. The traffic flow between Nevada and Arizona will substantially improve and the Hoover Dam will be more easily protected from terrorist shenanigans.

As I watch the health care bill proceed in a total bipartisan battle, I wonder if America can agree on any big issues anymore. Could we build the interstate highway system if we were starting now? Could we design and build the power plants and chemical plants that have helped us prosper?

Looking towards the New Year, I’m going to try to be less of a bonehead, not always needing to get my own way. If we all work at giving in on the non-essentials (which are about 98% of the things in our life), maybe we can start moving America back towards getting big and important things done.

Here’s a last look at one of those big and important things:

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 22, 2009

Living in a Cave
Filed under: Cool Projects — Tags: — nedpelger

I haven’t shown any cool projects lately and was entranced by these photos of an underground house in Switzerland. Being mostly dog-like, I have always felt comfortable in little nooks, dens and caves. Our son Lex most have inherited this trait. We once visited him house sitting this huge apartment in NYC and he chose to live in a small closet that held his books, blankets and him. The fact that he was too cheap to pay for heat and could heat the closet with his body had something to do with that decision as well.

Anyway, I love the photos shown below and would certainly try and visit this house if I was in the area.

If you want to see more photos of this incredible house, follow this link.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 18, 2009

Construction Phone Apps Part 5
Filed under: Phone Apps for Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

We received the prototypes of the first 4 construction phone apps from the developer. Frankly, it’s amazing to use have these programs on our phones. Only a few weeks ago they were a concept rolling about in my head. We are testing and making some final modifications prior to releasing for sale. I’m pumped.

Here is another of the construction phone apps that’s being developed.

Communicate Better with Personality Profiles

Concept: Use this simple test to assess someone else’s (and your own) personality style, then follow the recommendations to better communicate with that person.

Details: By judging what attributes someone else seems to have, you can get a decent sense of their personality style. You will deal with that person much more successfully if you understand how to communicate with them, motivate them and generally deal with them. This simple personality profile uses four categories to help you understand.

Example: You have a boss who seems to get annoyed every time you deal with him. You quickly go through this app and find you are a Calculating Controller, someone who loves to understand the details and be precise and clear. You find your boss is a Demanding Driver (D), an impatient and decisive person. When you give lots of detail to your boss, he gets annoyed and thinks less of you. You need to learn to communicate with him in short, focused bits. You need to summarize and make recommendations. Here are 3 specifics the program would give you:

1. The details you cherish will likely annoy the D. Practice to get your points made quickly.

2. Don’t be overwhelmed by the forcefulness or bluster of the D. Remember that you thoroughly understand your agenda. Don’t let yourself be bullied or taken too far off point.

3. Remember that while a D will make a quick decision, well reasoned arguments can help the D change to a better decision.

Price: $1.99

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 17, 2009

A Simply Great Idea
Filed under: Phone Apps for Construction — Tags: — nedpelger

My birthday was Tuesday, so TBW and I spent a couple of days in NYC. Walking through Lincoln Center, we got an offer for free tickets to see the Dr Oz show taping. We’ve never done anything like that, so we were sitting in the theater within the hour watching Dr Oz teach about diseases men get (breast cancer and Lupus) that most people assume are only for women.

I loved watching all the technology. I’ve never seen more lights in a ceiling. They had steel W beams about 3′ on center and hooked as many lights as would fit onto the bottom flange. One of those big hunking cameras was right next to me, so I got to watch the cameraman closely. The precision adjustments on the camera reminded me of a metal lathe.

I also got to tour the construction site under World Trade Center site. A friend of my son’s (and new friend of mine) acts as project manager on a portion of the transit station. He gave an amazing tour of his project. We shared the love of construction, of figuring out the problems like a puzzle and getting that wonderful sense of pulling things together.

The Simply Great Idea came as I was speaking with this young PM about the phone app for converting units. He mentioned that he uses ConstructionKnowledge.net often. One of the things he most often needs to find is the density of various materials. I’ve memorized many of the common ones over the years (steel = 480 lbs/cf, concrete = 145 lbs/cf, wood = 35 lbs/cf, crushed stone = about 1oo lbs/cf, etc.). He wondered if I could include the densities of many common materials, so he’d have them in his phone for instant access.

I realized how useful that would be for me and for so many folks in construction. Then I decided to add some other basic info to the other tables. For example, in the energy section, I’ll include various fuels and their BTUs. In the power section, I’ll include the horsepower of various typical machines. I’ll also have a section where the user can input their own items that are often used.

This simple improvement to the Converting Units for Construction phone app will improve the utility substantially. I love it when an idea comes together.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 15, 2009

Construction Phone Apps Part 4
Filed under: Phone Apps for Construction — nedpelger

This phone app should help anyone involved in construction. I’ve just included the common units that we find ourselves needing to convert, though I couldn’t resist including cubits as a nod to Bill Cosby and Noah.

I often am standing on a jobsite and need to convert units to make a better decision about a problem I’m trying to resolve. To be able to pull my phone from my pocket and be able to get an answer within 30 seconds without memorizing anything would be great. I’m hoping others feel the same way.

Converting Units for Construction Problem Solving  and Converting Inches and Decimal Feet

Concept: A simple to use measurement conversion that includes most of the common construction conversion units.

Details: Unlike the all encompassing unit conversion programs that have so many weird units that complicate things, this simple phone app presents the most common construction units conversions (length, area, volume, mass, density, pressure, acceleration, energy and power) for quick and easy use. The Inches to Decimal feet is also included.

Example: You know your propane temporary heating unit produces 25,000 Btu/hour. You have a 5KW electric heating unit that you could also hook up, but wonder if it’s a waste of time. How close are the two heaters? A quick check shows that the electric heater will almost double your temporary heat.

Price: $1.99

Would you find this useful?

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 14, 2009

Engineers: There When You Need Them
Filed under: Ned Weirdness — nedpelger

Most Sunday mornings a couple of buddies and I ride bike. We hammer each other for bragging rights about who zipped up the hill or won the final sprint. You know, typical stupid guy stuff.

We ride all the way through the winter (our coldest ride was 8 degrees F) and met yesterday hoping the misty rain wouldn’t actually be rain. We reasoned that since it showed 32 degrees F on our thermometers at home, it would just get warmer so we shouldn’t hit ice. In retrospect, these were dubious conclusions.

It was only Cromer and I, so we rode and chatted and had a good old time. It started raining hard when we were about 10 miles away, so we decided to meander our way back. As I rode, I felt my front tire slip to the side, which scared me though I was able to stay upright. As we rode up a long hill, I kept feeling my rear wheel skip when I put power to the pedal, but just thought I needed to be in a higher gear.

After riding some more and feeling my front wheel slip a few more times, I unclipped my foot and touched the road. It was solid ice. I got off my bike and could barely stand, as my bike slipped one way and I slipped another. I finally got to the edge of the road and could stand in the grass. We had been riding about 1 mile on a sheet of ice. I can’t imagine how we didn’t fall down.

We were about 3 miles from home and Cromer wanted to call his wife to pick us up. I knew she’d be asleep and am not a fan of getting rescued from situations I’ve behaved myself into. So we decided to walk our bikes (slide them really) and hope for a pick-up truck. We walked about 1.5 miles with no pick-up trucks passing, but I was able to raise a very sore blister on my heel (note to other idiots: bike shoes don’t make good walking shoes).

Finally I saw a little pick-up and waved him down. When he stopped, it was my old buddy and fellow engineer Art Thomspon. We worked together at Huth Engineers and now he’s at Woodland Concrete.

Engineers: they are there when you need them.

CONSTRUCTION KNOWLEDGE BLOG

December 12, 2009

Construction Phone Apps Part 3
Filed under: Phone Apps for Construction — nedpelger

Here’s another phone app I think many will find useful. What do you think? I’d really appreciate some feedback if you think you’d be interested. Do you have an iPhone, Blackberry or Android? Would you want any of these applications on your phone?

Wood Beam Design for Contractors

Concept: Design a wood beam

Details: A simple beam design program that considers a single centered point load or a uniformly distributed load for various lumber types, with input for span and beam dimensions.

Example: You have a wood 6 x 6 spanning the top of scaffolding and a come along lifting from it. You want to make sure the wood beam is more than adequate for the load you are hoisting. You know it’s treated yellow pine, spans 5’ and is trying to lift a 1,500 pound load. Wouldn’t it be nice to know if the calculation supports what your gut tells you?

Price: $1.99

Please either post a comment here or back on the Forum.

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