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News
West Virginia botches impeachment of chief justice. Faces constitutional crisis. Stay tuned.
Delegates formally deliver articles of impeachment to the state Senate at the Capitol building in Charleston, W.Va., on Aug. 20. (AP/)
Now this is what you call a “constitutional crisis.”
On Monday morning, West Virginia’s chief justice was scheduled to go on trial before the state Senate for “lavish spending” on elaborate office renovations, among other ethics complaints. She faced removal from office by impeachment in the House. Read More...
DEP orders stop to construction
The company doing work on a major road construction project has been ordered to stop.
The state Department of Environmental Protection's cease-and-desist order follows a series of violations in Randolph and Tucker counties, where Kokosing Construction Company is doing work on Corridor H.
The order cites violations between December 2017 and September 2018, when inspectors found that Kokosing Construction Company had violated a water quality permit by failing to maintain erosion control devices and letting sediment-filled water leave the construction site, among other things. Read More...
5 technologies boosting productivity on the jobsite
When McKinsey released a report in February 2017 about construction’s productivity gap, much attention was given to the industry's abysmal 1% annual productivity growth rate, which is less than half of the 2.8% global construction growth rate. However, McKinsey’s report said U.S. contractors could  increase productivity  in part by “infusing digital technology, new materials and advanced automation.” Read More...
Steelworkers reach tentative agreement with U.S. Steel 
Members of the United Steelworkers union reached a tentative agreement Monday with United States Steel Corp. on a new master agreement that will cover 16,000 workers at facilities across the country, according to a release.
The union's agreement with U.S. Steel expired on Sept. 1, but members agreed to continue working as negotiations continued. Bargaining got heated at times, with the threat of a strike seeming plausible. Read More...
Construction Material Costs Increase 7.4 Percent, as Contractors Continue to be Squeezed by Tariffs and Rising Fuel Prices
Submitted by Anonymous on October 10, 2018 - 12:51pm
The cost of many products used in construction climbed 7.4 percent over the past year due to double digit increases in commonly-used construction materials, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new Labor Department data. Association officials noted that the cost increases come as many construction firms are already grappling with shortages of skilled craftsmen essential for projects but have limited ability to increase prices for their services. Read More...
Safety and Education
What you need to know about HR and recruiting in construction
The industry’s labor shortage is nothing new, but it remains top-of-mind for many contractors. In fact, 80% of firms surveyed recently indicated they are having a tough time filling hourly craft positions — a number that is only expected to grow. Read More...
Hiring mandates still on the rise, contractors slow to pose a challenge
Hiring goals can be broken down into two basic categories. There are those that stress the employment of local or regional residents, usually because some local agency has invested taxpayer dollars into the project, and then there are requirements that some percentage of minority-, woman-, veteran-owned or other small, disadvantaged business enterprises be put to work. Read More...
OSHA Issues Memorandum Clarifying Position on Incentive Program Drug Testing
OSHA issued a memorandum clarifying the agency's position that its rule prohibiting employer retaliation against employees for reporting work-related injuries or illnesses does not prohibit workplace safety incentive programs or post-incident drug testing. The Department believes that many employers who implement safety incentive programs and/or conduct post-incident drug testing do so to promote workplace safety and health. Action taken under a safety incentive program or post-incident drug testing policy would only violate OSHA's anti-retaliation rule if the employer took the action to penalize an employee for reporting a work-related injury or illness rather than for the legitimate purpose of promoting workplace safety and health. For more information, see the  memorandum .
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Plan Room News
What Is the OVCEC Plan Room?
  • It is a conveniently located source of construction plans for the Ohio Valley area
  • It publishes a weekly Construction Report listing projects out for bid, due dates, apparent low bidders and contracts awarded
  • It provides updates on projects throughout the week by email
  • It provides online access to plans and specifications for your review and downloading
  • It provides bidders lists
  • It has staff that will get the plans you need whenever possible
Submit Plans & Specs
As an Owner or Architect of a project, placing your project plans in the OVCEC Plan Room will help to insure the success of your project.
The Plan Room will:
  • Help you publicize your project
  • Increase the quantity and quality of bids you receive for your project
  • Help you get addenda out to bidders
  • Reduce your cost of blueprint duplication by allowing electronic submission to Plan Room Online