Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News November 2015

Covering the Industry’s News

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Volume 13

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Number 11

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NOVEMBER 2015

Dallas by design

All in the family

JQ’s Dallas staff is downtown – and all together – again.

Rachael Cummings is part of the second generation running her family’s plumbing company.

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n 80-person conference room. A café with a kitchen for employees who want to cook lunch rather than microwave it. A fitness room. A rooftop deck overlooking views of downtown Dallas.

“All of this is located on the second floor with our offices, conference rooms and other support locations on the ground floor,” JQ managing partner Stephen Lucy, PE, says of the firm’s new location in downtown Dallas. “In addition, we will be a part of all of the dynamic changes currently taking place in the Design District and West Dallas.”

JQ’s newly-renovated 31,000-sf office space located at 100 Glass Street is a far cry from the 13,500-sf building they

relocated from at 2105 Commerce. In addition to the amenities, the increase in space will finally reunite the Dallas team, now totaling nearly 100 members.

“Due to our growth we have had to office some of our staff in separate lease space and have also been limited in our ability to have some much-needed amenities such as training rooms, break/gathering spaces and break-out meeting spaces,” Lucy says. “The new office allows us to get all Dallas staff back under one roof and provides for future growth. In addition to addressing needs for our expanding staff and services, the new office will provide us a better work environment which will further assist in retention continued on Page 18

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irst comes love, then comes marriage, then comes company ownership and a baby carriage. That’s how it went for Kim and Robbie Mayse, who began courting in the sixth grade, married in 1983, founded a plumbing company in 1985 and started their family that same year.

In the 30-year history of the company, Kennedale Mansfield Plumbing (KMP) has grown in parts, been sold off in others, moved into new offices a few times and welcomed two of Kim and Robbie’s children into the fold.

“My mom and dad actually started Kennedale Plumbing in 1985 in my mom’s mother’s house,” Rachael Cummings, KMP’s CFO, says. “They purchased

a company called Mansfield Plumbing which had been around since the 1950s.

They then incorporated Kennedale Mansfield Plumbing.”

The company moved to Venus and then returned to Mansfield in the early 1990s. Eight years later, the couple bought and expanded another Mansfield office. By 2004, what had started as a home-based business had boomed into a $12 million company with additional offices in McKinney and Houston. With four kids of their own now needing more of their time, Kim convinced Robbie to scale back, sell the company’s new construction/residential side and focus on offering service. Within two years though, continued on Page 18

A new Millennium in housing

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uilt as a U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project, the construction goal for the Millennium Apartments was to make the residences best-in-class and indistinguishable from other McKinney market-rate properties.

General contractor KWA Construction made sure that goal was met and exceeded. The 162,440-sf, 10-building complex is a study in how to create highend, low-cost, multi-family housing using exceptional design and high-quality materials.

Although 130 of the 164 residences are reserved for low-income residents, material quality was not sacrificed in the name of affordability. Each building utilized traditional slab-on-grade construction, concrete paving and high-quality wood frames. Exteriors include Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) flat roofs and 100 percent masonry (brick and composite stone) highlighted by architectural detail-

Millennium Apartments is a modern, but cost-conscious, affordable housing project in McKinney.

ing. Residents have a choice of one-, twoand three- bedroom units boasting ninefoot ceilings, patios and balconies and high–end appliances. They also enjoy access to a community center with a swimming pool, library, business and fitness centers, a sun porch and cookout area. In addition to these amenities, the Millennium Apartments are conveniently located in the exemplary-rated Frisco Independent School District, and adults can access nearby life-enrichment opportunities.

Project manager Don Jones says the project is KWA Construction’s third assignment for GroundFloor Development. Their existing relationship smoothed the path for any challenges the project faced, including unexpected city requirements.

“The unique aspect of this building was the requirements by the City of McKinney to have all of the concrete paving in continued on Page 18

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Construction News ON LOCATION

Submitted to Construction News

Niche to meet you

Wier they at now?

Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors’ special projects division is ready to tackle whatever comes their way! The newly-formed team, led by group manager Matt Shem (first on left), takes on unique and challenging projects that are management intensive, scheduledriven or require extra technical support. –mjm

Submitted to Construction News

A Prime example

Civil engineering, land planning and surveying company Wier & Associates Inc. recently relocated to new digs. The company, which celebrated its 37th anniversary this year, is now setting up shop at 2201 E. Lamar Blvd., Suite 200E in Arlington. –mjm

On Sep. 26, Prime Controls employees gathered for Rahr & Sons’ 6th annual Oktoberfest 5K. The 37 “Prime Timers” joined 1,800 runners and walkers to raise funds for the Fort Worth Police Officers Awards Foundation. Always ready to run, the Prime Timers are gearing up for their next 5K in the spring. –mjm

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

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Seven wonders

Submitted to Construction News

They know Jack

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rom fire stations to chapels to airports to residences, the more than 60 projects entered struck a wide range of typologies. Only seven of those projects, however, were selected by a jury of design experts to receive 2015 Built Design Awards. The final recipients were chosen based on each design’s response to its cultural, social, environmental and contextual challenges. The Dallas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored the winning projects at the association’s 48th annual awards ceremony, hosted at Perot Museum of Nature and Science on Oct. 7. –mjm

The Richards Group Perkins+Will Photo by Michelle Litvin

L-R: Lane Gorman Trubitt’s Lee Ann Collins, American Subcontractor Association’s Beverly Reynal, Encore Mechanical’s John Reynal, Thomas Feldman and Wilshusen’s Jason Kennedy and Fred Wilshusen, Construction Education Foundation’s Jane Hanna and Texas AirSystems’ Rusty Vaughn turned out for TDIndustries’ Jack Lowe Jr.’s big night. The retired CEO received the 2015 Robert S. Folsom Award on Oct. 14 for his community leadership. –mjm

CCR1 Residence Wernerfield Photo by Robert Yu Richard J. Lee Elementary School Stantec

Clearfork Campus Cunningham Architects Photo by James F. Wilson

House of Olympic Proportions Shipley Architects Photo by Michael Burns

Saint Michael and All Angels Columbarium Max Levy Architect Photo by Charles Davis Smith AIA

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Clay Spicer President LCR Contractors Dallas

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hatever was set in front of LCR Contractors’ Clay Spicer, he always marched sure-footed toward it, first in the Army, and then in his construction career. When April 4, 2004 was put in his path, he marched toward that too, and it is a mission he has been on ever since.

How were you introduced to construction?

My mom and dad [Donald “Buddy” Spicer] moved from Louisiana to Garland, TX to go to work in the construction business; he had done construction during college and knew he wanted to do that.

They came here and interviewed with some of the bigger GCs and had some opportunities, but he ended up with a smaller family-owned drywall company.

I grew up with the construction business as part of my life. Saturday mornings, it was not uncommon to have breakfast with the guys and go to a job site. Whatever my dad had planned for that day, I tagged along and I loved it.

Hard work and running a small business was something that I was really familiar and comfortable with.

Did you work in construction after high school or did your life take a different turn?

I played football and was involved in athletics at Garland High. Ultimately, I had the opportunity to go to West Point and play football there. That was something I was interested in doing and it worked out at a really good school. After I graduated from Garland High in 1996, I went to New Jersey to the prep school for West Point. I spent one year in their program and played football, which then gave me entrance into West Point.

I then had the Army commitments, which I was excited about; I felt like that was a good place for me. I commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the infantry in June 2001, before Sept. 11. I went into the Army with a little different perspective about what my five years were going to be, and then in a short few months things obviously changed. At that time, I realized that was exactly where I was supposed to be. I was proud that I was going to be able to serve our country and do whatever it was that they needed me to do, whether it was stay here or go overseas.

Where were you Sept. 11?

I was in Fort Benning, GA, doing an infantry officer basic course. I had been in

there since July, so we were about six weeks into a 16-18 week program when that happened. I actually got engaged that summer; my wife, DeLayne, is from Garland as well, and I knew her all through college. When Sept. 11 happened, I asked DeLayne and her mom if they could pull off a wedding by December. After we got married, I went back to Fort Benning and she stayed here teaching, since all I was doing was going to schools and I wasn’t going to be coming home at night anyway.

I graduated in May of 2002 from Ranger School, and went to Fort Hood, which is where my first duty station was. I was with the 1st Cavalry Division and then I deployed in March of 2004 with the unit I had been serving for two years.

I was a platoon leader, a scout platoon leader and then an executive officer with that battalion. I deployed as the executive officer for Charlie Company, which was basically the second in command.

We had 120 guys in the company; to be a part of the leadership team that worked with those kinds of guys was awesome.

What did you experience during your deployment?

We were deployed to an area outside of Baghdad, Iraq called Sadr City, which had pretty high insurgent activity and not a very stable environment. We were just getting our forces involved in that area when on April 4, 2004, our unit was involved in an ambush on a platoon that was already in the city. That started a very large battle that lasted for three to four days in that initial push. In that initial battle on that day, we had eight killed and over 60 wounded.

That was the start of our 12-month deployment, before we ever really sat down to get focused. My job as the XO was a lot of logistics and caring for the people we had to get back home that were either wounded or killed. It wasn’t the way we planned it but it was what we were dealt. I’m very comforted by that and proud of the fact that I had worked my whole life to get to that spot because that’s where I needed to be.

That deployment lasted a year, and we had a lot of ups – including being there when the first elections happened – and a lot of downs, as you might expect.

When did you consider a return to civilian life?

We redeployed in March 2005, and it was at that point my wife and I thought about starting a family and our future. I knew that I was ready to look at something on the civilian side, and I started talking with my dad about coming to LCR; Dad had left Ray Boyd Plaster & Drywall in ‘96 and came to LCR with the intent of becoming the owner of the business. He immediately started growing the business, and for the 10 years I was gone, that’s when my dad was here building his foundation at this company. I spent my last 12 months in the service as a military science professor at Texas A&M working with the corps of cadets. It was a great job!

What adjustments did you face leaving the military and returning to Texas?

It was a transition. I think it’s great to have family support, things that you’re comfortable with, something to do and to have other people around you that are in the same situation. I’m glad I was able

L-R: LCR Contractors’ Clay and Buddy Spicer

to pace myself on some of that and to have had that year of transition to spend time with the cadets.

When I made the decision to leave in June 2006, I had spent a lot of time looking at LCR and talking with my dad about what we felt like we could do together and what the company might look like moving forward.

How has it been since you joined LCR?

Things have changed a lot. When my wife and I moved to McKinney and I came in in 2006, LCR was really primed to grow; all they needed was some support and more people. That is where I was able to come in and really look at operations, look at our leadership model. At that time, we had 30 guys in the field, and now we have 110; we’ve grown significantly in that nine-year period.

How did growing up in construction and your military experience prepare you for your work today?

I love the small business side of it. I can stay here and work a bit harder and do a bit more than maybe what I would normally do. I hope the company can be rewarded by that, by winning opportunities. I think that part of it is something I always saw growing up, and I think that’s important for us today.

As far as the military side, and the link to what I learned outside this business, it’s definitely empowering each person within the company to grow and be the best they want to be.

You recently assumed the role of company president, and have expanded LCR’s presence to Austin.

My father ultimately deserves [to step away] and needs to have that option at some point. He’s not going anywhere in the short term, but the goal is to bring people around us that give him the opportunity to step away more. The decision for us to grow in Austin was a natural decision for the amount of work that we’re already doing down there, but it also gave us an opportunity to hire good people.

What do you hope LCR’s future holds?

I am most excited about the future of the company. I have zero doubt that we’re going to be able to grow and flourish in the future. We have great people here that are all committed to what we call “The Next 30 Years.” How proud will we all be if we can accomplish that together?

What is it like to work with your father?

It’s great. We’ve always been best friends. He is the most patient guy in the office, which is a leadership trait that not a lot of people have. It’s very comforting for all of us to have a leader that we can trust but also is patient. He’s the hardest worker too; he sets the pace that others want to emulate, but it’s not in a manner that makes anyone feel unworthy.

(972) 202-5000

www.southernfastening.com

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DFW 972-202-5000 Houston 713-688-3781 Austin 512-248-9005 San Antonio 210-481-1313 Valley 956-682-0402

What do you think he would say about you?

I don’t think he’d say exactly the same thing! He would probably say that I work too hard as well. We’re both com-

petitive and we both work hard. I always think about work too much; I’ve thought about it for the 10 years that I’ve been here and I know that I will moving forward. That’s just who I am.

What do you do when you aren’t working hard?

If I’m not here, I’m with my family, that’s definitely my focus. I have four kids: 9-yearold Ella, 5½-year-old twins, Bradly and Henlee and 3-year-old Jack. I’ve been a soccer coach for probably 10 seasons now, and a baseball coach for six seasons. If I’m not here or I’m not with them, then I’m spending time relaxing with friends.

We also like to travel; we like to ski at Spring Break and we go to the beach in the summers with family.

You also speak about your military experiences to groups.

I speak to a few organizations, like high schools that have read Martha Raddatz’s book, The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family. It was written about our unit on April 4, when the battle happened. It’s a pretty powerful story, as [Raddatz] goes back and forth between the soldiers that were killed, the leaders on the ground and the families as they were finding out, since we weren’t supposed to be in combat that fast.

Do you share your story with the construction industry?

Some members of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) reached out to me to speak, and it happened to coincide with another group that I’m trying to raise money for called “Lancer Legacy Ranch,” which was founded by guys from our unit; they have started a facility on 11 acres outside of East Texas that provides a comforting place veterans can go to.

This idea [for the facility] was created during a 10-year reunion held on April 4, 2014 that I helped put together. We had over 300 people come back, and we brought back the families of soldiers that were killed. The turnout was amazing, and we were together for three days. It was the first time we had really been together, because when you come back from deployment, everybody goes to different parts of the world, and it all happens really fast. You just don’t see these guys, even though you were with them for this amazing experience – everyone moves on and 10 years pass.

[As I helped plan the reunion,] I did some speaking to help tell that story [of the ambush]. We raised $60,000 from our construction partners and we spent every penny on making the reunion amazing for the families there.

It must mean so much to veterans, that you are willing to speak about that day.

I’m excited about the opportunity to talk. I was there with a great unit. Let me tell you their story, because I was just blessed to be a part of it.

Dallas-based LCR Contractors provides spray applied fireproofing and spray thermal insulation. –mjm

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

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Stellar winners

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he planets aligned for 16 superstars who were honored at the Asian American Contractors Association of Texas (AACATX) Awards Luncheon.

Hosted at Kasra Restaurant on Oct. 15, the 2015 Constellation Awards were bestowed upon individuals and companies who have given outstanding opportunities to Minority Business Enterprises and have supported AACATX members. One hundred sixty guests, including Senator Royce West and Ben Taylor, deputy director of appointments for the Texas Governor’s office, were on hand to shine the light on the award winners. –mjm Photos by Samuel Hsu Photography

AACATX President Anuj Patel and board member at large Kathy Dress

(not pictured) Juno Award Elsie Collins and Nancy Alvarez, SBA

Gemini Teaming Partner Award Hezekiah Harris, CMTS Inc.

L-R: AACATX president Anuj Patel, Senator Royce West and Ben Taylor Venus Award Kay Saunders and Jami Henry, Bellewether

Sun award: Khaled Naja, DFW International Airport

Mercury Award Dinita Caldwell Texas Facilities Commission, HUB Coordinator

Star Award Darren James, KAI Texas Gemini Teaming Partner Award, Bob Long and Tony Radican Big Sky Construction

Gemini Teaming Partner Award, Jane Jan, Jan’s Realty

Left: Gemini Teaming Partner Award Ken Nile and Jack Rahmes of Herzog Contracting Corporation

Orion Award Henry Yiu of PDI Group

Gemini Teaming Partner Award Rick Lee, HKS Inc.

Gemini Teaming Partner Award Cristina Rodriguez, North Tarrant Infrastructure

Moon Award FWISD/AECOM

Saturn Award Elna Mallari, Philippine American Chamber of Commerce, Texas

Jupiter Award State Senator Royce West

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Revenue recognition – it’s time for change Leslie Guajardo, CPA, CCIFP Padgett Stratemann & Co., Partner San Antonio, TX

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evenue is one of the most important measures used by investors and owners in assessing a company’s performance and prospects. However, recognition standards differ in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). For years, we have been hearing about the potential effects of the proposed revenue recognition standards and Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09 was issued on May 28, 2014. While the road to a final regulation is still being paved, the rule-makers are getting closer every day.

Earlier this year, the Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to defer the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for one year. As a result, public entities would apply the new standard to annual reporting periods beginning after Dec. 15, 2017; nonpublic entities in 2018.

The new guidance is aimed at removing inconsistencies and weaknesses in existing requirements; providing a framework for addressing issues; improving comparability of revenue recognition across entities, industries, and jurisdictions; and providing more useful information to users of financial statements through enhanced disclosures.

The key to understanding the major changes is to first understand the five steps to consider with each contract: 1. Identify contract with the cus- tomer 2. Identify separate performance obligations in the contract 3. Determine the transaction price 4. Allocate transaction price to per- formance obligations 5. Recognize revenue as perfor- mance obligations are satisfied In most cases, entities would apply this five-step model to each contract awarded. However, in situations where the entity combines multiple contracts for purposes of revenue recognition, the standard states an entity can account for a portfolio of similar contracts together if the contracts are entered into at or near the same time, the contracts are negotiated with a single commercial objective, the amount of consideration in one contract depends on the other contract, and the goods promised are a single performance obligation.

Conversely, one contract could result in several performance obligations. If you determine you do not have separate performance obligations, the revenue recognition process remains basically unchanged. If you determine you do have separate obligations, you would continue with steps 3-5 above, which require the contract amount to be allocated among the performance obligations. Each obligation would then be accounted for as a separate job.

If a contract modification or change order arises, the contractor must determine whether it should be accounted for as part of the existing contract or a new one. If the modification changes only the transaction price, the entity would apply the requirements for allocating the new price to the existing obligations. If the modification changes the scope of the project so that a distinct obligation arises and the entity has a right to consideration that reflects the standalone price of the additional good, the change would be accounted for as a new contract.

The AICPA has formed 16 industry task forces to help develop a new Accounting Guide on Revenue Recognition that will provide illustrative examples for how to apply the new standard, with construction contractors being one of them. So, get your CPAs involved and be prepared to plan early.

Leslie V. Guajardo, CPA, CCIFP, is a partner at Padgett, Stratemann & Co., L.L.P. She can be reached at 210-253-1530 or Leslie.Guajardo@padgett-cpa.com.

The small business owner’s retirement dilemma Kirk Quaschnick, President Mogul Wealth Strategies LLC McKinney TX

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ou’ve poured a lifetime of sweat, time, and capital into building your construction business. You’ve begun thinking about retirement, and your strategy is to sell your company for a good price, settle back, and enjoy a financially secure retirement. But, like many business owners, you’ve made the mistake of assuming this scenario will happen, and you haven’t bothered to make other retirement plans.

You need to be realistic.

What are the odds of a person showing up at the right time with cash in hand to buy the company for a fair price?

For thousands of small business owners each year, no one steps forward. Perhaps the business is too specialized or is tied too closely to the owner’s unique personality and skills. Maybe possible buyers equate retirement sale with a distress sale and make only low-ball offers. Whatever the reason, many owners find that their company has suddenly become a white elephant that nobody wants.

Select and develop a successor.

That’s why it’s so important to prime a replacement—someone who will buy your company when you’re ready to retire. Maybe this is a current co-owner (but be careful if he or she is about the same age as you, and planning to retire around the same time.) Or it’s your son or daughter active in the business, or a younger key employee.

Business owners in the construction industry who successfully groom their own replacements leave nothing to chance. They realize that there’s no room for error at the point of retirement.

Here are some steps you should take: Be cautious. Make sure your heir apparent is the right person in terms of temperament, personality, competence, and personal goals.

Set up a probation period so you can terminate the relationship if you find that this person will not work out.

During that period, keep everything informal, strictly verbal. Even when you go to a formal agreement, make sure it contains a termination provision.

Offer incentives to ensure that your replacement stays until the baton is passed. An ambitious successor needs and deserves gradually increasing authority and benefits. Options include deferred compensation or the opportunity to acquire partial ownership prior to your retirement. This provides both parties with something to win by sticking to the agreement, and

something to lose if it falls apart.

Create a buy-sell agreement. With the help of your attorney, lock in who does and gets what, spelling out all details and caveats, including how to establish the final valuation of the business. This formal agreement protects everybody.

Build in a funding mechanism. This is crucial. No matter how good the terms of the buy/sell agreement, it will be worthless if the money is not there when needed to carry out the plan. Under one option, the successor may be able to purchase the company from ongoing profits. Other options include setting up a sinking fund or allowing the successor to simply borrow the money. These options may work but they leave much to chance. Instead, consider a funding vehicle that protects your family in the event of your disability or premature death, such as life and disability income insurance.

Have a Plan B. As a business owner, you know that very few things go exactly as planned. What if your business hits tough times or your successor dies, becomes disabled, or leaves because of a personality conflict? Or what if there simply is no heir apparent waiting in the wings? Sometimes, it’s simply best to dismantle the business.

Whether or not you have a possible successor for your construction company, you should begin mapping out your retirement strategy today. Your insurance professional or your independent professional advisors can work with you to help you develop a sound business strategy.

Kirk G. Quaschnick, CLU, ChFC, ARPC, is the president and co-founder of Mogul Wealth Strategies, LLC in McKinney, TX. Since 1992, Kirk has helped his clients in financial, business, and estate planning, as well as financial advising, investment advisory and wealth management services to business owner executives and individuals. For additional information on the information or topic discussed, please contact Kirk at 214-420-7152, or email him at kirk@mogulwealth.com.

Submitted to Construction News

Security treat

With more contractors eschewing a four-walled environment for a more mobile one, fraud and cyber security threats are on the rise. On Aug. 26, Lane Gorman Trubitt PLLC (LGT) hosted a breakfast for construction industry members at the Dallas Omni at Park West to address the increasing risks and share updates and best practices. –mjm

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Page 7

“Pay-if-Paid” still means “Pay-if-Paid”

New OSHA Electronic Resources

Shelly Masters, Principal Cokinos Bosien & Young Austin, TX

Joann Natarajan Compliance Assistance Specialist OSHA Austin, TX

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n the not too distant past, construction contractors of all tiers were highly concerned about the enforceability of “pay-if-paid” clauses in construction contracts, making payment by a general contractor to a subcontractor “contingent” upon the general contractor’s receipt of payment from the owner. Many were confused about the difference between pay-if-paid and paywhen-paid clauses, with good reason, as even Texas courts were often split on their interpretation. Many others were simply concerned about paying without being paid (general contractors) or getting paid (subcontractors). Despite the passage of law aggressively sought by contractor groups defining contingent payment clauses and their enforceability, many general contractors and most subcontractors fail to use the law to their benefit even today.

Contractors often put contingent payment clauses in their subcontracts.

Contracts without pay-if-paid clauses are dangerous to general contractors because they may be forced to pay subcontractors and suppliers without ever receiving payment from the owner.

The contractor uses these clauses to avoid financial disaster, by spreading among the subcontractors the risk of nonpayment if the owner fails to pay the contractor.

Pay-if-paid clauses are dangerous for subcontractors because these clauses shift the risk of owner nonpayment from general contractors to subcontractors. A “pay if paid” provision in a subcontract provides that the general contractor is only obligated to pay the subcontractor if it is paid by the owner.

Subcontractors frequently attempt to negotiate the removal of such clauses or revise them to become pay-whenpaid clauses. In reality, however, subcontractors often lack the leverage needed to completely negotiate away such clauses.

Texas law does not prohibit the use of contingent payment clauses, but does restrict their enforceability against “innocent” subcontractors if the owner’s nonpayment is due to its own insolvency or the misconduct of the general contractor or another subcontractor. If the contingent payment provision is interpreted as a pay-if-paid, then there are four exceptions to the application of the clause: (1) the owner’s or upstream contractor’s refusal to pay is caused by the principal’s failure to meet its obligations; (2) the contingent payment clause is contained in a sham contract; (3) the downstream contractor provides timely notice objecting to the enforcement of the contingency payment clause; or (4) the enforcement of the clause would be unconsdonable The application of any of these exceptions will depend heavily on the facts and

circumstances of the claim.

Pursuant to the law codified in Section 35.521 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the contingent payment clause is an affirmative defense of a general contractor to a claim for payment in a civil lawsuit for breach of contract. There are some exceptions and safe harbors of which subcontractors in Texas may take advantage so long as they meet some critical notice deadlines not unlike those required by the Texas mechanic’s lien statute. Also, §35.521(i) states that a contingent payment clause cannot be used to invalidate the enforcement or perfection of a mechanic’s lien for labor performed or materials furnished. Likewise, no party can be forced to give up its rights to object to the enforcement of a contingent payment clause.

Despite improvement in the volume of Texas construction projects, lawsuits for lack of payment on construction projects are filed almost daily. The contingent payment law provides an avenue of collection for subcontractors and suppliers suffering from nonpayment. Conversely, it establishes a method to further protect their enforceability for general contractors or other upper tier contractors. However, it has no effect on those in the construction industry who unknowingly or intentionally fail to avail themselves of the protections of the law they worked so hard to get.

Shelly Masters is a principal in the Austin office of Cokinos Bosien & Young.

She represents clients in the areas of construction, labor and employment, commercial, and products liability law.

Cokinos Bosien & Young has been representing the construction industry for over 25 years. Her firm has additional offices in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

She can be reached by e-mail at smasters@ cbylaw.com or by phone at (512) 615-1139.

Submitted to Construction News

Taking on the tee

L-R: Summit Electric Supply’s Donnie Griffin and Todd Bockenfeld teamed up with Eaton’s Blake Hoover and Kevin Williams to take first place at the Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC)’s golf tournament. The team was among 108 golfers who played at the Oct. 5 tourney held at Fort Worth’s Waterchase Golf Club. –mjm

SHA has issued a number of downloadable resources on the osha.gov website recently to enhance workplace safety.

OSHA publication 3755, Protecting Roofing Workers, addresses fall protection, ladders, scaffolds, lifts, electrical and roofing operations, roofing tools and personal protective equipment.

OSHA released publication 3825 Protecting Construction Workers in Confined Space: Small Entity Compliance Guide in September 2015 to assist construction employers in complying with the new confined space rule that was issued in May 2015. This publication covers confined spaces, permit spaces and duties of the competent person, entry supervisor, entrants and attendants.

A new publication, OSHA 3824 entitled Resource for Development and Delivery of Training to Workers concentrates on how adult learning and techniques to ensure an effective training session. Included are best practices for training adults, best classroom layouts, a checklist of adult education, and program evaluation.

proposed Beryllium law and what requirements OSHA is contemplating in the rule, OSHA Fact Sheet 3822 discusses the health effects of Beryllium, which is a human carcinogen. OSHA Info Sheet 3823 discusses Beryllium Safety in the Workplace and the types of industries and processes where Beryllium is encountered, and ways to reduce and control exposure to this human carcinogen.

OSHA and NIOSH issued a Hazard Alert on Worker Exposure to Silica during Countertop Manufacturing, Finishing and Installation.

Engineered stone, quartzite, sandstone, granite, slate and soapstone countertops contain varying amounts of silica, which when cut and worked can release silica if precautions are not taken.

OSHA issued a Fact Sheet on All Terrain Vehicle safety. ATV’s are used to haul small loads and have been involved in 321 fatal accidents between 2003 and 2011. OSHA Fact Sheet 3758 gives some safety guidance on using ATV’s.

OSHA publications 3780 and 3781 cover temporary workers. OSHA 3780 addresses who is responsible for providing and paying for personal protective equipment. OSHA 3780 makes clear that both the host employer and temporary company are responsible for temporary worker safety. OSHA 3781 covers the Whistleblower protections afforded all employees. The host employer and temporary company are jointly held responsible in the event that retaliation occurs.

OSHA Info Sheet 3818, Health Effects from Contaminated Water in Eyewash Stations, addresses proper maintenance of eyewash stations to prevent bacterial eye infections.

All of the publications mentioned can be downloaded from the OSHA website at: http : //www.osha.gov/dcsp /compliance_assistance/new_ca_products.html

OSHA issued three fact sheets on the proposed Beryllium rule. OSHA Fact Sheet 3821 provides an overview of the

natarajan.joann@dol.gov 512-374-0271 x232

Have a Wonderful Family Thanksgiving from the Construction News Team

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Bridging the gap

Thank you for your service

C

onstruction News would like to thank the many military veterans who have served our country and are serving in our industry. Here are only a few of the many faces of our heroes who now wear hard hats. –mjm Talmage Hansen, BIG RED DOG Branch: Air Force Reserve Rank: 2nd Lt., Years of Service: 8.5 years, 2007 – Present Military Occupation: Civil Engineer Current Base: Dyess Air Force Base, TX

L-R: 3i’s Micheal Williams, AECOM’s Baker Ashiwaya and KAI Texas’ Darren L. James

E

ven though the invitation read “YearEnd Celebration, the awards dinner held on Oct. 16 was a kind of new celebration for the Regional Black Contractors Association (RBCA). The event was hosted at the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas in Fort Worth rather than Dallas, where RBCA is based.

“The purpose of the event was really to bridge the gap between Dallas and Fort Worth because now we are the Regional Black Contractors Association and this really is our first event in Fort Worth,” RBCA 1st vice-chair and secretary Monica Bailey-Jackson says. “We wanted to invite the community and community leaders together with Dallas and Fort Worth to

L-R: DFW Airport’s Nate Smith, Tamela Lee and Jesse Crawford

show unity. We really are trying to build black wealth.”

The evening included dinner, a jazz band and a routine by comedian KC Mack. Community leaders including Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, State Representative Nicole Collier and Prairie View Mayor (and keynote speaker) Frank Jackson attended.

KAI Texas President and COO Darren L. James received the Herman Jerome Russell Award. 3i President and CEO Micheal Williams awarded a scholarship to Dunbar High School student Logan Ray and DFW Airport’s Tamela Lee accepted an award for the company’s support of the RBCA. –mjm

Jay Wilson, Corbet Design+Build project superintendent Rank at Discharge: E-6 (First Class Petty Officer US Navy) NMCB 11 (Naval Mobile Construction Battallion 11, Gulfport, MS) Years of Service January 1978-June 1983 Last Duty Station: Naval Air Station Key West, Florida (was also stationed in Guam, Phillippines, US Embassy, Perth Australia, Gulfport MS and Coronado, CA Specialty: Site, civil work, bridges, highways, concrete, piers

L-R: RBCA’s Monica Bailey-Jackson and Renae Mendez

Les Seaton, Acme Brick Branch: Marine Corps.

Rank: Captain Years of Service: Nearly 16

Gary Grubbs, Boulder Designs of DFW, Branch: Army Retired 22 years

Fishing for compliments

1st Place: PPI’s Benny Hernandez, Toby Northcutt and Jason Parrent and fishing guide, David

T

he lake was so high that striper were nonexistent, so catfish and sand bass just had to do! Despite the striper shortage, PPI’s Benny Hernandez, Toby Northcutt, and Jason Parrent celebrated reeling in first place at Painting & Decorating Contractors of America (PDCA) Dallas chapter’s Raymond Harkins Striper Fishing Tournament, held Oct. 16. –mjm

2nd Place: RKO Construction’s Randy Oliver, PPG’s John Powell and Marc McGuire and R.L. Harkins’ CW Woodard 3rd Place: Sherwin Williams’ Catie Bolger, R.L. Harkins’ Donna Harkins, Brian (guide), JF Jones’ Mary Sheffield and Qualtex’s Rachel Axton

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Page 9

and jigs should be changed or at least sharpened. Rods and reels, lubed and tuned and ready for countless casts.

Planning your outing on the water should be thought out before you get to the ramp, at least the first couple of spots you intend to fish. If things go as planned, pat yourself on the back and make some mental notes on what the conditions are. If the wheels start to fall off, be prepared to make a major change or grind it out if you have confidence in that spot. Topwater lures will be one of my early morning choices before water temps drop below the 70 degree mark. MirrOlure She Dog and She Pup are excellent choices because of the high pitch sounds they produce. The MirrOdine and Pro Dog Jr. are also very productive when your looking for a smaller presentation.

The Change of Seasons

by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by: Premier Yamaha Boating Center, Majek Boats, E-Z Bel Construction, Power Pole Shallow Water Anchor, Aggregate Haulers, ­­­ForEverlast Hunting and Fishing Products and Columbia Sportswear.

As we prepare to enter the winter season, look for changing patterns in speckled trout and redfish action. Starting in late October and early November, cool fronts will start arriving dropping water temperatures and barometric pressures.

Contrary to popular belief, nice weather is not always the best fishing weather, therefore I try to avoid days right after a cold front when both skies and pressures are high. Planning your day prior to these pre-fronts and post-fronts conditions can pay off in big dividends. Be prepared to fish longer days, sometimes with fewer bites as fish tend to feed less frequently during cooler months.

By the time this column is in your hands, I will probably have made the transition from live fin-fish to lures or perhaps live shrimp when available. Wading the banks of the King Ranch shoreline from the JFK to Baffin will be the norm except when drifting the deeper rocks. Resident trout and redfish will begin their feeding habits preparing for the winter. I also expect the red tide conditions to be completely gone from our bay complex.

Before closing, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels. I would also like to give thanks to all the sponsors listed above for the support throughout the season. Without you, none of this would be possible.

To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-8133716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at SteveSchultzOutdoors@gmail.com Good luck and Good Fishing.

Bubba Storbeck of San Antonio still able to get it done catching this 27 in. redfish last week on a fishing outing with Steve Schultz Outdoors.

Although we did see a pretty bad spell of the deadly bloom this season, I’m thankful to say most of my charters were blessed with healthy catches.

As I mentioned earlier, November marks the time where big trout hunting comes back into play after a long hot summer.

Getting prepared to get back in the water requires some advance planning and gear check. Waders are now required if you haven’t already started using them.

Check them for leaks before you get to the water. Hooks on you favorite plugs

Resistance is futile

“R

Rocket is a rock star – complete with his own groupies – at his owner’s workplace.

ocket” will not be resisted. Just ask his owner, Air Balancing Company office administrator Penny Wilson, who asked her boss one day if she might bring the 4-year-old Chihuahua to work.

“When I first approached Bret [Privitt] about bringing him to work, he said, ‘Okay, but I don’t want him to be a permanent fixture here.’ Well, that went out the window as soon as everyone discovered how loveable he is!” Wilson says. “Rocket is very well-behaved and very quiet, so he’s not really a distraction here at the office.“ The certified service dog stands about 8 to 10 in. tall and weighs 5 pounds.

Although he may be tiny, he has carried off the hearts of pretty much everyone in the office.

“Rocket has become a bit of a celebrity here at work,” she says. “People come by my office to see him, not me! If I leave him home for a few days, I am questioned as to why! He has been welcomed at Air Balancing Company and is part of the family here.” –mjm

STEVE SCHULTZ OUTDOORS, LLC BAFFIN BAY –– LAGUNA MADRE –– LAND CUT SPECKLED TROUT –– REDFISH –– FLOUNDER FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

(361) 949-7359

www.baffinbaycharters.com steveschultzoutdoors@gmail.com U.S. Coast Guard & Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Ken Milam’s Fishing Line Since 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

Weather Roller Coaster…. are we going up or falling down?

Y

ou know Texas is blessed with weird extreme weather. It is notorious for having just about every kind of weather you can think of happening at once in the state on the same day. This year though has been exceptionally strange.

We started out the year still suffering from the drought. Spring and summer brought good beneficial rains to some, devastating floods to others, and mostly skipped the rest of us. Thank goodness we did catch some good inflows for our Highland Lakes. A lot of the storms skirted the northwestern Hill County, but did drop enough moisture on some of the watershed to give us a couple nice shots of fresh water. Lake levels have improved, and even though they are on their way back down, we sure are thankful.

Then late summer flipped the weather coin on us. An awful lot of Texas didn’t see more than a spit of rain for two or three months. All that wonderful moisture we gained earlier greened everything up, gave us back our wildflowers and made ranchers hopeful about restoring their herds. Our wildlife also reaped the bounty of new growth.

Food and water and cover were plentiful for them, so the deer had a great fawn crop with lots of twins, and antler growth on the bucks for this year is really nice. By late summer all the overgrown vegetation started baking in the sun becoming nothing more than a fire hazard. You will need to take extra care about the wildfire threat at the hunting lease this year. The water tanks and creeks started drying up, forcing every thirsty critter in the wild to have to travel further in search of water.

If you are hunting this year, a good water trough might draw more game than a feeder. Does have been

Kenneth Priess Construction, Fredericksburg, Tx, Oct. 3, 2015

getting separated from the fawns (if not abandoning them altogether), so we see an awful lot of deer getting run over, as well as those darned feral hogs. If you are out on the roads for hunting trips or holiday travel, stay safe. Don’t speed or tailgate because you never know what might run out in front of you.

So far on most lakes the fish haven’t been able to quite make out what they should do. The number of daylight hours is telling them they need to start feeding hard to get ready for spawning in the spring. They try to bite, but the water temperature is so high yet that it seems to spoil their appetite. Hopefully by the time you read this in Nov. summer will finally be over and everything will be back on its seasonal track. Then it will be “Fish on!” because they are gonna be hungry.

I hope by the time you read this we will have cooled off and started getting some rain!

Don’t forget to get out and vote for Proposition 6 on Nov. 3! We need to pass this amendment to protect our right to hunt and fish in Texas into the future!

Some states have already failed to protect this fundamental right simply because nobody bothered to show up and vote for an amendment to keep what they already had. Please don’t let this happen in Texas!

Hot sun rising over Lake Buchanan

Half or Full Day Fishing Trips All Bait, Tackle & Equipment Furnished Your catch Filleted and Bagged for You

Ken Milam Guide Service (325) 379-2051 www.striperfever.com

Furnish your TPWD Fishing License & Refreshments, and WE DO THE REST!

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Have an outdoor photo or story you’d like to share?

Email to: DFWeditor@ constructionnews.net or call Melissa at 817.731.4823

Page 11

Elk-cellent!

Rustin Mayse, Robbie Mayse and David Watson of Kennedale Mansfield Plumbing (KMP) went on a most elk-cellent adventure in La Veta, CO in late October.

The hunters came back with at least one elk each and plenty of tales to tell upon their return to the office. –mjm Right: David Watson Below right: Robbie Mayse Below: Rustin Mayse (center)

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

The forgotten families

Captain Joseph House

A

s she waited at the airport for her son to arrive, thoughts were already going through her mind.

From the time she knew he was coming home, the plans began to develop.

But this was no ordinary airport or homecoming. Betsy Reed Schultz was at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware waiting for her only child, Captain Joseph William Schultz, to be brought home from Afghanistan.

With that knock on the door two days earlier, Betsy had become a Gold Star Mother. How could she honor her son, who lost his life in the service of our country, and at the same time help other Gold Star families who struggle with the same grief she had just come to know?

Reesa and I spent time with Betsy at her home in Port Angeles, WA. in July.

From her front porch you can see the first Captain Joseph House under construction.

Being a Gold Star family ourselves, her vision for the foundation hit close to home.

“There have been so many Gold Star families created since 9/11,” said Schultz.

These families are sometimes referred to as the forgotten families. After the services, memorials and the first year of activities have come and gone, you try

to go on with your life, but other people don’t remember that missing person anymore.

“The Gold Stars continue to feel them, see them and care. They have a broken heart that will always be there and other people don’t see it. It’s different for everyone else. Sometimes it’s easier to let the families slip into the missing. Many times they are a forgotten family,” Schultz says.

The Captain Joseph House Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation created to lend support to the 7,000 families of our military’s fallen heroes since the beginning of the Global War on Terrorism on 9/11.

The remodel of the 1910 Tudor-style craftsman house is 55 percent complete and plans are being made for the first guests to arrive in 2016. It will be a place for Gold Star families to come and enjoy a peaceful setting.

“There are other services for families but nothing quite like this. There certainly isn’t enough recognition and awareness of Gold Star families and the sacrifice their family member has made to provide the livelihood and freedoms that we have,” Schultz says.

The plans include keeping the setting small and intimate for families.

“We are serving a much smaller group of families at any one time, unlike other Gold Star programs,” she says. “We will serve no more than three families at one time for the same timeframe Sunday to Friday so they have four full days and a travel day on either side. This gives them the time to bond with the other families who they will have with them throughout this journey.”

The one-time visit for the family will be an expense paid five-night, six-day respite/retreat in the scenic Pacific Northwest. While there, each family will also have their own chauffeured van to explore the area.

The families will be coming from all over the country and from all branches of the military. Long-range plans are to have four other Captain Joseph Houses around the country.

I asked Betsy to tell me what it will mean to her when the first group arrives at the house next year.

“The sense of knowing I have created an opportunity for the families,” she explained. “They have to take the risk of coming here and finding out they can

laugh again - they can cry - but they can laugh and have a good time. That takes risk because you have to step out of the life you have now been living.

“I think everyone who leaves here is going to leave the Captain Joseph House more peaceful, not just because it made them feel better because they came here, but because of what I was able to give of myself to them. They are not taking away.

They are giving a part of themselves. That is the healing.

“I will feel like we have given people the step up to move forward in their lives from where they are when they came and when they leave,” concluded Schultz.

The days we spent with Betsy were interesting and gratifying. Her endeavor in life is to care for other Gold Stars in a unique way that will help with their healing process. She’s a fast moving dynamo who has defined - and will accomplish her goal. I have no doubt about that.

by Buddy Doebbler, Publisher For more information or to help the Captain Joseph House Foundation, check the website at: CaptainJosephHouseFoundation.org.

L-R Betsy Schultz, Reesa Doebbler, Mary Stokes Cort (Gold Star grandmother) and Charles Smith (Captain Joseph House Architect)

Gold Star Banner

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Page 13

Submitted to Construction News

Industry FOLKS

Capital gain

Laurel G. Wesson Sales Associate United Rentals

I

f Laurel G. Wesson’s car radio is turned down, it’s because she was just indulging in her guilty pleasure: Broadway tunes.

Wesson, a 22-year-old sales associate for United Rentals in Arlington, is a classically trained vocalist who once had dreams of her name in lights on Broadway. The struggling-artist lifestyle wasn’t appealing, though, so now the highway traffic is her audience.

“I feel like I’m an anomaly, I listen to Broadway on the way to work and when I come home,” she says. “I just make sure to turn my radio off if anyone gets in my car so they won’t start laughing!”

Wesson, who graduated from Texas State University last December with a degree in marketing, was fortunate to find work she loved through a college alum who worked at United Rentals. After participating in the company’s fasttrack program in North Carolina for an outside sales rep position, she explored the Dallas market and decided to make the move back to where she grew up.

“I really liked it, loved my district sales manager, my district manager and the team down here was just so incredible and I wanted of course to come back home to my family so I came back as a sales associate. It was a lateral move; hopefully I will be getting promoted soon.”

When she’s not at work or explor-

ing North Texas, Wesson spends time with her boyfriend, Zach, 3½-year-old Labrador, Jaxson, her parents, Mark, Glen and Sara and her little brother Blake (whenever she can tear him away from his freshman year in Arkansas).

She also stays connected to her sorority and university, and is putting her marketing degree to use as the new public relations and marketing chair for the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC).

As for her singing, Wesson has plans to possibly do some local theatre, but she isn’t planning on making it in Manhattan.

“I’m good with staying in Texas, I’m perfectly happy where I am!” she says.

“I plan on staying in this industry; I like it a lot. I love my company and I plan on staying with them for a very long time.

I think eventually I would like to own my own business; what that business would be, I’m not quite sure, but that’s very, very far down the line. I love United Rentals, so I might just decide that I would rather stay with my company and either go into branch management or eventually be a district sales manager and continue on the United Rentals path. ” –mjm

Concrete fete

T

The group took a tour of the AT&T Stadium.

hree hundred forty-one design professionals, contractors, material suppliers and distributors from around North America kicked it up in downtown Cowtown Oct. 14-16. Hosted at Fort Worth’s Hilton Hotel, the International Concrete Repair Institute’s (ICRI) Fall Convention was the second largest ever held by the association. Attendees enjoyed a chapter party at Billy Bob’s Texas Club, a large group tour of AT&T Stadium, a golf tournament and a project awards reception. –mjm L-R: George D. Alan Company’s Andy Bautz, Sika Corporation’s Leslie and Bill Light and Texas Concrete Restoration’s Pete and Carol Haveron enjoy fajitas at Billy Bob’s Texas Club.

WJE’s Doug Smith and wife Kim at Billy Bob’s for the North Texas chapter-sponsored party Friday evening.

L-R: General contractor DPR Construction’s Jeff Parsons, JLL’s Valle Caldwell, architect GFF’s Lawrence Cosby and Capital One president of financial services Sanjiv Yajnik, financial services chief of staff Jana Etheridge and south regional leadership director Dave Clark broke ground on Capital One’s Plano corporate campus expansion Oct. 8.

Slated for completion in 2017, the planned four-story, 205,000-sf building has a targeted capacity of 1,200 seats. –mjm

Hair ye! Hair ye!

We mustache you: Are you male? Making (and keeping!) doctor appointments? Taking vitamins? Eating well?

Exercising? Actually sleeping? “Movember” is here, a month when many

construction guys play out their “Bladeshunner” fantasies and grow facial hair to raise men’s health awareness. Even if you don’t sprout hair, take care! The industry needs you! –mjm

Innovative Design Build’s Ahad Ghafoor then … … and now. Still the picture of health!

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Page 15

Architecture & Engineering Healthcare construction future healthy Rod Booze, CEO/Managing Principal Ascension Group Architects LLC Arlington, TX

H

ow would you describe the general state of the industry?

I think that the economic meltdown that happened in 2008 sat a lot of players on the sidelines and large projects probably took advantage of the downturn to buy up construction at a recession-level cost. That buoyed the industry for a few years but I think that pent-up demand is coming out in a more paced manner, for lack of a better word.

I think it’s solid. I think there’s a steady uptick of people coming out of the woodwork from those recession times that they can’t hold off any longer. Capital expenditures need to be made; market share needs to be maintained or captured and there are a lot of competing entities that need buildings to do it, they need renovations to existing buildings, they need renewed developed real estate. I think it’s solid; I think we’re in good shape.

Have you experienced an increase in business or slowdown?

We’ve personally seen an increase in business. In fact, 2014 was our most profitable year in the past 15 years, and we had the highest volume in the last 15 years.

What factors are driving this increase?

When the recession was predominant in the Southwest, a lot of companies based in ObamaCare also were having financial problems in the United States and instability in the markets. Market value just dried up. Capital and liquidity were tight and some of the big banks in Wall Street were failing. [President] Obama was pushing the agenda to have national-

ized healthcare via his platform, and so a lot of people in our industry, in terms of healthcare, stood on the sidelines to see what would happen and did the barebones minimum within their organizations. What we’ve seen, now that more detail has come out on ObamaCare, they’re maybe more strategic, but still more comfortable with pursuing projects and that’s where we’re seeing the uptick.

How has the increase affected how you conduct business?

I don’t think it has. We were an expertise-driven company decades ago and nothing has changed about us. There are differences in the way you produce projects; there are more Building Information Modeling (BIM) platforms that are being developed, but it’s no different than what we did pen on paper, AutoCAD or anything else. It hasn’t changed our delivery methods or our approach; we’re still an expertise-driven business.

What are the hot button issues in the construction industry from your standpoint, and also the issues in your field?

I’ve certainly seen a migration of talent – top-tier talent has been highly recruitable and highly mobile. We’ve seen a lot of companies jockeying to retain and recruit top-tier talent. We’re the architects and not the general contractors, but we see them jockeying to maintain their position.

We have some of the same issues in terms of maintaining talent. Expertise is fine as a word but it’s individuals that produce that expertise. If you’ve got it,

you keep it or you try to recruit it. You have to deliver these projects to clients.

For our clients, the hot button issue is probably speed to market; speed to market is probably more predominant than even cost sometimes. Cost doesn’t go away, but if they can get to the market sooner they’ll be more profitable, bank several months of profits and can pay for these projects that they’re trying to pursue.

What are the major changes in recent years relating to the type of work that you do.

I don’t think there have been major changes. It’s a continuation of intensity, if you will.

In terms of the type of work that we do with healthcare, it’s probably more highly regulated than any other type of building. If we’re building a gas station, and inadvertently it’s marginally safe, that’s one thing. But if we’re building a hybrid operating room and it’s not what it needs to be, that’s a problem. I remember years ago, a company did a hospital in East Texas, and I don’t know if it was a design error or a construction error, but somehow the gas process went awry and although it was certified, they gave carbon dioxide to a patient requiring oxygen, and it killed the patient.

The complexity of the types of projects we do continues to go up with the integration and the sophistication of technology, and it continues to impact healthcare. That’s probably the biggest thing, the complexity of mechanical, electrical and plumbing and communications systems that go into these facilities and hospitals.

What is the most significant challenge your industry faces?

When the downturn hit, medicaland healthcare-related construction and architecture remained strong – not as strong as before, but remained buoyed and safer in terms of a soft landing than did other sectors of construction and design. As a result, there were a lot of firms that didn’t necessarily have expertise in healthcare design and construction that

suddenly saw the advantage of marketing healthcare. So the challenge for those of us who were “lifers” was that suddenly we had competition in the wheelhouse that was undercutting fees, potentially underqualified and capturing some segment of market share.

Reality is that there is a segment of those firms that have learned to do it and do it well and have gained the expertise to do it. There is probably more than the lion’s share that did not do it well and are more than happy to go back to their wheelhouse now that the economy has recovered somewhat. Our clients may have necessarily dabbled their toes in that pond and have decided it wasn’t worth it and have boomeranged back to deeper firms with deeper expertise.

What is on the horizon?

The Baby Boomers are the largest demographic in the history of the United States; they are also the wealthiest. They also have the longest projected lifespan to date, and certainly “Millennials” and those downstream of us may outlive us.

As it stands right now, you are seeing the greatest contingent and the wealthiest contingent in the history of the United States. They’ve been empowered to stick around a while.

The No. 1 play on that is that they need healthcare. Most of these people’s lives are consumed with personal health maintenance, rehab and long-term acute care and voluntary cosmetic surgeries.

It’s huge and it’s not going away any time soon. I call it the “Gray Tsunami” or “Silver Tsunami.” The graying of America is happening and it’s going to be here for a long time, so in terms of what we do in healthcare construction, development and architecture, that’s going to be an extremely good market in my opinion for a long time to come.

Founded in 2001, Ascension Group Architects is an award-winning architecture and interior design firm, providing healthcare planning and architectural design solutions to facilities, individuals and corporate clients throughout North America. –mjm

More BIM for your buck Lorraine M. Dailey, President LMD Architects San Antonio, TX

L

orraine M. Dailey, owner of LMD Architects, was an early adopter of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and she has been a passionate advocate of the technology ever since.

“When it first made its debut into the architectural field about 10 to 12 years ago, LMD immediately recognized the value of the parametric modeling in BIM and switched from AutoCAD, which had been the main method for producing our documents electronically, over to BIM,” says Dailey. “The value of it is extensive.”

One of the primary benefits, she says, is building a three-dimensional model that can be presented to the owner. The owner can see the design rather than having to visualize from two-dimensional documents.

This makes it possible to do 3D-generated walkthroughs of the building and its design, which can cut down tremendously on the costs of changes later as it is being built. The architect can work through all of the systems and complex structures in the building prior to it being under construction.

Another benefit is conflict detection and risk mitigation, she adds, explaining, “As we’re doing our documents, if there is going to be a conflict between structural and mechanical or structural and one of our exterior building envelope components, we’ll be able to see that in the model and catch it prior to, of course, being a costly modification out in the field.

So, conflict detection is a huge value.”

Dailey estimates that using the computer to calculate and catch potential conflicts increases overall project quality by 50 percent. She has also heard that using BIM helps reduce risk as far as predicting outcomes by 30 to 40 percent.

“Studies have shown that with BIM, you can achieve up to a 20 percent reduction in building cost by making smart choices during the building modeling phase,” she adds. “You can achieve up to 33 percent reduction in costs over the

lifetime of the building, 50 percent reduction in conflicts and rework during construction, because of the parametric modeling and being able to work everything out in the model. When you draw in 3D, it’s called a parametric model.

“So, when we make changes in a door – say a door size changes – we change that door in the model, and it automatically changes throughout our documents. That door may be depicted in 15 other places in our documents on sections and elevations and in schedules. So, we change it one time, and it automatically gets changed throughout. So, there’s less chance for human error of us missing making a modification or updating the size or type of a component, because it happens in real time with one modification.”

This also saves the architectural design team a significant amount of time.

By streamlining the process, the team is able to be more efficient in its work. They can even do an upfront building lifecycle cost analysis and an energy cost analysis for the owner in switching out different components. The computer then calculates how, for example, a wall that is all glass impacts the energy and solar loads

of the building, making it easier to examine the sustainability also.

“The cost of construction, designing and building a building, is only 10 percent of the cost of the building over the lifecycle of the building,” she explains.

“So making smart choices upfront can save a tremendous amount of money for the owner in utility, operating and maintenance costs. With BIM, since it’s all cohesive, we plug in those systems and we’re able to tell the owner, ‘Yes, these particular air conditioning units are going to cost you X dollars more, but here’s the value of what it’s going to save you over a 30-year period.”

Dailey notes that as more consultants and contractors get involved in the BIM process, the model encourages collaboration between the design and construction team as they work together to make everything fit and function cohesively.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, LMD Architects is a WBE and HUB business. The firm primarily works on public projects, such as emergency medical services facilities, with a focus on criminal justice architecture, such as correctional facilities. –mh

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

Architecture & Engineering Dedication in engineering Bob Smith, President Geoscience Engineering & Testing Houston, TX

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n your opinion, what is the current state of the local construction industry?

Our experience is showing that the housing is starting to slow down from a breakneck speed. The housing industry is still in good shape. The commercial side appears to be in full swing. Just take a drive anywhere in Houston and you will see a lot of tower cranes. We used to joke in the 80’s that the tower crane was the state bird. It looks like it is coming back.

There is also a significant amount of municipal working going on. The Grand Parkway is one of the largest projects being constructed right now. There are also bond elections being held in both Harris and Montgomery counties. If these

bonds pass, there will be a lot of needed infrastructure work performed and will create construction jobs.

What are a few trends you see in your industry in recent years?

We can usually see an increase in residential construction when apartments reach about 95% occupancy.

When residential work increases, there has to be supporting businesses like convenience stores, grocery stores, dry cleaners, etc.

We have seen a pattern of when the residential slows down, municipal work increases.

What are the rewards of working as a

Legislative year brings changes to industry David Howell, PE, Deputy Executive Director Texas Board of Professional Engineers Austin, TX

A

s with all odd-numbered years in Texas, 2015 brought with it a legislative session to Austin. The 84th legislature of Texas made a few changes that affected the engineering community. Unlike the 2013 session, which through the passage of the Sunset bill for the Engineering Practice Act, brought us the fingerprint-based Criminal History Records Check (CHRC), the bills passed in the 2015 session should be much more well-received. Some of the bills affecting the engineering community in Texas are:

House Bill 7 – Tax reduction was one of the popular efforts during this session.

HB7 was aimed at reducing the tax burden on a number of professions. The great news for the engineering community is that effective Sept. 1, engineers no longer pay the $200 professional fee associated with license renewals or initial licensure. All licensees will see the reduction automatically on renewals statements, starting with the September renewal cycle. The Board is excited to help implement this change that will have a significant effect on thousands of individuals and engineering firms in Texas.

Senate Bills 807 and 1307 – Another topic that was addressed with several bills this session was related to military and veteran licensure. The legislature wanted to make sure that individuals

who served the U.S. would receive as much benefit for that service as possible.

These two bills will change the Board processes regarding licensing and renewal requirements for active duty military, veterans, and military spouses.

House Bill 2439 – There were several bills this session related to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Windstorm Insurance program. As you may know, since the 2011 Texas Legislative session, the Engineering Practice Act has contained a section regarding Windstorm Related Design Services. It established the process for the Texas Board of Professional Engineers to create and maintain a roster of engineers who are qualified to do Windstorm Design so those individuals could be appointed as inspectors by TDI. HB 2439 changed the

geotechnical engineer?

One of the responsibilities of design professionals is public safety. When we give a recommendation for a foundation, for example a bridge, the foundation designers rely on our information to design the foundation. Failure is not an option.

We are currently working with Landry’s on a new 32-story hotel. The geotechnical recommendation for a high rise is very complicated and requires additional consulting during the construction process.

There is a sense of pride when the recommendations you give turn into a completed project.

What are the keys to being successful in your industry?

You should find a mentor that is willing to work with you and never say no. It takes not only an education, it takes dedication. You might have to sacrifice time, salary, and probably a few weekends to rise to the top.

In your opinion, what is the most significant challenge your industry faces?

The greatest and costliest is local,

Act by repealing the Windstorm Roster section in the Act, but based on implementation requirements for TDI, the roster will remain in effect as it is until the end of 2016.

House Bill 2049 – This bill prohibits state and local government entities from issuing contracts with engineers that require a duty to defend.

House Bill 2167 – This bill modifies limitations regarding unmanned aerial vehicles to allow their use by engineers and surveyors in their professional practice as long as no people are visible in the images. This change will allow engineers and surveyors to safely access more remote locations.

While most statutory changes are effective on Sept. 1, any Board rules that needed to be modified for implementation of these bills or others, were brought to the Board at its August meeting and were posted for comments and input.

The earliest adoption of revised rules would be in November, with a potential effective date of mid-December.

This is also a good time to look back at the previous session and give an update on the implementation activities since then. As I said above, one of the most significant bills of the 2013 legislative session was Senate Bill 204, which was the Sunset bill for the agency. The bill reauthorized the agency for another 12 years and made some changes to the Board’s enforcement authority. One of the most contentious changes made by

state and federal government regulations.

We spend a significant amount of resources to comply with all of the regulations. We have a full time employee dedicated to ensure we meet all of the requirements.

What advice would you give for a young person interested in pursuing a career in geotechnical engineering?

I would advise that you should get your EIT immediately after graduating.

Then work toward a master’s degree and find a medium size company to work for.

This is also the time to start building relationships within the industry.

These contacts will be invaluable in the future. If you go to a smaller company, I believe your chances of finding a good mentor are better. When you find that person, stick with them for at least five years and then take the test for a PE license.

I always tell my engineers that eventually we all become salesmen. An engineer that can bring a project in is worth their weight in gold. –ab

the Sunset bill was the requirement for all active license holders and new applicants to obtain a fingerprint-based CHRC prior to renewal in 2014.

Starting with the first renewal quarter in March of 2014 and continuing through the last renewals in December, we had roughly 46,000 PEs have their fingerprints taken for the CHRC. During that year, we also had approximately 4,200 new applicants go through the process. Almost 91% of those individuals had no criminal records at all. For the remaining 4,300 records, TBPE was able to view the record in the DPS system. For security reasons, TBPE did not import criminal records into our system. Of the 50,000+ individuals that went through the CHRC process in 2014, there were six enforcement cases opened against licensees and at least 50 applicants who have had to comply with additional requirements prior to approval.

The CHRC process is only required to be completed one time for a PE license.

While this process is still in place and will continue for new applicants and reactivation of inactive licenses, the bulk of the CHRC for PEs has been completed.

The Texas Board of Professional Engineers and staff continue to protect the public and look for ways to serve the regulated engineering community as effectively as possible.

Visit our website (www.engineers.texas.gov) and keep an eye on your email for news, updates and announcements. –cw

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Page 17

Association Calendar

Round-Up

Content submitted by Associations to Construction News AIA - Dallas

NARI

American Institute of Architects

Nat’l Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

Nov. 5-7: 76th Annual Convention and Design Expo, Kay Bailey Hutchison Center, Dallas Nov. 17: Bark + Build Awards Ceremony, NorthPark Center – Level 1, 8687 N. Central Expressway, Dallas.

Nov. 18: Women in Architecture End of Year Party

Nov. 10: Annual CotY Awards, Double Tree by Hilton, Campbell Center, 8250 North Central Expressway, Dallas, 6:30pm

AIA - Fort Worth American Institute of Architects

Nov. 5-7: 76th Annual Convention and Design Expo, Kay Bailey Hutchison Center, Dallas

ASSE - Southwest American Society of Safety Engineers

Nov. 9: Meeting, Boy Scouts National Office, 1325 W. Walnut Hill Ln., Irving

NAWIC - Dallas Nat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Nov. 9: Block Kids Building Block Competition, Girls Inc., 2040 Empire Central Dr., Dallas Nov. 16: Installation Night

NAWIC - Fort Worth Nat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Nov. 7: NAWIC 101, Ol’ South Pancake House, 1509 S University Dr., Fort Worth, 8:30am Nov. 19: Meeting, Diamond Oaks Country Club, 5821 Diamond Oaks Dr. N, Fort Worth, 5:30pm

Corbet Design + Build in Dallas recently hired Pam Burge as the company’s director of new opportunities.

Burge brings more than 10 years of experience in sales and account management to her new role, and previously served as project manager for AustinCSI.

Hill & Wilkinson General Contractors promoted Bill Reeves CSP to executive vice president of safety and risk management.

Reeves, who joined the company in 2010 as director of safety and risk management, brings more than 23 years of construction experience to his new role. Reeves holds a B.A. degree and M.A. degree in industrial/organizational psychology from Louisiana Tech University.

ASA North Texas

NUCA- North Texas

American Subcontractors Association

Nat’l Utility Contractors Assn.

Nov. 12: GC Night, Eddie Deen’s Ranch Downtown, 944 South Lamar, Dallas, 5pm

Nov. 18: Holiday Happening, Frost Bank, Keller, 5:30pm

DACA

N. Tx Roofing Contractors Assn.

DFW Drywall & Accoustical Contractors

Nov. 18: Membership meeting and Annual Casino Night

Nov. 11: Lunch & Learn, International Bowling Museum Arlington, 621 Six Flags Dr., Arlington, 11:30am

ICRI – North Texas

PDCA

Society of Fire Protection Engineers

Painting & Decorating Contractors of Amer.

Nov. 2: Meeting, Double Tree Hotel, 4099 Valley View Lane, Farmers Branch, 11:30

International Concrete Repair Institute

Nov. 12: Membership meeting, Dave & Busters, Dallas, 11am

NTRCA

Nov. 11: Monthly meeting Nov. 12: Happy hour

SFPE – DFW Chapter

TEXO

IEC - Dallas

PMI – Dallas

The Construction Association

Independent Electrical Contractors

Project Management Institute

Nov. 11: Membership meeting, IEC Dallas Office, 1931 Hereford Drive, Irving, 11:30am

Nov. 12: Dinner meeting, Crowne Plaza North Dallas/Addison, 14315 Midway Rd., Addison, 6:30pm

Nov. 12: Women’s Holiday Gathering, White House Black Market, Southlake Town Center, 303 Grand Avenue, Southlake, 7pm

Kevin Nelson, PE, has joined HNTB Corporation in Dallas as senior vice president and chief growth officer. Nelson brings more than 30 years of experience, previously serving as vice president for strategic initiatives for an infrastructure firm. Nelson earned a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the University of California, Davis.

TDIndustries in Dallas recently welcomed Evelyn Henry Miller as the company’s new chief financial officer. Miller, who has extensive enterprise-wide experience in the newspaper, logistics, technological and communications industries, previously served as CFO for The Dallas Morning News and Agencies of Change.

M ans f ie l d - b as e d design-build construction firm Ramtech Building Systems in Mansfield has hired Robert Frick as the company’s mechanical, electrical, plumbing design manager. This marks the commercial MEP design veteran’s return to Ramtech after 18 years of working as an MEP consultant; Frick’s most recent position was as vice-president and director of the education division for Image Engineering Group of Grapevine.

IEC - Fort Worth

RHCA

UMCA

Independent Electrical Contractors

Regional Hispanic Contractors Assn.

United Masonry Contractors Assn.

Submissions

Nov. 10: 40th Anniversary Meeting/Contractors Meeting

Email with “Round-Up” in the subject line (w/digital photo, if available) by the 15th of any month, for the next month’s issue to: DFWeditor@constructionnews.net

Nov. 19: Membership meeting and dinner, City Club, 301 Commerce St. Fort Worth, 6:30pm

Nov. 12: Member Orientation, Goodwill Industries of Dallas, 3020 N. Westmoreland Rd., Dallas, 11am

Landmark event

S

urveyors from Texas and beyond lined up to attend the Texas Society of Professional Surveyors (TSPS)’s 64th Annual Convention & Tech Expo, hosted Oct. 8-11 at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

“It’s a great opportunity for our surveyors to network and learn about new technologies through our exhibitors as well as our through the education and classes that they get,” TSPS Executive director DJ Kyle says.

An Oct. 8 skeet shoot at Elm Fork Shooting Sport marked the event’s “point of beginning,” followed by a golf tourna-

ment at Tenison Highlands Golf Course, a past president’s dinner and a TSPSA open house. Meetings for the board of directors and the association’s membership were slated for Friday, capped off with an alumni reception.

The weekend got underway with educational sessions, a luncheon and a trade show with 65 exhibitors. TSPS hosted a “When I’m 64” awards gala Saturday evening, featuring Beatles tribute band “A Hard Day’s Night!” The convention convened Sunday afternoon after a second day of exhibits and educational sessions. –mjm

Texas 811 Gorrondona & Associates Inc.

Smart Vent

McKim & Creed Surveying And Mapping LLC (SAM)

DAS Inc.

Geomatic Resources/Leica Geosystems

GeoShack

Page 18

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

continued from Page 1 — Dallas by design

Matching milestones

and recruitment.”

JQ is no stranger to setting up shop in downtown Dallas. Seventeen years ago, the company established an office there when other firms were settling in the suburbs.

“As we began the process of selecting a new location almost two years ago, the partners wanted to find a location which was still close to downtown, provided us a unique space which is conducive to our design focus, allowed us to have all staff on one floor to provide for enhanced collaboration between our teams and had a neighborhood feel similar to that which we have at our current location,” Lucy explains. “Our new loca-

tion meets all that criteria.”

Lucy says the relocation provides for the firm’s immediate needs and for continued growth both in Dallas and across the region.

“Given that our staff is our most valuable resource, it also better positions us to support and retain our current staff and continue to recruit the best and brightest as we have done since the founding of the firm,” he says.

With offices in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Lubbock, JQ provides structural and civil engineering, surveying and facility performance services for the built environment throughout the southern United States. –mjm

continued from Page 1 — All in the family The ready-to-celebrate DMI Technologies crew

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o celebrate the company’s 10-year anniversary and show off their recently remodeled office, DMI Technologies and Cummings Electrical in Fort Worth held an open house Oct. 21.

More than 100 customers and friends of the company came out to congratulate both crews, eat and mingle and try to score the big screen TV doorprize. –mjm

DMI Technologies’ Samentha Tiller and CSC’s Andy Deen

Cummings Electrical Jeremy Mitchell, Mark Conard, Keith Croll

KMP branched out and brought general manager David Watson on board to take it into new construction/commercial territory.

Cummings joined her family’s business in 2008 after earning an accounting degree and working as a corporate auditor. Shortly after, her brother Rustin Mayse came on board as project manager, followed by his wife Ashli Mayse as human resources manager. With Kim, who serves as president and Robbie, who acts as vice-president, they oversee 74 employees, who they consider part of the family.

“We’re all family,” Cummings insists.

“I know that is a pro and a con for some people! My immediate family has always been very close. You would think that it might be hard to work with them when we all have different personalities but we get along great. If we don’t and we do have an argument, we’re pretty good to forgive and forget and move on. It’s very enjoyable to come to work.”

Even though work keeps them busy,

KMP finds time to connect with each other and their community.

“We typically have a summer party and then a big Christmas party. We also do a trip for upper management and job supervisors,” Cummings says. “There are also six girls in the office and we get along great, so we do girls’ night. We also do a Christmas parade in Mansfield. Last Christmas, we bought a Christmas tree and presents for a family with two small kids. As a company, we do breast cancer month and decorate our office; all of our guys wear pink shirts and safety vests.

We donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation and my mom, my sister and I do the 60-mile walk each year.”

As for the future, KMP may add a small projects department, but in the end, simply hopes to stay family-sized.

Kennedale Mansfield Plumbing offers new construction installation and services commercial and residential Metroplex projects. –mjm

continued from Page 1 — A new Millennium in housing Muckleroy & Falls’ Ben Austin and Cummings Electrical’s Adam Witherspoon

Corning’s Geoffrey Morris, and Graybar’s Eddie Shamp, Breaune Meyers and Taylor Ziganto

before we could start the actual vertical construction component of the project,” Jones says. “It initially created a delay in starting the framing aspect and pushed our schedule out at the start, but in the long run was an advantage due to the fact that we were not working in heavy rain and winter conditions. What was a hurdle to be overcome initially became a positive as we moved forward.”

The team, which also included project superintendent Victor Cerda and architect Frank Pollacia of Architettura Inc., worked in conjunction with the subcontractors to ensure the 17-month project came in on-budget and on-time to meet its August deadline.

“We worked with a number of different contractors that were both new to our company as well as ones that we worked with on other projects,” Jones says. “Again, that familiarity as well works

to our advantage because we know what to expect as far as the manpower issues, the quality of work and the consistency of what we know we are going to be seeing day to day. Key to the success on this job was working with Kent Companies Inc., HEC Electrical Contractors and Longhorn Mechanical; they were key contractors that allowed us to push this schedule and recover in times when necessary by manning the job properly. We were able to do it on budget and work through changes as they came through to make sure financially we were meeting the expectations of the owner.”

Not only are the residents thrilled with how Millennium Apartments turned out – the rate of leasing applicants is high – the client is also pleased with the results, and currently working with KWA Construction on another McKinney project.

Founded in 2004, Dallas-based KWA Construction is a general contractor specializing in multifamily developments. –mjm

Submitted to Construction News

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L-R: Grand Prairie Ford’s Ryan Henderson, Wholesale Roofing Supply’s Rick McLaughlin, TICE Enterprises’ John Mitchell, Graham Construction and Roofing’s Josh Graham and TICE Enterprises’ Joe Henderson started off October with a bang! The group won “high team,” Graham nabbed “high overall contractor” and McLaughlin won “high overall associate” at North Texas Roofing Contractors Association (NTRCA)’s clay shoot held Oct. 1 Dallas Gun Club. –mjm

Call Melissa @ 817-731-4823

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015

T

Page 19

A new air about them

his fall, celebration has been in the air for Air Balancing Co. in Fort Worth. To celebrate its renovated building, which was recently awarded a LEED Silver Existing Buildings certification, the company hosted a Sep. 24 ribbon cutting attended by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, followed up with an Oct. 8 open house. –mjm

L-R: Air Balancing Co.’s Bret and Tracy Privitt

Submitted to Construction News

Tearin’ down the walls

It was nothin’ but a good time Oct. 15 when Chamberlin Roofing & Waterproofing held it’s charitable Customer Appreciation Concert at Dallas’ Gas Monkey Live. Poison-singerturned-solo-artist Bret Michaels rocked and rolled all night in a pink cowboy hat for Chamberlin clients, customers and friends. A portion of proceeds went to Seven Loaves Community and Bret Michaels’ “Life Rocks” foundation. –mjm

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ADVERTISING in Construction News L-R: A&G Piping Inc.’s Steve Blackman and Bobby Grimes

McMillan James Equipment Company’s Jeff Langlitz

Submitted to Construction News

Go team!

L-R: SpawGlass’ Harrison Bloxom, Weston Voss, Chris Schwertner, Jake Pack and Ted Sena strike a pose with UT Dallas Mascot “Temoc” at the Sep. 24 groundbreaking ceremony for the UT Dallas Parking Structure Phase IV. –mjm

Submitted to Construction News

Tip top

The Beck Group craned more than a few necks as it celebrated the topping out of Crescent’s McKinney & Olive Office Tower on Oct. 6. The 20-story building will be uptown Dallas’ tallest, boasting 530,000sf of office, retail and restaurant space and a one-acre public outdoor piazza.

Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the build ing is slated for completion in 2016. –mjm

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Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Nov 2015