Subcontractors USA Journal 28

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TEXAS JOURNAL

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Architecture | Construction | Education | Energy | Engineering | IT | Manufacturing | Oil and Gas | Petrochemical | Transportation

July 2018 | Advertising for Certified Women, Veteran & Minority-Owned Subcontractors | 28th Edition

2018 TOP 25 PRIME & SUB CONTRACTOR LUNCHEON

19-25

INSIDE

08

Bexar County Making a Mark on Diversity & Inclusion

27-30 METRO Salutes the 2018 Class of the Interagency Mentor Protégé Program

44 Port Houston has named John Moseley Chief Commercial Officer

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PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE

MR. D-MARS CERTIFIED:

HMSDC

The Subcontractors USA Texas Journal highlights opportunities and news relevant to the construction, energy, architecture, manufacturing, education, engineering, oil and gas, transportation and IT industries we serve. We hope you find this issue not only informative, but inspiring and educational as well.

This month’s issue spotlights our Subcontractors USA-Texas Annual Luncheon. It is an honor and privilege to recognize the Top Contractors, Supplier Diversity Champions, Advocates and Mentor Moguls who work tirelessly to Port of Houston

Metro

BEHIND THE JOURNAL

ACCOUNTING MANAGER Eugenie Doualla Executive Assistant Tiffany Brown SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Tiffany Black

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kendra Wiseman DISTRIBUTION Rockie Hayden CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Helen Callier Bexar County Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department (NNPA) Subcontractors USA News Provider

City of Houston

HISD

04

06 IN THE SUBCONTRACTORS USA COMMUNITY...

06 2018 WBEA Business Expo & Matchmaking: Celebrating Brilliance

08 PROGRAMS 08 Bexar County Making a Mark on Diversity & Inclusion 10 ENGINEERING 10 Winners of the 2018 NCEES Surveying Education Award 16 OIL & GAS 16 Natural Gas, Benefits, Continuing Progress On Cutting Emissions

10

19-25 SPECIAL EVENT 21-27 2018 Top 25 Prime & Sub Contractors Luncheon 19-25

HUB

VBE

DBE

OUR SERVICES

04 CONSTRUCTION 04 Business Toolbox: Maximizing Cash Flow

PHOTOGRAPHY Grady Carter L.C. Poullard ART DIRECTOR Angel Rosa

— Catherine Pulsifer

CONTENTS

PUBLISHER & CEO Keith J. Davis, Sr. COO & MANAGING EDITOR Kimberly Floyd

“We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring.”

ensure diversity in the subcontractor world. The 250 luncheon attendees came from across the state of Texas to salute the companies, agencies and individuals who received awards for their commitment to increasing supplier diversity.

As always, thank you for your continued support of Subcontractors USA Texas Journal. When you support us, you are supporting more than just our company; you are supporting the communities in which we live and work. Working together, we can succeed in making positive things happen.

27-30 METRO 27-30 METRO Salutes the 2018 Class of the Interagency Mentor Protégé Program

ADVERTISING | MARKETING MEDIA | COMMUNICATION GRAPHIC DESIGN • Logos • Flyers • Ads • Folders • Brochures • Door Hangers PRINTING • Business Cards • Flyers • Folders • Pull-up Banners • Step and Repeat Banners • Brochures • Door Hangers • Letterhead • Envelopes

32 OIL & GAS 32 Why Drinking Water Standards

PHOTOGRAPHY • Headshots • Event Photography

34 PERMITS 34 Two Part Series: Five Tips for Effective Communications with City Permitting Plan Reviewers

Online & Email Marketing Social Media Advertising

36 TECHNOLOGY 36 How Virtual Reality Can Help the Oil and Gas Industry Confront Its Invisible Challenge: Methane 40 TRANSPORTATION 40 Supreme Innovation Texas: Your Bullet Train Just Got BETTER 44 Port Houston Names Chief Commercial Officer 44 TxDOT Announces $82 Million in Grants for Public Transportation

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CONSTRUCTION

Business Toolbox: Maximizing Cash Flow

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

H

aving cash at the ready to procure materials, pay salaries, fund new projects and finance all the other functions of a construction business is essential for the smooth operation of a company. When financial obligations outpace the influx of money, it doesn’t take long for a business to become overwhelmed by debt or, in the worst-case scenario, go under.

“Too many [contractors] fail,” said Steven Goldstein, audit partner at accounting and consulting firm Grassi & Co., “because they don’t manage cash properly. They don’t understand what’s happening until it’s too late.”

First, though, it’s important to recognize that there is a difference between being profitable and having healthy cash flow. A contractor could be killing it on margins, but if money is not making its way into the company coffers, it could feel like the firm is on its way down — and out.

Cash Flow Challenges One of the primary cash f low cha llenges facing contractors, particularly in active building areas like New York City, Goldstein said, is that firms are doing a lot of work and possibly overshooting their cash capacity in the process. Opportunities for growth should be taken advantage of whenever possible, but those lucky breaks have to be funded, oftentimes upfront and before receiving a single payment.

In that scenario, if a large customer is late making a payment or has financial problems and fails to pay altogether, contractors could be forced to rely on profits from other projects to pay the bills. And successful projects can’t take up the slack of late or no payments forever.

Subcontractors are particularly vulnerable, as they are footing the lion’s share of labor and material costs.

So, the primary cash flow mission for subcontractors and general contractors is getting paid in a timely fashion for the work they perform. General contractors typically pay subcontractors after receiving payment from the owner, so they shouldn’t be quite as stretched for cash as subcontractors.

For general contracting firm Broadway Construction, collecting on accounts receivable has not been an issue, according to its president, Everard Martin. However, Martin said he won't dismiss the possibility that the company will face such challenges in the future. Martin said GCs should have an open conversation with owners and subcontractors at the beginning of a project to establish how and when payments will be made so that everyone is on the same page from the start.

Setting Payment Terms A s a subcontractor, Bill Weber, principal at Gaston Electrical, said the terms of payment can va r y f rom project to project, and the sub should always have discussions before

the projects starts about payments without the conversations becoming contentious. This is possible if the GC and sub have a good relationship, Weber said, but added that there are some general guidelines for negotiations.

“On short-duration projects, we certainly don’t want to wait 90 days for payment, in which case we could be substantially complete on a project before we see our first payment,” Weber said. “On larger and longer-duration projects, we expect our customers to establish a predictable payment cadence so that we can understand our cash flow needs and plan accordingly.”

And it’s to the GC’s benefit to have agreeable payment terms with its subcontractors. “If you pay your subs on time, you can get better leverage on price points and better participation,” Martin said. “You may [end up with] better quality, but what you get at a minimum is responsiveness.”

That could manifest itself in a few ways. The subcontractor might be willing to expedite certain tasks on short notice as a sign of appreciation or even extend invoice terms occasionally because of previously consistent on-time payments.

Material suppliers can also be partners in payment talks. Weber said Gaston’s material suppliers are typically willing to negotiate invoice terms so that they fall in line with the expected general contractor-to-subcontractor pay schedule, but subcontractors already need to have a healthy relationship with that supplier to begin with.

“If a subcontractor both provides a steady flow of business to vendors and builds trust by consistently honoring their commitments,” he said, “a supplier is almost always willing to negotiate special payment terms on projects.”

So what should contractors and subcontractors do if their customers consistently pay late or refuse to pay a legitimate bill? After all, there are certain expenses like payroll, insurance and office rent that can’t wait.

If one of Gaston’s key customers is late with a payment, Weber said, they try to be flexible. However, the company will pursue its full rights if in its best interests, and that includes the option of filing a mechanics lien.

However, Weber said that’s a rare occurrence since it often creates tension between the general contractor (Gaston’s customer) and the owner.

Managing Retainage T h e issue of retainage can also be an area of negotiation.

Retainage of typically 10% is commonly withheld by the owner from payments to the general contractor, who passes that on to subcontractors. In theory, this temporary reduction in net payment is to ensure that contractors are motivated to take care of any end-of-project issues like punch lists.

At a certain point in the project, retainage is sometimes reduced to 5%, and the owner will sometimes even release retainage in full to early trades like the excavation contractor who would otherwise have to wait months or years, depending on the size of the job, until substantial or full completion to receive the withheld amount.

“I think it’s important for subcontractors to advocate for themselves when it comes to collecting retaining,” Weber said. “Our customers are focused on so many other things that retainage could be held far longer than needed if we don’t ask for that payment as soon as we believe we are entitled to collect those funds.”

In order to manage the collection of retainage effectively, Martin said, a contractor must first know what its

release is being tied to, like the completion of a punch list or some delivery milestone. Then, he said, make sure the work is performed according to the plans and specification and address the punchiest items quickly.

Change orders are another area where contractors can lose out on cash. Without proper tracking of the extra work a customer requests, the contractor could end up bearing the cost without being able to invoice for it.

Checks and balances at Broadway, Martin said, reduce the chance of that happening, but every so often someone drops the ball. By the time the project team realizes the company paid for work and never billed for it, it could be hard to assemble the paperwork and other proof to justify submitting a bill for those services.

But once all the cash is collected for work performed under the contract, plus the aforementioned changes, there are ways contractors can save some of that money through internal policies and procedures.

Increasing Cash Flow O n e way to ensure contractors are maximizing c a sh flow is to make sure the billings reflect the work performed and t h at t he y ’re turned in on time, Goldstein said.

Inventory control is also important, which means it can be detrimental to tie up cash by stocking up on materials that aren’t needed for work in progress. If there is a need to warehouse a large quantity of materials, Weber said, Gaston uses pictures, inspection reports, etc. to prove to the owner that the company has taken ownership, then bills for it.

Quick payment could also increase cash in the long run. “Our vendors are also very cash-flow conscious and most are willing to provide discounts for quick payment of invoices,” Weber said. “If a subcontractor can provide positive cash flow from their projects, they can use that [money] to increase margins by taking advantage of vendor discounts.”

Looking to outside financing when cash reserves are low is another option, Goldstein said. Establishing a line of credit with a bank is a good business move, but some companies may also turn to factoring. Factoring is when a company sells its receivables to a third party at a discount. So, if a contractor is waiting on payment for $100,000 in invoices, a factoring company might provide them with 75% of the money, or whatever percentage the two agree on, and then collect the money from the customer themselves. A large chunk goes to the factoring company, but a service like this comes in handy if it’s a matter of making payroll or not.

The construction industry, Goldstein said, is a business like no other, so it’s important to engage an accountant or financial advisor with appropriate experience. Not only will they be able to give the right tax advice, but they can provide a warning about new regulations that could have costly implications, such as the recently enacted safety training requirement in New York City.

Noncompliance with that rule, according to city officials, could result in a $5,000 violation issued to the employer, permit holder and owner.

There are, of course, actions contractors can take, like keeping expenditures low and not overstaffing, but for Martin, cash flow is a simple calculation. “It comes down to having substantial working capital in place and understanding how much you need in reserve to cover the inevitable,” he said.

Source: www.constructiondive.com

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In the Subcontractors USA Community...

To View More Photos, Visit Our Website www.subcusa.com and Click on ‘Photo Gallery.’

2018 WBEA Business Expo & Matchmaking: Celebrating Brilliance The 2018 WBEA Business Expo & Matchmaking was recently held at George R. Brown Convention Center. The WBEA Business EXPO links women business enterprises (WBEs) with corporate purchasers, governmental agencies, and other women-owned businesses for the primary purpose of creating connections and building strong business relationships for contracting.

The Women's Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA) is a nationally recognized purchasing council. Since its inception in 1995, the organization has established scholarship and mentoring programs, and has become one of the nation's leading certifiers of womenowned businesses.

WBEA is a pacesetter in helping women-owned business enterprises grow and develop and is strongly committed to increasing opportunities for women-owned businesses and providing qualified suppliers to corporate and government purchasers.

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PROGRAMS

Bexar County Making a Mark on Diversity & Inclusion

By Bexar County Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department

B

exar County is working on solutions that offer business owners an equal opportunity to excel towards success in the construction industry. The county invests time bringing information and resources to business owners whether new or established. This is essential to their success, especially as they look to grow.

Mentor Protégé Program The Bexar County’s Mentor Protégé program was established in 2005. The sole purpose of the Mentor Protégé program is to build effective working relationships between leaders of mature established companies and locally owned small businesses so that newer companies can benefit from the wisdom and experience of established firms. 13 firms have completed the program. Eight firms are currently matched thru November 2019. The program recently started with four African-American Business Enterprises (AABE); making up 50 percent of the protégés enrolled in the program. This is a huge milestone for the program setting this kind of precedent. The AABEs leading the way are - Vernon Bryant, owner of BRC Remodeling; Joe Monroe, owner of Consolidated Installation Support; Nehemiah O’Neal owner of O’Neal’s Furniture Assembly; and Alex Pennington, owner of ALP Contracting.

“I have very high expectations of how the program will improve my business and standard of living,” says Vernon Bryant. “My expectations are high because of the talented individuals, who have willingly volunteered their time in helping all the protégés prosper in their businesses.”

Bringing information and resources to business owners is essential to their success, especially as they look to grow. “Providing the knowledge, skills, and resources for business owners in the construction industry to thrive is essential to a diverse and inclusive workforce,” says Renee Watson, Director of the Bexar County Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department (SBED). The program offers protégés the ability to receive first hand, real world hands on experience from their mentors. “Connecting these diverse business owners to industry veterans through the Mentor-Protégé Program helps them grow and succeed.”

The relationship between the mentor and protégé is a two year commitment where the protégé, two mentors, Associated General Contractors staff, and Watson work together to help develop the protégé firm’s marketing, operations and financial performance. “It’s intriguing for me to be able to get first hand assistance from top tier company professionals that are willing and able to help me become the business owner that I want to be,” says Nehemiah O’Neal.

Mentors give their protégés advice and assistance based on their real life business experience, along with one-on-one assistance to help the protégé develop the tools for business capacity. “Our partnership with Bexar County has been fantastic, and has now been a nationally recognized success in helping minority and women-owned construction businesses,” says Doug McMurry, Executive Vice President of AGC San Antonio Chapter. “We look forward to more accomplishments in the future.”

Protégés learn they are not alone as part of the program is about receiving guidance. “Being in the mentor protégé program means that I am not working or building my company alone,” says Alex Pennington.

The connection between the mentors and protégés will build understanding of the importance of business relationships that can benefit the business community.

“Protégés receive knowledge, connections, overall growth and development opportunities that are not only beneficial to them, but the San Antonio community as a whole,” says Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.

Trailblazers At the 100th Annual AGC of America National Convention in New Orleans, the San Antonio Chapter received the first-ever Chapter Diversity & Inclusion Award, which was created to honor those who promoted diversity and inclusion within the chapter’s leadership, membership, programs and events. The San Antonio chapter’s work with the Black Contractors Association (BCA) and partnership with Bexar County on the “Basics” of Construction Program and the Mentor/Protégé Program were reasons that they were recognized with this honor.

The AGC/Bexar County Basics of Construction Training Program is a ten-session educational program designed to assist small business contractors in understanding the basic elements of running a commercial construction business. The sessions inlcuded elements of running a successful construction business, project scheduling, financial management, understanding contracts and more. Once firms complete the Basics Program they are eligible for the Mentor Protégé Program. To date 155 firms have completed the Basics Program.

“The Chapter’s commitment to diversity and inclusion began 13 years ago in partnership with Bexar County,” says McMurry. “The team visited Portland, Oregon to learn more about The Stempel Plan, which serves as the foundation for a very successful Mentor/Protégé Program.”

AABE Initiative The county’s UTSA (University of Texas at San Antonio) AABE Survey identified a gap in availability and capacity of African American owned businesses in the Alamo Region. From this survey, the AABE Initiative was created in March 2017 to help stimulate local outreach, economic growth, and development.

In November 2017, ACCELERATION CONNECTION was held where several African American contractors shared information regarding their most recent projects.

This was designed to help build the capacity of AABEs and directly connect with County staff.

By assisting with building the capacity of AABEs to work with Bexar County, the county will enhance a robust, diverse pool of businesses and resources to meet the needs of the county residents.

“Our economy is strongest when it is inclusive and diverse,” says Wolff, “And our robust SMWBE program works to ensure entrepreneurs and small businesses have the tools and resources they need to succeed.”

Source:: Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department Renee Watson, Director Torence White, Contract Compliance Specialist Shantana Robinson, Capacity Building Coordinator

Are you the

About the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

H U B of our success?

The success of our agency rests on the quality of our employees and the businesses we choose to purchase and contract with for goods and services.

Each year the agency registers over 22 million vehicles; regulates vehicle dealers; credentials buses and big trucks for intrastate and interstate commerce; issues oversize and overweight permits; and awards grants to law enforcement agencies to reduce vehicle burglaries and thefts.

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) is dedicated to working with women and minority-owned businesses and service-disabled veterans to create the top state agency for motor vehicle-related services in the country.

We know we can’t do it alone. We are looking for the best of the best to help us maintain our high quality standards and continue our evolution so that we are always the customer-driven state agency Texans can count on and deserve.

Our clientele is diverse and we want to reflect the diversity of Texas in everything we do. If you don’t know how to work with us, we’ll show you through the Mentor Protégé program.

We’re always here to answer any questions you may have, and we are in your corner when it comes to offering assistance.

We can’t promise your business will do business with us, but we can tell you we are looking for the HUBs of our success, and one of them might just be you.

For more information contact Email: DMV_ HUB@TxDMV.gov

(512) 465-1257 HUB Coordinator

Learn more about working with TxDMV by visiting www.TxDMV.gov/contractors-vendors

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(5 1 2 ) 4 6 5 -4 17 7 Asst. HUB Coordinator Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Finance & Administrative Services Division 4000 Jackson Avenue Austin, TX 78731 Office (888) 863-5881 Fax (512) 465-5641

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Amparo Arriaga Office Assistant

James Massey

Renee Watson

Torence White

Sr. Data Analyst

SBED Director

DBE Contract Specialist

Shantana Robinson

Brian Willeford

Capacity-Building Program Coordinator

SMWBE Analyst

Thank You!!!

For Naming The Bexar County Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department One of the Top 25 Supplier Diversity Champions The Bexar County Small Business & Entrepreneurship Department works to enable Small, Minority, and Women-owned Business Enterprises (SMWBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) to start, grow, and thrive, and we are proud to be included in the Top 25 Contractors & Supplier Diversity Champions Directory.

Visit the Bexar County SBED Virtual Business Center Our website is a one-stop shop for information on starting & growing your business, working with Bexar County, finding opportunities, directories, and more!

• • • • •

Visit the Opportunity Link to find local, state, and federal agencies, school districts & general contractors Check out “How Do I...” to answer questions for any stage of your business - whether you’re just starting or have years of experience Utilize the Directory to find SMWBE / VBE / DBE / HUB firms, perform outreach, and access information Compliance and Reporting of Subcontractor / Sub-Supplier / Sub-Consultant Data Learn About SBED, read our research, surveys, and studies, and contact our staff - even request an appointment online!

Save The Date!

The 18th Annual Bexar County Small, Minority, Women, and Veterans Business Owner’s Conference is December 5, 2018.

Follow us on Social Media for updates! #SMWVBO2018 | #SMWBE | #BexarSBED

Visit Us Online at www.bexar.org/sbed Or Call (210) 335-2478 Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

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ENGINEERING

Winners of the 2018 NCEES Surveying Education Award The jury selected six programs to receive the following awards:

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

$15,000 winners • Idaho State University College of Technology Surveying and Geomatics Engineering Technology program • Oregon Institute of Technology College of Engineering, Technology, and Management Geomatics program • University of Maine College of Engineering Surveying Engineering Technology program

T

he National Council of Examiners for Engineering a nd Surveying (NCEES) recently announce the recipients of the 2018 NCEES Surveying Education Award. This annual award recognizes surveying programs that best reflect the organization’s mission to advance licensure for surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

NCEES awarded the University of Akron’s Surveying and Mapping program the $25,000 grand prize. Six additional prizes were awarded to qualifying programs to assist with each program’s continued efforts to promote the importance and value of surveying licensure. The award jury considered criteria such as student outcomes and involvement, outreach and recruitment, and the promotion of licensure. The award jury met June 28, 2018, in Clemson, South Carolina, to select the winners.

NCEES Surveying Education Award juror Glen Thurow, P.S, stated, “The University of Akron’s three-pronged approach to program growth is to

$10,000 winners • Central New Mexico Community College School of Applied Technologies Surveying Engineering program • East Tennessee State University Department of Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Surveying Surveying and Mapping Science program • Troy University College of Arts and Sciences Surveying and Geomatics Sciences program

invest in technology, scholarship support, and strategic marketing. This is an excellent example of how to position an institution for the future.”

More information about the 2019 NCEES Surveying Education Award cycle will be posted at ncees.org/ surveyingaward when available.

Sources: ncees.org engineers.texas.gov

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Creating Meaningful Connections.

Delivering Impactful Growth.

Become a part of the premier leader in North Texas to connect Buying Entity Members (corporations and public sector agencies) with certified ethnic minority-owned businesses in order to deliver innovation, supply chain excellence, a competitive marketplace advantage and economic impact to our communities.

Building business relationships focused on minority inclusion

Certification

Gold Standard for certifying MBEs

Innovation

Innovative & disruptive supplier solutions

Customer-Focused

Matching supply chain to customer base

Connections s

Buying Entities with MBEs and MBE-to-MBE

Operated by the D/FW MSDC

Expand Your Business

$401,184,327

Competition

of Awarded Contracts

Competitive supply chain options

$28,063,290

Financial Transactions

Training

Revenue Protection Economic Impact

Phenomenal business Protecting “at-risk” development opportunities revenue streams

Multiplier dollar impact within the community

214

Total Jobs Created & Retained Ranked as an Outstanding MBDA Center

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performance beyond expectations Azteca Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1989 and is located in Dallas, Texas with offices in Houston and Fort Worth. Azteca provides services ranging from general contracting, construction management, program management, and design-build services across a broad spectrum of projects for both public and private sector clients.

Industries served include aviation, local, state and federal government agencies; hospitality and entertainment; real estate developers and historical renovations.

Our group is a certified minority business enterprise through the North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency, the Dallas/Ft. Worth Minority Business Council, the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council, Hire Houston First, and the National Association of Minority Contractors.

Azteca Enterprises takes pride in working with entities such as the Houston Airport System, Houston Metro, UT Medical Branch at Galveston, DFW International Airport, City of Dallas, City of Fort Worth, Dallas ISD, Exxon-Mobil, GSA, City of Houston, Corps of Engineers, Navy, Cowboys Stadium, MGM Mirage Design Group, and the Texas Department of Transportation, to name a few.

Houston Airports Diversity Matters We are honored to be part of the Top 25 Supplier Diversity Champions Awards

Rhonda Arnold Airport Minority Advisory Council Southwest Regional Director

Jason McLemore HAS Office of Business Opportunity Director

Jack May VP Alliance Business Development 7125 Belton Street Fort Worth, TX 76118 Office: 800-776-0491 Direct: 817-321-4028

Justina Mann HAS Supply Chain Officer

www.fly2houston.com

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A business built on diversity and inclusion broadens the customer experience.

DFW International Airport is an industry leader in partnering with diverse and inclusive businesses. We know from experience that working with multiple perspectives builds a world class Airport.

Contact our Business Diversity and Development team today.

DFW Airport - Business Diversity and Development | www.dfwairport.com/bdd

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OIL & GAS

Natural Gas, Benefits, Continuing Progress On Cutting Emissions

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

L

et’s make three quick points following release of a new methane emissions report from the Environmental Defense Fund:

Natural Gas’ Benefits Confirmed The report’s findings reflect the fact methane emissions were low in 2015. According to EPA, methane emissions from natural gas production are down 14 percent since 1990, while natural gas output increased more than 50 percent over the same period.

At the same time, increased use of natural gas is the chief reason U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are at 25-year lows, and have provided Americans with the cleanest air years as well as a number of economic benefits.

Erik Milito, API upstream group director: “This paper is consistent with the fact that methane emissions were low in 2015 and reaffirms the benefits of increased use of natural gas as a fuel source, which is driving U.S. carbon dioxide emissions downward. The industry has achieved continued emissions reductions thanks in large part to technology advancements and this innovation has been fundamentally important to our shared goal to reduce emissions.”

Technology, Knowledge and Collaboration Drive

Continued Progress With the December launch of The Environmental Partnership, industry is committed to continuing progress on reducing emissions. The Partnership, which has grown to include 40 member companies, is focused on technologies, leak detection and other processes to cut methane emissions at key points in natural gas production.

Most significantly, the Partnership’s members are working together – learning, sharing knowledge and collaborating to continue progress on emissions.

Milito: “The natural gas and oil industry is committed to continuous improvement in operations, including safety, public health and reducing emissions from exploration and production sites. The Environmental Partnership is an example of our forward-looking commitment to delivering on a continuous cycle of learning, collaborating, and taking action. We look forward to continuing our engagement with both private and governmental organizations, to identify ways to improve our operations and provide our operational and technical expertise to ensure that current and future data collection and analysis are robust and accurate.”

Needed: Sound Methodologies and Accurate Data API experts are reviewing EDF’s report – as they have previous reports commissioned by the group and other organizations. Research is critically important to understanding where and how improvements can be made.

That said, Milito noted that previous studies have “demonstrated the limitations of relying on airborne measurements alone to draw firm conclusions” on the natural gas and oil industry’s methane emissions.

These limitations include: • The ability to extrapolate short-term measurements to annual loss rates • The ability to properly assign measured methane concentrations to fossil and biogenic sources of methane • The accuracy of the reverse flux calculation to derive emission rates from ambient measurements • The ability to determine the local background methane concentrations for air mass entering a basin or are For more detail on EDF’s report, visit www.eidclimate.org.

Source: www.breakingenergy.com

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excellency. dedication. vision.

These qualities have empowered Con-Real, an African-American owned construction and real estate services company, to grow from a single service station in 1979 to an integral part of the construction industry and African-American community with projects across the nation.

we are honored to be recognized as a Top Prime Contractor honoree at the 2018 Top Contractors and Supplier Diversity Awards.

Here’s to all those creating opportunities, and to those making the most of them.

Let’s achieve great things together.

Con-Real. Built to last, designed for the future.

Arlington Dallas-Fort Worth Houston Little Rock San Francisco Atlanta Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

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What We Do POSITION

ADVOCATE

CONVENE

our region to secure critical transportation funding at the local, state and federal levels.

for ALL modes of transportation to promote a healthy state of mobility.

our region’s industry experts, community leaders and elected officials to build consensus and unity on tr transportation needs.

EDUCATE . COMMUNICATE . ADVOCATE 1160 Dairy Ashford Suite 500 Houston, Texas 77079 832.459.5116

TAGHouston.org

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TEXAS VOLUME ll

Advertising for Certified Women, Veteran & Minority-Owned Subcontractors

6TH EDITION

2018 TOP

PRIME & SUB CONTRACTORS ENGINEERING | ARCHITECTURE | CONSTRUCTION | TRANSPORTATION | IT | PETROCHEMICAL | OIL AND GAS | ENERGY | MANUFACTURING

SUPPLIER DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS

S

ubcontractors USA-TEXAS takes great pride and pleasure highlighting those top primes and agencies who open doors for great things to happen for small businesses.

Through Subcontractors USA, we are able to give our prime contractors the accolades they deserve for their achievements in the industry and their contributions to the community. We are especially proud to have representation from agencies and companies from across the State of Texas.

When diversity is embraced, the economy and the workforce are strengthened. I find it extremely rewarding that we are able to highlight agencies, primes and subcontractors and those in the industries of engineering, architecture, construction, transportation, IT, petrochemical, oil and gas, and

energy and manufacturing who work together to foster diversity in Texas’ business world.

As a minority-owned publication and media company, it is our privilege to celebrate those companies that do meet their minority participation goals, striving to be the bridge that fosters growth across Texas for small businesses that want to do business with their larger counterparts.

We realize it is important to be inclusive. It is critical to have diversity in the marketplace, and this annual event highlights those who are contributing to Texas’ economic growth and prosperity.

MR. D-MARS

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SUBCONTRACTORS USA

Top Subcontractors

Gonzales Commercial Electric, Inc.

dlb Consultants

K Davis Associates

Brokers Grass

LaneStaffing

GCC Enterprises

Quadrant Consultants, Inc.

Permit Us Now

Source 2 Load

Top Subcontractors

Eagle Barricade

TLC Engineering

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Turner Chevrolet

Fort Bend Services

July 2018 | 21

SUBCONTRACTORS USA

Top Prime Contractors

Irby

Horizon Group International

E Contractors

Top Prime Contractors

Rice & Gardner Consultants, LLC Con-Real

Turner Construction “It was such a pleasure to extend the welcome remarks at this year’s Top 25 Prime Contractors & Supplier Diversity Champions Awards luncheon.

I commend d-mars.com and Subcontractors USA for their commitment to ensuring that historically underutilized businesses have a seat at the table and an opportunity to participate in our local and state-wide streams of commerce. Congratulations to all of the outstanding honorees. I truly enjoyed the ceremony and look forward to supporting other d-mars.com programs in the future.”

Ferrovial Agroman US Corp

—State Representative Shawn Thierry Texas House District 146

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Azteca

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SUBCONTRACTORS USA

Mentor Moguls

Jim Rice, President, Rice & Gardner Consultants, LLC

Stephanie Nellons-Paige, Managing Director, Workforce & Business Opportunity – Texas Central

Jim Brownrigg, Vice President and General Manager – Turner Construction

Supplier Diversity Champions

Bexar County Small Business and Entrepreneurship Dpt.

CenterPoint Energy

City of Dallas

City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity

City of Missouri City

Dallas Fort Worth Minority Supplier Development Council

Dallas ISD

DFW Airport

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SUBCONTRACTORS USA

Supplier Diversity Champions

NAMC DFW

Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

University of Houston HUB

NCTRA

Texas Parks and Wildlife

WBEA

Greater Houston Business Procurement Forum

H-E-B

METRO

Houston Airport System

Houston Community College

Fort Bend ISD

Houston First

Houston Minority Supplier Development Council

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Texas Southern University

24 | July 2018

SUBCONTRACTORS USA

Advocate Award

Advocate Award - Texas Central

Advocate Award - TAG

Presenting Sponsors

Permit Us Now

Rice and Gardner

City of Houston Office of Business Opportunity

Turner Construction

Fort Bend Services

PLATINUM SPONSORS

K Davis Associates

Horizon Group International Experience Our World of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Communication

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SUBCONTRACTORS USA

Title Sponsors

E-PIC Training Center

Almeda Genoa Constructors

Turner Chevrolet

PLATINUM SPONSORS

TSU TEXAS SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY

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University of Houston HUB

26 | July 2018

SUBCONTRACTORS USA

A MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

If They Make It New, We Sell It Used.

1451 US-69, Nederland, TX 77627 JKChevrolet.com

“YOUR PRIORITY IS BUSINESS, OUR PRIORITY IS YOU”

1800 US-69, Nederland, TX 77627 JKSubaru.com

TurnerChevroletCrosby.com

Robert Turner Owner

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METRO SALUTES

July 2018 | 27

the 2018 Class of the Interagency Mentor Protégé Program H

ouston is aptly known for being a city with many business opportunities for large corporations, but for some small businesses in the area it is much tougher to grow. In some cases, small businesses are not equipped with the proper tools and resources to take their company to the next level. The Interagency Mentor-Protégé Program (IMPP) is the course these companies need to succeed. With the guidance of local agencies, twenty-one small businesses are now on the path to discovering much-needed resources and taking their companies to great heights after completing the 2018 Interagency Mentor-Protégé Program.

Comprised of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (METRO), The City of Houston, Houston Independent School District, Houston Community College, Houston First and Port Houston, the Interagency Mentor-Protégé Program offers an incredible opportunity to small businesses who are ready to grow and achieve success through connecting with these agencies. One of the IMPP’s goals is to enhance the business skills and broaden the base of historically underutilized businesses (HUB) by connecting them to the knowledge

and experience of established firms. By the end of the program, small businesses (protégés) garnered effective working relationships and created long term stability between their companies and local agencies by being paired with established firms (mentors).

For the 2018 IMPP Class, the 21 protégés were mentored by Brown & Root, Dominion Capital Management, Gilbreath Communications, Gunda Corporation, Facility Interiors, HNTB Corporation, HOK International, Horizons International, Levy Restaurants, MCA Communications , MBN Enterprises LLC, Page, PBK Architects and Rice and Gardner. These mentors have extensive experience in their fields, making them ideal leaders to advise the 2018 class. During this sixth year of the program - which lasts for 9 weeks, protégés engaged in workshops that educated them on the various aspects of being in business with large agencies.

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CLASS O

Ann Guliex ALL-N-ONE SERVICES LLC

Anthony Curtis TEKSYNC TECHNOLOGIES

Latravious Bell Latavco Consulting Group

David Marroquin AVA landscape & Maintenance

Stephen Taylor Airos Security

Robert Ballew Texas Precision Paving

Sheila Miller Certitech Staffing Solutions LLC

Tiffany L. Williams Twice Media Productions

Ebow Colman C3S.INC

Dr. Carlos Heath New Dimension Pharmacy

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Risheem M EDS Trainin

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SUBCONTRACTORS USA

OF 2018

Muhammad ng Sites, LLC

Elizabeth Brannan Brannan Designs

Renee MC Neil CMCI

Wendell Wilson Wilson Building Services

Mary Gilmore Azmazing Awards

Dr. Satya Pilla IGET Services LLC

Forrest Cooper HYCO Building Maintenance

Tamica Ward Sarge Construction Inc

Felipe Molina Genesis Cabling & Lighting

Bethany Johns Bovay Engineers

Veronica Ford Verger Development Solutions

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SUBCONTRACTORS USA

CONTINUED from page 17 These sessions included: Week

Session Topic

Week 1: May 1

Doing Business with Government Entities

Week 2: May 8

Back Office – (HR/ Compliance/PO’s/ Invoices, etc.)

Week 3: May 15

Learning To “Market” Your Company

Week 4: May 22

How To Price Your Product/Project

Week 5: May 29

Financial Management

Week 6: June 6

Mock Request for Proposal

Week 7: June 12

Mock Request for Proposal (2)

Week 8: June 19

RFP Presentation and Evaluations

Week 9: June 28 Graduation

Things to Know About the IMPP The goals of the IMPP: • Enhance business skills • Broaden the base of small businesses • Provide knowledge and experience of established firms to small businesses

Protégés benefitted from participating in the IMPP in the following ways, including but not limited to: • Understanding business financials and bidding • Creating and strengthening working relationships between established and emerging companies • Understanding how to do business with local government agencies • Gaining technical assistance in specific areas for protégés

Program Requirements: • Currently certified as a Small, Women-owned, Veteran-owned, Minority-owned or Disadvantaged Business Enterprise by The City of Houston or METRO Small Business or hold a current registration from the Port Houston, HISD, HCC, or Houston First • Business in continuous operation for at the last 24 months • Annual business revenue average between $150,000 and $4.0 million in the past three years • Business with a minimum of four employees • Must be able to commit to nine workshops • Must be able to identify the type of guidance needed for development

This partnership between METRO, The City of Houston, Houston Independent School District, Houston Community College, Houston First and Port Hou-

ston serves a significant purpose and is fundamental for the growth of small businesses across the city. It is key in encouraging disadvantaged businesses to create opportunity for themselves and amongst each other.

2018 Interagency Mentor • Received 81 Online Applications • Interviewed 36 firms • Selected 21 of the 36 interviewed This is just one of many of the METRO Office of Small Business outreach programs strategically designed to assist small businesses in reaching their goals. For more on the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, please visit www.ridemetro.org.

2018 Protégé’s Industries Industries

No. of Firms

Construction

4

Engineering General Services

3 6

Information Technology (IT)

6

Supplies

1 1

Healthcare

Source: Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County

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OIL & GAS

Why Drinking Water Standards Are the Wrong Standards for Oil and Gas Wastewater

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

“It’s so clean I’ d drink it.”

T

ravel to any recent conference or trade show on produced water management and there’s a good chance you’ll hear this line or something similar. I’ve heard it myself, alongside claims that a patented treatment delivers water that’s “fresh” or “meets drinking water standards.”

This sort of talk is on the rise as operators and regulators look for ways to reuse produced water both inside and outside of the oilfield. Some of these uses carry real risks to human health and the environment from chemicals that may be present—even after treatment. At first blush, if the product can be called “fresh” or meets drinking water standards, it doesn’t sound risky. So why the worry? The reality is that these statements tell us very little about the quality of treated produced water.

“Fresh” from a scientific perspective, means next to nothing. And drinking water standards are simply the wrong standards to apply to produced water, or for that matter any treated wastewater – industrial or municipal.

Here’s why.

limits was a lengthy and complex process, and updating it has proven even more challenging. Today there are only 89 contaminants on this list and the bulk of it was established over 20 years ago. No new contaminant has been added to the primary regulations since that time.

Not to mention some of the current contaminate levels may not be as protective as they should be based on what we know today. Lead is a recent and unfortunate example, where current standards were written based on reducing corrosion and not health.

Even if they aren’t perfect, federal drinking water standards are a good thing. They protect our drinking water sources from contaminants that we both expect to be present in drinking water systems, and have known for a long time are a problem for human health. However, drinking water standards don’t tell us much about produced water.

Drinking Water Standards Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Environmental Protection Agency sets national drinking water standards for public water systems to protect against exposure to potential contaminants.

The act contains three key parts: • A national list of contaminants that must be removed or reduced from drinking water (National Primary Drinking Water Regulations) • A set of recommended standards to guide water systems in managing drinking water properties such as taste, color, and odor (Secondary Drinking Water Regulations) • An ongoing process for development and review of these regulations, including a list that identifies contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems, and that are worthy of further study but not currently subject to the primary or secondary regulations.

Establishing EPA’s primary list of contaminants and

Produced Water Produced water is the wastewater generated through oil and gas development. It can contain a wide range of potentially toxic chemicals and can be many times saltier than seawater. The oil and gas industry generates nearly a trillion gallons of produced water each year that is largely disposed of deep underground, away from communities and ecosystems. But this status quo on produced water disposal is on the verge of change.

EDF has written quite a bit about what we know, don’t know, and need to know about produced water. Improving our understanding of produced water chemicals and the potential risks to health and the environment is increasingly important as more proposals to treat and use produced water for things like crop irrigation or livestock watering continue to advance across the country. Proponents may tout new opportunities for water-scarce regions, but the risks associated with these new proposals are real, significant and compounded by

the fact that we simply do not fully understand what’s in produced water.

Even where these projects gain interest, regulators and communities must be able to make fully informed decisions about produced water use. That means having the data necessary to establish protective standards and appropriate monitoring requirements. It will be no easy task.

A Red Herring Applying drinking water standards to the reuse or release of produced water is a red herring. Just look at ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze, which is toxic to humans and animals.

It’s one of the top 10 most used chemicals in hydraulic fracturing – repeatedly showing up in produced water, but it is not on the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation list.

That means treated produced water could meet drinking water standards even where ethylene glycol is present.

In fact, that statement is true for well over 2,000 chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing or found in produced water onshore in the United States. The same concept applies to using a term like “fresh,” which in a legal sense only addresses the level of dissolved solids like salt in a water – not other pollutants.

Standards for oil and gas wastewater need to consider the actual chemicals potentially present (at least what we know about them today) and their impacts on surrounding environments, organisms, and people. But it’s hard to set regulatory standards without solid data. We need standards to ensure that if these new practices are implemented, they won’t pose an unnecessary – or poorly understood – risk to human health or the environment.

This means we need more science and further study of produced water.

Inferring any industrial wastewater can be treated to a level that is safe to drink is farfetched and misleading, as is using drinking water standards more generally as a standard to judge a new treatment system. More care needs to be given to the language used in describing the quality of this wastewater, even after treatment. We need to have an honest and transparent discussion about what we know about produced water, what we are capable of achieving with advanced treatment technologies, and what the risks are given the unknowns.

Until we know more, I’m definitely not drinking it.

Source: www.breakingenergy.com

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Help Us Shine CenterPoint Energy values its diverse suppliers.

Our suppliers include minority-owned and women-owned businesses, as well as small businesses. We choose diverse suppliers for their capability, safety, innovation, agility and competitive pricing. In turn, our suppliers create positive economic impact throughout the communities we serve.

Mutually beneficial relationships and forward-thinking approaches offered by quality, diverse suppliers are integral to CenterPoint Energy’s vision to lead the nation in delivering energy, service and value. This is why we welcome and are committed to including diverse suppliers in competitive bid opportunities. Our beacon shines brightly as we guide diverse suppliers to the shores of business opportunity.

CenterPointEnergy.com/SupplierDiversity

©2017 CenterPoint Energy 175607

Over a Century of Trusted Service ©2017 CenterPoint Energy 174168

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PERMITS TWO PART SERIES:

Two Part Series: Five Tips for Effective Communications with City Permitting Plan Reviewers

By Helen Callier Contributing Writer

any areas in Texas, Oregon, Florida and other parts of the US are growing leaps and bounds.

While this is great for creating work for architects and contractors, booming growth presents challenges for permitting jurisdictions that are not prepared for an increased workload. It also strains the Plan Review staff.

When asked in a recent Channel 5 interview, here’s what staff in the City of McKinney Permitting Office said. “The more permits we see puts a burden on the staff that we have. We’re built up for an average development cycle. But when we have the levels we see now, an almost unprecedented growth in the City of McKinney, it definitely puts a tax on the resources we have,” said Development Services Executive Director Michael Quint.

So, how do you ask questions, present concerns in a plan review meeting and make sure plans are reviewed in a timely manner to begin construction on schedule?

In part one of this two-part series on Five Tips for Effective Communications with City Permitting Plan Reviewers, I shared the first two tips below.

Be positive – Having a negative attitude is the fastest way to have a lousy meeting with a Plan Reviewer where everything you say will fall on deaf ears and will cause further delays in obtaining your building permit.

Treat others as you like to be treated - Just like

M

pretty much everyone in the world, Plan Reviewers want to be respected for the job they are performing and contributions they provide in the industry that supports public safety.

In addition to the above tips, below are the remaining three tips for effective communications.

Say “Thank you” – When greeting the Plan Reviewer before starting the meeting, giving a firm handshake and saying “thank you for your time and meeting with me to review my project” goes a long way in setting a positive tone for effective communications to occur. This also assists in what may have been a “heck no way this will not pass code” to a situation where you may be able make corrections on the spot; thus, saving hours of time and money.

Keep it simple – Avoid talking about projects that you have completed using the same design in another city or county. This is an ultimate faux pas that is guaranteed to ruffle feathers. Realize that jurisdictions adopt building codes at different periods according to their city or county’s zoning policies; and it is best to stay focused on the appropriate jurisdiction’s building codes. This keeps it simple and mitigates any short comments from the Plan Reviewer.

Request Clarification – Leaving a meeting scratching your head is not the best way to move forward. During the meeting, if you are unsure about a comment made even after the Plan Reviewer discusses specific areas of design, simply request the Reviewer to clarify what they are saying, so you can make sure the design is compliant. Ask them to show you the actual building code and to provide an example, so that you can make changes correctly.

And as a bonus tip, Take Written Notes – This sends the message to Plan Reviewer that you are listening and showing a willingness to produce plans that are compliant. And on the flip side, not taking notes tells the Plan Reviewer that they will most likely see your plans again with the same errors in code. The Reviewer will appear to be going through the motions during your meeting, and the lack of note taking may be affecting them.

In Conclusion As many jurisdictions’ permitting staff are in-thethrows of handling increased demand for permits, the five steps for effective communications when meeting plan reviewers is your secret tool to assist in making sure your plans are permitted as quickly as possible. If you have questions about meeting with a Plan Reviewer, please let me know via 1.844.PERMIT.4 as the Permit Us Now team schedules and participate in plan review meetings daily. Build safe.

GREATER HOUSTON BUSINESS PROCUREMENT FORUM “Where Business Takes Place”

GHBPF 2018 Calendar January 23, 2018 February 27, 2018 March 27, 2018 April 17, 2018 May 29, 2018 June 26, 2018 July 24, 2018 August 28, 2018 September 26, 2018 October 30, 2018 November 13, 2018

Join Us

Monthly Procurement Forum Breakfast

Tuesday, July 24, 2018 8:00 AM TO 11:30 AM

HOUSTON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

West Loop Campus 5601 W. Loop South, 1st Floor - Auditorium Houston, Texas 77081

This Month “Doing Business With The City Of Houston” Participating City Of Houston Departments And Keynote Representatives will discuss specifics on doing business with their respective departments while reviewing upcoming business opportunities.

1707 1/2 Post Oak Blvd., PMB 273, Houston, TX 77056 | Ph.832.216.2185 | WWW.HOUSTONBIZ.ORG

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December 11, 2018

Various Public and Private Sector Entities and their representatives will discuss the prospects for doing business and outline business opportunities for Small and Minority owned businesses with their respective Institutions.

July 2018 | 35

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TECHNOLOGY

How Virtual Reality Can Help the Oil and Gas Industry Confront Its Invisible Challenge: Methane

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

I

’m a certified oil and gas tech nerd, and I’ve never been so excited about my job. I love data, the insights that come with it, and especially the ways of applying those insights to catalyze continuous improvement. There are few decisions I make without an Excel spreadsheet – and after spending several years working for an oilfield services company, I’m passionate about solving one of the biggest environmental problems of our time: methane emissions.

Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas and a common byproduct of oil production. Unburned, it’s also a powerful greenhouse gas. Worldwide, about 75 million metric tons of methane escape each year from oil and gas operations through leaks, venting and flaring – making the industry one of the largest sources of man-made methane emissions.

As methane risk draws increasing attention from public officials, major investors and industry leaders, tech solutions are increasingly relevant and “digitization of the oilfield” is becoming industry’s hottest new term.

The good news: many of these tech solutions are available today and are easy to deploy on a wellsite. Unfortunately, many stakeholders involved in this global challenge have never been to a wellsite or don’t spend much time on a one. And even if they have, methane is invisible challenge.

That’s why EDF worked with creative agencies – Hunt, Gather and Fair Worlds – to build a new virtual reality (VR) experience called the Methane CH4llenge. It brings the wellpad to you and showcases the power of tools like infrared cameras and portable analyzers so you can experience first-hand what methane leaks look like.

I recently spoke with Hunt, Gather / Fair World’s Creative Director, Erik Horn, my partner in crime for this project, about developing the VR.

Here are five takeaways from our discussion.

1. VR is so real, you’ll think you’ve been to a wellsite - EDF works with the oil and gas industry to catalyze, accelerate, and scale innovative methane solutions – but this is the first time we’ve ever explored virtual reality to showcase this process. VR, referred to by some as an “empathy machine,” creates memories for people because it tells you a story – it brings you to a place like an oil and gas site that you’d otherwise never be able to visit.

Methane emissions are an invisible, odorless threat – but being on a wellsite, feeling like you’re standing there, and seeing emissions firsthand brings a level of awareness that wasn’t possible before.

Leveraging a tool like VR to contextualize the work we do is a powerful way to make solutions more relatable and accessible. Without it, we’re left talking about vast, highly technical infrastructure that can be difficult

to relate to. We designed a facility that is regionally agnostic but technically specific and nuanced enough that it highlights some of the key facets of the challenge that we’re facing.

The experience can feel so real that it has the power to create actual memories. You can recall knowing what it’s like to look through a FLIR camera and see a super emitter – and that’s a visceral experience. It’s very different seeing a large plume on a video screen versus looking at it one-to-one. VR represents scale in a real life fashion, which no other medium on earth has ever achieved.

It’s so real that some users come out of the experience with sweat on their brow – it’s a true wow factor that you have to experience to believe.

2. Showcasing real-world technology highlights simplicity of solutions - Through this VR experience, we’re showcasing commercially available tools and technologies that can help us find and fix methane leaks quickly and cost-effectively today. Once a user experiences these solutions for themselves, they can see how simple the solutions really are.

For example, there’s a part of the experience where you close a thief hatch on top of a tank – which can be one of the largest emitters of methane – and it is literally as simple as closing the tank lid. The fact that you have to physically close it with your hand in the VR experience conveys how easy it is to curb certain methane leaks.

The technologies showcased in this simulation are available today and deployable worldwide. Solutions such as portable analyzers can be the size of a cell phone and allow field teams to detect and quantify leaks as they move about a facility. For this experience we collaborated with SENSIT Technologies, a manufacturer of these instruments, to highlight the effectiveness and simplicity of a hand-held solution available now. I certainly hadn’t held a SENSIT analyzer prior to the VR. Now I feel like I’ve used it, understand what it does, and see why it’s important.

3. Methane is a problem no matter where you are - A Qatari facility could be completely different from a Russian facility or an American facility, but the methane problem is exactly the same. Methane is a global issue across facilities worldwide – leaks can happen anywhere,

at any time. You need to use high-tech equipment to find them, but as I noted above, the solutions can be as low-tech as closing a hatch.

Everyone can relate regardless of their infrastructure.

While there is variability and nuance in oil and gas infrastructure, at the end of the day a wellhead is a wellhead; a ball valve is a ball valve. Our team spent several days visiting oil and gas facilities to survey wellsite design and structural details, ensuring that we designed a facility relatable to an array of audiences.

4. Methane is an unprecedented opportunity - Methane is an opportunity for innovators creating new technologies, and a big opportunity in the data and analytics space. Oilfield digitization is a major frontier for industry, and methane management can be a significant part of that.

The VR tool is just that, a tool – but its value is that it helps us spread the word that methane is a truly global challenge. We’re racing against the clock to get the world onboard with implementing methane mitigation solutions.

I think the VR exudes a feeling of optimism and I hope members of the oil and gas industry who use the VR at World Gas Conference take this as a call to action. People that didn’t know that the solutions were out there can go home and start exploring how they can incorporate cameras, analyzers, continuous monitors, and drones into their new or existing leak detection and repair programs, and really start to manage methane in other parts of the world.

5. Digitization of the oilfield is the future - In the VR experience users are accompanied by Bella bot, a futuristic robot who helps you find and fix leaks. In some ways, she represents how EDF is thinking about the future of managing methane. There are new tools and new technologies, there’s data, there’s analytics, there’s robotics – all of which are helping us find and fix leaks more efficiently and cost-effectively. To some extent, she exemplifies the future of the space – which is all about digitization.

The idea here is that robotics, analytics, and automation will play an increasingly key role in solving our methane challenges, while also fitting into the trends that will define the oil and gas industry.

Source: www.breakingenergy.com

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TRANSPORTATION

Supreme Innovation Texas: Your Bullet Train Just Got BETTER

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

R

iders of the Texas Bullet Train will benefit greatly from the upgraded technology, process improvements and new amenities included on the latest generation of Shinkansen trains – known as the Supreme N700 – which were unveiled recently in Japan.

Like technology in other high-tech industries, from iPhones and televisions to automobiles and airplanes, Shink a nsen tra ins are constantly improving in all aspects of operation and the Texas Bullet Train is no different. Texas Bullet Train trainsets will be brand new and feature the latest technological advancements including all the new bells and whistles in the Supreme plus other amenities that will be uniquely Texan.

The Supreme prototype begins test runs this month and is due to debut in 2020, on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which runs between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka.

The Texas Bullet Train will utilize the international version of this Shinkansen technology – complete with all of the new bells and whistles incorporated into its newest prototype plus other amenities uniquely designed for the Texas train.

KEY BENEFITS Some key new benefits of the Supreme N700S: • Lighter Weight – Shinkansen is already the lightest high-speed train on the market and now it’s even lighter. A set of 8 Supreme train cars is now 7 tons lighter than the previous version;

• Improved Aerodynamic Performance – The lead car comes designed with edges that will reduce the amount of noise and improve aerodynamic performance; • Less Vibration – Means less wear and tear, longer lives for materials and less impacts on soil; • Quietest High-Speed Train in the World – And, now it’s even quieter; • Lowest per-seat power consumption – And, now it’s even lower; • Battery Backup – Self-propelling feature allows Trains to move in a power loss situation.

The Shinkansen is already the best technology in the world today – complete with a 53-year perfect safety record and constantly improving green technology. With its small footprint and significantly lower emissions per passenger mile, the Bullet Train will help handle Texas’ growth more efficiently and relieve stress on the environment.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) highlighted the need for the high-speed train in its comprehensive Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), released in December 2017. The document is over 5,000 pages and 4 years in the making. It identifies the FRA’s preferred route for the North Texas-to-Houston line, the locations of the three passenger stations, and highlights the Railroad’s environmentally friendly design and construction techniques.

AT A GLANCE • The populations of North Texas and Houston are projected to roughly double by 2035.

• The Texas Bullet Train utilizes regenerative braking technology to recapture spent energy.

• The Texas Bullet Train will provide an attractive alternative to hundreds of thousands of auto passengers every year.

• Fewer cars on the road mean less emissions and contaminants that harm air and water quality.

• Bullet trains emit just 1/12th the amount of carbon as a typical commercial jet.

• This technology is entirely electric.

• The Texas Bullet Train is an environmentally-friendly alternative to flying or driving in an area where 4 of the (growing) counties served are already air quality non-attainment status.

Source: www.texascentral.com

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CORPORATE AMERICA’S LEADING CONNECTOR TO MINORITY BUSINESS GROWTH

We are always looking for quality subcontractors

STARTS HERE WITH HMSDC! Construction is about

BUILDING...

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For information about E Contractors or to become a registered subcontractor contact:

WILLYANN PAZ 713-493-2500

wpaz@econtractors.com HMSDC is focused on deliberately growing the spend of our corporate members with MBEs. We are creating innovative programs and providing solutions that will attract our corporate members to certified MBEs. Regardless of the size of your firm, HMSDC has something to offer. Make plans to take advantage of all the opportunities, programs and services available at HMSDC. For more information call (713) 271-7805 or visit us on the web at www.hmsdc.org.

BENEFITING MINORITY BUSINESS PROGRAMS

GROWTHouston

REGISTER AS A SUBCONTRACTOR AT www.econtractors.com/subcontractor

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES • General Contracting • Job Order Contracting • Design Build

Three Riverway | Suite 555 | Houston, TX 77056 | Tel: (713) 271-7805 | Fax: (281) 624-4904 | info@hmsdc.org | www.hmsdc.org

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OUR APPROACH At E Contractors we value the relationships that we build with our Subcontractors. It is with this in mind that we have a designated person in our offices to be an ambassador for all our subcontractors. This individual is in charge of making sure that all subcontractors are treated fairly, to ensure that they have a voice in all decisions we make on projects as a general contractor and to make sure that a true partnership if forged between companies and individuals.

www.econtractors.com

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w w w. t u r n e r c o n s t r u c t i o n . c o m

More than Bricks and Mortar As one of the nation’s largest builders, Turner is dedicated to providing avenues of opportunity for Minority and Woman-Owned Businesses in Houston to achieve entrepreneurial success. Our commitment to social responsibility and fair play is not just on paper; it is ingrained in our corporate culture. We are devoted to making contributions that not only strengthen the local economy, but also reflect the demographics of the community at large.

Turner is proud to celebrate our 22nd year of The Turner School of Construction Management in partnership with The City of Houston, Office of Business Opportunity. We are also excited about the start of our first annual Advanced Turner School of Project Management in partnership L’Renee & Associates. We remain steadfast in our commitment to grow capacity in Small, Minority and Women owned enterprises in the communities where we work.

Turner Construction Company congratulates our clients and partners being recognized as Supplier Diversity Champions and Sponsors of the 2018 Subcontractors USA Awards Luncheon!

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TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION

Port Houston Names Chief Commercial Officer

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

P

ort Houston ha s named John Moseley Chief Commercial Officer, succeeding Ricky Kunz who has elected to retire from the Port of Houston Authority. Moseley served as senior director of trade development since 2010. In his new role, Moseley will take the lead in developing and executing Port Houston’s commercial strategy.

Port Houston, a terminal operator, is the fastest growing of the Top 10 container ports in the U.S. and is the largest in breakbulk, steel and project cargo. The greater Port of Houston is the largest port in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage. ”Ricky has been an integral member of my executive leadership team. His expertise has been instrumental in driving our growth strategy for 11 years. We thank Ricky for his contribution to the organization,” Executive Director Roger Guenther said.

“John brings the right skill set and energy to carry us forward. We are confident John will take us to the next level.”

In the announcement to Port Houston staff, Chief Operations Officer Tom Heidt noted that Moseley has been a force in driving the port’s trade development efforts, helping to lead in the successful design of and implementation of new growth strategies that have delivered measurable revenue and cargo throughput.

“I’m proud to call Houston home and it’s a true honor to serve this great organization,” Moseley stated. “This is a dynamic team with innovative ideas and together with the infrastructure and high standards of operational excellence Port Houston delivers to our customers every day, we will continue to take Port Houston to new heights.”

Moseley started his career in international supply chain and logistics in 1987 and has held expanding roles in the U.S. and overseas with international freight forwarders, customs house brokers, beneficial cargo owners and ocean carriers Mitsui OSK Lines, COSCO Container Lines and CMA CGM.

Moseley holds a bachelor’s degree in international business administration from California State University at Los Angeles and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Isenberg School of Management.

In his position as CCO, he is responsible for Port Houston’s real estate, trade development, economic development, marketing/external communications and media relations departments and the administration of Harris County’s Foreign Trade Zone.

Moseley actively serves in leadership positions of the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), American Institute for International Steel (AIIS) and the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP). He is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), NAIOP – Commercial Real Estate Development Association and the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC).

TxDOT Announces $82 Million in Grants for Public Transportation

By Subcontractors USA News Provider

T

he Texas Department of Transportation has announced $82 million in grants to fund public transportation providers in rural, small urban and large urban areas of Texas.

Overall, these state and federal grants are designed to help pay for maintenance of vehicles and facilities; vehicle purchases and transit facility improvements; and regionally coordinated public transportation planning efforts. Ultimately, these funds pay for resources that give Texans access to transportation so they can get to and from school, job training, health care appointments, businesses and recreational activities.

The full listing of all June 2018 Public Transportation awards can be found at http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/ pub/txdot/cmd/.

The public transportation funds administered by TxDOT support transit programs serving 41 percent of the state’s population and cover more than 96 percent of the state’s land area.

The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, rail, and public transportation across the state. Through collaboration and leadership, it delivers a safe, reliable, and integrated transportation system that enables the movement of people and goods. Find out more at TxDOT.gov. For media inquiries, contact TxDOT Media Relations at MediaRelations@txdot.gov or (512) 463-8700.

Source: The Texas Department of Transportation

About Port Houston For more than 100 years, Port Houston has owned and operated the public wharves and terminals of the Port of Houston – the nation’s largest port for foreign waterborne tonnage and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the nation. It supports the creation of nearly 1.175 million jobs in Texas and 2.7 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity totaling almost $265 billion in Texas – 16 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product – and more than $617 billion in economic impact across the nation. For more information, visit the port’s website at PortHouston.com.

Source: Port Houston

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Houston supports small businesses & entrepreneurs Learn how certifications, classes and other tools from The Office of Business Opportunity can help you start and grow your enterprise Web: houstontx.gov/obo

Call: 832-393-0594

Email: OBOSC@houstontx.gov

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