5 President’s Message: Staying Safe and Cool During the Dog Days of Summer
7 Legislative Update:
• Formal Sessions End; Housing Bond Bill Reaches Governor’s Desk
• Wage Transparency Bill Signed Into Law
• Administration Awards Grants to Aid Small and Disadvantaged Public Water Suppliers to Address Emerging Contaminants
• Healey Signs FY25 Budget; Few Vetoes Offered
• MassDOT Holds Public Hearing on Vulnerable User Law
21 UCANE Interview:
An Interview with Representative Steven Owens (29th Middlesex)
25 Legal Corner: Bid Protest Decision: “Past Performance” as a Basis to Reject Bid
31 Save the Date: UCANE’s 70th Anniversary Banquet
33 Public Works Pipeline: An Interview with Michael Retzky, Superintendent of Water, Sewer, & Drain Division, Town of Needham, MA
40 UCANE’s 45th Annual Golf Classic
59 2024 New England Public Works Expo
60 UCANE Contractors Participate in National Trench Safety Stand Down Week
63 Construction Safety & Compliance:
An Interview with Kevin Daly, Sustainability, Health, and Safety Advisor, Badger Infrastructure Solutions
67 Insurance Perspective:
Artificial Intelligence in Construction: A Game Changer
69 MWRA Board of Directors Announce Water and Sewer Assessments for FY25
73 Safety & Health Corner: Urine Drug Testing Construction Workers
77 Technology in Construction: Excellence in Estimating: Five Key Advantages of Specialty Software vs. Spreadsheets
79 The U.S. Department of Labor Announces Proposed Rule to Protect Indoor, Outdoor Workers from Extreme Heat
Editors: Joseph F. Nolan & Anne Klayman, Associate Editor: Suzanne Hatch
Magazine Designer/Associate Editor: Sherri Klayman, Head Writer/Assistant Editor: Mike Lenihan
Construction Outlook Chair: Brian Cooney
Editorial Board: Brian Cooney, Chris Valenti, Querino Pacella, & Dan Horgan
Staying Safe and Cool During the Dog Days of Summer
As we enter August, often referred to as the dog days of summer, our companies and crews face extended periods of high temperatures, presenting new challenges. Working for long periods in such conditions is a critical safety element that UCANE members and associates should never underestimate. Keeping our teams cool and hydrated is essential to completing our construction programs safely and efficiently. UCANE reminds all members to look out for each other and stay cool.
Annual Golf Tournament Highlights
One of the warmest days this summer was July 15, when UCANE hosted its annual golf tournament at Brookmeadow Country Club in Canton, MA. The event was a huge success, selling out months in advance and attended by over 160 UCANE members, associates, family, and friends. The day was filled with exciting c ontests and prizes, including two hole-in-one contests with prizes of $25,000 and an opportunity to win a Chevy truck provided by McLaughlin Chevrolet, a $10,000 putt-off, a golf cannon, long drive and closest-to-the-pin contests, and a vast assortment of raffle prizes. Additionally, golfers had the opportunity to play "beat the pro" with former Bruins Captain Rick Middleton. It was a wonderful day for UCANE members to enjoy each other's company and beat the heat. Thanks to the UCANE team for once again organizing an outstanding event. We look forward to an even bigger event next year. Mike Lenihan has written a detailed account of this year's tournament, included in this issue of Construction Outlook
Legislative Update
As July ended, the Massachusetts legislature concluded its two-year cycle and annual budget session. Although they haven’t agreed on a large economic development bill as of yet, they did pass
a significant $ 4 billion housing bond bill. Included in this new law is record funding of $175 million for the HousingWorks program, which funds utility upgrades to support a variety of initiatives in the housing bond bill. Specifically, this program recognizes the need for major investments in water, wastewater, and other utility infrastructure to support new high-density housing developments, especially in MBTA member communities. We applaud the legislature's recognition of this need and expect continued commitment to these critical utility infrastructure investments. Keep an eye out for other end of session news in this and upcoming issues of Construction Outlook !
Upcoming UCANE Events
This month, we'll hold our annual UCANE and Western Mass Board Meeting at the Greathorse Country Club in Hampden, MA, on August 14. Thank you so much to Jerry Gagliarducci for hosting us at this wonderful venue. Additionally, UCANE is hosting an evening of camaraderie and networking at Topgolf in Canton on August 28 to support the Brain Aneurysm Foundation. The event will feature golf bays and a large private space for non-golfing members to eat, drink, and network. We hope to see you there and wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe rest of the summer. n
Formal Sessions End; Housing Bond Bill Reaches Governor’s Desk
The Massachusetts legislature ended its formal sessions for the 2023 -2024 legislative session with progress achieved on a host of conference committees, but with homework to be done for getting some of others, including ones addressing economic development, health care and federal funding interest planning, to the Governor’s desk. One matter that made it all the way to the Governor’s desk was the much-anticipated housing bond bill. The $5.16 billion bond bill, which was lower than the original House appropriation of $ 6.5 billion and the $5.4 billion Senate appropriation, was still higher than Governor Maura Healey’s original $4.2 billion initiative.
A number of policies sponsored by both branches were left out of the final C onference Committee report, including the House proposal to authorize $1 billion for the expansion of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). The compromise does not include a Senate proposal to make landlords pay for broker's fees, instead of tenants, nor does it feature Senate-backed grants: $50 million for rural and small-town housing, $50 million for mid-sized suburban town housing for communities with under 40,000 residents, and another $50 million for seasonal communities, which face unique housing challenges from the second home market that inflates housing prices. In addition to the MWRA expansion, a number of House-backed ideas were not included in the bill, including an idea to steer $150 million towards converting unused commercial spaces into residential properties and $50 million for a so-called Healthy Homes program
to provide grants to address lead paint and other housing health issues, and a veteran's program. As widely reported, since neither the House nor Senate proposals contained an authorization for a real estate transaction surcharge, it was not part of the final package.
Of particular interest to UCANE members, the Conference Committee report funded the HousingWorks program at a record $175 million; however, it did not adopt the Senate’s proposal to include $100 million of the HousingWorks funding for water infrastructure improvements as part of an overall funding scheme of $350 million. The Conference Committee report also did not include a Commission to study the current impacts of the Interbasin Transfer Act on creating new housing or addressing the mitigation and removal of PFAS, despite forty years having passed since the law was originally enacted. The Commission’s creation was supported by the American Council of Engineering Companies, Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Water Works Association, and UCANE.
According to the State House News Service, despite the final bill featuring a high bottom line, not all of that borrowing capacity will actually get used. The state's plan for actual capital spending released last month dedicates $2 billion for housing over the next five years, and $ 400 million in fiscal 2025, a 30 percent increase over fiscal 2024.
To review the Conference Committee report, which is expected to be signed by the Governor within the early part of August, please visit: https:// malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H4977.
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Wage Transparency Bill Signed Into Law
On July 24, 2024, the M assachusetts H ouse and Senate passed the wage transparency bill, “An Act Relative to Salary Range Transparency.” The legislation, which was signed by Governor Healey shortly after it reached her desk, requires covered employers to disclose pay range information to current and prospective employees under certain circumstances. It also requires covered employers to report wage data to the state.
Specifically, c overed employers (i.e., employers with 25 or more employees in Massachusetts) are required to: include a pay range in all job postings; provide the pay range when a current employee is offered a promotion or transfer to a new position with different job responsibilities; and provide the pay range for a particular position to an employee that currently holds the position, or to an applicant for the position, upon request.
The term “ pay r ange” i s d efined as “ the a nnual salary range or hourly wage range that the covered employer reasonably and in good faith expects to pay for such a position at that time.” For purposes of the n ew l aw, “ posting” i s d efined as “any ad vertisement or job posting intended to recruit job applicants for a par ticular an d sp ecific e mployment p osition, including, but not limited to, recruitment done directly by a covered employer or indirectly through a third party.”
Further, certain employers (i.e., employers with 100 or more employees in Massachusetts at any time during the prior calendar year that are subject to federal wage data report filing requirements) must file a wage data report with the Secretary of State, which includes workforce demographic and pay data, categorized by race, ethnicity, sex, and job category. Fortunately for employers, submission of a federal EEO Employer Information Report will meet these state reporting requirements. Private employers are required to submit wage data reports annually, whereas unions, state and local government, and school systems, will need to submit reports every two years. The individual reports will not be considered a public record, but the aggregate data will be published by the Massachusetts Department of Labor. Covered employers must submit their EEO-1, EEO-3, or EEO5 reports by February 1, 2025.
As the Massachusetts Attorney General has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce the law, there is no
private right of action for employees or applicants. Any covered employer who violates the law will be i ssued a warning f or t he fi rst v iolation. A fter a first offense, t he p unishment e scalates w ith a fi ne of up to $ 500 f or t he s econd offense, a fi ne of up to $1,000 f or t he t hird offense, a nd fi nes b etween $7,500-$25,000 for fourth or subsequent offenses. A single offense of the pay disclosure provision encompasses all job postings made by an employer in a 48-hour period. Per the recent norm of wage and benefit l aws, e mployers c annot r etaliate a gainst employees for exercising their rights under this new statute.
Finally, the law requires the Attorney General to conduct a public awareness campaign, including publishing information on their website, to educate employers regarding the requirements of the new law. To view a copy of the New Wage Transparency Law, please visit: https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/ H4890.pdf.
continued on page 11
Administration Awards Grants to Aid Small and Disadvantaged Public Water Suppliers to Address Emerging Contaminants
According to a press release from the HealeyDriscoll Administration, more than $17.4 million in grant awards to 21 public water suppliers were made in July to assist with long-term solutions that address and mitigate emerging contaminants in drinking water. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) selected the 21 projects to help remove PFAS and manganese.
Launched in 2023 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities (EC-SDC) Grant Program provides states with funds to assist small and disadvantaged communities in improving their drinking water through projects and activities that address emerging contaminants that are registered on EPA’s Contaminant Candidate Lists (CCL). Water contaminants that are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems and are not currently subject to federal drinking water regulations are added to the list and pri-
oritized for further information collection and action. The grant program is made possible through funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
PFAS and manganese are among the list of contaminants that are increasingly impacting water resources. E xposure to sufficiently elevated levels of PFAS compounds may cause a variety of health effects, including developmental effects in infants, impacts to certain organ functions and the immune system, and an elevated cancer risk. Manganese is a naturally occurring element that's present in water, soil, air, and food. While a small amount of manganese is necessary for good health, long-term exposure to high levels in drinking water may have adverse impacts to the nervous system.
Some of the first round of projects selected by the MassDEP include, but are not limited to, the following public water suppliers:
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bon to remove PFAS at wells #2 and #5.
• Town of Ayer ($135,000). The town will fund a pilot study to evaluate alternative PFAS removal process options at the Grove Pond Water Treatment Facility.
• Tewksbury Water Department ($1,936,000). The town will utilize these funds for a three-phase project for engineering design and construction to connect the Tewksbury State Hospital to the Town of Tewksbury's water distribution system.
• Town of Westport ($4,000,000). The Town of Westport provides drinking water to a small portion of town with water piped in from the City of Fall River’s water system. The proposed project will extend the water main further east along Route 6, provide a loop at Gifford Road to service an elementary school, extend along Route 6 to provide service to some businesses and residents impacted by PFAS.
• Pepperell Water Department ($5,175,000). The town will use the funding for a project to extend a water main from the Dunstable Water Department distribution system to the Pepperell Water Department system at Jersey Street in Pepperell.
• Barnstable Fire District ($2,388,000). The public water supplier will use the funds to construct a new 2.16-million-gallons-per-day drinking water treatment facility with Granulated Activated Car-
• West Brookfield Water Department ($113,900). The Town of West Brookfield plans to use this grant to design a treatment facility to treat manganese, and the town plans to eventually construct a new Leland Road water treatment facility.
• North Raynham Water District ($150,000). The public water supplier plans to rehabilitate an existing carbon vessel treatment to reduce PFAS to the lowest possible levels in their water system.
• Lanesborough Fire and Water District ($1,000,000). The Lanesborough Fire and Water District will develop another groundwater supply well off Bull Hill Road in Lanesborough.
• Pine Tree Village ($1,335,000). The public water supplier will use the grant funds to design and construct a new water treatment plant to remove manganese and PFAS from the source water.
To learn more about the Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant program, please visit: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/ emerging-contaminants-in-small-or-disadvantagedcommunities-grant. To learn more about all of the communities that have received these grants, please visit: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/624c d8279bd8492f85f83e6f33892b4e/.
continued on page 15 Legislative Update continued from page 11
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Healey Signs FY25 Budget; Few Vetoes Offered
Towards the end of July, Governor Healey signed the $58.1 billion general appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 (FY25) with minimal vetoes and amendments. The FY25 budget enacted by the Legislature included $58.1 billion in total line-item spending, including $1.3 billion in surtax investments and $682.2 million for a transfer to the Medical Assistance Trust Fund. This total represented a $2 billion (3.6 percent) increase over the fiscal year 2024 (FY24) appropriation, a $25.7 million increase over the House budget, and a $16.5 million increase over the Senate.
Governor Healey vetoed $316.8 million in gross spending ($248 million net) from the FY25 budget across 59 separate line items.
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The single largest veto cuts $192.3 million in funding from the MassHealth Managed Care account. This one veto comprised more than 60 percent of the spending cuts proposed by the Governor, but should be viewed within the context of the total $20 billion MassHealth funding level.
Legislators included policy provisions within the budget, including but not limited to, authorizing free community college, free rides on regional transit services, and legal online Lottery sales to fund a permanent Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grant program that launched during the pandemic with federal dollars. The Governor also touted the budget's
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investment in her "Literacy Launch" program, which aims to connect all children from three years old to third grade with high-quality and evidence-based reading instruction, as well as its dedication of 1 percent of total spending to environment and energy initiatives.
The Senate initiative to make community college permanently free for all will cost $117.5 million, covering tuition and fees for students. And the House-backed idea of authorizing online Lottery sales is projected to raise $100 million for the popular C3 early education grant program. Another section of the budget aims to prevent so-called home equity theft, which refers to a municipality taking more of a property owner's earned equity than is owed in unpaid taxes and other expenses.
Of particular note to UCANE members, the FY25 budget saw Governor Healey veto the $1.5 million normally allocated for the Commonwealth Sewer Rate Relief program. While the House of Representatives overturned the
Governor’s veto, formal sessions ended without the Senate taking up the same. While funding for the MassDEP was slightly higher ($54.3 million) than last year, the funding for the underground storage tank program was reduced to $6.99 million by the Governor’s veto pen.
To view the FY25 budget, please visit: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/ Acts/2024/Chapter140.
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MassDOT Holds Public Hearing on Vulnerable User Law
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) held a public hearing on 540 CMR 4.00 et. seq. in mid-July. The proposed regulations are based on Chapter 358 of the Acts of 2022, which proposed a series of safety measures designed to protect vulnerable users of the Commonwealth’s roads and bridges. In enacting these safety measures, the Massachusetts legislature worked to establish a balance between the needs of all stakeholders who use the Commonwealth’s roads on a daily basis, including vulnerable users and general contractors. As explained to stakeholders throughout the legislative process, the requirement to install convex and concave mirrors, lateral protective devices (i.e. sideguards), and back-up cameras were to be balanced with mechanisms to ensure those entities contracting with the Commonwealth had reasonable means to comply with the new law.
Under the proposed regulations, a registered motor vehicle, trailer, semi-trailer, or semi-trailer unit classified as a class 3 or above by the Federal Highway Administra-
tion, with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, that is leased or purchased by the Commonwealth on or after January 1, 2023, or operated under a contract with the Commonwealth on or after January 1, 2025, must be equipped with truck safety devices including a lateral protective device, convex mirrors, crossover mirrors, and back up camera. Owners of a motor vehicle that is subject to the law and regulations must certify that the motor vehicle is equipped with lateral protective devices, convex mirrors, cross over mirrors, and back up cameras. The certification and required documentation will be submitted online to RMV.
Owners of motor vehicles that are subject to the truck safety devices may apply for a waiver from any or all of the requirements listed above. Waivers may be granted if: (a) a vehicle cannot comply with the requirements in this section due to the design, operation, or other safety considerations relating to the vehicle; or (b) a vehicle is designed such that its shape, characteristics or component parts can be regarded as an adequate replacement or a functional equivalent substitute for the requirements herein.
A variety of organizations submitted testimony to MassDOT relative to their support for or specific concerns about the proposed regulations. To the aforementioned point, UCANE submitted written testimony acknowledging the importance of the regulation’s efforts to promote public safety, but also requesting clarifications on a variety of inconsistencies between the law and proposed regulations. Specifically, UCANE noted that the regulations impermissibly try to extend the responsibility to equip subject vehicles to municipal contracts, which is not supported under the law. Further, UCANE sought clarification that delivery persons, who have no privity of contract with a general contractor in the same manner a subcontractor does, are not subject to this new regulatory scheme. Finally, in addition to a variety of more technical observations and suggestions, UCANE asked that MassDOT create an “exempted vehicle list” or “waiver list” for certain types of motor vehicles to prevent the potential for creating an administrative logjam within MassDOT.
Regardless of the potential changes to the regulations, every contractor with a state contract should be planning for this law to take effect on January 1, 2025. To review relevant information about the same, please visit MassDOT’s information page at: https:// www.mass.gov/info-details/truck-safety-devices. n
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esentative steven Owens
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Representative Steve Owens was elected to the House of Representatives in 2020 and is currently serving his second term. Before his election, he served for 12 years as chair of the Watertown Democratic Town Committee and four years on the Democratic State Committee. In that capacity, he was the lead Watertown organizer for campaigns up and down the ballot. In his professional career, he was a transportation consultant, doing supply chain and planning work for railroads, trucking companies, state DOTs, and federal agencies. During this time, he developed an interest in transportation and transit advocacy and that has been a focus of his time in the House.
As costs continue to rise, please give us your thoughts on how the state will continue to support local aid to cities and towns to help support basic municipal services, specifically water, wastewater, and underground utility infrastructure.
A:
As costs continue to rise, it’s more important than ever to increase local aid to the Commonwealth’s cities and towns. The FY25 budget includes $1.3 billion in funding for Unrestricted General Government Aid to support non-school portions of municipal budgets. This represents a 16% increase over the last five years and a nearly 40% increase over the last decade. To support our local schools, the FY25 budget contains $6.9 billion in Chapter 70 funding, representing a $317 million increase over FY24, and an increase in minimum aid from $30 to $104 per pupil. This change delivers an additional $37 million to school districts across the state. Outside of the annual budget, the House of Representatives proposed a $400 million bond authorization for the MassWorks Program, which provides grants to municipalities to fund local infrastructure projects, including water treatment projects.
Q: Q:
Representing parts of Watertown and Cambridge in the 29th Middlesex District, what are the biggest challenges for your district and region with regard to continued economic growth?
A:
My district has experienced a tremendous amount of commercial growth, particularly in the life science industry. Over the past few years, several large new bio lab developments have become available. This all happened just in time for the downturn in biotech as a whole and some of that space remains to be leased. At the same time housing costs in the district have skyrocketed as has the cost of living generally. As this space fills out with workers, the challenge will be to make sure that the workforce can afford places to live locally. Managing that growth is extremely important for residents’ quality of life, and part of the solution is making sure that people have options for their commutes including a reliable, affordable, and functional MBTA and commuter rail. Work from home has shifted commuting patterns and changed some of the calculus around transit, but people will use alternatives to driving if they are convenient and inexpensive. The alternative is people suffering long commutes on already congested roads.
Q:
The #InvestInWaterMA campaign, sponsored by UCANE, highlights the importance of water infrastructure to a wide variety of industries. Please share a sampling of some of the specific industries in your district that benefit from our investments in water infrastructure?
continued on page 23
Interview continued from page 21
The life sciences industry requires high-quality, clean water for research and development, testing and analysis, and equipment sterilization. This is necessary to ensure high-quality standards and to produce safe and effective products. Pharmaceutical companies require clean water for the production, testing, and analysis of drugs.
The City of Cambridge owns and maintains its municipal water system, and the City’s drinking water treatment plant is located in the 29th Middlesex District, on the shore of the Fresh Pond Reservoir. Watertown, on the other hand, is part of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) service area. Both systems have or are currently undergoing upgrades with Cambridge having recently replaced their PFAS filtration systems and the MWRA replacing and repairing water mains that are over 125 years old in Watertown.
Additionally, since Cambridge and Watertown are both along the Charles River, stormwater drainage is an important concern. All new developments must make concessions to deal with runoff when adding impermeable surfaces. The City of Cambridge is also working to reduce combined sewer overflows (CSOs), where surface runoff enters the sewer and mixes with sewage during heavy rain. As the incidence of heavy rains increase with climate change, addressing stormwater becomes even more essential to protect our infrastructure.
Please share your thoughts on how the construction industry might be able to meet its growing workforce needs as older members of the industry retire?
A:
Supporting workforce training programs and apprenticeships is critical to supporting the growing demand of the construction industry. Since 2013, Massachusetts has seen a 98% increase in apprenticeships, totaling over 11,000 active apprenticeships currently. The FY25 budget funds the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development at $2.8 million and includes earmarks for several workforce development programs. One earmark allocates $100K for construction industry apprenticeships and career preparedness training programs administered by Building Pathways, Inc. in the Greater Boston area. The FY25 budget also includes nearly $10.4 million for the development and operation of career technical institutes in vocational-technical schools, in partnership with industry and community stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth.
Will you please share some of your other legislative or regulatory priorities during the current legislative session?
Last session, the legislature committed the Commonwealth to decarbonize by 2050. Meeting this goal will require a tremendous investment in clean energy infrastructure. That includes everything from electric vehicle chargers to wind turbines to solar panels to substations. We will need battery storage and grid upgrades, as well as energy retrofits. My priority is to ensure we have an environmental movement that builds infrastructure and a transition that creates new green energy jobs. To that end, I’ve sponsored legislation that changes the definition of a gas company in the law and empowers them to additionally make, sell, or distribute utility-scale non-emitting thermal energy, including networked geothermal and deep geothermal energy. This has the potential to unlock innovations like we’re currently seeing with the Eversource networked ground-source heat pump pilot program currently underway in Framingham, and the similar National Grid projects under development in Lowell and Boston. Since those projects were approved, many other communities have expressed interest in these projects and several other states have made the same move to authorize utilities to provide non-emitting heat of any kind to their customers. This keeps the doors open for other innovations beyond geothermal and helps to future-proof the utilities and the industry writ large.
At the same time, we must make sure that the environmental justice communities most burdened by our old fossil fuel-based energy system aren’t doubly burdened during the transition. The scope of the transition means that it’s important to streamline permitting so projects don’t just get built in places that don’t have the resources or expertise to delay. We’ve heard of projects taking 10 years going through permitting and review, 10 years of red tape before a shovel hits the ground. We don’t have time to wait if we are going to meet our climate goals. n
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Bid Protest Decision: “Past Performance” as a Basis to Reject Bid
Back in April of 2024, the Bid Unit of the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (“Bid Unit”) issued a bid protest decision addressing the “blacklisting of disfavored bidders.” The Bid Unit cautioned against any “single individual” within an awarding authority exerting an “outsized influence” on the bidding process and made clear that the “blacklisting of disfavored bidders is repugnant to the spirit of the public construction bid laws.” The decision underscored the fact that, while awarding authorities have discretion when it comes to determining bidder responsibility, that discretion is not unfettered. If an awarding authority does not conduct a fair and reasonable investigation of bidder responsibility – such as where the outcome of the investigation is predetermined based on the bias of a single individual – then the awarding authority’s determination may be subject to a valid challenge.
Similarly, as the Bid Unit concluded in a July 2024 bid protest decision, while an awarding authority has discretion to reject a bidder on the basis of negative prior experience, such negative prior experience must be “well-documented” and the awarding authority’s decision should be “ justified on the record.” Although the decision arose out of a public building project, the Bid Unit’s analysis likely extends to bidder responsibility determinations on public works projects as well.
The case arose out of a project for the replacement of hot water boilers at a middle school (the “2024 Boiler Project”). The awarding authority rejected the apparent low bidder due to the awarding authority’s alleged “past experience” with the low bidder on a prior boiler project (the “Prior Boiler Project”). The awarding authority did not elaborate further and awarded the contract for the 2024 Boiler Project to the second-low bidder. The low-bidder filed a bid protest.
The low-bidder explained that it was not aware of any negative performance issues or complaints
on the Prior Boiler Project, which it had completed on time, on budget, and without any warranty issues or service calls. The low-bidder also noted that the awarding authority had not submitted any mid-project or final evaluations on the Prior Boiler Project and that it had received positive project evaluations on various other projects.
continued on page 27
Christopher Morog Partner
Robert T. Ferguson Partner
In opposition to the protest, the awarding authority raised several alleged issues with respect to the Prior Boiler Project. The awarding authority contended that:
1. The low-bidder had made an error in its bid on the Prior Boiler Project, which resulted in early project delays;
2. The low-bidder had proposed an “or-equal” substitution on the Prior Boiler Project, which was not accepted;
3. The low-bidder submitted change order requests that the awarding authority either “reluctantly accepted . . . to get the project moving” or rejected;
4. The low-bidder attempted to forego performance of certain work, before ultimately agreeing to perform such work; and
5. The low-bidder’s communication and project management “were poor.”
There was no dispute that the awarding authority had never communicated these complaints to the low-bidder in writing or otherwise “documented them in a direct way” prior to the bid protest on the 2024 Boiler Project.
The Bid Unit acknowledged that an awarding authority “is permitted to rely on its own prior negative experiences with a bidder . . . .” However, the Bid Unit also stated that its decision “should be justified on the record” and that “importantly, any negative references upon which the awarding authority relies – including its own – must be ‘well documented.’” The awarding authority did not meet these standards.
The Bid Unit explained that “none” of the awarding authority’s complaints “were reduced to writing, were raised contemporaneously” or were “otherwise documented by email, letter, memorandum, DCAMM evaluation, or otherwise.” As a result, the awarding authority’s “previouslyunstated grievances about [the low-bidder’s] work on the [Prior Boiler Project] necessarily do not meet the ‘well-documented’ requirement for finding a bidder irresponsible.” Therefore, the Bid Unit allowed the protest.
Notably, the Bid Unit went on to state that even if the awarding authority had documented the issues it was now seeking to raise, that still might not have been enough to justify rejecting the low-bidder. In this regard, the Bid Unit observed that “most” of the issues raised “stem from [the lowbidder] exercising its rights under contract or statute, and do not bear on whether [the low-bidder] has ‘the skill, ability, and integrity necessary to faithfully perform the work called for [in the] contract.’” The Bid Unit added that change orders “are generally permissible” and if an awarding authority is
Legal Corner continued from page 27
“offput” by a proposed change order, “the remedy is to reject the change order, not to reject from a future project on irresponsibility grounds the contractor who proposed the change order.” The Bid Unit concluded by stating that it is “axiomatic that exercising a l awful r ight s hould n ot support a fi nding of irresponsibility.”
Bidder responsibility protests are among the most difficult to win, largely due to the breadth of an awarding authority’s discretion. However, as noted above, that discretion is not unlimited. While each case rises and falls on the particular facts at issue, there may be opportunities to challenge a bidder responsibility determination if it is not “well-documented” or “justified on the record,” or where an awarding authority attempts to reject a bidder because it lawfully attempted to exercise its contractual or statutory rights in good faith. n
BRAINTREE
150 Grossman Drive Suite 200 Braintree, MA 02184 (617) 773-9200
LEXINGTON
238 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 (781) 861-1800
An IntervIew
wIth MIchAel retzky
SuperIntendent of wAter, Sewer, & drAIn
town of needhAM, MA
Will you please provide us with some insight into your education, past experience, and history that led you into your current position?
My career path began while working for Perdoni Brothers, Inc., a utility/general contractor out of Wellesley, MA, who performed municipal utility construction on water, sewer, and drain improvement projects throughout Massachusetts, along with some public and private building/development work.
I am a graduate of Wentworth institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management and an Associate’s degree in Civil Engineering Technology.
In 1986, my career path moved from working for a utility contractor to Camp, Dresser & McKee, now CDM Smith. I spent nearly 30 years working throughout Massachusetts and Connecticut on a multitude of infrastructure projects and program work both in water, wastewater, sewer separation, and drainage improvements as a Resident Engineer, Chief Resident Engineer, and Construction Project Manager.
In early 2016, I joined the Town of Needham in their Building Design and Construction Department, and then in 2021 I moved over to the Needham DPW Water, Sewer, & Drain Division as their Superintendent. I currently maintain the following licenses for this role; Grade D3-Full Drinking Water Operator, certified MassDEP Cross Connection Control Surveyor, and I’m also a Massachusetts Certified Public Purchasing Official (MCPPO). I’m currently in the process of obtaining my T1 license for Water Treatment.
Please provide us with a brief description of the Town of Needham regarding population, area, and also provide us with some statistics on current infrastructure that your department maintains within the Town?
The Town of Needham is a suburb in Metro-West Boston, with an estimated population of 32,000. It occupies a land area of approximately 12.61 square miles. The Town is c lassified as an economically developed suburb with above average wealth levels and higher education attainment. It is located on and near major commuter highways (Route 128/95, Route 135, Route 9, and Route 90/Massachusetts Turnpike). It is also accessible to Boston via the commuter rail with four rail stops in Needham. The Town is surrounded by the Charles River on three sides.
WATER: Our Water, Sewer, & Drain Division operates and maintains approximately 143 miles of water mains, with more than 10,200 water service connections, over 15,600 water meters (including second meters for irrigation) along with 1,344 fire hydrants (public and private).
SEWER: Our sewage collection system consists of more than 130 miles of collector and interceptor sewers and 10 sewer pump stations. The Town’s sewer system is a collection system that discharges its wastewater into the Massachusetts Water Resources
continued on page 35
Authority (MWRA) system for treatment. Approximately 65% of the Town’s sewer collection system is a gravity-only system, and 35% of the sewer system is pumped into the gravity system.
DRAINAGE: Our division also maintains our stormwater drainage infrastructure. This system consists of approximately 105 miles of various size storm drain pipes, over 4,000 c atch basins and 3 00 drainage discharges. We also maintain the culverts, brooks, and streams that accept our stormwater drainage discharges.
What are the responsibilities of the Water, Sewer, & Drain Division, and what would a typical annual budget be for operation and Capital Improvement?
The Water, Sewer, & Drain Division serves the Town of Needham by operating and maintaining our water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure systems and services. Our primary mission is to plan for, operate, and maintain both the infrastructure and the organization necessary to provide superior services and quality drinking water to our residents and customers. The standards our division follows allows us to provide a consistent, re -
liable, quality water supply for all our town residents and customers on a daily basis, while also protecting the Town’s watersheds.
The Water, Sewer, & Drain Division consists of a staff of 27 full-time employees (FTEs) including the Superintendent. Our Division has a total operating budget of approximately $15 million for FY2024.
What is the source for Needham’s drinking water, and does Needham have a Wastewater Treatment Plant?
Needham’s potable water supply comes from two sources. The first source is our own water treatment facility (Charles River Water Treatment Facility (CRWTF)). This facility has three ground water well pump stations that supply water to our facility for treatment, and then into our water distribution system for our residents and customers. The second source of our supply is from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). We have a dedicated connection from their Section 80 water main into a separate stand-alone water pump station facility that supplements our water distribution supply for the community. The MWRA’s water supply comes to Needham fully treated. The MWRA’s water is used to supplement our water supply between the late spring
continued on page 37
and into the fall when our demand peaks during the warmer seasons.
Needham’s sanitary sewage system is collection only. We do not have a wastewater treatment facility. All our sewage discharges into the MWRA’s Sewage System and is treated at their Deer Island Facility. Needham’s Water, Sewer, & Drain Division owns, operates and maintains 10 sewer pumping stations throughout town along with our sewage collector gravity pipeline, interceptor, and force main sewer infrastructure.
Are the residents and businesses in Needham served 100% with Town water and sewer, or are some portions of Town still on wells and/or septic systems? If so, are there any future plans to extend municipal water and/ or sewer?
On the public water system side, all of Needham’s residents have town supplied drinking water and fire (hydrant) protection.
As for the sanitary sewer side, we have less than 400 p roperties t hat d o n ot h ave town/public s ewer and are on private septic systems. A small percentage of these properties have access to town sewer but are not connected to our sewage collection system at this time (their septic systems are in satisfactory working order). Some of the remaining properties are in remote areas where there is no general sewer infrastructure in the area. Some of these non-sewered areas appear to pose challenges both in the general topography and in the extreme distances it would take to bring the sewer infrastructure system to these remote, isolated and topographically challenged areas.
There are no current plans or funding in place for sewer expansion in these areas. Typically, if a private developer comes in, to build a new home or homes, they will perform sewer improvements and extensions when it is feasibly practical. These improvements, in the public right-of-way, will become town owned public infrastructure when they are designed, constructed, and built to acceptable town standards. This would allow the homes in these areas to connect to the sewer system when and if it’s available.
If your department sees a need to expand, repair, or rehab part of the water/sewer/drain system, what is the internal process to get a project funded, designed, and out for public bid?
continued on page 39
Our process follows some required guidelines. Either our division or the Town’s Engineering Department would first determine the need, develop the reason or the why it’s necessary, and provide a scope with an estimated budget. Then a thorough analysis is done to see if the project fits in with our current 5 -year Capital Improvement Plan and fiscal year operating budgets.
If acceptable, we move forward with a funding request for design and eventually construction. These projects (funding requests) follow a path of approvals through the Finance Department, Finance Committee, Town Manager (Town Hall), Selectboard and a Town Warrant (appropriation) article is developed for vote and hopefully an approval at Town Meeting for the required funding. W hen it gets to final design and bid documents for construction, we prefer to go to Town Meeting with a bid in-hand and hard construction c osts for their final vote on the c onstruction appropriation.
Does your Water, Sewer, & Drain Division have any Capital Improvement projects scheduled for 2024 or 2025 that UCANE contractors might be interested in bidding?
Yes, we do! Our DPW Engineering Division with our Engineering Design Consultants oversee our Capital Improvement projects. Needham currently has several infrastructure projects under construction that have kept our division busy in 2024 in support of those projects.
Active projects include a 16-inch water main removal and replacement project consisting of approximately 10,000 LF of new 16-inch DI water pipe, fire hydrants, water gate valves with new water service connections/renewals within the right-of-way. Our annual Water Service Replacement and Renewal Contract is also under construction. This contract consists of
Our DPW Engineering Division with our Engineering Design Consultants oversee our Capital Improvement projects. Needham currently has several infrastructure projects under construction that have kept our division busy in 2024 in support of those projects.
removing existing water services or portions thereof from the water main to the home (property) at specifically identified properties to meet the latest federal and state compliance regulations. We have been bidding this multi-year project /contract for a number of years as part of the upcoming LCRR (LCRI) (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions - 2021) mandated by USEPA and MassDEP to remove and replace all lead or lead-lined water service pipes within our water system.
We also recently awarded a drainage improvement project that includes removing and replacing existing storm drain pipe with new larger diameter pipes, new manholes and catch basins in order to help mitigate drainage concerns in neighborhoods that have experienced stormwater fl ooding in the past. This project also has a water main improvement component included as part of the overall work.
Finally, we have a large Cured-In-Place-Pipe (CIPP) sewer rehabilitation project underway involving one of our larger sewer interceptors. This pipeline runs adjacent to Route 95/128 in Needham.
The next phase of this interceptor rehab project, scheduled to be bid in the near term, will consist of the removal of sections of the existing sewer and replacing it with a new larger diameter pipe. This upcoming project will have some extensive temporary sewage bypassing as well as a pipe jacking component. n
Hosted By
Lobster Clambake
Sponsor Corporate Sponsor Taylor Oil Northeast E. J. Prescott, Inc.
Just as the swallows return every year to San Juan Capistrano, and just as Tax Day rolls around every April, one of the events that you can set your watch to is UCANE’s Summer golf outing, this year held at Brookmeadow Country Club in Canton, MA.
Always one of the most popular events on UCANE’s Social calendar, our Golf Tournament brings our Contractor and Associate members, and their friends and guests together for a fantastic event, which includes UCANE’s famous New England Lobster clambake.
The weather for the day was forecast to be “somewhat steamy,” but after last year’s monsoon event at the midpoint, our brave group was happy to hear they could leave their raingear in the car and they were raring to go!
The Golfers Arrive
Our group of dedicated members – and part-time golfers – all showed up bright and early anxious to continue the tradition, and excited to once again be experiencing a day of camaraderie with their fellow UCANE members.
As always, the staff at Brookmeadow had the golf carts all lined up in the early morning waiting for riders. As our golfers began arriving at 8:00 a.m., they were greeted by UCANE Executive Director Joe Nolan and the entire UCANE staff. Each golfer first received a “Goody Bag” sponsored by P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc., stuffed with golf related items donated by a host of UCANE member firms. (Our impressive donor list begins on page 47.)
More than 50 fabulous raffle prizes were on full display and raffle tickets were selling like hot cakes.
Next up was a continental breakfast with bagel and cheese, tempting sweets, muffins and croissants, fresh fruit, coffee, and juices, sponsored by ATS Equipment, Inc. in the Brookmeadow lounge. It was the perfect opportunity to enjoy a cup of coffee and catch up with friends before the shotgun start at 9:00 a.m.
Let the Games Begin
As the golfers approached each tee, they were reminded of the UCANE companies that graciously sponsor and support our golf tournament each year. The company names and logos were displayed prominently on bright tee signs created and donated by RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Inc. In addition, there was added excitement at multiple holes where a good tee shot could win a golfer some great prizes.
Hole # 1 - $10,000 Putting Contest sponsored by Dagle Electrical Construction Corp.
Hole # 4 – Closest to the Pin sponsored by Concrete Systems, Inc.
Hole # 5 – Golf Ball Cannon sponsored by J. F. White Contracting Co.
Hole # 6 – Celebrity Golfer former Bruins Captain Rick Middleton sponsored by Core & Main
Photos With Rick Middleton Sponsored by Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers & Iron Planet
Hole # 11 – New Chevy Silverado Hole-in-one sponsored by McLaughlin Chevrolet
Hole # 15 - $25,000 Hole-in-one sponsored by McCourt Construction Company
Hole # 18 – Longest Drive sponsored by Robert B. Our Co., Inc.
In addition to all the great prizes that could be won with a lucky shot, our golfers had the opportunity to meet and have their photo taken with former Boston Bruins Captain Rick Middleton at Hole # 6. Rick had a 14-year career in the NHL, 12 of which were with the Bruins. Middleton’s slick offensive moves earned him the nickname “Nifty” and made him one of the NHL’s most dangerous goal-scorers during the late 1970s and the 1980s.
He played 1005 NHL career games and amassed 988 points, making Rick one of the most prolific and steady point scorers in Bruins history. Rick’s number was officially retired by the Bruins in 2019.
Now living in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, Rick stayed involved with hockey for many years after his NHL retirement. He served as head of the Bruins Alumni Association and coached hockey at amateur and semi-pro levels. In 2002, Rick coached the Paralympic SLED team at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Against all odds a young and inspiring U.S. team captured the Gold Medal and landed Rick and his team into the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.
“Nifty ” engaged in great conversation with each foursome of golfers as they came to the tee. If someone said they were at a Bruins game back in the day and saw Rick play, he c ould tell them what the final score was. It also became apparent very soon that in Rick’s recent retirement he has been playing a lot of golf. Like his consistency in NHL scoring, Rick was consistently putting UCANE golfers in position for a birdie on Hole #6. Our crack statistician Mike Lenihan calculated that 32 of our golfers (21%) landed on the #6 green, while Rick hit the “dance fl oor” an amazing 82% of his swings. Definitely the most accomplished C elebrity G olfer to be at this UCANE event in many years. Great fun and memories on the 6th hole!
Thanks again to UCANE member Core & Main for sponsoring our guest celebrity and to members Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers and Iron Planet for sponsoring the photos.
Cold Drinks and Lunch
The weather for our tournament was rain free but warm tempratures were certainly requiring our golfers to hydrate more than usual. Our beverage carts circling the course were seeing lots of action as each group quenched their thirst with cold drinks sponsored by Darmody, Merlino, and Co., LLP, GVC Construction, Inc., P.J. Keating Company, National Trench Safety,
continued on page 43
COMPONENT
Golf Tournament continued from page 41
P. J. Spillane Co., Inc. T-Quip Sales & Rentals, Inc., and United Concrete Products. Our golfers were able to keep their strength up with the delicious barbecue lunch offered at the turn sponsored by Aqua Line Utility, Inc, Pat DiCerbo-Northwestern Mutual, Hilb New England, J. J. Kane Auctioneers, RJV Construction Corp., Shea Concrete Products, Inc., and United Construction & Forestry.
Back to the Clubhouse!
After 18 challenging but fun holes, each foursome returned to the Clubhouse and turned in their scorecard (best-ball match). A quick trip into the lower lounge for a cold drink, and the group went out to the practice green to witness the finalists try their luck at the $10,000 Putting Contest sponsered by Dagle Electrical Construction Corp. Although nobody walked away with a lot of cash or a new truck, all the competitors on the course were anxious to get to the upstairs dining room where cocktails, hors D’ouvres, a great meal, dozens of fabulous prizes, and lots of laughs awaited them. The Social Hour was sponsored by Pat DiCerbo-Northwestern Mutual, HUB International New England, Ferguson Waterworks, and Triumph Modular.
By 3:30 p.m. it was time for Ron Young and his Lafayette House (Foxboro) staff to begin serving a first-class New England Lobster Clambake dinner sponsored by E. J. Prescott, Inc. Headlining the menu were 2-pound steamed lobsters complete with clam chowder, barbecue chicken, garden salad, roasted potatoes, rolls, and corn-on-the-cob.
Our Clambake was topped with an Ice Cream Sundae Bar sponsored by Boston Concrete Corp. and USI Insurance Services. As the hungry golfers enjoyed their lobsters, UCANE Executive Director Joe Nolan announced the winners of the scramble format tournament:
1. Milton CAT - Jim Carey, Bob McDuffy, Dan Coppenrath, and Mark Frongillo
2. Boston Concrete - Karin Marshall, Derek Doherty, Darrin McCauliffe, and Al Aglanetti
3. Dig It Construction - Kerry Sullivan, Tyler Deanthony, Jason Sanders, and Paul Sciotti
The prize for closest to the pin on the 4th hole was won by Derek Doherty from Boston Concrete, and the long drive prizes were awarded to Karin MarshallBoston Concrete and Jordan Barbarotta - Milton CAT. continued on page 45
Golf Tournament continued from page 43
Then, with the help of the UCANE staff, Joe began calling out the raffle ticket winners and he eventually distributed over 5 0 amazing prizes highlighted by a 65-inch TV donated by Scrap It/Minichiello Bros., Inc., great Red Sox tickets donated by Lorusso Corp. and Shea Concrete Products, golf at some of the area’s nicest courses, and much more. Smiles gleamed throughout the room as just about every table had a winning ticket!
Thank You to UCANE Members
UCANE’s 45th Annual Golf Classic was another resounding sold-out success. From the serious golfer, to the social golfer, to the “wanna-be” golfer, a great time was had by all. UCANE extends its sincere thanks to our incredible and generous members who not only supported this year’s golf event, but who have been there alongside UCANE throughout the years. n
With over two decades of experience across diverse industry sectors, Je brings his insights and experience with complex transactions, as well as an extraordinary ability to resolve disputes to Hinckley Allen’s nationally ranked Construction & Public Contracts Group.
CONTACT: Je D. Bernarducci
617-378-4155
JBernarducci@hinckleyallen.com
A special thank you to our sponsors for their continued support of
Annual Golf Tournament
Hosted By
Lobster Clambake Sponsor Corporate Sponsor
Taylor Oil Northeast E. J. Prescott, Inc.
$25,000 “Hole in One”
McCOURT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
$10,000 Putting Contest
DAGLE ELECTRICAL CONST. CORP.
Chevy Silverado “Hole in One”
McLAUGHLIN CHEVROLET
Golf Ball Cannon
J. F. WHITE CONTRACTING CO.
“Beat the Pro” against Former Bruins Captian Rick Middleton
CORE & MAIN
Photo’s with Former Bruins Captain Rick Middleton
RITCHIE BROTHERS AUCTIONEERS/ IRON PLANET
“Closest to the Pin” Contest CONCRETE SYSTEMS, INC.
Continental Breakfast
ATS EQUIPMENT, INC.
Golf Carts
PATRICK DICERBO - NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
IUOE - LOCAL 4
All Signage
ROADSAFE TRAFFIC SYSTEMS
Barbecue Lunch
AQUA LINE UTILITY, INC.
PATRICK D i CERBO - NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL
HILB NEW ENGLAND
J.J. KANE AUCTIONEERS
RJV CONSTRUCTION CORP.
SHEA CONCRETE PRODUCTS
UNITED CONSTRUCTION & FORESTRY
Social Hour
PATRICK D ICERBO - NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL FERGUSON WATERWORKS
HUB INT. NEW ENGLAND TRUIMPH MODULAR
Ice Cream Sundae Bar
BOSTON CONCRETE CORP.
USI INSURANCE SERVICES, LLC
Cold Drink Carts
DARMODY, MERLINO & COMPANY
GVC CONSTRUCTION, INC.
P. J. KEATING COMPANY
NATIONAL TRENCH SAFETY
P. J. SPILLANE CO., INC.
T-QUIP SALES & RENTALS, INC.
UNITED CONCRETE PRODUCTS
Golf Prizes
BALTAZAR CONTRACTORS, INC.
BARLETTA HEAVY DIVISION
DeFELICE CORPORATION
ECI TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
ROBERT B. OUR COMPANY, INC.
PUTTING GREEN SPONSORS:
AQUA LINE UTILITY, INC.
B2W SOFTWARE, INC.
BARLETTA HEAVY DIVISION
BISZKO CONTRACTING CORP.
CAPE COD WINWATER
COMMONWEALTH CONSTRUCTION & UTILITIES
CORE & MAIN
D e FELICE CORPORATION
D e SANCTIS INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
EQUIPMENT CORP. OF AMERICA (ECA)
W. L. FRENCH EXCAVATING CORPORATION
GVC CONSTRUCTION, INC.
L. GUERINI, INC. (2)
HILB NEW ENGLAND
HINCKLEY ALLEN LLP
LORUSSO CORP.
S. M. LORUSSO & SONS, INC.
LUDLOW CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.
MCWANE DUCTILE
MILTON CAT (2)
NORTH AMERICAN CRANE & RIGGING LLC
PAWTUCKET HOT MIX ASPHALT
E. J. PRESCOTT, INC.
PUTNAM PIPE, A DANA KEPNER COMPANY
SPS NEW ENGLAND, INC.
THE STILES COMPANY, INC.
TAYLOR OIL NORTHEAST
D. W. WHITE CONSTRUCTION, INC.
TIM ZANELLI EXCAVATING, LLC
• Pre-mark the location of intended excavation using white stakes, paint or flags.
• In MA, ME, NH, RI and VT, notify Dig Safe® at least 72 hours in advance, not including weekends and holidays.
• Notify non-member facility owners.
• Maintain the marks placed by underground facility owners.
• Use caution and dig by hand when working within 18” of a marked facility.
• If a line is damaged, do not backfill. Notify the affected utility company immediately if the facility, its protective coating, or a tracer wire is damaged.
• Call 911 in the event of a gas leak, or if a damaged facility poses a risk to public safety.
• Know your state’s excavation requirements.
• Go to digsafe.com for educational material and current laws.
AAA Work Trucks (2)
B2W Software, Inc. (2)
Badger Daylighting (3)
Baltazar Contractors, Inc.
A. R. Belli, Inc. (2)
Dennis K. Burke, Inc. (2)
C. C. Construction, Inc. (2)
C.J.P. & Sons Const. Co., Inc. (2)
C&S Insurance Agency (2)
Cape Cod Winwater
Celco Construction Corp. (2)
CleanBasins, Inc. (2)
Concrete Systems, Inc. (2)
Cullen, Murphy & Co., P.C. (2)
Dagle Electrical Const. Corp. (2)
Darmody, Merlino & Co., LLP
The Dow Company (2)
FED. CORP. (2)
Ferguson Waterworks
Gagliarducci Const., Inc. (2)
Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc. (2)
Genalco, Inc. (2)
GeoEngineers (2)
Granite City Electric (3)
TEE SPONSORS:
Green Environmental, Inc. (2)
L. Guerini Group Inc. (2)
I. W. Harding Const. Co., Inc.
HUB International New England (2)
P. J. Keating Company
J. J. Kane Auctioneers (2)
Kenney & Sams (2)
L & L Concrete Products
Lawrence-Lynch Corp. (2)
Lockwood Remediation Tech. LLC
Lorusso Heavy Equipment (2)
MBO Precast, Inc. (2)
Massachuetts Ready Mix LLC (2)
J. F. McDonald Insurance Agency (2)
Metro Equipment Corp. (2)
Mersino Dewatering (2)
Milton CAT (2)
Monroe Tractor (2)
National Trench Safety
National Water Main Cleaning Co.
Norfolk Power Equipment
Northeast Shoring Equipment (2)
Ocean State Oil
Robert B. Our Co., Inc. (2)
R. M. Pacella, Inc. (2)
Podgurski Corp.
J. A. Polito & Sons Co., Inc. (2)
Power Line Contractors, Inc. (2)
E. J. Prescott, Inc.
H. R. Prescott & Sons, Inc. (2)
RJV Construction Corp. (2)
Rapid Flow/Vacuum Excavation, Inc. (5)
Scituate Concrete Products Corp. (2)
Scrap-It, Inc./Minichiello Bros. Inc.
Shea Concrete Products (2)
Starkweather & Shepley Insurance
Brokerage, Inc. (2)
Sunbelt Rentals Trench Safety (2)
Taylor Oil North East
Tonry Insurance Group, Inc. (2)
Umbro & Sons Construction Corp.
United Rentals Trench Safety (2)
WES Construction Corp. (2)
W. Walsh Co., Inc. (2)
Walsh Construction Company (2)
R. H. White Construction Co., Inc.
C. N. Wood Co., Inc. (2)
World Insurance Associates, LLC (2)
R. Zoppo Corp. (2)
GOODY BAG SPONSORS:
P. GIOIOSO & SONS, INC. Goody Bags
ACME-SHOREY PRECAST
Travel Mugs
DIG IT CONSTRUCTION LLC
Golf Balls
DIG SAFE SYSTEMS, INC.
Hats, Pens, Rulers, Key Chains, Etc.
MILTON CAT
Insulated Travel Mugs
OCEAN STATE OIL
Golf Tee Sets
PUTNAM PIPE, A DANA KEPNER CO.
Stress Relievers & Contractor Pencils
SCRAP-IT, INC./MINICHIELLO BROS., INC.
Golf Balls
STILES COMPANY, INC.
Note Pads w/Pens
SUNBELT RENTALS TRENCH SAFETY
Divit Markers
TAYLOR OIL NORTHEAST Sunblock
TRIUMPH MODULAR Golf Towels
RAFFLE SPONSORS:
BROOKMEADOW COUNTRY CLUB
Golf for 4
EQUIPMENT CORP. OF AMERICA
4 Patriots Tickets
FED. CORP.
Pair of Anti-Gravity Lounge Chairs
LORUSSO CORPORATION
4 Red Sox Tickets - Pavilion Seats
MERSINO DEWATERING
10 Dart 2.0 Speakers
RAIN FOR RENT - NEW ENGLAND YETI Cooler
SCRAP-IT, INC./ MINICHIELLO BROS., INC.
65-Inch Smart TV
SHEA CONCRETE PRODUCTS, INC.
4 Red Sox Tickets
TRIUMPH MODULAR
Gliding Rocking Chairs
Serving the Bonding and Insurance needs of the N.E.construction industry for almost 50 years.
Adam DeS anctis Jam es Axon M ichael G ilbe rt Br yan J uw a
David Boutiette Pa ul P at alano Dick C aruso Jonathan Duggan Jordan Tirone
UCANE Contractors Participate in National Trench Safety Stand Down Week
The week of June 17-21, 2024 was designated as Trench Safety Stand Down (TSSD) Week at construction sites across the country. First championed in 2017 by the National Utility Contractor’s Association (NUCA) in a partnership with OSHA, the annual event has seen participation growth each year. This year UCANE members United Rentals and National Trench Safety were both prime sponsors for the nationwide event.
All construction work poses some degree of risk of accidental injury to workers, especially to those w ith i nsufficient s afety t raining. Ac cidents i n excavation and trenching work can often be catastrophic due to the nature of the work. That is why training p rograms l ike t he 2 024 T SSD a re s o i mportant.
For this year’s national event utility, heavy highway, and excavation contractors from every state devoted a portion of their day toward training their employees on working safely around trench excavations. C ompany safety officers and foremen gathered their crews together for “Tool Box Talks,” power-point presentations, or hands-on demonstrations on how to stay alert and be safe when it comes to trenching operations.
OSHA area offices across the c ountry offered their assistance to local contractors during the week. In Massachusetts, Region 1 OSHA Compliance Specialists Peter Barletta and Joe Green offered their valuable services to the New England excavation industry.
Twenty UCANE contractors participated in this
year’s TSSD. During TSSD Week they trained a to
tal of 2586 construction workers at 331 jobsites across New England. The number of workers trained fell just short of UCANE’s 2022 record of 2667, but once again established UCANE as the flagship of c ontractor as
sociations across the country when it comes to trench safety training.
UCANE Participation - June 17-21, 2024
Congratulations to Feeney Brothers Utility Services for being UCANE’S Top Trainer in 2024 !!
Dorchester’s Feeney Brothers Utility Services was once again the leader as UCANE’s top trainer.
United Rentals Trench Safety (Shrewsbury, MA), J. Derenzo Corp. (Brockton), and W.L. French Excavating Corp. (Billerica), rounded out the top four.
UCANE companies that participated in this safety program will receive a formal c ertificate from OSHA, suitable for framing, commending their efforts and dedication to Trench Safety. In addition, participating employees will receive 2024 TSSD hard hat stickers.
2024 TSSD organizer N UCA reports that over 25,000 construction employees attended a Trench Safety Training session during this year’s one-week national event. n
Construction Safety & Compliance: An Interview with Kevin Daly
Sustainability, Health, and Safety Advisor
Badger Infrastructure Solutions
UCANE’s Construction Outlook magazine editors recently caught up with Kevin Daly at a busy construction site in Hartford, Connecticut. Kevin is the Sustainability, Health, and Safety Advisor with UCANE member firm Badger Infrastructure Solutions. We were able to get a few minutes of Kevin’s time to spreak with him about the importance of safety in today’s heavy construction industry.
Will you please give our readers some information on your background and experience in the construction industry and why you decided to concentrate on Construction Safety?
I appreciate the opportunity to share my background and experience. In 1984, I began my career in construction as a union laborer, where safety was not prioritized and often overlooked. Despite this, I did not get discouraged and continued to gain diverse experience with various contractors, including working in underground utilities, vertical construction, and industrial demolition. In 1996, I was given an opportunity to lead a crew for a natural gas utility subcontractor, overseeing production, safety, and quality control. This role marked a significant shift in my career, allowing me to influence our safety practices and culture positively. The impact was profound and empowered my crew members to actively participate in safety discussions and effectively address safety concerns. After three successful years, I transitioned from this seasonal role to be able to provide for my family more consistently.
I was then assigned by the Union to a nuclear power station decommissioning project in Haddam Neck, CT, where I joined the Behavioral Employee Safety Team (BEST). As a member, I observed work crews from various trades, learning to build relationships and coach on safety respectfully. My initial threemonth term on BEST extended to six months, marking the start of not only my passion for safety but also in my career as a Construction Safety Professional.
What does a typical day look like in your role as a Sustainability, Health, and Safety Advisor (SHS) at Badger, and what are some of the greatest challenges you face in keeping your crews working safely?
Badger is the largest provider of non-destructive excavating and related services in North America. We serve a diverse customer base across a broad range of infrastructure industry segments including construction, energy, industrial, telecommunications, transportation, and more. With a range of
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end markets served, we perform a wide array of projects at ever-changing jobsites across the U.S. and Canada. All of our Hydrovac trucks are manufactured at our manufacturing facility in Red Deer, Alberta and dispersed to our 1,600+ operators, across 140+ locations in North America.
On a typical day, I conduct field visits and perform Behavior Based Observations (BBOs) to ensure safety compliance and provide immediate feedback to our field teams. The BBO process guides the observer on safety requirements and safe work practice/job procedure elements and desired behaviors to ensure team member compliance and immediate feedback, coaching, and positive reinforcement is provided. I also collaborate with the operations team on job preplanning and reinforcing our safety culture.
A key goal is fostering a safety culture among operators who sometimes equate speed with better service, when speed can often compromise safety. My role is to foster the mindset of operators that excellent service is achieved by adhering to established safety protocols. By emphasizing the importance of upholding quality and safety measures alongside customer satisfaction, Operators are empowered to provide effective services safely, creating a positive experience for both customers and the organization.
Please tell us about the culture of safety that exists at a large operation like Badger Infrastructure Solutions.
Badger's safety culture focusses on active leadership, improved hazard assessments and control, communication, and engagement. At the heart of our operations are our Operators, who undergo thorough training with experienced mentors to ensure they can safely and efficiently operate our Hydrovac trucks. This training covers not only equipment handling but also safety procedures and best practices.
Our Sales, Operations, and SH&S teams work closely together to prepare for jobs, setting up our operators for success and ensuring the safety and satisfaction of our team and customers.
The entire Badger organization is deeply involved in the BBO and Good Catch programs. Insights from these programs are shared across the company in safety meetings, allowing everyone to learn and improve. Our Operators play a key role in the Good
Safety & Compliance continued from page 63 continued on page 65
Catch/Near Miss Program, identifying potential safety hazards and working on solutions, sometimes in collaboration with customers. They also coach others on safe practices. The most significant findings from these programs are highlighted in our weekly safety meetings for collective learning and discussion.
Badger's safety culture thrives on employee engagement, with everyone having the authority to halt operations if they spot new hazards or unsafe conditions. This policy, supported by everyone up to the President & CEO, cultivates a culture of trust and strengthens our commitment to safety, benefiting our team members, customers, our communities in which we operate, and the environment. As a result of collective efforts, our safety indicators have continued to show improvement.
With demand increasing for Construction Safety Professionals, what advice would you give to young people considering this profession, or those seeking a career change?
I recommend young people interested in a safety career to work in construction during their high school to college summers and between their freshman and sophomore college years for practical experience. This fieldwork alongside tradespeople provides valuable insights into the realities of labor, decision-making, and relationship-building with future colleagues. Additionally, securing an internship during the later college years is crucial.
Jointly endorsed safety events, like the National Trench Safety Stand Down Week, are always advantageous for everyone involved. Bringing teams together at a jobsite fosters a collaborative environment where exchanging and discussing safety issues is beneficial for all. During June's Safety Meetings, I had the opportunity to present the Toolbox Topic on National Trench Safety Stand Down Week. Considering Badger's operations involve working in and around trenches across various jobsites, this information is particularly pertinent and always good to reinforce. n
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Artificial Intelligence in Construction: A Game Changer
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly become a transformative force across various industries, and construction is no exception. AI is being leveraged in the construction sector to enhance efficiency, safety, and overall project management. From predictive analytics and automated machinery to smart project planning and risk management, AI is reshaping construction projects execution.
AI Advancements in Construction
AI-driven technologies in construction encompass a wide range of applications. For instance, machine learning algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to predict potential project delays, cost overruns, and safety hazards. Drones equipped with AI can survey construction sites, providing real-time data and detailed insights into site conditions, which helps detect issues that could impede progress early.
Robotic machinery, guided by AI, can perform repetitive and dangerous tasks with precision and consistency, reducing the risk of human error and enhancing worker safety. Additionally, AI-powered project management tools facilitate better team coordination, optimize resource allocation, and ensure that projects stay on track and within budget.
In-Cab Coaching: Revolutionizing Driver Safety and Performance
In-cab coaching is a promising AI application, installed in vehicles and heavy machinery to provide real-time feedback. The primary goal is to enhance safety, improve operational efficiency, and reduce loss experience. These systems continuously monitor driving behavior, identify unsafe practices, and provide immediate corrective feedback. For example, if a driver speeds, the system alerts them to reduce
their speed, mitigating accident risks. Additionally, it detects fatigue or distraction, prompting the driver to take breaks to prevent mishaps. By tracking and recording driving behaviors, in-cab coaching fosters awareness and accountability among drivers, encouraging adherence to safety protocols.
Cost Savings and Operational Efficiency
Improving loss experience through AI and in-cab coaching can impact cost savings and operational efficiency. Fewer accidents mean lower repair c osts, reduced insurance premiums, and minimized vehicle downtime. Efficient driving practices also lead to fuel
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savings and less wear and tear on machinery. These benefits c ollectively enhance overall productivity and resource allocation within construction projects.
Enhanced Compliance and Risk Management
AI technology in in-cab coaching supports compliance with industry regulations and standards. Automated systems ensure that drivers adhere to legal requirements, such as speed limits and hours of service regulations. This proactive compliance reduces the r isk of fines and legal issues, further c ontributing to a positive loss experience. Additionally, monitoring and addressing potential risks in real time strengthens overall risk management strategies.
Future Prospects and Continued Innovation
The integration of AI in in-cab coaching is just the beginning. As technology evolves, we can expect more advanced features like predictive analytics and machine learning algorithms to further refine driver coaching. These innovations will provide deeper insights into driver behavior, enabling more precise in -
terventions
struction industry.
AI is a transformative force in the construction industry, driving advancements significantly enhancing safety, operational efficiency, and project management. Beyond in-cab coaching, AI applications have the potential to revolutionize how construction projects are planned, executed, and managed. Ongoing advancements in AI technology promise even greater improvements in operational efficiency, risk management, and loss experience, paving the way for a safer, more productive, and innovative future in construction. n
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MWRA Board of Directors announce Water and Sewer Assessments for FY25.
MWRA Board of Directors
At a June 26, 2024 MWRA Board of Directors meeting, final FY25 Water and Sewer Assessments recommended by the Administration, Finance, & Audit Committee were approved. The assessment increase on the Water side was $11.7 million, or 3.9%, while the Sewer assessment increase was held to $9.52 million, or 1.8%. Combined FY25 assessments increased $21.22 million, or 2.54%, from FY24.
MWRA Board of Directors announce Water and Sewer Assessments for FY25.
Announce Water and Sewer Assessments for FY25
MWRA Board of Directors announce Water and Sewer Assessments for FY25.
For FY25 the Total Water and Sewer system billings will be $311.38 million and $544.1 million respectively. Combined, MWRA has budgeted a total of $855.49M for FY25, up 2.5% from FY24.
At a June 26, 2024 MWRA Board of Directors meeting, final FY25 Water and Sewer Assessments recommended by the Administration, Finance, & Audit Committee were approved. The assessment increase on the Water side was $11.7 million, or 3.9%, while the Sewer assessment increase was held to $9.52 million, or 1.8%. Combined FY25 assessments increased $21.22 million, or 2.54%, from FY24.
At a June 26, 2024 MWRA Board of Directors meeting, final FY25 Water and Sewer Assessments recommended by the Administration, Finance, & Audit Committee were approved. The assessment increase on the Water side was $11.7 million, or 3.9%, while the Sewer assessment increase was held to $9.52 million, or 1.8%. Combined FY25 assessments increased $21.22 million, or 2.54%, from FY24. For FY25 the Total Water and Sewer system billings will be $311.38 million and $544.1 million respectively. Combined, MWRA has budgeted a total of $855.49M for FY25, up 2.5% from FY24.
At a June 26, 2024 MWRA Board of Directors meeting, final FY25 Water and Sewer Assessments recommended by the Administration, Finance, & Audit Committee were approved. The assessment increase on the Water side was $11.7 million, or 3.9%, while the Sewer assessment increase was held to $9.52 million, or 1.8%. Combined FY25 assessments increased $21.22 million, or 2.54%, from FY24. For FY25 the Total Water and Sewer system billings will be $311.38 million and $544.1 million respectively. Combined, MWRA has budgeted a total of $855.49M for FY25, up 2.5% from FY24.
For FY25 the Total Water and Sewer system billings will be $311.38 million and $544.1 million respectively. Combined, MWRA has budgeted a total of $855.49 million for FY25, up 2.5% from FY24.
The FY25 assessment increase will have an estimated impact of $16 on the average annual household water and sewer bill for households within a fully served MWRA community.
SHARING SYSTEM COSTS
The FY25 assessment increase will have an estimated impact of $16 on the average annual household water and sewer bill for households within a fully served MWRA community.
The FY25 assessment increase will have an estimated impact of $16 on the average annual household water and sewer bill for households within a fully served MWRA community.
Sharing System Costs
SHARING SYSTEM COSTS
The increase in FY25 Water System costs is primarily due to increased debt service related to rehabilitation and improvement projects within the water system. Each community’s water assessment is calculated by apportioning the water rate revenue requirement against that community’s total water use for the calendar year. FY25 water assessments are based on a community’s share of CY23 water use, which was 62.387 billion gallons. This is a decrease of 5.6% from CY22, which saw 66.065 billion gallons used.
SHARING SYSTEM COSTS
million in F Y24. The increase is primarily due to increased debt service related to sewer system rehabilitation and improvements. Sewer assessments are allocated according to a community’s share of average wastewater fl ow, c ensus population, sewered population, maximum wastewater fl ow, share of wastewater fl ow (total suspended solids), and strength of flow (biochemical oxygen demand).
The increase in FY25 Water System costs is primarily due to increased debt service related to rehabilitation and improvement projects within the water system. Each community’s water assessment is calculated by apportioning the water rate revenue requirement against that community’s total water use for the calendar year. FY25 water assessments are based on a community’s share of CY23 water use, which was 62.387 billion gallons. This is a decrease of 5.6% from CY22, which saw 66.065 billion gallons used.
The MWRA sewer Rate Revenue Requirement for FY25 is $544.1 million, an increase from $534.6 million in FY24. The increase is primarily due to increased debt service related to sewer system rehabilitation and improvements. Sewer assessments are allocated according to a community’s share of average wastewater flow, census population, sewered population, maximum wastewater flow, share of wastewater flow (total suspended solids), and strength of flow (biochemical oxygen demand).
About MWRA Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
The increase in FY25 Water System costs is primarily due to increased debt service related to rehabilitation and improvement projects within the water system. Each community’s water assessment is calculated by apportioning the water rate revenue requirement against that community’s total water use for the calendar year. FY25 water assessments are based on a community’s share of CY23 water use, which was 62.387 billion gallons. This is a decrease of 5.6% from CY22, which saw 66.065 billion gallons used.
The increase in FY25 Water System costs is primarily due to increased debt service related to rehabilitation and improvement projects within the water system. Each community’s water assessment is calculated by apportioning the water rate revenue requirement against that community’s total water use for the calendar year. FY25 water assessments are based on a community’s share of CY23 water use, which was 62.387 billion gallons. This is a decrease of 5.6% from CY22, which saw 66.065 billion gallons used.
The MWRA sewer Rate Revenue Requirement for F Y25 is $ 544.1 million, an increase from $ 534.6
MWRA is a Massachusetts public authority established by an act of the Legislature in 1984 to provide
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The MWRA sewer Rate Revenue Requirement for FY25 is $544.1 million, an increase from $534.6 million in FY24. The increase is primarily due to increased debt service related to sewer system rehabilitation and improvements. Sewer assessments are allocated according to a community’s share of average wastewater flow, census population, sewered population, maximum wastewater flow, share of wastewater flow (total suspended solids), and strength of flow (biochemical oxygen demand).
The MWRA sewer Rate Revenue Requirement for FY25 is $544.1 million, an increase from $534.6 million in FY24. The increase is primarily due to increased debt service related to sewer system rehabilitation and improvements. Sewer assessments are allocated according to a community’s share of average wastewater flow, census population, sewered population, maximum wastewater flow, share of wastewater flow (total suspended solids), and strength of flow (biochemical oxygen demand).
MWRA continued from page 69
wholesale water and sewer services to 3.1 million people and more than 5,500 large industrial users in 61 communities in Eastern and Central Massachusetts. With a daily service demand averaging 200 million gallons per day (MGD), the MWRA Water system is a massive and complex network consisting of 2 source reservoirs (Quabbin and Wachusett), 11 pump stations, and 14 below- or above-ground storage tanks. Water is moved from the reservoirs through an underground water transmission system containing 105 miles of active tunnels and aqueducts (mostly 10 to 14 feet in diameter) and 3 9 miles of standby
With a daily service demand averaging 200 million gallons per day (MGD), the MWRA Water system is a massive and complex network consisting of 2 source reservoirs (Quabbin and Wachusett), 11 pump stations, and 14 below- or above-ground storage tanks. Water is moved from the reservoirs through an underground water transmission system containing 105 miles of active tunnels and aqueducts (mostly 10 to 14 feet in diameter) and 39 miles of standby aqueducts. MWRA’s water system has more than 200 separate facilities, including the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough, with a capacity of 405 MGD and the William A. Brutsch Water Treatment Facility in Ware with a capacity of 16MGD.
aqueducts. MWRA’s water system has more than 200 separate facilities, including the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough, with a capacity of 405 MGD and the William A. Brutsch Water Treatment Facility in Ware with a capacity of 16MGD.
MWRA’s wastewater system has 65 facilities including two treatment plants. Built for a design capacity of 1.27 billion gallons per day, the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant in Boston Harbor is the 2nd largest in the United States.The Clinton Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant has a capacity of 12MGD. There are 13 pumping stations, a screen house and four remote head works, four Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facilities, and two CSO storage facilities.
MWRA’s wastewater system has 65 facilities including two treatment plants. Built for a design capacity of 1.27 billion gallons per day, the Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant in Boston Harbor is the 2nd largest in the United States.The Clinton Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant has a capacity of 12MGD. There are 13 pumping stations, a screen house and four remote head works, four Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facilities, and two CSO storage facilities.
continued on page 71
MWRA continued from page 70
Since its creation in 1985, MWRA has invested more than $9 billion in essential new and upgraded facilities. In addition to the clean-up of Boston Harbor and the modernization of the region’s water system, MWRA maintains hundreds of miles of water and sewer pipes, and dozens of other facilities that regularly require either upgrades or replacements.
Since its creation in 1985, MWRA has invested more than $9 billion in essential new and upgraded facilities. In addition to the clean-up of Boston Harbor and the modernization of the region’s water system, MWRA maintains hundreds of miles of water and sewer pipes, and dozens of other facilities that
regularly require either upgrades or replacements.
MWRA has also established aggressive maintenance programs to ensure that these facilities never fall back into a cycle of disrepair. MWRA assets are located in an area of more than 800 square miles, spanning from the Chicopee Valley to Boston Harbor. n
MWRA has also established aggressive maintenance programs to ensure that these facilities never fall back into a cycle of disrepair. MWRA assets are located in an area of more than 800 square miles, spanning from the Chicopee Valley to Boston Harbor.
In 1991, the United States Congress recognized the need for a drug and alcohol-free transportation industry and, consequently, passed the Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act. This act required U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies to implement drug and alcohol testing for safety-sensitive transportation employees. DOT drug testing policies are based upon sound scientific research and have withstood the test of time in multiple legal challenges. As a result, many industries in the United States, including the construction industry, have adopted these policies.
Given the safety-sensitive nature of construction work, illegal drug use among construction workers can pose serious risks in the workplace. Approximately 15% of all construction workers in the United States have a substance abuse disorder compared to 8.6% of the general population of adults, according to data from the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA). Some key points to consider regarding this issue include:
1. Safety Concerns: According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the leading causes of construction fatalities are falls, struck-by incidents, caught-between incidents, and electrocutions. Drug use, especially substances like marijuana, cocaine, opiates (e.g., heroin), and opioids (e.g., oxycodone, fentanyl) can impair judgment, coordination, and reaction times, leading to accidents and injuries on construction sites.
2. Impact on Productivity: Drug use can also result in decreased productivity, absenteeism, and errors in work, affecting overall project timelines and quality.
3. Legal Implications: Drug use is not only a safety concern but also a legal issue. Construction sites are subject to regulations and laws that prohibit drug use, and workers found under the influence may
face legal consequences.
4. Company Policies: Many construction companies have strict drug-free workplace policies and conduct regular screenings to ensure compliance. Violation of these policies can lead to termination or disciplinary actions.
5. Support and Education: The Omnibus Transportation Employee Testing Act was designed to deter inappropriate drug use, not to punish offenders. In the spirit of this act, employers can provide support, resources, and education on substance abuse and offer assistance programs for workers struggling
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Nancy Hughes, President
OHS Training & Consulting, Inc.
with drug addiction.
The first step in addressing a problem is understanding its existence. Drug testing, particularly urine drug testing can help identify substance use and abuse in the workplace. Before undergoing a urine drug screen, there are several things that employers and construction workers should keep in mind:
1. Be Prepared: Know the reason for the drug test and for what substances they will be testing. Many construction employers mimic the DOT Five-Panel Screen and add on a test for fentanyl. The Five-Panel includes:
• Amphetamines, Methamphetamines, and Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)
2. Check Medications: Be aware that some prescription and over-the-counter medications may have an effect on the drug testing process. For example, the c ommonly-prescribed antibiotic c iprofloxacin may interfere with the laboratory’s initial screening equipment.
3. Stay Hydrated: Drinking 8-10 ounces of water before the test should ensure that one can provide an adequate urine sample. Drinking too much water before a urine drug test may produce a dilute result. The consequences of a dilute result may include a recollection of urine, sometimes with an observer present in the bathroom with the donor.
4. Follow Instructions: Follow any specific instructions provided by the testing facility, such as providing at least 4 5 ml. of urine and not flushing the toilet.
5. Do Not Tamper with the Urine Specimen: Many urine donors believe that the addition of certain chemicals to a drug-positive urine specimen will mask or negate the illegal substance. While this may be true, the laboratory will screen for these adulterants. If the lab finds an adulterated urine specimen or a specimen that does not appear to be normal human urine, the test result will be reported to the employer as a “refusal to test.” A “refusal to test” is treated the same as a positive drug screen.
6. Confidentiality: Understand how the results will be handled and who will have access to them.
7. Ask Questions: If a urine donor has any concerns or questions about the urine drug test, he or she should not hesitate to ask the testing facility for clarification.
In addition to a comprehensive drug testing program, employers may do the following to reduce substance abuse among
Safety Corner continued from page 73 continued on page 75
construction workers:
• Provide a work environment where workers feel safe talking about mental health and substance use without fear of stigma or repercussions, such as job loss.
• Provide support and educational materials to workers in a language they will understand using culturally appropriate information.
• For large companies, establish employee assistance and peer support programs.
• For small companies, work with trusted community-based organizations and leaders to get workers the help and support they need.
Overall, drug testing in construction workers serves to create a safer work environment, reduce accidents, and ensure compliance with industry regulations. It is an important tool in managing workplace safety and employee accountability. n
Article written by Dr. Brian Morris,MD; an occupational medicine specialist with 40 years of experience promoting health and safety in the workplace and Director of OHS Total Care , a division of OHS Training and Consulting located in Brighton, MA.
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Excellence in Estimating: 5 Key Advantages of Specialty Software vs. Spreadsheets
Utility contractors today understand an efficient bidding process leads to faster, more accurate and more profitable bids and more wins. There is no doubt that estimating software delivers these benefits and others, yet moving away from the familiar spreadsheets and manual processes can be an intimidating prospect at first. The advantages of software applications for estimating work vs manual spreadsheet processes far outweigh the initial fear for most contractors – particularly those contractors who wish to remain competitive in the civil construction space.
Here are five key advantages of data driven estimating over manual processes for busy utility contractors.
1. Prepopulated cost databases and templates
Estimating software allows users to populate the system with cost items in advance and create templates as a starting point for each estimate. Templates can include costs for the labor, material, and equipment needed for each scope of work within an estimate.
As an example, a template for installing a water main may include the cost components for a foreman, two laborers and two equipment operators, along with the specific equipment they’ll need for this type of utility job. This option allows the estimator to quickly include the cost of the work in the estimate and cost it accurately and consistently each time. Estimators can adjust the cost elements in a template to reflect unusual or unique c osts for a specific job as well, to precisely capture what each task requires.
2. Elimination of formula errors
Formula errors are common with spreadsheetbased estimates. Here’s a familiar scenario: the last
Photo credit: B2W Software, a Trimble company person who worked in the spreadsheet changed the formula for a one-off calculation, and the current estimator doesn’t notice it and produces an estimate with the wrong calculation. This can be a costly error that is avoided with estimating software solutions.
3. Error checking and audit trail
Software solutions offer estimators an audit trail of all bid document modifications to quickly determine who made changes and why – another advantage that isn’t available with manual spreadsheets.
continued on page 78
Further, an automated error checking function with software is a vital resource. Like spell checking for a text document, the error checking wizard will scan an estimate for common errors, such as items with a zero cost or default production rates that were not updated, and then walk the estimator through options for resolving them.
4. Vendor and subcontractor management proficiencies
Many bids require quotes from third-party suppliers. Specialized software allows contractors to automatically send subcontractors and vendors standardized RFQs and then to efficiently incorporate their quotes into the bid document. From there, the software analyzes the submitted quotes for the project team, highlighting the lowest bidder and even splitting RFQ groups among multiple bidders to suggest the lowest possible pricing options.
5. Analytics and reporting capabilities
Knowledge is power. Specialized software is far superior to spreadsheets in helping contractors understand their formula for profitability. A nalytical and
cross-bid reporting capabilities can reveal invaluable business intelligence data such as trends in cost items, win-loss ratios and margins over time. A good software program will allow users to create recurring reports to see and sort upcoming bid schedules.
Software programs that incorporate tracking and estimating features allow users to query and understand performance metrics on previous jobs, and make needed improvements on bids for future work.
If you haven’t already upgraded to specialized estimating software, your customers, as well as prospective employees, are likely wondering why. It’s time to reduce manual entry and errors, increase productivity and profitability, and be a strong player in a competitive industry. It’s time to leverage the power of specialty estimating software.
Author Bio: Pat Reitz is a product manager at B2W Software, a Trimble company. He has a leadership role in development of the company’s specialized B2W Estimate software for estimating and its integration within the B2W platform of applications for heavy construction estimating and operations. n
OSHA National News Release
U.S. Department of Labor
July 2, 2024
Biden-Harris administration announces proposed rule to protect indoor, outdoor workers from extreme heat
The U.S. Department of Labor Announces Proposed Rule to Protect Indoor, Outdoor Workers from Extreme Heat
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule with the goal of protecting millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed r ule would help protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the workplace.
Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Excessive workplace heat can lead to heat stroke and even death. While heat hazards impact workers in many industries, workers of color have a higher likelihood of working in jobs with hazardous heat exposure.
and workable for employers.”
Employers would also be required to provide training, have procedures to respond if a worker is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness, and take immediate action to help a worker experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat emergency.
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule with the goal of protecting millions of workers from the significant health risks of extreme heat. If finalized, the proposed rule would help protect approximately 36 million workers in indoor and outdoor work settings and substantially reduce heat injuries, illnesses, and deaths in the workplac e.
Heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the U.S. Excessive workplace heat can lead to heat stroke and even death. While heat hazards impact workers in many industries, workers of color have a higher likelihood of working in jobs with hazardous heat exposure.
“Every worker should come home safe and healthy at the end of the day, which is why the current administration is t aking this significant step to protect workers from the dangers posed by extreme heat,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “As the most pro-worker administration in history, we are committed to ensuring that those doing difficult work in some of our economy’s most critical sectors are valued and kept safe in the workplace.”
The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the rule once it is published in the Federal Register. The agency also anticipates a public hearing after the close of the written comment period. More information will be available on submitting comments when the rule is published.
“Every worker should come home safe and healthy at the end of the day, which is why the BidenHarris administration is taking this significant step to protect workers from the dangers posed by extreme heat,” said Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “As the most pro-worker administration in history, we are committed to ensuring that those doing difficult work in some of our economy’s most critical sectors are valued and kept safe in the workplace.”
Under the rule, employers would be required to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces and outdoor worksites affected by excessive heat—anything above the threshold of 80°F. The plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and, when heat increases risks to workers, implement requirements for drinking water, mandated rest breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditions.
The public is encouraged to submit written comments on the rule once it is published in the Federal Register. The agency also anticipates a public hearing after the close of the written comment period. More information will be available on submitting comments when the rule is published. The agency continues to conduct heat-related inspections under its National Emphasis Program –Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards, launched in 2022. The program inspects workplaces with the highest exposures to heat-related hazards proactively to prevent workers from suffering injury, illness or death needlessly. Since the launch, OSHA has conducted more than 5,000 federal heat-related inspections.
The agency continues to conduct heat-related inspections under its National Emphasis Program –Outdoor and Indoor Heat-Related Hazards, launched in 2022. The program inspects workplaces with the highest exposures to heat-related hazards proactively to prevent workers from suffering injury, illness or death needlessly. Since the launch, OSHA has conducted more than 5,000 federal heat-related inspections.
Under the rule, employers would be required to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces and outdoor worksites affected by excessive heat— anything above the threshold of 80°F. The plan would require employers to evaluate heat risks and, when heat increases risks to workers, implement requiremen mandated rest breaks and control of indoor heat. It would also require a plan to protect new or returning workers unaccustomed to working in high heat conditio
“Workers all over the country are passing out, suffering heat stroke and dying from heat exposure from just doing their jobs, and something must be done to protect them,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker. “Today’s proposal is an important next step in the process to receive public input to craft a ‘win win’ final rule that protects workers while being practical and workable for employers.”
“Workers all over the country are passing out, suffering heat stroke and dying from heat exposure from just doing their jobs, and something must be done to protect them,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Douglas L. Parker. “Today’s proposal is an important next step in the process to receive public input to c raft a ‘ win-win’ final rule that protects workers while being practical
Employers would also be required to provide training, have procedures to respond if a worker is experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat-related illness, and take immediate action to help a worker experiencing signs and symptoms of a heat emergency.
