Contractors Update - May, 2011

Contractor’s UpdateMay, 2011

INSIDE THIS ISSUE...

AGC of Greater Milwaukee 10400 Innovation Dr., Ste. 210 Milwaukee, WI 53226Phone 414-778-4100 Fax 414-778-4119 www.agc-gm.org

Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee

Leading the Construction Industry Forward

CM-BIM Candidates Needed for Brand New AGC-GM Credentialing Pilot Program!

AGC of Greater Milwaukee, in conjunction with AGC of America, is excited to launch theBuilding Information Modeling Education Program. Building Information Modeling (BIM),one of the most exciting developments in the construction industry, is changing the wayprojects are built. This emerging process requires new mindsets and technological pro-cesses to move the industry forward. This program, developed in conjunction with leadingBIM practitioners, technology firms and educators, is designed to successfully educateconstruction professionals at all experience levels on a range of topics they would encoun-ter implementing and using BIM.

Courses

The BIM Education Program is comprised of four courses, administered at multiple levelsand organized by degree of difficulty to provide in-depth training on BIM.

The components of this program are:• BIM 101: An Introduction to Building Information Modeling

(16 hours of instruction in August)• BIM Technology

(16 hours of instruction in September)

• BIM Contract Negotiation and Risk Allocation(16 hours of instruction in October)

• BIM Process, Adoption, and Integration(16 hours of instruction in November)

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Constructor’s Update ~ Page 2

Contractor’s Update

Published by:

Associated General Contractorsof Greater Milwaukee10400 Innovation Dr., Ste. 210Milwaukee, WI 53226414-778-4100Fax: 414-778-4119www.agc-gm.org

2011 Board of Directors

President, Jack Reichl,Reichl Construction

Senior Vice President,Mark Sherry, MortensonConstruction

Secretary Treasurer, MattBratzke, Opus DevelopmentCorporation

Immediate Past President,George Minnich,Berghammer Construction

National Director, KevinO’Toole, HunzingerConstruction

Director, Ron Becher, J.P.Cullen & Sons, Inc.

Chmn. Ed. & ResearchFoundation, Rupert Kotze,Kotze Construction Co., Inc.

Director, Tim Just, C.G.Schmidt Construction

Associate Director, MikeLochmann, Staff Electric

Associate Director, SteveFreckmann, Dawes Rigging& Crane Rental

Executive EditorMike Fabishak

Associate EditorHeather Stair

Save the Date!

AGC of Greater Milwaukee2011 Annual Golf Outing

Monday, August 8, 2011Ironwood Golf Course

Certificate of Management—Building Information Modeling(CM-BIM)

The Certification of Management-Building Information Modeling (CM-BIM), theassessment-based certificate program tied to the BIM Education Program, is underdevelopment and will be available in late Fall 2011. Prepare for the credential now byattending the four BIM Education Program courses at the AGC of GreaterMIlwaukee. Successful CM-BIM candidates demonstrate they have achieved thelearning outcomes in the training by passing the CM-BIM exam and will have theability to carry the designation behind their name.

Course Attendees

The BIM Education Program is designed as a progressive program with an increasinglevel of difficulty within the courses. Together these are designed to give the student abroad understanding of the new processes required of BIM, a basic grasp of thetechnology as well as an overview of the legal and insurance issues relevant to BIM.

Group Now Forming

The AGC of Greater Milwaukee is seekingdedicated individuals to partipate in the launch ofthis brand new BIM Credentialing Program.Fifteen participants are needed to commit to takingeach of these four classes this fall followed by acomprehensive credentialing exam. Please contactHeather Stair at 414-778-4100 or [email protected] for more information!

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Many thanks to thosewho joined us at theWisconsin Club on May17th for our Annual PastPresidents and AwardsNight; a night dedicated torecognizing those whohave made a commitmentto the AGC, constructionsafety, and to the improve-

ment of our great industry. This popular event saw recordattendance this year with almost 250 people joining us torecognize our past presidents and award winners. It isbecause of the hard work and dedication of the individu-als we honored that our industry continues to build up ourcommunities and produce extraordinary projects despitethe hardships our industry faces.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 AGC Awards:· Harvey Peterson Award, Michael Byrne of Briohn

Builders· Committee Chairperson Award, James Phelps of JCP

Construction· Associate of the Year, Steve Freckmann of Dawes

Rigging & Crane Rental· Gil Czaplewski Award, Jeff Panella of Opus

Development Corp.Pioneer Award, William Luterbach of Jas. LuterbachConstruction

· Community Service Award, Earl Buford of BIG STEP· S.I.R. Award, George Minnich of Berghammer

Construction

Congratulations to ourLeadership in Safety Awards winners!

A.J. Pietsch Co., Inc.Acoustical Floors of Wisconsin, Inc.

Arwin Window Systems Inc.Automatic Entrances of WI Inc.

Badger Lighting & SignsBurbach Insulation Co., Inc.Butters - Fetting Co., Inc.

Carl’s Plumbing Services Inc.Chris Greene, Inc.

Consolidated Doors Inc.Cosney Corporation

Duwe Metal Products, Inc.Echo Construction Services, Inc.

Edgerton Contractors, Inc.Hillside Damproofing Inc.

J & M Electric Inc.J.M. Brennan, Inc.

Lange Bros Woodwork Co Inc.Langer Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc.

Lloyd Hamm Masonry, LLCOmni Glass & Paint

Professional System Analysis, Inc.Pukall Co., Inc.

Sanchez Painting ContractorsSofter Lite Window Co.

Thatcher Foundations Inc.Total Mechanical, Inc.

Veit-Company, Inc.White Glove Environmental

Winding RoofingWm. M. Heinz & Sons, Inc.

A.J. Heinen, Inc.Berghammer Construction Corp

J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc.James Luterbach Construction Company, Inc.

Jens Construction Corp.JM Construction, Inc.

Opus Development CorporationStier Construction Inc.

Wired Construction Cornerstone LLCAllen Construction Services Inc.

B.A. ConstructionBadger Daylighting

Buteyn-Peterson Construction Co. Inc.Clayton Pichler Construction Inc.

DK Contractors, Inc.Henkel Kriegel Interiors

J.F. Harrison Inc.Midwest Drilled Foundation & Engineering

Petroleum Equipment, Inc.Premier Flooring Inc.Quality Ceilings Inc.

Spectrum Contracting CorporationU.S. Insulation

Wally King MasonryWestern Erecting Inc.

Willkomm Excavating & Grading, Inc.Kinateder Masonry Inc.

Superior Masonry Builders, Inc.Joseph Lorenz Inc.

Ray Stadler Construction Company, Inc.Steigerwald Construction Inc.

Winghart Inc.

RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS HONOR AWARD RECIPIENTSAT ANNUAL PAST PRESIDENTS’ AND AWARDS NIGHT!

AGC President Jack Reichl presents Michael Byrne,of Briohn Builders with the Harvey Peterson Award

Rupert Kotze of KotzeConstruction & John Brennan

of J.M. Brennan


Congratulations to our President’s Excellence in SafetyAward Winners!

0 - 50,000 HOURSGateway Concrete Forming Systems Inc.

State Painting Co.Briohn Building Corporation

Reichl Construction Inc.Selzer-Ornst Company

Metal Buildings of WI, Inc.The Redmond Company

ABCO Building CorporationBeyer Construction

Common Links Construction50,000 to 100,000 HOURSHetzel Tile & Marble, Inc.

MSI General CorpDahlman Construction Company

Superior Masonry100,000 - 300,000 HOURS

FJA Christiansen Roofing Co., Inc.Hunzinger Construction

Kinateder MasonryVJS Construction Services

Kraus-Anderson ConstructionBane Nelson Inc.

The Rockwell GroupOver 300,000 HOURS

Ver Halen, Inc.Pieper Electric Inc.C.G. Schmidt, Inc.

Mortenson ConstructionAZCO Inc.

Grunau CompanyRiley Construction Company

Walsh Construction Co.

As many of you may know, six years ago, The AGC ofGreater Milwaukee inaugurated its Mentor/Protégéprogram with the goal of expanding opportunities andproviding knowledge, expertise and guidance to small,minority construction firms. The commitment and dedica-tion shown by our volunteer mentors to their protégés hasbeen astonishing. The response to this program was sogreat that AGC partnered with MMSD and Prism Techni-cal to continue to expand and successfully operate thisimportant initiative. Congratulations to the followingMentor/Protégé teams for their efforts!

Mentor, Mike Lochmann of Staff ElectricProteges, Jim Gaillard and Tony Glenn of Pyramid Electric

Mentor, David Frank of David J. Frank LandscapingProtégé, Jerome Powell of JP Landscaping

Mentor, Jim Macejkovic of Building Service, Inc,Proteges, Jose Sanchez and Javier Sanchez of SanchezPainting

Last, but certainly not least, The AGC of Greater Milwau-kee also honored Jeremy Sowin of Opus DevelopmentCorp. for graduating from the AGC-GM SupervisoryTraining Program!

Many thanks to our sponsors for making the eveningpossible!

Gold LevelMortenson Construction

Whyte Hirschboeck DudekSilver Level

Dawes Rigging & Crane RentalLanger Roofing & Sheet Metal

Common Links ConstructionBronze LevelC.G. Schmidt

Kolb + CoSpancrete

R & R Insurance

Above: Proteges from Pyramid Electric with AGC President JackReichl and Prisim Technical executives. Below: Mentor Jim

Macejkovic from BSI with his Proteges from Sanchez Painting,AGC President Jack Reichl and Prisim Technical executives.


The AssociatedGeneral Contractorsof Greater Milwaukeerecently adopted anew logo featuring“AGC” in metallicletters, set against theMilwaukee skyline.Below the image arethe words, “Leadingthe Construction

Industry Forward”. These words are the driving forcebehind literally every AGC initiative. One of the mostimportant ways we can lead this great industry forward isto ensure the continuity of the skilled workforce whichmakes all construction possible while ensuring the strengthand success of the employers who hire these skilledworkers. To achieve this goal, The AGC of GreaterMilwaukee developed a new initiative dedicated tocultivating and strengthening minority and women ownedbusinesses in the construction industry. Developed in2006 by the AGC, the Mentor/Protégé program quicklybecame a model program within the construction industry.

This innovative program matches up large General Con-tractors and/or Subcontractors with emerging minority andwomen owned businesses. These mentor/protégé rela-tionships allow selected participants to be advised andmentored by some of the most successful constructioncompanies in the area. Protégés are able to get a rare firsthand look at what goes into the planning and day-to-dayoperation of a successful firm. It also provides the impor-tant opportunity to take advantage of the many benefits theAGC has to offer in the areas of education, safety andbusiness development.

Word quickly spread about the successes of the Mentor/Protégé program and demand for the program grewexponentially. In 2009, in order to continue to expand thiscritical programming, the AGC of Greater Milwaukeepartnered with the Milwaukee Metropolitan SewerageDistrict (MMSD) to provide additional opportunities forprotégés who sought to participate in this unique opportu-nity.

To date, ten minority and women owned constructioncompanies have successfully completed the rigorous 18-month AGC/MMSD Mentor/Protégé program, with overfifteen construction industry executives serving as mentorsto these companies. As these protégé companies takeroot and grow from their mentor/protégé experience, theyimprove the communities around them and provideopportunities for much-needed, family-sustaining jobs inan industry that people are proud to participate in.

The success of this program is truly a testimony to the skill,integrity and responsibility of the construction industry andthe AGC member companies who have served as dedi-cated mentors throughout this program. They include:

Dedicated AGC Member Companies Drive Mentor/Protege ProgramSuccess for 5th Consecutive Year!

· Hunzinger Construction· Staff Electric· Berghammer Construction· Mortenson Construction· Jansen· Mared Mechanical· Fred Kinateder Masonry· J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc.· Kotze Construction

· Payne & Dolan· C.G. Schmidt· Sprinkmann Sons Corp.· Building Service Inc.· David J. Frank· J.H. Findorff & Son· VJS Construction Services· Total Comfort· Miron Construction· Jens Construction

The AGC of Greater Milwaukee and these remarkablemember companies are proud to be “Leading theConstruction Industry Forward”.

If you or somebody you know are interested inparticipating in the AGC/MMSD Mentor/Protégéprogram, please contact the AGC of Greater Milwaukeeat 414-778-4100 or email Mike Fabishak, AGC-GMCEO, at [email protected].

David Frank, Jerome Powell,Randy Crump and Mike

Fabishak, AGC CEO

From Left toRight: MikeLochmann, JimGaillard, TonyGlenn, PrisimTechnicalExecutives, andAGC CEO MikeFabishak


As you may be aware, the AGC Board of Directors voted to support the 2011 Building Healthy Hearts campaignthat will focus on educating the industry on healthy living free of heart disease and stroke. It also provides theopportunity to bring a variety of building companies together on October 16th at the Metro Milwaukee HeartWalk to celebrate the success amongst colleagues, family and friends. Here in our AGC-GM office, we haveagreed to build a team and set a goal to raise $1,000 and we hope your organization can do the same.

On April 6th, the AGC hosted a Building Healthy Hearts meeting to kick-off the campaign. It was a very positivemeeting with representation from Opus, Berghammer, MSI, J.F. Ahern, Lippert Group, Building Advan-tage, and Dawes Crane. They all understand the value this brings not just to their organizations, but the entireindustry as a whole. A healthier workforce will lead to a safer workforce which we can all agree is priority #1.Andy Wiegman, formerly of Mortenson Construction and Rick Hext with J.F. Ahern will be co-chairing thecampaign this year. The AGC applauds their leadership and commitment to BHH.

We are aware that many of you already have energies focused on a variety of charities; however, the success ofthis campaign will not come from sponsorship dollars, but rather from employee engagement.

Sadly, the construction industry is greatly impacted by heart disease. Consider this: construction workers havethe highest rate of smokers among all occupations – one of the number one risk factors for heart disease. Addi-tionally, forty-three percent of construction workers are overweight compared with thirty-five percent of allworkers, greatly contributing to their increased risk of heart disease and stroke. The dollars raised through thiscampaign support the American Heart Association, an organization that impacts our community in a variety ofways, provides free tools and resources for companies looking to build a culture of health.

Your company can participate with others in the industry by simply putting together a Heart Walk team withinyour organization. We strongly encourage you to contact Nate Nelson with the American Heart Associa-tion. Nate can be reached at 414-227-1451 or by email at [email protected].

Thank you for your consideration on this unique opportunity to make a positive impact in our industry.

“BUILDING HEALTHY HEARTS”AGC-GM teams with American HeartAssociation to Promote Heart Health

in the Construction Industry

AS A UNION CONTRACTOR,DO YOU KNOW YOUR MULTIEMPLOYER PENSION FUND

WITHDRAWL LIABILITY? YOU SHOULD!

Contractors who contribute to multiemployer pension plans by virtue of obligations created by union contractors shouldbe aware that they may have additional financial liability (over and above the contribution amounts stated in the con-tract) if the plan is or becomes under-funded. While the possibility of withdrawal liability has been in existence since1980, the incidence of withdrawal liability has accelerated in the last several years due primarily to weakness in theeconomy. Check out the Pension Fund’s website at www.thepensionfund.com for details on the fund.

For more information on this important matter, please contact Mike Fabishak, CEO at 414-778-4100 or [email protected].


IMAGINE a Milwaukee County that is the destination for new businesses, young professionals and tourists. Imaginea vibrant community with world-class parks and culture with dedicated sustainable funding, people moving effortlessly towork, to play and to learn through our top in class transit system. Imagine a County in which families facing mentalhealth or other challenges can count on a safe environment meeting the national standards of access, quality, recoveryand accountability. Imagine all of this made possible through a fiscal efficiency that is the envy of municipalities through-out the U.S. Working together, we can make this bold vision for Milwaukee County a reality.

But it will require bold change.

If we don’t make changes today, the future looks grim. Parks will close, bus routes will end and families in distress willnot get the help they need. Our Milwaukee will grow smaller and smaller as people and companies leave. Why? Be-cause, Milwaukee County is facing unprecedented fiscal and structural challenges, including the growing cost ofhealthcare and pension benefits that is projected to take EVERY DOLLAR of the County’s property tax levy by 2016.The short-term “solutions” and one-time “fixes” have been exhausted.

Without real reform, the County will be forced to eliminate whole areas of service to our community.

THE TIME TO ACT IS NOW.While the County’s fiscal and structural challenges are enormous, so is the opportunity to make our vision forMilwaukee County a reality. We believe the County and State need to work together to achieve real reform.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

AGC-GM Board of Directors EndorseMY Milwaukee County County Initiative

Everyone has a role in this effort, and it is no small endeavor. We are asking you to join us in taking action to advocate forreal change for Milwaukee County. You can look up and contact your representative by email or phone, share your viewwith local media, share your Milwaukee County story and invite your friends to visit the website to learn more or visitwww.makeityourmilwaukee.com.


“My main focus as anEngineering student atMarquette Universityrevolves around the studyof Construction Engineeringand Management. Theindustry is extraordinarilyfascinating to me. The

amount of planning, coordination and hard work that ittakes to go from planning stages in a project to comple-tion is astounding. The industry forces the project manag-ers to solve various problems on and off the jobsite,constantly working together as a team to complete acommon goal. Outside of school I hold leadership roles intwo clubs that I am very passionate about. I am vicepresident of Marquette’s AGC student chapter “BuildersCoalition of Marquette University”. Otherwise I enjoycompleting community service with Best Buddies andHabitat for Humanity, as well as spending time with myfamily. After graduation, I hope to someday become aproject manager for a major construction company andwork on challenging yet exciting projects.

Congratulations to 2010-2011Marquette AGC-GM S.I.R.Scholarship Winner - Frank Gorham

Advantage Refrigeration LLC16200 W. Glendale Dr.New Berlin, WI 53151

Quarles & Brady LLP411 E. Wisconsin Ave.Milwaukee, WI 53202

Superior Equipment and Supply4550 S. Brust Ave.

Milwaukee, WI 53235

Standard Roofing Co., Inc.1820 S. Kinnickinnic AveMilwaukee, WI 53204

M3 Insurance Solutions, Inc.3113 W. Beltline HwyMadison, WI 53708

Pichler Painting16480 Burleigh PlaceBrookfield, WI 53005

Sharper Construction LLC600 W. virginia St., Ste 100

Milwaukee, WI 53204

Prism Technical, Management & MarketingServices

6114 W. Capitol Dr., Ste 200Milwaukee, WI 53216

Dillett Mechanical Service21625 Doral Rd

Waukesha, WI 53186

Find us on Facebook!

The AGC of Greater Milwaukeeis continually searching for waysto enhance member services anddistribute information morequickly and efficiently. In order toengage more members in a timelymanner, the AGC-GM hasrecently launched our ownFacebook page!

“Like” us on Facebook and you’ll hear about excitingupcoming events, learn about new exclusive memberdiscounts being offered, and what training opportunitiesare coming your way. You’ll also be able to link to thelatest industry news as well as view photos from recentevents. Check out our new page and give us your feed-back!


The Construction Users Roundtable(CURT), a major owners’ group, is devel-oping a workforce development assessmentthat contractors will have to fill out as partof their prequalification process. Attendees atAGC’s 92nd Annual Convention, held recently in LasVegas, received a preview of the assessment and adetailed analysis of how it will work.

Sponsored by the AGC Training, Education & Develop-ment Forum and the National Center for ConstructionEducation & Research, the 90-minute session also pre-sented the genesis of the national Choose Construction

Initiative, an effort endorsed by AGC to enhance theindustry’s image, and recruit, train, place, and retaintrainees, is set to launch.

Speakers during the session were Don Whyte, President,National Center for Construction Education & Research;Steve Greene, Vice President, NCCER; and GeraldSprentall FMS Program Manager, TI Contracts, IntelCorporation, Inc., and chairman of CURT’s WorkforceDevelopment Committee.

The workforce development assessment – a joint CURT/NCCER project – is the result of a 2004 CURT report“Confronting the Skilled Construction Workforce Short-age” that stated: “Individual contractors must recognize thenecessity and benefits of training their employees and bewilling to invest in it. … Owners should require contrac-tors to invest in training and maintain the skills of theirworkforce as a condition of employment.”The assessment,several years in the making, is currently being piloted byseveral dozen general contractors nationwide. The goal is

to assess each contractor’s commitment to workforcedevelop, skills training and upgrades with an eye towardmeasuring the return on investment in terms of turnover,absenteeism, safety, rework, and productivity. The assess-ment is neutral on labor posture and uses a third party tocollect and audit information. Each contractor’s finalassessment will be a simple grade – A+, A, A-, B+, B,etc.

The speakers also outlined the new Choose ConstructionInitiative (CCI, an initiative to implement a grassrootsrecruitment/workforce development effort that enhancesthe image of the industry to attract and train new workers.The CCI will allow state and local partners to leverage

nationally developed themes, collateral, resources andprograms to promote and market the construction industryas a desirable and rewarding career of choice. Recruit-ment targets include: entry-level workers, displaced andunder-employed workers, under-skilled and uncertifiedworkers.

WHAT IF OWNERS EVALUATETRAINING LIKE THEY EVALUATESAFETY?

“Individual contractors must recognize the necessity and benefits of training their em-ployees and be willing to invest in it. … Owners should require contractors to invest in

training and maintain the skills of their workforce as a condition of employment.”


Nonroad Diesel Emissions InformationStudies show that diesel exhaust has serious health impacts – it can cause cancer and damagethe lungs. However, municipalities and construction contractors can reduce diesel emissionsby using cleaner fuels or installing pollution control devices on existing nonroad (off-highway)diesel engines. As a result, voluntary retrofit programs are being promoted nationwide toreduce harmful emissions from nonroad diesel engines.

The Diesel Exhaust ProblemDiesel exhaust contains pollutants including fine particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbons, andnitrogen oxides (NOx) that damage the lungs and may lead to premature deaths. Dieselexhaust contains other toxic chemicals such as benzene and polynuclear aromatic hydrocar-bons that are known or suspected of causing cancer. Those people most at risk includechildren and the elderly and people with existing heart disease, lung disease, or respiratoryproblems. Nonroad diesel engines are one of the largest contributors to this increasing pollu-tion problem.

What are Nonroad Diesel Engines?“Nonroad” includes all internal combustion vehicles and machinery that perform a task other than transporting people ormaterials on highways or streets. Also referred to as “off-road” or “off-highway”, the nonroad category includes con-struction equipment such as bulldozers, excavators, graders, and backhoes. It also includes outdoor power equipmentand farm or agricultural equipment. A typical piece of construction equipment such as a 175 horsepower bulldozeremits as much NOx and particulate matter as 26 new cars today.

The Diesel Exhaust SolutionNew Nonroad Diesel Engines· The federal government has proposed a program for new engines to reduce PM and NOx emissions by more than 90percent through emission control technologies and low sulfur fuel requirements to be phased in over the next severalyears.· USEPA estimates that by the year 2030, reduced diesel emissions could prevent 9,600 premature deaths each year,eliminate almost a million work days lost per year, and result in yearly savings of $81 million.

Existing Nonroad Diesel EnginesThe existing fleet of nonroad diesel engines will not be subject to the new regulations, yet they may remain in operationfor another 25 to 30 years. Nonroad diesel engines built since 1996 have had to comply with modest emission stan-dards, with the focus on reducing NOx emissions. Emission standards have generally not addressed PM emissions.Municipalities can have a significant impact on reducing nonroad diesel emis-sions because they control a large portion of yearly construction activities,either through their own equipment or that of contractors.

Several options are available to owners and operators of nonroad dieselengines to reduce emissions. These include:•Retrofitting engines with pollution control devices•Replacing old engines with new engines•Using lower sulfur fuels or fuel additives (see below)•Limiting the time that diesel engines idle•Requiring contractors to use retrofitted equipment on construction projects.

HOW CLEAN IS YOUR DIESEL FLEET?


•Pollution controldevices includeoxidation catalyststhat oxidize or burnharmful gaseousemissions & particu-late filters that trapPM.

Costs for retrofitting engines with pollution control devicesvary depending on the technology used and the enginebeing retrofitted.

Nonroad Diesel FuelSulfur can contaminate high-efficiency emission controlsystems used on diesel engines. On average, nonroaddiesel fuel has sulfur levels of about 3,400 parts per million(ppm). On-road diesel fuel is currently limited to 500 ppmsulfur. Off-road equipment can use this on-road fuel orultra low sulfur fuel which contains less than 15 ppm sulfur.Use of diesel fuel containing lower sulfur levels will provideimmediate public health benefits by reducing particulateemissions. Also, the reduced sulfur content will lower thecost of maintaining engines.

Voluntary Retrofit Program InformationProposed standards do not address existing nonroaddiesel engines, and equipment with these existing enginescould be in service for the next 25 to 30 years. As a result,strategies are being pursued to make existing dieselengines cleaner, such as the USEPA’s Voluntary DieselRetrofit Program. To encourage implementation of volun-tary diesel retrofits at the community level, The EPA isproviding grants to area municipalities to develop nonroaddiesel retrofit programs.

Designing a Retrofit ProgramSeveral options are available to fleet owners and opera-tors who are considering improving the emission perfor-mance of their diesel engines. These options includeretiring older engines; converting engines to run on cleaner,alternative fuels like compressed natural gas; and retrofit-ting older engines with modern emission control. Inconsidering options, fleet owners and operators shouldevaluate the cost and benefits of each option.

The following list outlines several concepts that fleetowners should review to improve the odds of creating asuccessful diesel retrofit project.•Identify and characterize the fleet and group the enginesinto subfleets based on similar characteristics.•Understand which retrofit technologies are good choicesfor the engines in the fleets. (USEPA’s Verified TechnologyList provides a table of all retrofit technologies verified toproduce measurable emissions reductions. New technolo-gies are added to this list periodically)•Calculate the tons of emissions reductions the retrofitproject can generate. USEPA’s Emissions ReductionsCalculator allows users to investigate many differentscenarios for the retrofit.

In selecting equipment to be retrofitted, fleet owners mustconsider several factors, as follows:•The age of the equipment: older equipment generallyproduces more emissions than newer equipment.•How much the equipment is used: greater emissionreductions are usually realized by retrofitting equipmentthat has a high use rate.•The emission profile for the engine: emission profiles forengines 1998 and newer can be obtained from the EPA.

If emission profiles are not available for specific engines,several generalities can be applied to help determine whichpollutants are potential targets for reduction:•Engines that operate at higher loads may be good candi-dates for NOx reduction because their engines get hotter.•Vehicles with larger displacement engines may be goodcandidates for HC reduction, especially if they operate atlow loads•Vehicles with fast or frequent load fluctuations may begood candidates for PM reduction.•Engines that use excess oil (more than 1 percent of thefuel volume) should be rebuilt before they are retrofitted.

In addition to retrofitting municipal fleets, local govern-ments may soon require that construction contractors usedfor public works projects also implement measures toreduce diesel emissions.

Several options are available to fleet owners and operators who are consideringimproving the emission performance of their diesel engines.


THE MADISON REPORTBy: Mike Fabishak

Building Commission Projects Added To Budget Bill

The Building Commission’s recommendations for the 2011-13 building program are being incorporated into the statebudget currently being reviewed by the Joint Committee on Finance. The building program totals just over $1 billion, animpressive sum in these challenging economic times for the state. Nearly half of that total is University of Wisconsinprojects and at a recent meeting UW officials thanked AGC representatives for their efforts in support of the program,including the release of the just-completed construction economic impact analysis.

UW Seeks More Independence In Construction Program

The Governor’s proposed budget contains an “autonomy initiative” that would make UW-Madison independent fromthe rest of the UW system. Part of that proposal would give the flagship campus the authority to “manage all aspects ofthe construction process” for those projects funded solely from gifts, grants or program revenues, with no state revenuesupport. Recently the rest of the UW system offered an alternative proposal that has some of the same features for allthe campuses, including the ability to manage building projects independent from state control and management underthe Division of State Facilities (DSF). Even though it is unclear at this point whether either of these options will survive inthe final budget, we are nonetheless currently meeting with UW representatives to clarify and define what this newflexibility might look like, particularity in the bidding and project delivery areas. Our goal is to establish guidelines andcertainty under any new system that will protect the interest of contractors. More to follow on this subject....

Bill Voiding Milwaukee Paid Sick Leave Passes

This week the Legislature passed and the Governor has indicated that he will sign into law legislation (SB 23) that wouldinvalidate local ordinances such as Milwaukee’s sick leave mandate passed in the fall of 2008 and tied up in litigationsince. We thank the majority party in the Legislature for recognizing the detrimental effect of mandates such as this at thelocal level on the competitiveness of the employers who are impacted, some who have already chosen to relocate tomore business-friendly communities. In the case of contractors and other businesses whose employees periodicallywork in the jurisdiction of the intrusive regulation, it posed a complex administrative burden as well as additional costs.

Prevailing Wage Roll-Back Expected

A bill is ready to be introduced to repeal an expansion of state prevailing wage passed in 2009. Among other things the2009 legislation lowered the project threshold to $25,000 (was $234,000 multi-trade and $48,000 single trade),applied the law to certain private projects, and created new record-keeping requirements. After Labor prevailed uponthe former Democrat majority in the Legislature to pass those changes, Republican legislators began getting complaintsfrom municipalities and others about the new law. Some Assembly representatives have even advocated for an outrightrepeal of the law, so a roll-back may actually represent a compromise position. We are advocating for a reasoned,cautious approach to the subject and a process for considering any changes to current law.

Contractors Update - May, 2011

Documents

bim process

bim education program

bim exam

information modeling

bim contract negotiation

progressive program

agc of greater milwaukee

z milwaukee