CWA's 2003 Annual Meeting: Embedded Reporter Tells Iraq Stories; Green Panel Discusses Trends; Speakers Talk Leadership, Safety, and More
June, 2003
By Michael J. Reilly, Reilly Communications
(Buffalo Grove, IL) -- Following a dynamic day of educational programs, networking and awards, the Construction Writers Association Annual Meeting, held Friday, May 2 at the National Press Club, featured six industry speakers and a panel of sustainable design and construction experts.
The speaker sessions opened with a fast moving presentation by Robert Hixon, Director of the General Service Administration�s Center for Construction and Project Management. Hixon talked about the success of GSA's Construction Excellence and Design Excellence Programs, two precedent-setting initiatives that are changing the way the federal government selects, oversees, and compensates design and construction providers.
Some of the GSA innovations Hixon illustrated in his remarks included:
- Working with the AGC, AIS, CMAA and CII to develop performance and team building incentives designed to bring more accountability and common sense to federal construction programs
- Utilizing independent estimates at 30%, 60%, and 90% of design to avoid the overly optimistic construction cost estimates of the past
- Revising the selection process so that past performance weighs higher in selecting
- Using constructor peer review at 15% and 60% of construction completion
- Adopting web-based Project Information Portal (PIP) for tracking budget and schedule
- Training GSA project managers on best practices
- Paying incentive awards on projects where goals of scope, quality, budget and schedule are all met
Leadership Development
Centex Construction Company CEO and President John Tarpey next gave an inspiring and example filled talk on Leadership. He talked about the merger of management and leadership in business today and showed how crucial leadership vision and skill can be in managing a service business. Tarpey cited five "value drivers" that separate a sought-after service provider from a commodity business: economic success, market focus, relationship capital, operational excellence, and employee capability.
By creating and sustaining these five drivers, company leaders can better chart a path to greater profits, he said. Tarpey also showed the importance of training and practicing team dynamics throughout the construction process. His company employs a "project leadership scorecard" to offer feedback to team members from peers and managers.
"People skills become more important as an individual progresses in his or her career," he stated. Dealing with ambiguous situations, motivating others, and developing creative solutions require a higher level of social skills and emotional intelligence in business today, he showed.
Being Green
Larry Flynn, Senior Editor of Building Design and Construction, moderated the panel, which offered three perspectives on the fast-emerging influence of green design and building practices.
Nigel Howard, VP of the US Green Building Council, told CWA attendees that 40% of all environmental impact comes from buildings. He spoke about the need for a sustainability rating system to classify building products, and he noted the fast growing percentage of building projects that are seeking LEEDS certification.
Panelist Jim Brinkley, FAIA, of the US Postal Service, who is a member of the AIA Committee on the Environment, showed slides of five of the AIA's Top 10 Green Building Award winners. Green building is moving beyond the government and institutional clients and beginning to influence commercial and corporate client projects, Brinkley showed.
Kimberly Paxton, Director of Sustainability for the James G. Davis Construction Company, offered a practical view on the use of green building practices. Her company built one of the AIA award winners, the National Wildlife Federation Building, as well as several other LEEDS certified buildings. She showed how green building saves the client money in both the short term and the long term.
Safety for Diverse Workforce
Next up to the podium was Brad Sant, VP of Safety and Education for the American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Sant described the fast growth of the Hispanic workforce in construction and presented his association's program for improving safety and knowledge within this workforce. By some estimates, 47% of high risk jobs in construction will be filled with Hispanic workers by 2010. Sant cited the high risk of fatalities and injury overall in transportation construction, due to the need to work in proximity to highway traffic. New programs for language instruction and safety compliance are being provided, but much more remains to be done.
Economic Forecast
With the economic downturn eroding backlogs and confidence in the construction industry, CWA members listened intently to economist Robert Murray of McGraw Hill and DRI. Murray described a "split personality" in the construction market, with housing and school related construction booming and commercial construction staggering of late.
On the plus side, Murray claimed that the stage is set for a recovery, even while 2003 spending has leveled off significantly from recent years in most of the country. He advised that we look closely at employment numbers in the months ahead as a key barometer of business confidence and construction planning. Commercial building is needed to offset expected declines in public construction and institutional construction impacted respectively by shrinking revenues and lower fundraising returns.
TEA 21
Peter Loughlin of the Associated General Contractors gave an update on transportation legislation, specifically the TEA 21 reauthorization bill in Congress. He described TEA 21 as a popular bill with members of Congress and predicted that some version of the bill would be passed this year or next. AGC has teamed up with the US Chamber of Commerce to urge its passage.
The rise in federal deficits and the focus on the Iraq war and terrorism in 2003 have held up progress on TEA 21, Loughlin said. He urged CWA members to help preserve the gains made in TEA 21 program funding, and to be in touch with Congress members.
New CWA President
Following lunch, CWA's 2003-4 President Jack Roberts of Equipment World briefly introduced his agenda for the coming year and encouraged conference attendees to become involved in the association.
Writing and Surviving in Iraq
A final and fascinating addition to the program was a talk by Tom Sawyer of ENR, who just days earlier had returned from his assignment as an embedded reporter in Iraq. Sawyer was assigned to follow the combat engineering groups as they moved through Iraq. He provided an up close and personal account of life on the desert war front.
One of the most moving parts of Sawyer's talk occurred when he read from the advice he wrote and gave to Tom Armistead, the ENR reporter who followed him in Iraq. "Remember your status: you are an outsider with these troops, not a soldier. Sleep whenever you can, you may not get another opportunity for a long time. Be prepared to solve your own problems. Be creative, and seek alternatives when things go wrong."
To see photo highlights from the meeting, click here .
CWA is a nonprofit, non-partisan, international organization for professional journalists, writers, editors, marketers and publicists serving the information needs of the construction industry. Information on the association's activities is posted and updated on the CWA website, www.constructionwriters.org .
For information:
Deborah J. Hodges
Executive Director
P.O. Box 14784
Chicago, Illinois 60614
Telephone 773 687-8726
Fax 773 687-8627
info@constructionwriters.org