Steel Day 2009 - Able Steel Fabricators, Mesa, AZ

Able Steel Fabricators in Mesa, AZ announces its participation in Steel Day. They will be opening our doors to our customers and associates for one day to experience the structural steel fabrication capabilities of Able Steel. Students from local High Schools involved in extending education programs have been invited to come and tour during the morning from 8:00 until 10:00. Those that wish to come early are welcome to join with them.

Date & Time:
September 18, 2009 From 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM

Physical Address:
Able Steel Fabricators Inc.
4150 E. Quartz Circle • Mesa Arizona 85215

Lunch and Cold drinks will be provided. Some of our vendors will be present to answer any of your questions. - More information included in the flyer - (PDF Flyer).

Del E. Webb School of Construction to offer 4+1 Accelerated Degree

This program is designed to provide selected high-achieving ASU Construction undergraduate students with the opportunity to combine advanced undergraduate course work with graduate course work and accelerate graduate degree completion. The program is particularly suited for students with strong academic backgrounds who are motivated to pursue independent research. Participants will have an opportunity to work in a research environment and engage in theoretical and/or experimental work with faculty and doctoral student mentors. Students will be able to showcase their work at the Del E. Webb School of Construction Graduate Student Research Symposium and be eligible for travel grants to present their work at national conferences.

Students will be able to earn a B.S.-M.S. in five years by enrolling in up to nine credit hours of graduate-level course work taken during their senior year. Six of these credits will apply toward both the undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Students are considered undergraduates until all B.S. requirements have been met. Students will not be counted as an undergraduate and graduate student simultaneously. Upon receipt of the B.S., students must change their status from the integrated B.S.-M.S. to the graduate M.S. program. They will then be eligible for graduate teaching and research assistantships and related health insurance and tuition waivers.

Admission Requirements

A minimum of two semesters of full-time enrollment in Construction is required. Applications are normally submitted with two semesters remaining in the senior year (in the second semester of a student’s junior year).
A minimum of 75 credit hours of course work applicable to an ASU B.S. program with a cumulative GPA of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) or better must be completed before beginning the accelerated degree program.

Application Procedure

Students must apply for admission to the program through the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment (SSEBE) and the ASU Graduate College by submitting an application form for the integrated programs in Construction. Interested students should meet with their academic advisor to learn more about the program and how to apply.

Applications must be accompanied by:
1. Application
2. Application fee
3. Three letters of recommendation
4. Personal statement
5. Current resume
6. Official transcripts from all colleges attended (except ASU), unless course work has already been transferred to ASU
a. Student must have a 3.20 cumulative GPA in all ASU course work in order to apply to the accelerated program
7. A plan indicating the consenting faculty advisor and supervisory committee*
8. An integrated plan of study (iPOS) leading to the dual degrees (sample follows at end of document)

Note: the GRE is not a requirement for this degree.

*The advisor and supervisory committee will also comprise the master’s program committee and shall be composed of a minimum of three members from the ASU faculty with at least two being from SSEBE. A change of advisor requires approval of the school director.

Deadlines

Applications are reviewed twice each year and are due by Sept. 15 for the following spring semester and by Feb. 15 for the following fall semester.
Acceptance notices are sent prior to pre-registration in the semester of application.

Course Selection

The student, together with the faculty advisor, selects up to nine credit hours of 500-level courses to be taken prior to the B.S. graduation. Up to six credit hours of course work may be credited toward the M.S. program requirements. All courses must be taken at the ASU Tempe campus.

Construction information through Wolfram|Alpha

I was showing a couple of students today some of the neat information Wolfram|Alpha can generate. Try construction and see what information you can find. Try an individual company like Bechtel.

Save the Date: 22nd Annual Construction Recognition Banquet - 9 October 2009

The 22nd Annual Construction Recognition Banquet will be held on Friday, 9 October 2009 at the Arizona State University Memorial Union. The event is from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM. Table sponsorship information will be available in mid-July.

Texting and Generational Differences

This week NPR (Clash of the Ages)and The Wall Street Journal (Mind Your Blackberry) covered texting and generational perspectives of its relevance and use in the workplace. It reminded me of a discussion I had with a class this spring. During a lecture on etiquette one student explained that he was ostracized for typing on his phone during the weekly owner/contractor meeting. He was actually taking minutes for his boss, but the presence of the phone was suspect. My suggestion to the class was to get a travel-sized bluetooth keyboard and use your full set of hands. The boomers running the meeting will look at your activity as innovative rather than a distraction.

ASU Summer - Academic Calendar and Fee Payment

Student interns, don't forget to register for CON 296 or CON 484 before the start of the 2nd summer session. The 2nd session starts 6 July. More information on the academic calendar and fee payment is available on the ASU Summer Session website at www.asu.edu/summer.

Lecture by Baroness Perry of Southwark. March 23 4-6 PM. Tempe Campus, Arizona State

“BRITISH EDUCATION AND THE SHARED CHALLENGES
FOR THE ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES”

A lecture by Baroness Perry of Southwark

Place: The Biodesign Institute Auditorium
(At the East end of the Orange Mall on McAllister Ave.)
Arizona State University, Tempe Campus

Time: Monday, March 23, 2009 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Baroness Perry of Southwark

As her Majesty’s Inspector in the Department for Education, Baroness Perry of Southwark worked with the OECD on projects in higher education and teacher education. In addition, she has participated on the EEC working group on teacher education, and was promoted Chief Inspector in 1981. She was appointed Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of South Bank University (formerly South Bank Polytechnic) in 1987. In 1994, she became President of Lucy Cavendish College, the University of Cambridge. From 2001 until 2006, she was Pro-Chancellor of the University of Surrey, and Chair of Council at the University of Roehampton. She is currently President of the Institute of Management, London, a position she took up in 2001.

Baroness Perry is an Honorary Fellow of Girton and Lucy Cavendish Colleges in Cambridge University; of Sunderland University; the College of Preceptors; the Royal Society of Arts; the Swedish Academy of Science; and the City and Guilds of London. She has been awarded seven honorary doctorates and eight honorary fellowships. She was made a Life Peer in 1991.

She is a graduate of Cambridge University where she studied philosophy at Girton College. She has lectured at the University of Manitoba, Canada, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Exeter, and Oxford University. She has published extensively on education issues having written four books, the most recent being The Womb in Which I Lay, a study of mother-daughter relationships. She is currently working on a book on aging.

This event is free and open to the public (no tickets required).

Please RSVP to Paula Miller at 480.727.7262 or paula.miller@asu.edu by Friday, March 20.

Hosted by the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education

New Homes (smaller+efficient+green) = economic viability for homebuilders

In the March 2009 publication of AZRE Danial Pollack of Pollack Real Estate Investments provided his thoughts on the Arizona economic outlook for 2009. What caught my eyes was his assessment of the residential market. He said, "At large, people are changing their goals from having the largest home possible, at any cost, to having the the best possible quality of life. That means small homes within infill locations will be the most sought after in the residential markets for the foreseeable future".

Yet another comment in a string of news pieces from NPR, Washington Post, Arizona Republic, etc. regarding the changes going on in the marketplace. It will be interesting to see in the coming year which builders will capitalize on the smaller, efficient, greener home concept. Will it give them the competitive advantage they need to survive the financial crisis? Is this a temporary or permanent change for the home building industry?

NPR Interview - Elizabeth Warren: Foreclosures Threaten Economy

I listened to NPR's interview with Elizabeth Warren, Chairwoman of the TARP Oversight Panel. She is exceptional at addressing complex problems and bringing them home to the common person. - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101611260

Warren is a Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the co-author of The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers & Fathers Are Going Broke, which she wrote with her daughter in 2003.

Association of Energy Engineers Scholarship Awards

If there are students with an interest in energy, or possibly, they have worked on an energy topic or research, please provide them with this information on the Association of Energy Engineers student scholarships.

The local chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) is announcing the application process for Fall Semester Student Scholarships. Applications are due April 17th. Last year, the national AEE awarded six Arizona college students $500 each. The local chapter awarded an additional $250 to each of these students.

Scholarship Packet - MS Word
Scholarship Form - PDF

Information forwarded from:
Jim Westberg, CEM, LEED AP
Energy Program Administrator,
Energy Office
Arizona Department of Commerce

Arizona Builders Alliance - White Paper from Industry Leaders Roundtable

I received a quick summary of a recent round-table discussion (January I believe) Arizona Builders Alliance had regarding what contractors should and should not be doing during the tough economic times. Here are some of the things that the group suggested:

1. What should contractors be doing right now?

• Preserve cash, manage credit line
• Use credit lines or they may be cancelled
• Keep cash in places that are safe, federally guaranteed
• Watch cash flow and collect your money
• Know the margins in your projects; ease margins down but don’t work free
• Cut overhead fast: GC’s evaluate every 3-6 months; more frequently for subs
• Project worst case scenario and adjust overhead accordingly
• Lower overhead now for what you expect it to be in the two-three years
• Use a stair step approach in downsizing
• Eliminate helicopters, boats, condos and other non-essential overload
• Try and get securities in lieu of retention
• Create “what if” plans; it makes you less emotional
• Change plans quickly if necessary
• Be ready when market comes back strong
• Identify and keep your core staff
• Communicate with key employees
• Be mindful many employees have never been through this before
• Expect more from remaining staff
• Stay close to your customers; maintain marketing strength
• Make it easy as possible to do business with
• Look to emerging markets
• If expanding geographically, do so with familiar work
• Maintain and improve your key customer relationships
• Consider going “dormant” if sole proprietor

2. What should contractors NOT be doing right now?

• Don’t load up on cheap work; sacrifice volume for margin
• Don’t keep mediocre employees
• Don’t chase lots of directions at once (geographically or niches)
• Don’t bank on cash flow to keep company going
• Don’t take on work outside of your markets
• Don’t hide from your employees
• Don’t reduce training and education budgets

3. How can leaders foster positive attitudes within their employees?

• Communicate company current status (be open about financials) even closely held
• Be open and visible
• Inform your people what you are doing
• Encourage employees to ask questions
• Let the employees know their role and responsibility
• Emphasize employee actions will determine their security and that of the firm
• Demonstrate how the company values apply to the situation
• Remember external communication- banks, bonding companies, suppliers and owners
• Be engaged in the solution
• Be optimistic and realistic about the future
• Plan with your employees; strategic plan and targets (necessary)
• Upside: economic conditions are fostering positive attitudes among workers (sense of urgency, improved work ethic, and increased productivity)

4. What are the top skills necessary to survive and prosper?

• Communication
• Leadership, courage, positive attitude, encourager
• Decisive-willingness to make tough decisions early
• Focus on present and future; let go of the past
• Objectively consider all alternatives
• Calmness, stability, don’t be frantic
• Process skill improvement
• Plan ahead while it’s unemotional. Don’t simply react; make the tough decisions
• Being able to adapt/be flexible
• Strong financial skills and know how to manage finance
• Persistence/tenacity
• Don’t let them see you sweat!

5. What should contractors do now to prepare for the next upturn?

• Keep the cash
• Keep the cash
• Keep the cash!
• Stay lean and flexible
• Follow the money – look for new opportunities
• Pre-buy some commodities
• Improve your core people (education and training)
• Upgrade your team talent; replace C players with A players
• Cross train
• Create teams of existing customers, subs, etc, architect, and engineer
• Prepare for green culture
• Maintain your client relationships and create new client relationship
• Refine in house and construction processes

Good Read: Doctoral Candidates Anticipate Hard Times

Interesting how the economy has backed up a lot of different processes in our lives. Prior to the economic slowdown there was an expectation that there would be a lot of faculty positions opening up as tenured faculty retired. Now that the economy has significantly reduced retirement funds many are opting to stay employed a little while longer. Much to the chagrin of recent Ph.D. grads there is little available as they come out of the pipeline. Patricia Cohen's article in the New York Times illustrates the complexities of the situation quite well. Original article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/07/arts/07grad.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1