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One Pig's Waste is Another Man's Gold

As the construction market continues to stagnate due to decreased funding from government entities, it’s clearer that private investment is becoming increasingly important to spur growth and innovation. One such example of this is a new waste-to-energy system developed on a pig farm in North Carolina.

The $1.2 million project was financed, designed, and built by Duke University, Duke Energy, and Google, which has one of its many data centers nearby. Before the project, Loyd Bryant used to pump the pig waste into a lagoon on his property, and you can only imagine the stench that caused. The waste can’t be used for fertilizer since the nitrogen content is too high.
 
As noted by McGraw-Hill’s GreenSource blog: “the new waste-processing system -- it's basically a small power plant -- installed on his [Bryant’s] 154-acre farm uses bacteria to digest the waste and burns methane to produce electricity. It also converts toxic ammonia into forms of nitrogen that can be used as fertilizer for more profitable crops.” Duke claims that this new system is one of the cleanest of its kind in that all of the pig waste is converted into some useful byproduct.
 
All of the parties involved benefit in some way, whether it’s Bryant by saving on his electricity costs and expanding his farm to produce corn, wheat and beans, Duke Energy by earning renewable energy credits, and the university and Google earning carbon offset credits.
 
Unlike similar projects that use expensive parts and expensive designs, “the system was built with off-the-shelf parts and simple designs that are free for the asking. It's poised to become the standard for a cleaner waste-to-energy model that brings together farmers, utilities and private firms in an environmentally friendly effort.” 
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Posted by Scott Sweeney on January 31, 2012 8:08:00 AM EST #

Rutgers University Designs Robot That Diagnoses Bridge Problems

Rutgers University Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) has developed a robot that helps diagnose problems in bridges before they are visible to the naked eye. The center received a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to help support this project. The robot uses several different techniques to test a bridge’s steel lattice core, including sound waves to ferret out micro cracks, air pockets, and splits. The grant is also going to fund a smart phone application that excavators can use to create an instantaneous underground map of wires on the spot so that they can avoid ripping out installed infrastructure.

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Posted by Scott Sweeney on January 24, 2012 9:08:00 AM EST #

Correctional Facility Claims

Claims involving correctional facilities represent a small percentage of the total number of claims in the Schinnerer and CNA program. However, the cost of these claims can be severe. From 2000 to 2009 the average indemnity payment was $203,286. The following is an example of a correctional facility claim:

An architect provided design and contract administration services for renovations and additions to a county jail project involving multiple prime contractors. The number of prime contracts made communication and coordination difficult. Several contractors filed delay claims. The prime contractor for the electrical and security systems filed suit against multiple parties alleging a 13-month delay that resulted in $1.8 million in extra costs. The client had issued an 82-day weather-related time extension, but the electrical contractor refused to accept the extension. Allegations against the architect included failure to coordinate and delays in approving shop drawings despite contractual commitments to do so within 10 days. The architect settled for $455,000 and paid $53,000 in expenses.
 
Correctional facilities projects are publicly funded. Contractor selection on public projects is generally based on competitive bidding. When working on a public project, firms should be aware of a low bid contractor’s tendency to submit claims for delays and extras.
 
For more information, please see our entire correctional facility claims study (access limited to current policyholders and brokers only).
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Posted by Scott Sweeney on January 17, 2012 10:32:00 AM EST #

Architectural Majors May Have Trouble Finding Work

A new study conducted by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce shows that recent college graduates with degrees in architecture have higher unemployment rates than most other majors. Recent college graduates with architectural degrees have an unemployment rate of 13.9%, which is almost twice the rate of those with engineering degrees. This can be attributed to the decline of the construction industry in the recession. While those with recent engineering degrees are doing relatively well at 7.5%, civil and mechanical engineers are still having trouble finding work for the same reasons that architecture degree-holders are.

Despite the struggles of recent college graduates with degrees that are tied to the struggling construction industry, the study suggests that it is still worth it to obtain a college degree. Job seekers with recent high school diplomas are facing an absurd 22.9% unemployment rate.
 
The full study can be found here.
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Posted by Scott Sweeney on January 10, 2012 7:53:00 AM EST #

Schinnerer Withdraws from AIA Commended Relationship

From 1957 through 2011, the Schinnerer and CNA program was the sole insurance program commended by the AIA. Schinnerer has withdrawn from this unique relationship so that the program can provide greater resources for the benefit of architects, AIA Knowledge Communities, and state and local components. Due to some changes in what constitutes commendation, we at Schinnerer, with CNA’s support, recognize that commendation now has different meaning and value.

We will continue to provide benefits for AIA members. For example, architects with annual billings of $5 million or less, acceptable loss ratios, and AIA membership for at least 50% of the firm’s professional staff will be eligible for a 5% discount on CNA professional liability insurance coverage. This acknowledges that active participation in the information-sharing of the AIA family of organizations provides a proven risk management value. Also, an advisory board will be created to facilitate Schinnerer and CNA’s ability to provide responsive and creative insurance solutions for the rapidly evolving profession and business of architecture.
 
To read the complete Guidelines article on our withdrawal from the AIA commended relationship, go to www.schinnerer.com/risk-mgmt/Gdlns/Pages/Gdlns-1-2012-AIA.aspx.
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Posted by Scott Sweeney on January 6, 2012 7:56:00 AM EST #

Fort Bliss Invests in Energy Efficiency

While Congress keeps wavering on the need to invest in infrastructure improvements to reduce energy usage, many military units are tapping creative solutions to answer the Obama administration’s call for improvements to save energy and create job opportunities in the private sector.

Fort Bliss, an army base about the size of the state of Rhode Island, is outside of El Paso, Texas.  It created a forward-looking energy reduction program in 2009 with the goal of becoming the Army’s leadership center for renewable energy. Its vision of energy security has been focused not only on energy conservation and management efforts, but also on renewable resources such as geothermal, solar, wind, and other “off-the-grid” power sources. Recently it signed a $16 million energy efficiency contract with Johnson Controls. The energy savings performance contract will pay for improvements over a 24-year period with savings on electricity and other utility bills. The project includes the installation of 5,500 solar panels at no cost to the Army. With 330 days of sunshine on average, the El Paso area is a prime location for solar installations. In addition to the panels, daylighting solar “light pipes” are being installed to illuminate building interiors.
 
The base, which is envisioned as the base to around 34,000 troops and their families, has the goal of being “net zero” in energy consumption by 2015.
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Posted by Scott Sweeney on January 5, 2012 8:32:00 AM EST #