Commerce Department Announces New Construction Pledge

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge to bring more women into the construction workforce. Several leading construction companies have signed on to the Pledge, and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo is making an industry-wide call for more companies, unions, and training organizations to sign on to the Pledge.

By signing on to the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge, leaders in the industry are demonstrating an ongoing commitment to increase women’s access to training, jobs, and leadership opportunities. This follows an announcement made earlier this month launching the CHIPS Women in Construction Framework. Construction companies, unions, and training organizations can join the initiative by pledging to focus on or scale up equitable hiring and workforce development efforts that create broader pipelines and opportunities for women.  This industry-wide call to action encourages signers to voluntarily take action by utilizing best practices, including building community partnerships to reach women and girls, investing in solutions that increase supportive services such as child care, and fostering safe, healthy, and respectful workplaces.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is creating a construction boom all over the country, and with that boom comes a huge increase in jobs and opportunities for workers in construction and the trades. But right now, women make up less than 11% of jobs in construction and only 4% in skilled trades. Many of these are good-paying, quality jobs you can get without a college degree, and women deserve equal opportunity for these jobs,” said Secretary Raimondo. “If we’re going to meet this moment, we need more women in the construction, and we need an industry-wide commitment, which is why I’m calling on everyone – contractors, labor unions, training organizations – to join our Community Pledge to commit to solutions and support proven strategies that help overcome barriers faced by women and underserved communities in construction and the trades.”

The announcement comes after a roundtable of construction industry leaders, convened by The Real Estate Roundtable and attended by Secretary Raimondo, to discuss the Million Women in Construction Community Pledge.

“The construction industry continues to face significant labor challenges due to the aging workforce and dwindling number of young people entering the construction field. There is a critical need to attract more talent and diversify our workforce to ensure we have the resources to build our cities and grow our economy,” said John Fish, Chair of The Real Estate Roundtable and Chairman and CEO of Suffolk. “Suffolk is honored and privileged to be one of the first companies to commit to Secretary Raimondo’s inspiring Million Women in Construction Pledge. As an organization that has long been committed to rebuilding the ratio of women in the construction industry, we are proud to play a leadership role in inspiring other organizations to commit to this effort and help position our American workforce for future growth and success.”

The Million Women in Construction initiative is a nationwide call to action for the construction industry – construction contractors, trade unions, and training institutions – to commit to bold steps that will ensure a robust and diverse workforce in the years ahead. It will be necessary to recruit, train, hire, and retain thousands of new and non-traditional workers – the next generation of skilled laborers and leaders who are prepared to rebuild U.S. infrastructure and supply chains and complement Federal government investments.

Greenup Industries Successfully Installs 15 Thousand Smart Water Meters in St. John the Baptist Parish

St. John the Baptist Parish (St. John) is now in possession of some well-needed water meter upgrades thanks to the efforts of Greenup Industries Inc. (Greenup) with partner Aclara Technology. Greenup was awarded a $5.27 million contract from the Louisiana Parish in December 2019 to install 16,491 residential smart water meters, 382 commercial meters, and 10 fire hydrant meters. Greenup reports that installation on 15,000 residential and commercial smart water meters were completed despite numerous setbacks (COVID, 2020's most active Hurricane Season since 2005, Global Supply Chain Impacts, Hurricane Ida causing extensive damage to LaPlace and damaging some of the installed equipment). St. John Parish officials issued a resolution on March 28 to issue a Change Order on the existing contract and have the remaining 2,600 meters installed at a later date.

The new smart water meters feature more accurate leak detection and improved residential and commercial services. Residents can use a Customer Portal on their computer or mobile device for utility maintenance, such as setting up alerts for their water consumption, monitoring leak detection in real-time, and viewing live data to keep their water bill down. The water meters are networked into the St. John Parish data management system, allowing the parish to bill customers more accurately and monitor any potential infrastructure issues. “This new smart water meter system allows us to efficiently detect and minimize water loss for the residents and businesses in the parish,” said Rodney Greenup, CEO of Greenup. “It is more responsive infrastructure which enables us to pinpoint and respond to potential problems before they happen."

The St. John Parish Council agreed that the benefits of the “state-of-the-art” water meter outweigh its costs as it will provide for water usage readings to be taken every hour and transmitted to base stations that are built on the parish's water towers. Customers can access their water usage online in real-time, and the meters will send out alerts when their batteries get low. With the ability to monitor water usage daily via a computer or smartphone, the new system will eliminate estimated reads, provide customers with consistent billing, ensure smooth revenue collection, and reduce calls to customer service representatives. The new smart water meters also provide real-time leak detection alerts, allowing more accurate readings. Individuals will also be able to set up alerts for water consumption that exceeds a certain threshold. Part of the installation involves attaching a data collector to track water usage to the billing system. “We program the smart meter to transmit its location to the Parish's data collector. This lets us know how much water is being used immediately, every second of every day. This lets us know how much water is being used immediately, every second of every day. The previous meters had to be read manually," Greenup said. “The new meters allow the parish to respond to any leaks or potential infrastructure issues in real time."

Greenup faced adversity as it neared the completion of the St. John Smart Water Meter Project. In addition to the devastating effects of the supply chain crisis, ongoing disruptions from COVID, and hurricane damage slowing down installation efforts, Greenup said rolling layoffs in 2020 affected communication with Greenup Industries' subcontractors. The shipping delays from tech suppliers were a significant challenge the company had to overcome. "This project revealed our resiliency and can-do attitude, as our company faced setbacks time and time again. What we learned from this experience is that Greenup's team is experienced and willing to go beyond what is expected of them and to overcome obstacles to get our projects completed in a timely and efficient manner. I am so proud of them," Greenup said.

The construction phase broke the parish into six areas, or “water cycles.” Each cycle was completed before moving on to the next one. After the DCY network and installation routing plan were completed, training on the installation and smart meter software began in September 2020. The initial installations began in October, and by the beginning of 2021, Greenup had already completed several thousand installations. Recognized by Parish officials for their professionalism and communication throughout the project, Greenup expressed pride in being able to help solve a problem that affects so many people.

The St. John water meter project is one of several successes this year for the growing construction and maintenance firm. Greenup is nearing the end of its clay excavation efforts in the Bonnet Carre Spillway as part of the West Shore Lake Ponchartrain Project and have excavated 100,000 cubic yards of material for the LaReusitte to Myrtle Grove Levee and drainage canal, placing them ahead of schedule for the joint project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Cajun Industries of Baton Rouge, LA.

Based in Kenner, Greenup Industries offers contracting and specialized construction services for industrial, commercial, and municipal clients. From refurbished roads and bridges to industrial construction and maintenance, the company is behind countless projects across the Gulf South that contribute to the region's growth and vibrancy. Since its start in 2012, Greenup has experienced unprecedented growth, becoming a leading construction contractor and provider of maintenance and third-party procurement services. President and CEO Rodney Greenup is a New Orleans native who began his career as a mechanical engineer and project manager with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "There's a lot of growth potential and work to be done throughout the region," said Greenup. As we continue to grow and diversify, we owe our success to our relationships with our employees, clients, and vendors.

For more information on Greenup Industries, visit www.greenupind.com or email info@greenupind.com.

Construction Safety - Post Covid 19

Rodney Greenup, President, Greenup Industries

There is no way to predict the full impact of COVID-19 and how it will affect businesses across the U.S. However, it is safe to assume there will be substantial delays and cost implications. Many contractors may not be feeling the effects yet because they were considered “essential” during government work restrictions. But it is possible and likely that every business will be affected in some way eventually. As we navigate this uncharted territory, keeping these five points in mind may help you keep yourself, your employees and your company safe.

Safety first

The first step is to ensure your business takes proper precautions to protect employees and their families. Although most construction work cannot be done remotely or correctly performed with social distancing, steps can be taken to minimize the spread of COVID-19.

Provide your teams with the proper PPE and training to support better hygiene and reduce the possibility of future virus transmissions from asymptomatic employees or unknown carriers.

Consider staggering shifts and sequencing work areas to avoid unnecessary groupings of workers. Utilize video teleconferences for your toolbox talks and safety meetings. Most importantly, work diligently to ensure that, despite the change in structure, safety measures remain robust, including proper supervision, safety inspections and accountability.

Prevention

Hygiene, situational awareness and due diligence are operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They should be embedded in all your processes, encouraged and rewarded. Lead from the top down, empowering your teams to do what’s right and supporting proper habits on the ground.

Call a meeting of minds

Bring your staff together virtually to share their best thoughts, ideas and practices regarding hygiene and safety. Focus on prevention and what is working. If you allow your teams to report on unsafe practices without fear of repercussions, you will surely prevent more injuries, illnesses and disruptions to your workflow.

Touchless

Provide safer jobsites for your workers by implementing touchless registration, virtual orientations, virtual training and automated health checklists.

This moment in history should be a catalyst for our industry; it’s the beginning of  a long-term shift in the way we work. Companies that evolve their processes instead of merely adjusting and implementing minor changes will emerge as the leaders of our industry. Embrace change, analyze your processes, find areas for improvement and then search for the best possible solutions. Safety and good hygiene are not to be negotiated; they should instead lay the foundation of our future success.    

For more information, visit www.greenupind.com or call (225) 283-4843.