July 11-18, 2002

RELIEF UNDERWAY?
I spent July 7-10 visiting construction sites through northern and central Michigan. Serving as my guide was John Pacala, a business agent for Operating Engineers Local 324. Encountered were encouraging signs that, after a worrisome winter and spring, construction's beginning to pick up in that part of the state. In fact, at one point I had to take over the wheel of Mr. Pacala's Chevy pickup. He had to work his mobile telephone overtime, trying to line up two certified crane operators. They were needed the next morning to work 30 and 50 ton hydraulic cranes for a small natural gas fired electrical generation station under construction in Kalkaska. I watched a raising gang from a member of the Great Lakes Fabricators & Erectors Association - Whitmore Steel & Supply Inc. of Hamburg - installing roof joists on the structural steel frame for the new, 95,000 sq. ft. terminal at the Cherry County Airport in Traverse City. And I came across what may be the only steam operated piece of construction equipment still being used in Michigan - a barge mounted dredging crane that dates all the way back to 1929. It was assisting in the construction of a breakwater for Luedtke Engineering Co. of Frankfort. From observations made by that firm's president, Kurt Luedtke, as well as Mr. Pacala, several project superintendents, and quite a few operating engineers, it appears 2002 will turn out to be a reasonably fair year. Current national statistics apparently support that view. The latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that while the value of construction put in place last May, pegged act an annual rate of $852 billion, was down 0.7% from the pace set in April, it was still 0.6% above the May 2001 level. Just as significant, for the first five months of this year, construction was nearly identical to the January through May period of 2001. However, the mix was different. Private residential building construction was up 7%. Public construction was up 6%. But private nonresidential construction was down, by a hefty 16%. Ouch. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that seasonally adjusted average weekly hours in construction crept up from 38.7 in May to 39.1 in June. Analysts believe that demonstrates fear on the part of contractors about their ability to keep their order books full. May a rising market banish all such doubts.

WHO CHECKED?
As I noted in the June 26 edition of this column, a coroner's inquest was convened on the Feb. 12 collapse of a steel truss used in an expansion of the convention center at Pittsburgh, Pa. Thusfar it's been focusing on what appears to have been the use of the wrong kind of connection bolts. An iron worker lost his life in the accident. Presently in recess, the inquest is set to resume on July 22. The project - known formally as the expansion of the David L. Lawrence Convention Center - has involved a joint venture of Turner-P.J. Dick-ATS as construction manager. Before taking a break, the inquest received testimony from representatives from Solar Testing Laboratories of Cleveland, Ohio. One of them, Patrick McKelvey, said he used a torque wrench to check the tightness of between 30% to 50% of the bolt-nut connections, but that he understood he wasn't supposed to check the anchor bolts or raker strut connections until the roof cables that tie the structure together were tightened. According to him, the project's "general contractor" was supposed to have been "looking at the connections" prior to inspection by Solar Testing Laboratories. "Did anyone tell you that the raker strut or the anchor bolt connection were not critical connections?" he was asked by Michael George, the inquest's presiding lawyer. "No, not specifically," was Mr. McKelvey's answer. "I'm not an engineer. I walk around with a torque wrench. That's my job. The guys I work with are all professionals. I was under the impression that everyone knew what they were doing." Bolts and nuts used on the project - including 200 one-inch diameter steel bolts, each 18 inches long - are being supplied by Williams Form Engineering Co. of Grand Rapids. Mark W. Williams, its vice president, told the inquest he was pretty sure improper nuts had been put on the truss's connections. "Jam nuts were used instead of the full strength nuts," he flatly declared when asked for his conclusion about the truss collapse. "I was amazed it stayed up as long as it did."

UNNOTICED
Though visually disturbing, the collapse of beams, columns, and trusses during structural steel erection is an uncommon event. That fact, combined with visually impressive damage, often is enough to attract headlines and television cameras. Still, for trained iron workers observing federal and state safety rules, putting up structural steel is a manageable activity. If all of its risks are given the respect they deserve, it's normally quite safe. Recently issued statistics on the fatality rate in telecommunication tower erection, though, make me wonder about ever going into that line of work. Figures covering 1992 through 2001 compiled by the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries record the deaths of 163 workers out of a total labor force estimated at approximately 6,000. That rate is some 30-times greater than the average rate of fatalities for all injuries. Of the 163 killed, 129 died from falls, 19 from collapses, and 15 from other causes. Perhaps a deep look at this phenomenon by enterprising investigative journalists is in order.

WATCH THOSE MISMATCHES
The Social Security Administration (SSA) sends out letters to employers notifying them when the Social Security numbers reported by their employees don't match up with their names, as recorded in SSA records. In the past, though, the agency would dispatch such "mismatch letters" to employers only when it encountered mismatches for 10% or more of the employer's work force. Now, in the wake of heightened security concerns in our nation, the SSA says it will be sending out the letters when it discovers even one mismatch. Employers who've never seen mismatch letters before may start finding them in their mail and will wonder how to respond. The SSA's advice? First off, don't over-react. Employers should carefully read the instructions on the letter and, if they have any questions or concerns, check with their lawyers. The letter points out that the mismatches don't constitute proof that the employees concerned are unauthorized aliens or are otherwise ineligible to work. Employers should not lose their cool and terminate or take other adverse actions against mismatched employees based on the letter alone. Instead they should calmly take steps to correct the discrepancy. While employers shouldn't require employees to show them their Social Security cards - experts say that could constitute unlawful document abuse under federal immigration laws - if a mismatch is reported they can encourage workers to check their Social Security cards for variations against company data. People still make honest mistakes. Somebody in personnel could have gotten the number wrong. The workers should also be encouraged to contact their nearest SSA to deal with and resolve the problem. Mismatches can be reduced, if not avoided, if employers go ahead and verify their data with their employees and the SSA. Verification guidance from the agency can be found at its web site at www.ssa.gov/employer/critlink.doc. It can also be accessed at www.ssa.gov/employer/ssnv.htm#legal.

STRENGTHENING ORGANIZED LABOR
U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.) announced at a press conference last month that he and other Democrats on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, will be working on a bill to bolster union organizing efforts. Calling the effort "right to organize legislation," he said it will feature provisions to toughen sanctions against employers who fire union organizers, give unions the ability to speak with an "equal voice" with an employer's management during organizing campaigns, expedite union representations elections, and outlaw refusals by employers to sign collective bargaining agreements after they've received ratification. In testimony before the committee on June 20th, John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, discussed several tactics used by employers to discourage their workers from joining unions. Among them are threats to close or move plants should a union win a representation election and mandatory anti-union meetings.

TO MAKE SURE
Concerned about connections? RAM International is introducing a connection design tool for use with its structural steel design product, RAM Advanse. Called RAM Connection, it's intended for structural engineers who want to design their own connections or need a tool for the review of shop drawings. The connection designer can work to AISC, ASD, or LRFD standards. It features design and optimization for shear and moment connections as well as splices for beams and columns. Contained in the software is a customizable connections database through which design parameters can be controlled. The parameters include bolt specifications, materials and lengths, plate dimensions, and weld sizes. Gus Bergsma, a RAM International vice president, says current practice typically varies from relying on fabricators to design connections and then checking the shop drawings, to calculating forces in one program then transferring them to other software for connection design. Or relying on standard designs and tables. "We're trying to encompass as much of the engineering process in one platform as possible," he says. A self-running demonstration CD is available free from www.ramint.com. The two products - RAM Connection and the latest version of RAM Advanse V5 - are being sold together for $1,995.

Questions? Comments? Idea?
Please submit your responses to the Great Lakes Fabricators & Erectors Association as soon as possible. You can call our new offices in downtown Detroit at 313/309-2000. Or you can drop an email to Guy Snyder at guysny@concentric.net or call him at 313/961-9217. We hope to hear from you soon!