September 30-October 7, 2002

REWORKING THE MIDFIELD TERMINAL
HOCUS FOCUS. As we fall into the month of witches, goblins, and ghosts, within the construction industry the oft anticipated question arises: What's coming for next year? As always, that's hard to determine, especially for specific geographic region such as the Great Lakes. Nationally, noted economist Bill Toal, formerly of the Portland Cement Association, says total construction volume this year will probably drop 1.6%. His crystal ball is expecting a slight recovery of 1.4% in 2003. So don't expect much change. On the positive side, the nation's economy in general is showing signs of improvement. Industrial production is up. Ford Motor Co. is even boosting the manufacture of its cars and trucks, albeit only slightly. Low interest rates continue to keep consumer spending strong. We haven't launched an invasion of Iraq. Of course, that may shortly change but it'll be worth it, if just to get the leader of that terrorist state appropriately terrorized and removed. The corporate office market has really slipped. It has fallen from a national average vacancy rate of 7% to more than 15%. A much more than adequate supply of commercial and industrial space is blamed for that. (So why did my office rent go up $0.50 per square foot this year?) School construction remains a powerfully strong market. So has public works. Airport construction is also active, even with the completion of Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport's midfield terminal. As noted last week, Northwest Airlines plans a $100 million expansion of the new structure, although a later report claims the expansion may be delayed due to the currently sluggish economy. Even so, the airline has broken ground on a 128,100 sq. ft. hanger south of the Berry International Terminal for the maintenance and repair of its large aircraft. Estimated at $31 million, the hanger will accommodate two Boeing 747-400 jetliners and one 757-200 jetliner at a time. It will be nearly 300 ft. by 500 ft. wide and will stand about nine stories tall. Northwest says it'll the largest of its kind. (Where have we heard that before?) The hanger's design consultant is Skilling, Ward, Magnusson, Barkshire Inc. of Seattle, Washington. Serving as construction manager is Walbridge Aldinger Co., Detroit. Completion is slated for November 2003. Auburn Hills remains a hot spot with several developments on the drawing boards. Brown Road Group Ltd. reportedly will be developing a 102 acre landfill on Lapeer Rd., north of the Palace arena, into a business park. It will straddle the border between Auburn Hills and Orion Township and investment in it is expected to reach $100 million. Real estate developer Burton-Katzman is negotiating with possible tenants for further development within the Pinnacle Corporate Park. One reportedly is Brose North America Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of a German firm. In the Joslyn Commerce Park, near Joslyn and Collier roads, Unique Fabricating Inc. is considering construction of a 150,000 sq. ft. building. Finally, Spicer, a subsidiary of Dana Inc., and Delmia, a subsidiary of Dassault Systems Group of France, are both considering Auburn Hills for possible buildings. Each have estimated costs ranging between $9-9.5 million. Thus, while prospects for 2003 may not seem all that rosy now, stick around. More work is probably on its way.

LOOK OUT FOR JOHNNY REB
The state of Michigan is taking a rather critical view of the draft environmental permit being filed for a $1 billion Hyundai Motor Co. factory proposed for a site near Montgomery, Ala. Responding to a challenge by environmentalists to the air quality permit it issued to General Motors Corp. for its Lansing production facilities, the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality performed a great deal of scholarly research. It discovered that some EPA-authorized states, such as Alabama, may not be adequately enforcing the "new source review" regulations imposed by the federal Clean Air Act. Don Siegelman, Alabama's governor, says he was stunned by Michigan's subsequent challenge to the Hyundai air quality permit. "It sets a troubling and dangerous precedent when states engage in obstructionist behavior with other states," he said in a letter to Michigan Gov. John Engler. "[Michigan] is attempting to act in the role of Alabama's overseer regarding federal air quality issues - a role relegated to the federal government." Yeah, well to all us Yankees, up here north of the Mason-Dixon line, it just don't look that way. Is a loosening of air quality standards by Alabama and other EPA-authorized states allowing them to snatch industrial projects better suited for Michigan? That's what I'd like answered.

JETLAG FOR BATTISTA
During a meeting last week I learned that noted labor attorney Robert Battista of Butzel Long, Detroit, has been rolling up the frequent flyer miles between Motown and Washington, D.C. As you recall, President George W. Bush nominated Mr. Battista for service on the National Labor Relations Board. Though the esteemed lawyers views are rather conservative, the President won praise for his nomination from both management and labor. Mr. Battista has a fine reputation for intelligence, honesty, and fairness. And he's told jokes that, on a few occasions, have even been funny. Yet his nomination to the NLRB has been held up, along with the nominations of two other Republicans, Peter Schumber and Alex Acosta, and one Democrat, Dennis Walsh. Why? Partisan politics. Partisan politics can be such an unnecessary pain. Last month, Peter Hurtgen left the chairmanship of the NLRB to become director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. With his departure the NLRB has been limping along with a bare quorum of three members. The terms of all three (William Cohen and Michael Bartlett, both Republicans, as well as Wilma Liebman, a Democrat) expire by the end of this year. Does this make any sense, considering the NLRB's important business? Congress should do something to expedite confirmation of the President's appointments. ASAP. Get Bob off the plane!

FIGURING THE NUMBERS
Cost estimating is an important function within the design community, although it's not always a primary one. The recently released BSD CostLink/AE program, developed by Building Systems Design Inc., is a subscription service for architects and engineers. It's similar to BSD's detailed cost estimating system but has been mercifully configured with the design professional in mind. The service integrates R.S. Means cost data. Updated annually, its databases cover over 11,000 systems and assemblies, 20,000 line items, and cost indices for more than 700 locations in the U.S. All costs in the program include material, labor, and equipment components, along with pre-computed subcontractor overhead and profit data. You can adjust the default general contractor markups and other factors, such as architect's fees and a contingent budget. To construct an estimate in CostLink/AE, the user drags and drops (or copies and pastes) entire building systems, assemblies, and line items from the Means data into a project, then inserts quantities. The program provides templates based on UniFormat II and MasterFormat, but you can also construct a unique hierarchy or copy another project as the starting point. At any point in the estimate development process, reports can be previewed or printed that break down the total cost into whatever level of detail is desired. CostLink/AE supports dynamic linking to Microsoft Excel. Architects can create a space program or building parameters model in Excel and link quantity cells directly to CostLink/AE. Once linked, the values in AE update automatically as the space program or other parameters change. It's also possible to attach a note as well as photographs to any folder or line item in the cost estimate. While already formatted, built-in reports can be customized in a variety of ways. Cost estimates can include markups in the individual line items, or the markups can be summarized at the end of the report. You can choose the level of summarization and may choose to show or hide a number of optional columns, such as percent of total, unit costs, and quantities. Headers and footers are customizable. You can even add a company logo. Reports can be exported in a number of formats, including Adobe PDF, Excel, and Word. More information on the software, as well as other products offered by the company, can be found at www.bsdsoftlink.com. You can also contact Jay Wendland at 888/273-7638 or drop him an e-mail at jwendland@bsdsoftlink.com.

ANSWERING ADA QUESTIONS
Need a handbook on the Americans with Disabilities Act? The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has just issued one. Dubbing it a primer for small business, the EEOC says it's "a practical, reader-friendly handbook outlining the employment provisions of the ADA." It offers tips, examples, "do's and don'ts," and related advice on wide ranging subjects. The topics define who is protected by the law, questions an employer may ask prior to making a job offer, what questions can be asked after a job offer is made, how to properly obtain medical information from employees, and what is "reasonable accommodation." Also covered are federal tax incentives and safety concerns. You can obtain a copy online at www.eeoc.gov/ada/adahandbook.html.

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!