President's Message Andrew J. Wasiniak, CPC

AIC and its Constructor Certification Commission have been working diligently to promote Constructor Certification to the largest owner representative group, the US Federal Government. Recently we were able to successfully lobby a Federal contracting office to have CPC added in a solicitation modification as a qualifying certification on a Federal Department of Defense (DoD) contract acquisition. While at first glance this modification may not appear to be much more than a minor step, this is the first time to our knowledge that the Level 2 (CPC) certification was one of very few certifications permitted as a minimum requirement for the manager of a project for a Federal acquisition. This contract solicitation was through Washington Headquarters Services who provide operational and support services for DoD clients. A big thank you goes out to TMG Construction and their President Joe Matthews, FAIC, CPC who made a strong case for the use of the CPC as the best qualifying credential for managers of at-risk construction services as well as our our Vice President, Tanya Matthews, FAIC and Executive Director, David Wright, for their supporting efforts.

We hope to continue to extol the benefits of our certification as a means of prequalifying individual constructors to the Constructor body of knowledge while raising the standards of professional practice. The marketing of our certification is a necessity and will continue to be a primary focus. Thank you all for your efforts to provide this independent assessment and in helping us make the Certified Professional Constructor the recognized standard of excellence. With your help we will continue to promote our certifications (AC & CPC) as we Build the Professional Constructor in service to our industry.

Best regards,

Andy Wasiniak, CPC

AIC Chapter Profile
Northern Ohio


Members and guests visit the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Southerly Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Cleveland suburb of Cuyahoga Hts.

The first half of 2011 has brought significant construction activity to the Cleveland Metropolitan area - the home base of our Northern Ohio Chapter.  Over $5 Billion is currently committed on various capital projects that are underway throughout the region.  This resurgence has been a welcome change for the area, as the local construction industry has been in a significant slump since well before the global recession of recent years.  Our Chapter has been able to capitalize on this recent uptick of the local construction industry by hosting a variety of events.  
 
In the first months of the year, our chapter hosted two breakfast meetings and two jobsite tours.  In February, our chapter was proud to award $5,000.00 to four college students from local construction & civil engineering programs.  Read More...

Mr. Ethics

Dear Mr. Ethics,

We are having an internal debate regarding an issue involving whether we need to disclose certain information that is in our possession.  We are a mechanical engineering firm.  We have designed a water system upgrade for a large high school.  The work involves the removal and replacement of several hundred feet of water piping and valves.  In one section of the school this work is to be performed in a three foot high sub-floor crawl space.  The current piping is covered with asbestos that will be removed prior to the start of the work by forces hired directly by the school.  The asbestos will be removed up to the point where the pipe enters a chase that runs from the crawl space to another section of the building.  Because it is too costly to access the pipe at the point it goes into the chase, the pipe replacement ends at the point the chase begins.  The asbestos will be removed two feet beyond the work end line.  Half of the office thinks we should advise the mechanical contractors that asbestos still remains beyond the work end line.  Since the work line is very clear, the other half of the office contends that notifying the mechanical contractor will serve no purpose but to increase bid amounts.  Please help.

Regards, Divided Office

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Construction Outlook
Phil Warner, Research Consultant, FMI
June 8, 2011

The stock market has taken on a more bullish trend since the bottom of the recession, but that bull has yet to visit Main Street, which is struggling to fix the potholes not to mention the infrastructure buried beneath the streets. The good news, according to recent comments by Chairman Bernanke, is that we don’t have to worry much about inflation. Those of us that need to buy gasoline and food might take this advice with a grain of salt. Even if inflation is still somewhat subdued, rising fuel prices and uncertainty do not help consumer confidence. The consumer is the engine that drives the economy, and that engine works best when the consumer is employed.

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“Reprinted with permission from FMI Corporation, 919.787.8400. For more information, visit www.fminet.com or call Sarah Vizard at 919.785.9221.”