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In these uncertain economic times, construction financing is harder to secure. Willing lenders are out there, but are requiring the project owners to take far more fiscal responsibility and guarantee much more. This tougher lending climate is forcing developers to pour more of their financial resources into the project and to bear more responsibility should the investment perform poorly. To read the complete article, click here.

Unit 1: Variation in Productions Systems, in �鶹��ý’s Lean Construction Education Program, is now available. Variation in Production Systems is a four-hour course that will be offered locally at �鶹��ý Chapters across the country. Following completion of this course, participants will be able to:

The �鶹��ý Lean Construction Forum is an inclusive and collaborative community that is open to anyone with an interest in lean construction processes.  The Forum website provides information on the latest Forum activities, lean-related articles, a searchable database of lean resources and a discussion tool that allows Forum members to share information and ask questions. 

�鶹��ý of America represents approximately 30,000 firms throughout the construction industry, including more than 7,000 general contractors—a majority of whom perform some form of building construction as part of their business. Whether through the �鶹��ý Building Division, advocacy, safety and health, environment, labor and workforce, education and training or contract documents…�鶹��ý is focused on protecting your interests, helping your business, and improving your industry.

Construction employment increased in December by 17,000 driven by gains in nonresidential construction employment, according to an analysis of new federal employment data released today by �鶹��ý.

As previously reported, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is back to square one in developing a rule that would set a first-time numeric limit on how much dirt is allowed in stormwater that runs across a construction site.  EPA published a Federal Register notice on Jan. 3 requesting additional data on the performance of technologies in controlling turbidity levels (a measure of water clarity) in construction stormwater discharges.  EPA said it will use the data and information submitted by the public to set a new “corrected” numeric turbidity limit for construction site runoff.

After much uncertainty, late last week Congress struck a deal to collectively pass the remaining appropriations measures for FY 2012. The legislation, (H.R. 3671, H. Rept. 112-331) funds the federal agencies under the remaining nine Appropriations bills, including: Defense, Energy and Water, Financial Services, Homeland Security, Interior/Environment, Labor/Health and Human Services/Education, the Legislative Branch, Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, and State/Foreign Operations. �鶹��ý has advocated for this measure to come together to ensure predictability for the FY 2012 federal construction programs for both the construction industry as well as the government.

The last twelve months have been interesting, aggravating and not very productive. Between Election Day 2010 and Christmas Day 2010, the President, House and Senate agreed to a continuing resolution that funded the government through March, they agreed to an extension of the Bush tax rates, an extension of emergency unemployment benefits and a payroll tax holiday that reduced the employee portion of funds withheld for social security.

Everyone related to the construction process has incentive to get the project done faster and at a lower cost - from the project owners who want to see tangible results for their investment to the contractors and designers who want to do their job well and move on to the next project.

While the month of September saw a slip in the Billings Index, the American Institute of Architects reports that the index has jumped to 49.4 in October. The last time the Index came in above 50 was in August at 51.4. Any reading below 50 is said to indicate a decrease in commercial building construction 6 to 9 months in the future. Read the entire article and view a more complete list of indices here.