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Welcome to “If Walls Could Talk” where Walls & Ceilings magazine is out to discover just that.
Listen as W&C talks with influencers in the industry who are making an impact. We are helping educate and entertain the wall and ceiling industry as only W&C can do. What brought these people to the industry? What’s in store for the contractor? And “If Walls Could Talk,” what stories would they tell? Find out all of this and more on each episode.
W&C is joined again by Tom Harris, of Tom Harris PUR Consulting, for this latest installment of If Walls Could Talk. This podcast theme is on Off-Site Construction. Harris explains on how modular construction has really started to make waves in North America. In Europe, modular design and construction have been an accepted construction technique for over 50 years and it’s truly a market leader in many countries.
In North America, there’s a stigma attached to modular that the designs are “cookie-cutter boxes” staked on top each other with limited curb appeal. They may be good for temporary housing or relocatable trailers, but not for the mainstream. As a result, modular took its place in smaller, retirement communities, low cost housing and trailer parks. That’s all changed now, Harris says.
The concept of a pre-manufactured building assembly—a component of a design—has opened up modular thinking to off-site. Complex designs, with architectural features, are now pre-fabricated under controlled conditions and shipped to the job site for placement. These building components are complete wall assemblies, complete roof assemblies, and foundations with all the architectural features of site built, but without the impact of weather, trades and having to construct them piece-by-piece on site.
Cybersecurity is a massive concern when it comes to fraud. Kyle Rea—of Adams and Reese discusses what this entails.
In this most recent podcast on “Outside and Inside Threats: Screening and Cybersecurity,” Rea gets into what types of policies and procedures can our listeners implement to help them in regards to cybersecurity.
In addition to security software, what are the major tips an attorney can give us from a tech perspective as to what our listeners should be doing? And is there any other protection available for things like this?
Should you be concerned about sectoral bargaining in construction? You should at least understand the effects it could have, says Legal Insights expert Trent Cotney of Adams & Reese.
Cotney explains why contractors should pay special attention to sectoral bargaining in the construction industry and why he is nervous about government intervention. He also discussed issues that contractors in Florida may have, even if they are there to help with the storm damage.
“Most contractors working out of state are surprised by the level of regulation [in Florida], and also the level of enforcement,” Cotney said.
On the other side of the country, Cotney says to keep an eye on what California is doing about independent contractor truckers. He says that even one state making it harder for the trucking industry could affect the supply chain and make supply chain issues worse than they already are.
Walls & Ceilings’ Editor John Wyatt speaks with Ricardo Vidal, Area Safety Coordinator of Orlando with KHS&S. We speak about COVID restrictions a thing of the past, or are some job sites & owners keeping COVID-like procedures. In addition, we chat about what safety areas are being emphasized on today’s job sites? Is there a particular regulation or area that is getting more attention than others now? What are workers’ main safety priorities? How does KHS&S involve workers in determining safety procedures?
He speaks on when worker input improved a safety procedure; how involved is KHS&S executive management; how does their support help you do your job?
There is plenty to be said. Vidal chats on this and more.
Walls & Ceilings welcomes back Kyle Rea to the fold for our latest regular of “If Walls Could Talk.” He is a special counsel at Adams & Reese LLC. For this second in the series, Rea chats about what our listeners can look out for, what are some types of fraud that can happen to you as a contractor and what are some of the tell-tale signs of those types of fraud? He covers: Falsification of Payment Applications and Invoices; Fraudulent manipulation of Change Orders; Material Substitutions and more.
Florida officials are lifting some restrictions on licensing to try and help people recover from Hurricane Ian faster. However, this may cause more harm than good, warns Trent Contey, partner at Adams and Reese.
We’re still learning more about the recently-passed Inflation Reduction Act, and the sustainability benchmarks that could lead to enormous potential business opportunities for roofing contractors ready to get to work. WC Legal Insights expert Trent Cotney, of Adams & Reese, breaks down what roofers should be looking for and how not to let this opportunity slip by in this brief conversation.