The Greater Houston Partnership today released a statement on behalf of its president and CEO, Bob Harvey regarding confusion surrounding Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Texas Executive Order GA-18 and whether it calls for the return of office workers to the workplace. “We are suggesting to Houston companies that they delay the return of office workers to the…
Small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic now have a resource for free legal advice, thanks to the Houston Small Business Legal Consultations (HSBLC) Program in collaboration with the City of Houston’s Office of Business Opportunity (OBO), Vinson & Elkins (V&E) and several private law firms. Through a network of volunteer attorneys, HSBLC will provide participants free…
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses of all sizes in nearly every sector are facing financial hardship brought on by the crisis. As the economy gradually reopens, local and state orders with restrictions on business operations have presented challenges for business continuity, especially for small to medium sized-enterprises. While legislators have made record emergency funds available through federally-backed…
NEW TECHNOLOGY ALLOWS HUMANS TO SUPERVISE AND REMOTELY ASSIST ROBOTS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD Plus One Robotics, a leader in developing artificial intelligence (AI) and sensor technology that allows industrial robots to learn and adapt in fast-paced dynamic environments, has helped change the world since first establishing its operations on the Port campus in 2018….
The coronavirus pandemic has shocked U.S. construction into needing to adopt new technologies to maintain social distancing and monitor jobsites remotely. Those adaptations, some construction leaders say, should have been adopted in the first place, before the pandemic forced contractors to implement them. The outbreak has also forced more connection between the site and office, as most…
Classifying Worker Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Worker risk of occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during an outbreak may depend in part on the industry type and need for contact within 6 feet of people known to have, or suspected of having, COVID-19. OSHA has divided job tasks into four risk exposure levels,…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued interim enforcement guidance to help combat supply shortages of disposable N95 filtering face piece respirators (N95 FFRs). The action marks the department’s latest step to ensure the availability of respirators and follows President Donald J. Trump’s Memorandum on Making General Use Respirators Available. Due…
A chance Facebook friendship between an Atlanta-based physician and a digital transformation expert from ExxonMobil could help unlock a wave of medical masks that health care workers need to help treat patients with COVID-19. Justin Sink, a digital transformation and innovation advisor at ExxonMobil, saw a March 19 Facebook post from his friend Dr. Susan…
Reducing methane emissions in oil and gas operations is an important way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Advances in technology can help detect and identify the sources, and improve the ability to respond quickly. But there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. That’s why ExxonMobil is leading testing for the most promising next-generation methane detection technologies at 1,000 sites in Texas and…
Construction technology is undoubtedly one of the most exciting pockets of innovation in today’s economy. Funding in U.S.-based construction technology startups surged by 324 percent to nearly $3.1 billion in 2018, compared with $731 million in 2017, according to Crunchbase data. Investment spans hardware, software, AI and other exciting technologies. For too long, the construction…
Construction Firms Are Already Taking Steps to Protect Employees, Most of Whom Already Wear Protective Equipment, While Halting Work Will Undermine Efforts to Add Hospital Capacity The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to steps being taken to put in place arbitrary…
Last week, the Advisory Committee on Construction Safety and Health (ACCSH), which makes construction regulation recommendations to OSHA, held two public teleconference meetings to address how the agency could increase awareness and potentially update its standards for hazards that pose a great risk to industry workers — falls, excavation and trenches, opioids and suicide. For falls, committee members…
Grant Program Provides More Than 300 Women with Harnesses that are Better Designed to Fit & Recruit More Women into Industry Autodesk and the Associated General Contractors of America are awarding grants to 21 construction firms to provide more than 300 fall protection safety harnesses designed for women, the two groups announced today. The grants…
Common issues that small businesses may encounter • Capital access. Incidents can strain a small business’s financial capacity to make payroll, maintain inventory and respond to market fluctuations (both sudden drops and surges in demand). Businesses should prepare by exploring and testing their capital access options so they have what they need when they need…
The exponential growth of big data has had a profound effect on the heavy building materials industry. Per Techjury, every person this year will generate 1.7 megabytes of data in just a second. In 2019, internet users generate about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data each day. In addition: Large infrastructure projects are voluminous — requiring an…
Automatic Deferment on Existing SBA Disaster Loans Through End of 2020 The U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza announced changes to help borrowers still paying back SBA loans from previous disasters. By making this change, deferments through December 31, 2020, will be automatic. Now, borrowers of home and business disaster loans do not have…
By Cliff Robbins, MSBDC Senior Business Advisor NOW what do I do?” This is the question on every small business persons’ mind. Well, this is the time to prepare yourself for a post-coronavirus world: Especially because you have probably been forced to shutter or otherwise change your business approach. CFIMITYM – Cash Flow Is More Important…
METRO is making several significant service modifications to allow for continued safe operations of critical public transportation services amid the coronavirus COVID-19 response. Local Bus Starting Monday, March 23, to support social distancing, passengers must use the rear door when boarding and exiting a local bus. Only passengers with mobility issues will be able to request the…
These are challenging times for businesses all over the nation. The Texas Comptroller’s office knows that during periods of economic hardship, paying or remitting taxes and fees on time can feel like an extra burden when there’s so much uncertainty. We’re thankful to those businesses that were able to remit state and local sales taxes…
