A new port dispatch center could prove to have an invaluable economic impact on Freeport area jobs, the local shipping industry and beyond. The Port Freeport Commission voted unanimously to approve a contract for pilot dispatch services with Fort Velasco Signal Station, LLC for monitoring and managing the ship traffic coming in and out of…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed a collection of compliance assistance resources to address falls in the workplace, the leading cause of worker fatality in the construction industry. OSHA’s goal is to promote awareness about common fall hazards in construction, educate job creators and workers on fall prevention,…
The American Society of Safety Professionals Foundation has released the results of a three-year study on worker fatigue that indicates that wearable technology could play a role in both better defining the problem of overtired workers and increasing safety on the job. In “Advancing Safety Surveillance Using Individualized Sensor Technology (ASSIST): Final Progress Report,” the…
By: Helen Callier When faced with repeated delays in obtaining city building permits, do you continue to go back and forth to meet with the Plan Reviewers in hopes that today will be the magical day? Do you scratch your head and wonder what the notice on the website means when it says 15-day plan…
Welcome to the oilfield of the future, where wells across hundreds of miles communicate with each other and operators can rely on data-driven insights and real-time automation to make faster, smarter decisions. Often found in remote corners of the world, these fields of the future will rely on a similar digital network that everyday consumers…
It’s been three months and your client still hasn’t paid his overdue bill for the work you performed. What do you do now? Fortunately, the State of Texas has laws in place that protect business owners, allowing you to collect on a debt, but only when the proper protocols are followed. The Cromeens Law Firm…
Businesses are looking for partnerships to help guide them through a period of digital transformation, according to a report from Information Services Group (ISG). Areas of focus include lean project management, agile software development and customer journey mapping, among others. Stakeholder and product relationships, virtualization of some operations, and long-term feedback and analytics are key in enabling companies…
It sounds like the stuff of movies and sci-fi novels, but in a small pilot lab in Clinton, New Jersey, an elite group of ExxonMobil engineers is developing gasoline of the future. Creating fuel for cars that aren’t even on the market seems outrageous—impossible, even—but it’s happening now. But how do these scientists know what…
Commissioners in San Patricio County, Texas, took the first step last week in securing a $1.8 billion Steel Dynamics mill for the Corpus Christi area by voting unanimously to create a reinvestment zone that includes the approximately 2,500-acre piece of land on which the company would build the plant, according to The Corpus Christi Caller…
The Houston suburb of Sugar Land, Texas, has started a search for a private partner to help develop, build and operate a new hotel and convention center. The city issued a request for statements of interest on Jan. 18. The project will include a full-service hotel with 350 rooms, a convention center of up to…
As data privacy concerns make headlines, architects should consider how much they share when specifying products Building products have always made up a significant portion of construction project budgets, and the specification of those materials takes up a large amount of architects’ time. But while product selection was once generic and took place in a…
About AUTOARCH AUTOARCH Architects, LLC is a comprehensive, woman-owned and Houston-based architectural and planning firm with more than 28 years of experience. In close to three decades, they have successfully focused on designing buildings for education and institutional clients, with projects in K-12, higher education, career and technology. Through their emphasis in their approach on…
The Railroad Commission of Texas launched its RRC Online Inspection Lookup (OIL) tool for searching statewide oil and gas inspection and enforcement information, including notices of violation and intentions to sever leases. For the first time in RRC history, RRC OIL allows anyone, anywhere at any time to search online records of oil and gas…
Dallas Fort Worth International (DFW) Airport and Trinity Metro welcomed the start of TEXRail service at Terminal B, offering customers the first public transportation option to directly connect DFW Airport to downtown Fort Worth. “This year, DFW will serve more customers with more international flights than ever, and a growing number of our customers expect…
By: Helen Callier Over the past few weeks, we attended the Build Expo in Austin, Texas. We had the opportunity to visit many of the exhibitors, go to workshops and meet with possible new vendors. While at the Expo, we also had the opportunity to speak with City of Austin folks. While speaking with them…
AUSTIN – Upstream* oil and natural gas employment rebounded with a 3,200 job gain in December, offsetting the 300 job drop in November, according to data from the Texas Workforce Commission. Texas has recovered 50% of jobs lost between the high point in employment in December 2014 and the low point in September 2016. Since the…
Talk about being blindsided! Your week was going great until you received notice that you have missed a court date, and now a default judgment has been filed against you. Maybe you never received the initial notice, or maybe you just plain forgot what day it was because of your hectic schedule. Doh! It’s okay….
What do you need to innovate in the Transformative Age? You need diversity. You need men. And you need women. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but it is also linked to a country’s overall economic performance. Organizations where women hold 30% of leadership positions could add up to 6% to their net margins,…
Construction has been slow compared to other industries to adopt technology, but it’s starting to catch up as technology gets more sophisticated to accommodate the industry’s unique needs. Michael C. Brown, a Skanska executive vice president and general manager in Florida, attributes construction’s tech dawdling to the idea that no two construction projects are the…
Businesses must remain alert for both future growth opportunities and potential threats. The dawn of advanced technology has enabled, and in many cases forced, quick mobilization into different growth areas, rapid industrialization and wide ranging global expansion. It has also brought profound change, such as improved healthcare, better access to finance and educational opportunities. And…
