Custom Building Products Wins 6 Tile Awards

SEAL BEACH-Custom Building Products, a manufacturer of tile and stone installation products, has been awarded six 2003 Top Tile Awards.
The honors cover all major categories relating to tile and stone installation products, including adhesives, underlayment, backerboard, mortar, grout and sealer. A total of 75 awards were give.
Custom Building Products took first place in three categories: underlayment, backerboard and grout. The company won second- or third-place awards in three other categories: adhesives, mortar and sealer.
To select the winners, the American Ceramic Tile Academy conducted a survey of about 1,200 leading tile industry professionals, including contractors, designers, architects and specifiers, and asked them to vote their preferences in 25 categories of ceramic tile and associated products.
According to the academy, the purpose of the awards is to offer guidance to consumers in their search for the best values in ceramic tile products.
For more information on the 2003 Top Tile Awards and the winning companies, visit www.toptile.org.

ACS Captures Precast Honor

HOUSTON, Tex.-Santa Ana-based Architectural Cast Stone was an award winner for Disney's California Adventure amusement park building in the Architectural Precast Association Awards for Design and Manufacturing Excellence.
The competition is held each year to recognize examples of outstanding design and production work utilizing architectural precast concrete.
Three projects shared top honors: Miller Park in Milwaukee, Wis.; Glenridge Highlands One and Two Office Complex in Atlanta; and Two Freedom Square Office Building in Reston, Va.

Of the California Adventure project, the judges said "this interesting building is a significant addition to an existing resort center in southern California."
The project was developed with an extensive and creative use of cast stone blocks. The architects keyed their design expression on the look of the "textile block" houses that were built by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 20th century in southern California.
The designers and precast fabricators were very successful in replicating Wright's design themes,the judges said. Precast units were perfected using white cement and colorants to match sandstone. Some precast units express intricate detail while others are simple. There is organized visual interest in the use of the precast units and their relationship to other Wright details such as cantilevered rooflines and transparent comer windows.

The precast tone was produced by using the "vibrant dry tamp" method. This gives the cast unit the finish texture and appearance of sandstone with sharp edges. It is this crispness, which is necessary for the architectural effect.
This type of casting is not dependent on sandblasting to create the texture of the finish but rather is derived from the skill of the fabricators' use of hand held pneumatic rammers to consolidate the mix into the rigid molds. The success of the moldings process is evident in the precast product.
This project demonstrates that consistent, well made, and well-organized execution of the precast stone units of a modest scale can contribute significantly to the overall architectural design, the judges said.

The chairman of the awards jury was Carlton Sturges Abbott, FAIA, president of Carlton Abbott and Partners in Williamsburg, Va.

Airco Mechanical Receives Award
SACRAMENTO -- Jim Jones and Don Jamarck of Airco Mechanical Inc. of Sacramento have received the 2003 Distinguished Legislative Service Award from the California Association of Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association. The newly established award was created to recognize members who have supported California SMACNA's legislative and regulatory agenda in a variety of ways: writing letters when requested; testifying before the state Legislature and regulatory hearings; attending functions to speak with legislators; and opening up their shops to legislators, regulatory officers and students to increase awareness of the workings of the industry. This year's award is for actions taken in 2002 on behalf of California SMACNA's call for grassroots involvement.

Airco Mechanical had many employees volunteer to host more than 300 high school students for job shadows and legislators for shop visits.

Architect I.M. Pei to Receive Award
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The National Building Museum and Turner Construction Co. have named world-renowned I. M. Pei as the second recipient of the Henry C. Turner Prize for Innovation in Construction Technology. The prize recognizes notable advances and high achievement in construction methods and processes.
During his 55-year career in architecture, Pei has worked closely with engineers and contractors to create buildings and other structures that have set new standards for construction quality.

The museum hosted a reception and presentation program on April 15, sponsored by Turner Construction Co., to honor Pei. He will discuss his role in stimulating innovations for construction technology on the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art, Bank of China tower in Hong Kong, glass pyramid at the Louvre in Paris and the Miho Museum in Japan.

The prize carries a cash award of $25,000. Structural engineer Leslie E. Robertson was the first prize recipient last year. Robertson's 50-year career included commissions for the structural design and construction of three of the world's six tallest buildings, including the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Interested members of the public wishing to attend the reception and program can register on line at www.nbm.org or by calling (202) 272-2448. Advance registration and a fee are required

Five Firms Get Top Honors in AGC Safety Awards
Five companies -- McCarthy Building Cos., Turner Construction Co., Corey Delta Inc., Harbison-Mahony-Higgins Builders Inc. and Rigging International -- were the first-place winners in AGC of California's 16th Annual Safety Awards of Excellence competition held earlier this month in Sacramento. The competition involved work performed during 2002.

AGC named Nancy Moorhouse of Teichert Construction the 2002 Harry Eckstein Safety Professional of the Year.
Special safety awards also went to:

• McCarthy Building Cos. for Outstanding Safety Performance on a High Hazard Job, for construction of the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis.
  
• Paul Knutzen, a student at the USC, received the $1,000 AGC Harry Eckstein Scholarship Award.

In her keynote address, Cal/OSHA Deputy Director Vicky Heza said that her agency's efforts recently have been stretched to encompass everything from homeland security issues to developing guidelines to deal with the SARs threat.

"In these tough economic times, many business owners are tempted to cut corners, and we often find that one of the first things to go is occupational safety and health programs and staff," Heza said. Those cuts, she pointed out, often end up costing employers money due to a subsequent rise in injuries on the job.

Award of Excellence winners and runner-ups in the company worker-hours categories were selected in four classifications for 2002:

More Than 1 Million Worker Hours
In an unprecedented move by the Safety Awards judges, two contractors tied for first place: Turner Construction and McCarthy Building Cos.
Turner's strong safety culture resulted in no lost time injuries in 2002. The company implemented contractor-controlled insurance policies throughout the state and implemented a mandatory 6-ft. fall-protection rule on all projects.
Turner also developed and made available to the construction industry an OSHA. 30-hour, on-line program. Among those accepting the award for Turner were Danny Cooke, vice president/operations manager for Northern California; Charlie Koch, vice president/operations for the Southwest Business Unit; Tracy Jones, Southwest Business Unit safety director; Shannon Sellers, Western Regional safety director; and Katy Medinas, safety director Northern California.

McCarthy Building Cos. logged more than 3 million worker-hours nationally in 2002 and created a safety culture involving employees in all aspects of safety. Management maintains an open-door policy that encourages employees to discuss concerns and suggestions and to develop new and innovative methods to reduce or eliminate job site hazards. Accepting the award for McCarthy were Randy Highland, senior vice president/operations; Steve Cox, director of risk management; and Bob Rud, safety coordinator.

500,000 to 1 Million Worker Hours
Corey Delta of Benicia's successful safety program is rooted in the commitment and dedication of management to involve all employees in the goal of zero accidents, emphasizing that safe behavior and attitude is a condition of employment.
Corey Delta reached the milestone of two years and 1 million hours worked without a lost-time accident through its excellent leadership, a program of self improvement and a safety-oriented team culture. Safety coordinator Jake Witkowski accepted the award on behalf of Corey Delta, along with Chuck Fletcher, AGC vice president.

200,000 to 500,000 Worker Hours
Harbison-Mahony-Higgins Builders, Sacramento for its constant efforts to maintain a pro-active program that is constantly growing and improving, the company achieved no lost-time injuries in 2002. A cornerstone of the company's program is the prequalification of and minimum performance standards for subcontractors. Employee suggestions are extensive and utilized, which provides motivation to employees to participate. HMH Safety Manager Bo Bradley was on hand to accept the AGC Safety Award of Excellence

Earlier this year, HMH Builders was also recognized by Cal-OSHA with the state's first ever California Golden State Award, a top safety designation from the agency. The Golden State Program for general contractors is an outgrowth of Cal/OSHA's former Voluntary Protection Program for construction..

Taking second place honors was W.M. Lyles Co. of Fresno. Donn Sawyer, administrative vice president and safety director, accepted the award.

Less Than 200,000 Worker Hours
Rigging International of Alameda recognized the need to strengthen and improve its safety program and took aggressive action. Its recordable incident rate went from 6.11 in 1999 to zero in 2002, as did all its injury rates. Management training includes the OSHA 30-hour course, and top management will participate in recordable-injury investigations, if they occur. Accepting the award was Doug Bicknell.
In second place was Kaweah Construction Co. President and CEO Scott Richards accepted the award.

Frank Schipper Construction Co. of Santa Barbara took third place. Senior Project Manager Suzanna Savage-Rafticon accepted the award.

AGC's 16th Annual Safety Awards of Excellence competition was sponsored by all of the members of the AGC Safety & Health Council. Shimmick Construction Co. was sponsor of the Harry Eckstein awards.

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