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Construction Worker Killed in Building Collapse in Manhattan

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“A construction worker died Thursday after a century-old, two-story warehouse under demolition as part of Columbia University’s expansion collapsed in a hail of concrete, bricks and steel that engulfed three workers.

The workers were employed by Breeze National Inc. ofBrooklyn, a company whose founder, Toby Romano Sr., was convicted of federal bribery charges in 1988 and has been identified by law enforcement officials as having ties to organized crime. Mr. Romano left the company in 2009; it is now run by Toby Romano Jr., his son.

The subcontractor’s work was being overseen by Lend Lease, the successor company to Bovis, the construction management giant that oversaw the demolition of theDeutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan and, in a 2008 agreement with prosecutors, acknowledged failures that contributed to the deaths of two firefighters in a blaze at the bank building a year earlier.

In 2010, after a worker died in a fall at a job site on West 129th Street that was also connected to Columbia’s expansion, Breeze National was cited for two violations related to its lack of fall protection, said Ted Fitzgerald, a spokesman for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The violations carried fines of $14,000. “The company accepted the citation, corrected the hazard and paid a fine” of $1,687, Mr. Fitzgerald said.

And in 2007, the city denied the company’s application for a license to cart trash or construction debris, said Kamran Mumtaz, a City Hall spokesman. It was put on a “caution list” of contractors and has no current contracts with the city, he said.”

Is your company conducting it’s due diligence to ensure you’re working with safe companies? Partner with Assurance and Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Due Diligence, OHSA

Wyoming wind farm builder wins lawsuit against subcontractor

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“After Tetra Tech paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to some of those vendors and subcontractors, it learned that Herling owed more than it represented, according to court records. On Sept. 13, Jerry Herling Construction removed its equipment from the project sites, and Tetra Tech terminated the subcontract agreements three days later.”

Assurance Screening offers pre-qualification screening services that include: project reference checks, bankruptcy, lien, and judgment checks, and much more. Work with Assurance and Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Due Diligence, Risk Mitigation

Risk Management Tip of the Month: You can’t ask for too much information.

by Karen · Comments 0

I know what you are thinking, but when it comes to performing due diligence, the answer is truly the opposite.   In today’s economy, general contractors and other organizations must ask for more rather than less information regarding the financial and moral stability of their subcontractors, vendors and suppliers.   In the end, your firm’s reputation and bottom line are at stake.   Before granting that subcontract or purchase order, make sure you know as much as you can about your subs.  Before grating that subcontract, follow this tip:  You can’t ask for too much information.

In the November/December 2011 issue of Construction – The Magazine of the Associated General Contractors of America, one of the cover stories is titled “Managing Sub, Supplier Risks”.  The article itself, titled “Due Diligence” gives detailed insight from AGC council members, insurance service providers, and General Contractor representatives who all relay a very clear message:  There are an increasing number of subcontractors and suppliers who are not in business today given the economic client, and that number doesn’t look like it will decrease anytime soon.  This unfortunate trend has caused a need for General Contractors to perform stricter due diligence not only larger subcontractors, but all subcontractors and suppliers.

I have said it before, but knowing is half the battle.  Choosing to not ask a subcontractor or supplier to provide your organization with their sensitive information such as financial statements, project backlog or a bank credit reference letter out of fear of how they will react is just not an acceptable reason to roll the dice and hope for the best.  Not knowing fully what type of business you are contracting to could lead you to unknowingly contracting to a sub who you would definitely reconsider if you knew more of the facts.  At Assurance, we find business owners who get in the habit of letting a business fail, only to start another one with a “clean slate”.   We also see businesses that rack up tax liens or who have a history of late-paying their bills. These types of findings throw up those red flags you need to be aware of in order to make the proper decisions when it comes to who your grant your subcontracts to.  Once you know everything, you can then work more effectively with a subcontractor who maybe had a stroke of bad luck themselves, but are on their way to recovery.

Click here to read the full article from Construction.

 


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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Due Diligence, Risk Management Tip

Due Diligence: Contractors are taking more extensive measures to protect themselves

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“Our clients are telling us that, since 2009, they have seen about a 30% uptick in subcontractors and suppliers going out of business,” Wu says.

In today’s current economic state, the importance of conducting due diligence is at an all time high. “Subcontractor default has been an industry reality ‘since the days of the pyramids,’…”. To ensure your company’s success, you need to ensure your business partners success. By conducting due diligence with Assurance Screening, knowing where your subcontractors stand, and ensuring they can meet the demands of your project, you can Be Sure.

“It pays for contractors to have a game plan to lessen the blow of subcontractor defaults and failures, especially when one considers that the ripple effect is typically 2.5 times the bond price…”

 

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: AGC, Due Diligence

OSHA Busts Guam Golf Club for 17 Safety Violations

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“Employees must be protected against safety hazards in the workplace—not just because it is the right thing to do but because it is the law,”…

Is your company conducting it’s due diligence to ensure you’re working with safe companies? Partner with Assurance and Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Due Diligence, OSHA

Do we really have to cut loose?

by Karen · Comments 0

As I am contemplating whether or not the new star of “Footloose” has six degrees of separation to Kevin Bacon, the Kenny Loggins’ title song starts playing in my head.  Because of that, I start to think.  Do we really have to cut loose?  And because I can somehow relate an obscure reference to what we see here at Assurance, I can tell you the answer.  When it relates to how our current lines of thinking keep us from implementing needed change, or when we are unhappy about a specific result we are getting in our organization, the answer of course is yes.

Cut loose from the way things have always been.

Especially, if you know it isn’t working.  I can’t tell you how many times we meet with prospective clients who tell us they “need to implement something different soon”, and then months and months go by without any changes.  There is a prospect we have been talking with that will send us email after email about different subcontractors they have used which end up failing.  And we always ask them when they are going to be ready to change?  We can never mitigate away all risk, but putting different systems and checkpoints in place can decrease the frequency of which our clients are affected by beginning with a more diligent selection process at the start.  Soon never happens soon enough, and sometimes turns into never.

Cut loose from the fear of what might happen.

If you are afraid of repeating the same issues and mistakes, be afraid instead of what will surely happen again if no change is implemented.   If there is a giant elephant in the room, are you going to continue to ignore it while it stomps all over your profits or reputation?  How many times has your organization worked with a vendor or subcontractor for years and “felt like you knew them”, to only have them suddenly be gone?  That sting hurts, however we see a lot of firms who are still completing their qualification process in the same ways they have done in the past.  Remember, the partnership you build with your subcontractors and vendors is a synergy.  They must trust in you that if they contract to you, you will fulfill your end of the bargain by paying them what is due.  All you would be doing is implementing an updated system to make sure they can fulfill their end.  How many of you feel like you may be “insulting” them if you ask them to go through a more detailed qualification process?  If you know your system has gaps, it is time to do something about it, and delete out the fear of the unknown.

Going back to the beginning, with the degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon question, I will end this post with a fun little fact about myself.  I am actually two degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.  If you get through this, and are interested in how it is so, feel free to email me at Karen@proqualverified.com.  I’d be happy to share.


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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Due Diligence, Risk Mitigation

Fluor Takes $180 Million Charge on Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm

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“The company highlighted that the project is experiencing a number of issues that have substantially increased the estimated cost to complete the project. Cost overruns reflect the impact of the bankruptcy of a major subcontractor, …”

Conduct your due diligence on all subcontractors before they work with your company. Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Bankruptcy, Due Diligence

City approves $90,000 in business with companies barred from working in Md.

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Verify all your business partners with Business Entity Verifications and more through Assurance Screening and Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Due Diligence

Schiavone Agrees to $23 Million Settlement for MBE Fraud

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Ensure project compliance. Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Disadvantaged Business Enterprise, Due Diligence

9 In Custody In VA Hospital Immigration Bust

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Illegal immigrants found hiding in the ceiling of a $600 million federal hospital project in Orlando. Sources told WFTV state fraud investigators found evidence that subcontractors used fraudulent social security numbers for illegal workers and they tipped off the feds.

“You think this kind of thing is rampant in the construction industry and needs to be taken more seriously?” Deal asked.  “Yes, I do. It’s very rampant,” Livingston said. 

By verifying all employees with Assurance Screening, you can avoid this and Be Sure.

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Due Diligence, e-Verify

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