Masonry Magazine May 2011 Page. 50
INDUSTRY NEWS
Survey data confirmed this trend and illustrated the continuing move by hospitals to add features that satisfy patients and families, while providing high-quality care. Wireless technologies, in particular, are getting attention. Individual room temperature controls and educational systems each are being incorporated into about one-third or more of new rooms.
Elsewhere, hospitals and health systems are focusing on making their building projects more environmentally friendly. More than two out of three respondents said they are specifying so-called "green" materials in most or all of their construction projects. About 60 percent of respondents also said their organization evaluates the cost/benefit of green construction methods for building projects.
The gradual improvement in the hospital construction market comes after a steep downturn that accompanied the nation's deep recession in 2009, which was only a year removed from health care's high-water mark in construction in 2008. Hospitals able to pursue construction and renovation projects are cautious, in light of a changing economic and health care landscape.
A complete report on the survey findings, including data on financing methods for construction, building types, quality and safety features, can be found in the February issue of Health Facilities Management (www.hfmmagazine.com).
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Wasco Names Sneed as President, CEO
Nashville, Tenn.-based Wasco Inc. a commercial masonry companies, has named William A. "Andy" Sneed Jr. as president and CEO. Sneed will oversee all company operations and the senior management team.
With more than 30 years of experience in the masonry industry, Sneed joined WASCO Inc. as a laborer in 1977 and has excelled to his current position. Prior to his current appointment, Sneed had served as WASCO's COO for almost 15 years.
In the 1950s, Robert R. Sneed (a second-generation mason and civil engineer) helped to create the MCAA. Robert Sneed's family's business, Bush Building Co., was a member from the 1950s through the 1980s. His son, Andy, was active in the MCAA and formed his own company, WASCO Inc., in the 1980s. Historically, WASCO's owners and officers have remained active in the MCAA from the company's formation through the present. WASCO Chairman Brad Procter has served as a regional VP. WASCO's new president, Andy Sneed, is chairman of the Education Committee, and WASCO board member, Brian Procter is the Tennessee State Chairman. Other board members, Trey and Adam Sneed, are involved with the region of MCAA's South of 40 group. Four generations of the Sneed family have been mason contractors, and the family plans to continue the legacy.
WASCO Inc. is a MCAA-certified Mason Contractor, with additional offices in Knoxville, Tenn., and Bowling Green, Ky. WASCO Inc. also owns Lovell's Masonry Inc. in Columbia, Tenn. Divisions of WASCO include New Commercial Masonry, Restorations by WASCO, WASCO Sitescapes, Bush Building Company Inc. and Cumberland Stone Works.
Fall Protection Directive Upheld
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected a challenge by the National Roofing Contractors Association to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's December 2010 directive on the use of fall protection in residential construction. The directive withdrew an earlier one that allowed certain residential construction employers to bypass some fall protection requirements.
Data from the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that an average of 40 workers are killed each year as a result of falls from residential roofs. One-third of those deaths represent Latino workers, who often lack sufficient access to safety information and protections. Latino workers comprise more than one-third of all construction employees.
OSHA's new directive, Standard 03-11-002, rescinded the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. Prior to the issuance of this new directive, Standard 03-00-001 allowed employers engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection required by the residential construction fall protection standard. With the issuance of the new directive, all residential construction employers must comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13). Where residential builders can demonstrate that traditional fall protection is not feasible, 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(13) still allows for alternative means of providing protection.
The case was litigated by Lauren Goodman and Heather Phillips from the