Newsletter Volume 1 No. 4                                                               March 2007
• In This Issue

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Did You Know?

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Association Spotlight

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Daylight Savings Time

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3-D Construction

• About Us
Florida Construction Connection, Inc., works with employers to not just hire, but make the right hires.

We work with currently employed construction management, administrative and accounting professionals to help them make smart career decisions.

Whether you are seeking information to help you in your current situation or seeking information about the marketplace and need help, please give us a call.

Florida Construction Connection
Deerfield Beach, FL
Phone:  (954) 725-9932
            (866) 725-9932
Fax:      (954) 725-9928
Email:   flcc@bellsouth.net
 floridaconstructionconnection.com

 • Around the World...

    Did You Know?

1 in 14 of the United Kingdom workforce is employed in construction - that's nearly 2 million people! (7.5 million in the United States).

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Women have been working in construction since the Middle Ages!

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Women account for around 1% of tradespeople in the U.K.(2.5% in the United States).

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Almost 200,000 women work in construction in the U.K. (900,000 in the United States) proving that it's definitely not just "jobs for the boys!".

•  Association Spotlight
Why Join an Association?
There are many advantages to joining an association.  It gives members a chance to network, share issues; learn about topics relevant to their particular job, interest or area of the construction industry and to have some fun!  It’s a great way to get involved!
This Month's Association is:

.Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) is a national association representing 24,000 merit shop construction and construction-related firms in 83 chapters across the United States. ABC's membership represents all specialties within the U.S. construction industry and is comprised primarily of firms that perform work in the industrial and commercial sectors of the industry.

ABC was founded in 1950 when seven contractors gathered in Baltimore, Md. to create an association based on the shared belief that construction projects should be awarded on merit to the most qualified and responsible low bidders. Their courage and dedication to the merit shop philosophy spread rapidly, and within time, ABC became the fastest-growing association in the United States

 

Today, ABC is recognized as one of the leading organizations representing America's business community and the U.S. construction industry.

The Florida East Coast Chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors was founded in 1968, the Florida East Coast Chapter is devoted exclusively to representing the interests of merit shop contractors from Melbourne south including the Florida Keys. Main Office Building

From its regional headquarters in Coconut Creek, Florida, the association represents the interests of its

 members through its national association in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill, through its full-time lobbyist in Tallahassee and through its involvement with local regulatory agencies. The association provides professional training for supervisors and management personnel and a full program of craft training for the trades.

Although the initial seeds for ABC came from its labor relations activities, the association has developed into a full-service organization that provides education, training, liaison with state and local governments, marketing, networking and community service opportunities. Today ABC Florida East Coast Chapter serves nearly 700 members in all aspects of the construction industry with a wide variety of services.

 

Chapter members can receive advice and assistance in setting up drug-prevention programs, obtain labor relations counsel, receive discounts on insurance, cellular service, Truck Fleets, Construction training, have their unified voices heard at in city, county and state-wide forums and, through volunteer efforts, they can become involved in extensive community service efforts.

 

Chapter members look to the 21st century knowing their association will continuously work for a level playing field for all to compete and to thrive. Nonmember and member firms both enjoy the fruits of the labors of many years of volunteer efforts by ABC members who have donated their time and effort to unselfishly improve our industry.

 

Building construction is a joint effort. Thousands of general contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and associates have united under our banner of free and open competition in the construction industry. We all believe economy, efficiency and quality in construction is the only way America can continue to grow and prosper.

Contractors are offered the most comprehensive array of services available in the construction industry today. Throughout the country, ABC is an effective force in business development, education, labor relations and industry legislation.

ABC Institute (ABCI) is the training arm for the

Associated Builders & Contractors Florida East Coast Chapter, Inc.

ABCI is Florida's largest nationally accredited construction apprenticeship provider. Apprenticeship programs and  training is offered in many fields such as Electrical, Fire-Sprinkler, HVAC, Lineman, Sheet Metal, Plumbing, etc.

Click here to read what Miami Herald says

about ABC Institute. 

• Set Your Clocks for New

   Daylight Saving Time (DST)

The U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed by the U.S. Congress July, 2005, extended Daylight Saving Time (DST) in the U.S. by approximately four weeks. As a result, beginning in 2007, DST will start three weeks earlier on March 11, 2007, and end one week later on November 4, 2007, resulting in a new DST period that is four weeks longer than previously observed. These four weeks are referred to as the "extended DST period".  Unless certain updates are applied to your computer, it is possible that the time zone settings for your computer's system clock may be incorrect during this four week period.  When your time zone settings are incorrect your clock may be off by one hour, and certain applications running on your Windows based computer may not display the correct time.  The change in DST will have an effect on many automated and technology reliant products. Individual consumers, small to medium size businesses, and large enterprises may be affected by the new change in time. Computer-system, PDA, and Smartphone related issues include, for example:

 

.Calendar / scheduling applications

 

Date / time calculations (current and historical)

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Transaction logging (UTC vs. Local Time)

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Tariff billing applications

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In many cases, making the necessary changes to accommodate the new DST legislation will be a relatively minor task. Users may need to manually adjust the time on their devices when the change occurs.   In other cases, more substantial efforts may be required. In some cases, systems and applications may need to be updated directly, while in others, the application may simply inherit or "read" the date and time information from the underlying system that it resides on so the changes need only be made to that underlying system. Given the broad range of technology in use today-and the integration of systems between customers, vendors, and partners-business and IT managers should determine what actions should be taken to mitigate the affects of DST 2007 on their organizations.

DST Start and End date changes beginning March 2007
Year DST Begins 2 a.m.
(Second Sunday in March)		 DST Ends 2 a.m.
(First Sunday in November)
2007 March 11 November 4
2008 March 9 November 2
2009 March 8 November 1
2010 March 14 November 7
2011 March 13 November 6
2012 March 11 November 4
2013 March 10 November 3
2014 March 9 November 2
2015 March 8 November 1
 • 3-D Construction Things are not always what they appear to be...